The institute was established in February 1997, as, a Palestinian non-profit organization by “ the Palestinian Forum of Education for Development-PFED”, supported by the consortium of the French NGOs, member of the platform of the French NGOs for Palestine [ Members of the Consortium of French NGOs are: Refugee Children of the World (ERM), Active Methods Training Centers Association (CEMEA), Les FRANCAS, Leo- Lagrange League and Retired Educators Association (GREF) ].

Canaan addresses the needs of professional training programs for the workers, and volunteers in the field of socio-cultural education, and promotes New Education based on the right to participation, freedom of choice, choice – responsibility and non-violence.

Through its programs Canaan meets the requests coming from other organizations for professional training and/or consultancy in designing, implementing and developing advanced educational activities and social programs.