The Role of the A. M. Qattan Foundation in Strengthening the Palestinian Narrative: A Case Study of the Drama-in-Education Project

Abstract

This study examined and clarified the efforts undertaken by the Abdul Mohsin Al-Qattan Foundation to strengthen the Palestinian narrative and affirm the Palestinian people's right to their land and homeland through the Formative Drama Project, which the Foundation has implemented for several years. Dozens of teachers participate in the project each year and implement its activities in schools and universities and with local communities. The study aimed to identify the Foundation's efforts to strengthen the Palestinian narrative through the aforementioned project, examine the most prominent experiences implemented by teachers in their schools, identify the key national issues addressed by these experiences, evaluate them and assess their impact on strengthening the Palestinian narrative and affirming the Palestinian people's right to their land and homeland, as well as examine the major challenges encountered by the Formative Drama Project. The study employed content analysis to analyze interviews, studies, and reports addressing the subject. It also used personal interviews with decision-makers and supervisors at the Foundation, as well as with teachers who participated in the project. The study adopted an inductive approach to investigate these experiences, followed by a descriptive-analytical approach aimed at describing and analyzing these efforts and experiences in order to identify the main national issues discussed in the implemented activities. Accordingly, the study first examined the role of the Abdul Mohsin Al-Qattan Foundation, in general, in strengthening the Palestinian narrative, and then discussed the Formative Drama Project and its role in reinforcing this narrative through the practical experiences presented by its participants and their impact on the target groups, including students and members of the local community. The study concluded that the Abdul Mohsin Al-Qattan Foundation has made significant efforts to strengthen the Palestinian narrative, particularly through the Formative Drama Project, given its reach across diverse groups in different places and over different periods. The findings also showed that most participants in the project selected national and historical topics for their activities, with the aim of strengthening the Palestinian narrative and affirming the Palestinian people's right to their land and homeland. These experiences received broadly positive responses from the groups with whom they were implemented.