In 2024, Ahel continued its efforts to develop knowledge products and resources that support community leadership across the Arab world. As part of this work we:
Produced Stories and Knowledge Resources
We produced six videos highlighting women leaders from Palestine and Jordan as models of the usage of Public Narrative as a Community Organizing practice. They transformed their personal experiences into personal and collective public narratives. These stories demonstrated how narratives shape trust, strengthen leadership, and fuel organizing efforts within campaigns.
Hosted Webinars to Amplify Collective Action
This year, we hosted two open webinars focused on people power and the strength of collective action:
- “How to Build People Power to Impact Change”: This webinar explored inspiring stories from successful campaigns, discussing the concept of people power and how organizing leverages it to influence decision-makers. With 99 participants, the session also expanded Ahel’s outreach to new activists and organizers.
- “Student Movements in U.S. Universities for Palestine: Tactics in Times of Challenge”: This webinar examined student organizing as a model of resistance against colonial dominance and support for the Israeli occupation. It hosted Nadine Fattaleh, a Palestinian researcher, writer, and PhD student at New York University, with whom we discussed tactics used by student movements, lessons from the unfolding movement, and how these strategies could inspire local action and build momentum to confront local challenges.
Challenged Negative Narratives on Organizing
In 2024, Ahel launched the “People Power Narrative” campaign to counter the negative rhetoric that undermines grassroots organizing. The campaign focused on promoting positive narratives that highlight the potential of collective action for change.
Ahel collaborated with activists and community leaders from across the Arab world, conducting research that involved 78 organizers from nine countries. This process resulted in the development of a manifesto and a series of visual and audio productions—including storytelling videos, comic strips, and adapted proverbs—which were instrumental in training organizers and sparking discussions in learning sessions on resisting negative narratives.
Reactivated Mahattat Keef (How-To Station) as a Space for Knowledge and Reflection
This year, Mahattat Keef (How To Station) Ahel’s knowledge-sharing platform, resumed its activity, offering insightful content on challenges in grassroots organizing. Among its most notable contributions this year were three articles by researcher Rama Sbanekh, based on real experiences from community organizing campaigns. These articles introduced new perspectives on collective action and narratives of power, providing practical insights and actionable ideas for organizers, including strategies for engaging with decision-makers and authority figures, as well as methods for mobilizing people within a campaign despite fear in challenging contexts.
Held Focused Learning Sessions
Ahel hosted a closed learning session on the “La Tkaborna Ba’adna Zghar” Let Me Keep My Childhood campaign case study, featuring an updated analysis that included the latest phases of the campaign. Facilitated by Ms. Nisreen Alami, the session provided a space for campaign leaders to exchange experiences with community based and civil society organizations from across the region, fostering a regional deeper discussions on leadership, organizing, and redefining the relationship between organizations and their grassroots base.
Additionally, Ahel organized a series of in-person gatherings with members of its extended community—some at Ahel’s office and others as visits to current action spaces and causes. These gatherings provided opportunities for rich discussions that deepened collective learning and engagement.
Strengthened Media Engagement and Partnerships
As part of its efforts to broaden the presence of people power in media, Ahel worked to strengthen both the visibility of people power as a concept and the representation of active campaigns and their progress. To support this, Ahel formed partnerships with the Arab Media Network and the Community Media Network, which helped amplify stories of successful organizing efforts and people power through articles, media productions, and radio interviews.
Ahel also hosted an introductory session with a select group of journalists in Jordan, fostering in-depth discussions on people power and the role of narrative in social change.
Produced Podcast Episodes in Partnership with Sowt
As a result of a partnership with Sowt Podcasts, two podcast episodes were produced, exploring key questions about people power.
- One episode explored Palestinian women’s struggles and resistance, featuring researcher Samar Saeed, who examined their role in the Palestinian resistance beyond the stereotypical caregiving narrative.
- Another episode highlighted agricultural cooperatives in Palestine as a form of resistance, focusing on land ownership and food sovereignty in the face of occupation, with insights from expert Yara Diwani.
Through these initiatives and more, Ahel remains committed to strengthening the narrative around people power, equipping organizers with knowledge, and expanding the reach of stories that inspire action.
