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Introduction
The Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
(GCMHP) is a Palestinian non-governmental,
non-profit organization established in 1990 to provide
comprehensive community mental health
services to the population of the Gaza Strip. Since that time, the
Gaza Strip has witnessed extreme forms of violence and
suffering, due to Occupation and military
operations. Furthermore, the siege imposed on Gaza
following Hamas takeover the Gaza Strip has accumulated the
mental health problems to reach
unprecedented levels.
GCMHP in partnership with WHO plan to
organize GCMHP's 5th
international
conference entitled
"Siege
and Mental Health… Walls vs. Bridges".
The major goal of the convention is to discuss issues related to
siege, mental health, and human rights.
Furthermore, the conference aims to help international
academics, policy makers, and civil society groups
understand the linkage between siege,
violence, mental health, and human rights. The conference will
include keynote speakers, workshops, and discussions
sharing experiences on the conference
themes.
Effects of siege on mental health
All this siege and humanitarian suffering
impacted the Palestinian mental well-being;
particularly children’s and women’s. Human beings are product of
the environment in which they live.
Currently, the Palestinian environment is a combination of
deprivation, poverty, violence, feelings of powerless and
helplessness. Such feelings are lead to
more violence, defiance, extremism, and abandonment which
is supposed to leave catastrophic consequences of the
psychological profile of the next
Palestinian generation. Thus, it will threaten all perspectives of
peace, security and stability not only in the Gaza Strip,
but also in the whole area.
Goals of the Conference
GCMHP's and WHO's major goal is to help
attendees understand the relationship between siege,
mental health, and human rights, as well as:
§
To alleviate the mental health impacts of
siege;
§
To raise awareness of the international
community of the impacts of siege on mental
health;
§
To influence the political and legal
environment within and outside Palestine to respect human
rights and promote mental well-being.
§
To highlight the Palestinian psychosocial
suffering in the Gaza Strip;
§
To provide the international community with
a greater understanding of siege and its
impact on the deterioration of mental health and human rights of
Palestinians;
§
To build local capacities in the sector of
psychosocial support;
§
To enhance the communication and
cooperation amongst International Organizations in
different regions of the world.
Conference Themes
-
Siege and mental health.
-
Siege, culture, democracy, and civil
society.
-
Impact of adversity on individual, family,
and community.
-
Siege in international law and human
rights.
-
International experiences of siege.
-
Siege and Public Health.
-
Siege and Development.
-
Impacts of living in adversity
situations.
-
History of sieges and their impact on
mental health and behavior.
-
Women and Children under
military siege.
-
any relevant theme will reconsidered.
Conditions for accepting research papers
:
1.
The paper should relate to one of the
conference themes.
2.
The paper should follow accepted
documentation procedures.
3.
The research should be typed on A4 paper
using the Times New Roman font of writing,
letter size 12, bottom margins 12, single space.
4.
Deadline for receiving abstracts is July 15th, 2008 and full
papers will be recieved after the approval.
5.
All papers shall be preliminary evaluated
before they can be accepted for
presentation in the conference by the conference scientific
committees
6.
All papers should be sent by e-mail to the address:
mahmoud@gcmhp.net
Notes
1.
Papers presented in the conference will be
published in the conference proceedings.
2.
The Conference budget shall cover the expenses of traveling
(tickets), residence and accommodation for the keynote
speakers.
3.
The Conference fees for international participants are 150
$US, to be paid in CASH during the conference to cover
accommodation ,food and local
transportation.
4.
The official languages of the conference are English and
Arabic with simultaneous translation.
To get First Announcement and Call for
Papers
Click Here
To get Registration Form
Click Here
To get Abstract Form
Click Here
Conference Activities
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme and
World Health Organization are planning to
hold GCMHP’s fifth international conference in Gaza city. However,
due to the high risk of continuing closure
and siege imposed on the Gaza Strip since June
2007
that will deny hundreds of international participants, it is
decided to hold the conference through
video conference technology with Rammalah city in
the West Bank. The conference is planned to last for two
consecutive days on October 27-28, 2008.
The conference will be initiated with a major panel in the
first day and another one in the second day, where a number
of prominent figures from the international
community will present a keynote speech. After each
panel, scientific discussion session will be held where the
participants will be divided into three
workshops in both locations (Gaza and Ramallah connected
through video conference). Each workshop will discuss
certain topics related to the conference
themes separate from the other workshops. In other words, the
first day will include two sessions and in each session
there will be three workshops.
Nevertheless, the second day will include only one session in
correspondence with the first day. After that, a closing
panel will be held to sum up the conference
with the concluding remarks delivered by two professional
nominated speakers. At this stage, simultaneous
translation will be provided for the
participants in both English and Arabic through headphones. In
addition,
the conference will organize field visits to places that have been
affected by the siege in both Gaza and
Ramallah such as hospitals, educational
establishments, refugee camps, destroyed agricultural lands as
well as the separation wall in the West
Bank. At the end of the workshops and the field
visits, the conference will be concluded with a Press
Conference where representatives from the
international participants will present their
testimonies, experiences and recommendations to the
international community on the disastrous
impacts of the siege on all aspects of life in the Gaza Strip.
Moreover, an artistic exhibit will be organized during the
workshops where many art shows,
documentaries and clips on the siege will be exhibited.
Committees
Advisory Committee
Taysir Abdallah
Sanna'a Abu Daga
Fadel Abu Hein
Sufian Abu Nejela
Ahmad Abu Tawahina
Mohamad Asqool
Mahmoud Daher
Eyad El-Sarraj
John Jenkins
Nancy Murray
Rana Nashashibi
Mahmoud Sehwail
Ahmad Okasha
Jumana Ouda
Samir Qouta
Raji Sourany
Scientific Committee
Federico Allodi
Sari Bashi
Mohammad El-Helou
Uri Hadar
Muhammad Haj-Yahia
Vivian Khamis
Abdallah Mansour
Ted Ryenerson
Benedetto Saraceno
Dereck Summerfield
Ayesh Samour
Abed Aziz Thabet
Mark Vanommeren
Issam Yonis
Organizing Committee:
Mahmoud Abu Aisha
Rajiah Abu Sway
Zahavi Arnona
Marwan Diab
Husam El-Nounou
Michal Goldberg
Dyaa Saymah
Related
Links for Information on the Siege on Gaza and its Impacts
http://www.end-gaza-siege.ps/
http://www.ochaopt.org/
http://www.emro.who.int/palestine/
http://www.pchrgaza.org/
http://www.mezan.org/site_en/index.php
http://www.amnesty.org
http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/htmlall/palestine?OpenDocument
http://www.palestinecampaign.org/index2b.asp
http://www.alhaq.org
http://www.miftah.org
http://www.phr.org.il/phr
http://www.gisha.org
Contact Us:
For more information, please
contact us:
Mahmoud Abu Aisha
Conference Coordinator
Gaza Community Mental Health Programme
P.O. Box: 1049 Gaza City,
Palestine
Tele:
00972-8-2825700/10, 2824073
Mob:
00972-599-448972
Fax:
00972-8-2824072
E-mail:
mahmoud@gcmhp.net
Click here to see Arabic Conference Site
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