Dissemination of information about human rights and democracy through the utilization of the media.

The Human Rights and Democracy Media Centers SHAMS, is an independent Palestinian non-governmental, non-profit organization established in 2003 in Ramallah by a group of academics, teachers and human rights activists. We believe in equity among all human beings regardless to age, gender, race, religion or political affiliation. SHAMS focuses on the notion of connection between civil, political, economical, social and cultural right and we are convinced that such a notion is essential in shaping debate on democracy and human rights.
"SHAMS" Center believes that dissemination and generalization of human rights should be tackled ‎from a holistic approach that takes into consideration the civil, political, economic, social and cultural ‎rights, and their mutual interdependence on each other.‎ Shams aims mainly at providing capacity building to organizations and individuals (especially women ‎and youth) in the fields of human rights and democratic participation.‎ We try and achieve this through two main approaches. The first is direct engagement with local ‎communities through our vast network of human rights activist on-the-ground in villages throughout ‎the West Bank. In this capacity, we provide workshops, training courses, and other such activities to ‎enable people to take up and demand their own rights. Our other approach is to utilize the media to ‎spread information to a wider audience (through a bi-weekly TV-program and regular radio and TV ‎appearances).‎

Goals and Objectives:

Dissemination of information about human rights, democracy, and good governance issues ‎through the utilization of the media
Promotion of the concepts of human rights in Palestinian legislation.
Strengthening the role of women within their communities
Strengthening the role of youth and more generally promoting volunteerism in Palestine.
Capacity building and strengthening the relationship and cooperation between local, regional ‎and international institutions.
Compilation and publication of research and studies.
Promoting change within society, especially countering stereotypes and biases towards ‎women, increasing values of tolerance, and awareness of democratic principles and ‎participation.
Empower target groups to be able to demand and defend their needs and rights.

Our Mission:
The Shams Human Rights and Democracy Media Center seeks to enhance the role of youth within ‎Palestinian society, in addition to consolidating a culture of human rights, values of tolerance, ‎democratic reform and the rule of law. From this perspective, Shams Center is working hard on ‎establishing programs and conducts activities targeting children, youth, and women, in order to ‎empower and build their capacities, and work on satisfying their basic needs and priorities.
"Shams" Vision:
"SHAMS" Vision is represented in a civil democratic society, based upon justice, equality, the rule ‎of law, respect for human rights, and positive discrimination for the sake of marginalized and poor ‎segments of the society, in addition to respect for the rights of minorities.
Philosophy of "Shams" Center:
The Human Rights and Democracy Media Center "SHAMS" Philosophy is based on the following:

Coordination, networking, cooperation and joint action with civil institutions.
Support and defend human rights, whether individual or collective rights on the basis of ‎international conventions and covenants.
Increase awareness of and participation in democratic and electoral processes.
Build the capacities of individuals and organizations to protect and defend their rights
Breaking the silence and cycle of fear.
Encourage community participation in taking an action towards promoting and protecting ‎human rights and basic freedoms.

Shams' Work is Based Around the Following Strategic Categories

Human Rights:

Shams supports human rights though a variety of means and mechanisms, from legal ‎support to capacity building operations aimed at both individuals and organizations.
Capacity building through various means is a major mechanism of our human rights ‎work. A short list would include the Training of Trainers in human rights issues, ‎provision of legal aid and support to human rights (and other civil society) organizations ‎which have illegally been shut down by the Palestinian Authority, and the strengthening ‎and deepening of democratic processes and institutions in the West Bank (as we view ‎democratic participation as a basic human right).
Our human rights work takes no sides and we strive against abuses perpetrated by the ‎Palestinian Authority and Hamas as much as we do against violations committed by ‎Israel.
One of our projects worked with the Ministry of Awqaf (Religious Endowments) to ‎introduce female preachers to the concept of human rights, which is often put in stark ‎contrast to Qur'anic teachings or dismissed as a tool of Western imperialism. The ‎training course also discussed more specific topics such as honor killings or the ‎acceptance of violence towards women by men/husbands, which is often believed ‎acceptable on a religious basis. After a heated discussion of various hadith, the female ‎preachers expressed a desire for further courses to bring depth to their newfound ‎knowledge of their religion and asserted that they would spread these concepts in their ‎lectures (though this desire was not ubiquitous among the participants).
Since 2009 we have provided legal aid and support to organizations that have been ‎illegally shut down or have had their boards replaced by the Palestinian Authority under ‎the guise of the Palestinian Associations' Law Number 1 of 2000. Apart from legal aid ‎and support, we also regularly raise awareness of this issue in the society at large, and ‎spare no effort in continuing to support these organizations.
We have one project which focuses on human rights in the Palestinian security sector ‎‎(see Rule of Law and Good Governance, Point 2 below).

Democratic Participation:

We emphasize the citizens' role by raising awareness on the importance of their ‎participation in the democratic process as a whole, trying to spread an electoral culture
Provide enough information so that citizens are able to fully and smoothly practice their ‎rights, including voting away from tribal influences or family pressure
Elections Monitoring
Focus on youth and women
Support the Central Elections Committee in electoral registration
Spread flyers, brochures, TV reports, radio interviews, workshops
One project educated 9,524 individuals from the society at large and from 90 grassroots ‎organizations on the importance of democratic participation and religious tolerance and ‎dialogue. It was split into two parts, one focusing on Arab-European relations and ‎dialogue and on human rights, and one part focusing on the upcoming local elections ‎and the importance of democratic participation. It included a total of 280 workshops, 5 ‎training courses, six summer camps, produced 70 TV reports, and its geographical ‎spread was nearly ubiquitous in the West Bank
Another project trained 20 trainers with management skills and capabilities to ‎disseminate this form of culture (of electoral participation) as well as with the skills ‎needed for elections monitoring, and held 15 awareness workshops aimed mostly at ‎youth
We held training courses for recently elected youth members in local councils to provide ‎them with the essential skills and adequate expertise to help them perform their roles as ‎newly elected members (one project held two courses in which a total of 40 participants ‎of both sexes attended)

Rule of Law and Good Governance:

Shams also works to provide rule of law and establishing good governance inside the ‎West Bank.
Shams has an ongoing project with the Palestinian Security Forces and Civic Society ‎Organization which aims at reinforcing the concepts of human rights and good ‎governance within the security sector.