8 May 2026
The London-based Friends of Palestinian Universities (FPU) and UCU are jointly sponsoring an important and timely webinar on education in the West Bank and Gaza on Thursday 19 May. Here is their notice.
Friends of Palestinian Universities and UCU presents
EDUCATION, OCCUPATION & LIBERATION
Wellbeing, Survival, and Resistance under Scholasticide
You are invited to the Education, Occupation & Liberation (EOL) webinar titled Education as Hope: Wellbeing, Survival, and Resistance under Scholasticide, featuring Palestinian academics and students on the ground.This session will explore the impact of genocide and settler violence on the wellbeing of students, educators, and the wider academic community in Palestine. It will consider how education is affected by destruction, displacement, fear, and ongoing insecurity, and what this means for those trying to teach, learn, and sustain academic life under such conditions.At the same time, the session will not only reflect on education under attack, but as a vital space of resilience, dignity, and hope. In the Palestinian context, education continues to represent survival, collective strength, and a refusal of erasure. Bringing together perspectives from Palestinian Universities, this discussion will highlight both the human cost of violence and the enduring importance of education in sustaining life and possibility.
Date: Tuesday, 19 May 2026
Time: 16:00-17:00 BST
The Zoom link is accessible via Eventbrite
The webinar aims to foreground Palestinian academic voices and encourage meaningful reflection on what solidarity with Palestinian education should look like in practice. Speakers will include Dr Basel El-Khodary, Dean of Education and professor of psychology at the Islamic University of Gaza, and the session will be chaired by Dr Amal Rammah, a public health researcher at the GOS Institute of Child Health, UCL. More speakers to be announced.
We hope to see you there.Best regards,Omar Shweiki, Director
The Education, Occupation & Liberation programme is co-hosted with the University and College Union (UCU). The series of lectures and seminars brings together Palestinian, UK and international scholars, students and practitioners to explore the challenges facing Palestinian education and its role in creating a free and flourishing Palestine.
More from Friends of Palestinian Universities
Scholarship Spotlight
Education is both survival and hope. We support access to higher education through scholarships for young Palestinians in the occupied West Bank and Gaza facing financial hardship. Since our establishment, we have supported hundreds of students to complete their university degrees.Each FPU scholarship covers one year of university fees. We work with foundations, family trusts, and individuals to support students throughout a typical four-year degree – investing in a generation determined to learn, lead, and rebuild.
Sustaining Higher Education Under Scholasticide: Lessons from Virtual Fellowships in Gaza
At the Times Higher Education Digital Universities UK 2026 conference (14–16 April, Birmingham), Friends of Palestinian Universities’ Director, Omar Shweiki, joined Dr Basma Hajir, co-director of the Centre for International and Comparative Education (CIRE) at the University of Bristol, to deliver a joint presentation in a session titled “Research without borders: Virtual fellowships as a lifeline for academic communities under threat.”The session also highlighted the growing recognition of partnership models as viable and scalable, with increasing interest in embedding such approaches across institutions in the UK and beyond.Read more here.
Interested in learning more or developing a similar model at your institution?Click here
