Proposed by the Birzeit University World Wide Web Team
from the Public Relations Office and Computer Centre.
Contact: Birzeit Webmaster, Public Relations Office
Birzeit University, P.O. Box 14, West Bank via Israel.
Tel: +972-2-998-2075 or 2059, Fax: +972-2-995-7656
E-mail: webmaster@birzeit.edu
vers. 4-2, November 1996 (updated)
The “World Wide Web” or “Web” is the fastest growing part of the international network of computers known as the Internet, providing an estimated 70 million users with access to a vast amount of textual information and images. Anyone can publish on the Web - governments, educational institutions, companies, individuals - and anyone with a modem, some simple software and a cheap Internet subscription can access this information without charge.
To fulfill the task of providing users with an easy way to access this enormous amount of information, several indexes, known as “search engines”, daily perform the task of cataloging the information available in millions of websites worldwide. Thus, someone can be connected to the website of Birzeit in just a few minutes by typing the words, “Birzeit University” into a search engine. Similarly, if someone is searching by keyword for information about Palestine that exists on the Birzeit webserver, they will be directed there.
Birzeit University is a leading institution in the field of information technology. Our campus Local Area Network (LAN) is the largest in the West Bank and Gaza Strip. The computer center that oversees and maintains this network has the experience and technical support team able to back up the Palestine Archive project. Birzeit University has been providing training and information services to institutions for many years. Recently, the University has been offering training and consultancy to non-governmental institutions wanting to prepare information for the World Wide Web. Organizations include Al-Haq (Law in the Service of Man), Jerusalem Media and Communication Center and Palestinian Human Rights Information Center.
The Palestine Archive project has been divided into both start-up and other proposed information modules, to offer funders the opportunity to support specific parts of the project that they choose, including modules as diverse as The News Unit, Peace in Palestine? Final Status Issues, Jerusalem and the negotiations, Occupied Palestine, the Palestinian Schools On-line Project, and The Palestine On-line Travel Guide, detailed in the enclosed proposal.
The priority modules for this project are:
Investment in this project will provide a rich harvest of information related to all aspects of Palestinian life, for users of the World Wide Web and will firmly establish this technology in the Palestinian universities, as well as introducing it to schools, NGOs and other institutions. Investment in this project will also provide a valuable information reference source for those interested in and involved with the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and peace process. We commend this project to you as an urgent and necessary contribution to the development of Palestinian society.
Nigel Parry,
Webmaster, Public Relations Office
Marwan Tarazi,
Director, Computer Center
Palestinians have only recently really begun to appropriate information technology. This situation was one result of Israeli policy that included Military Order 1279 (June 1989), concerning telephonic transmission, which stated that it was an offence for Palestinians to use telephone lines for “sending faxes, electronic mail or any other electronic transmissions”. In the wake of the various peace conferences, Palestinians have not seen these kinds of restrictions implemented as severely.
Generally, computer skill levels among Palestinians are low, particularly in the area of information technology (IT). As people have not had access to the Internet until relatively recently, the dynamic benefits of IT are not widely known. The lack of the presence of a working local model has discouraged the seeking of these new computer skills. Our experience at Birzeit has clearly demonstrated that exposure to the Internet and multimedia imparts to people the desire to learn and appropriate these technology tools. The need to develop a good local model of IT in action for demonstration purposes in outreach work is urgent. Although the University has travelled down this road to some extent, creating one of the largest Palestinian websites with an information scope extending beyond the immediate University community, there remains much room for expansion.
It is strange to consider that most of the information currently available on the Internet about the developing countries of the South comes from the North. The information flow is almost exclusively one way. The West Bank, Gaza Strip and East Jerusalem, have 40 websites and perhaps 6 organisations that send out regular e-mail news releases, compared to a plethora of organisations and individuals in the North, mainly non-Palestinian, that provide information on this geographical area. This must change. With the future of the Palestinian people hanging in the balance, as the final status talks approach, it is vital that information from Palestine and the Palestinians reaches the world. The urgency of this project can not be over-emphasised.
Birzeit has always played an important role in Palestinian society, from its involvement in the Madrid peace talks where two-thirds of the delegation were faculty from the University. Birzeit’s community outreach centers have helped to realise the University’s aim of serving and servicing the wider Palestinian community, acting in the vacuum of a governmental authority.
Birzeit University has endeavored to create new attitudes, values, and intellectual models that have helped students understand and be critical about what is going on around them and be confident that they can go beyond existing structures. With a new Palestinian national presence in the Occupied Territories, Birzeit has become the central Palestinian educational and intellectual institution. It is creating statesmen, administrators, economists, and scientists prepared to assume the challenging responsibilities of a new government. With information technology (IT) Birzeit aims to extend this role and vision.
Birzeit has been quick to appropriate the advantages of IT such as e-mail and the World Wide Web, using the former to provide an ‘urgent action’ network distributing information about violations of human rights and academic freedom against the university community, and the latter to offer information about both the University’s work and Palestine in general. Demand and a lack of resources have shown the need for the Web project to expand dramatically.
The University has already been involved in training staff, students and NGO personnel, even without suitable equipment or resources. The position of the University in Palestinian society and its experience in this arena renders investment in this project one with effects that will extend far into the Palestinian community. The existing technical and support structures of the University ensure that the Palestine Archive project will proceed efficiently.
As the peace process approaches the final status period, there is an urgent need for the Palestinian voice to be heard. The proximity of the final status talks require the speedy implementation of a Palestinian information source, faster than is possible with current equipment and personnel. The importance of recording and participating in this period of history with a Palestinian perspective is critical. The Internet, aiming to be a truly global medium, will fail the test of inclusion unless projects such as these are supported at this stage in the development of the Internet.
As “Search Engines”, the cataloguing and indexing backbone of the lnternet, index the text of the proposed Palestine Archive, people typing requests for information about Palestine is one of these indexes will be taken directly to it. Part of the fixed project startup costs includes a separate webserver for the Palestine Archive, to cope with the volume of information requests anticipated and equipment for the two startup modules. On accessing the Archive, browsers will be offered the opportunity to select a number of options. The modular sections detailed below represent intended areas of focus. The more funding the entire Archive project receives, the more personnel and, therefore, the more modules the Archive will contain, thus speeding the process of growth of the Archive. All of the modules below represent proposed on-line sections of the Palestine Archive.
Some will additionally be offered as CD-ROMs for use by libraries, schools, universities, tourist offices and other institutions. The personnel of the first module, the News Unit, will feed information into all of the other modules as well a providing a unique offering on the Internet in its own right. We believe it will be the most important module and one of the two startup modules.
This first startup module is perhaps the most crucial to the success of the project. During the clashes in Ramallah in late September 1996, we provided daily reporting on developments in the Ramallah area, with overviews, commentary, photographs and links to other relevant information on the Internet. The popularity of this experiment, “On the ground in Ramallah” (http://www.birzeit.edu/palnews/war), the first continually-updated Web reporting from a non-media organisation during a conflict situation, was unprecedented in the University’s experience. The experience was also unique for the staff in that coverage did not depend on the decision of any media organisation as to whether or not it was “newsworthy”. The Web allows for unlimited background and reporting detail.
Journalists and researchers responded very positively to both the scope and detail of the material offered, ordering photographs and requesting further information. The website generated numerous e-mail responses in just a few days. The traffic to this special website was three times as high as that to the entire university website in the period of a month. People additionally expressed thanks that information still continues to be available on the website as an archive, a relief from the transitory nature of most media reporting.
This idea, the recent experiment and the obvious demand for an “on the ground” reporting style, all formed the basis of the News Unit concept. The Unit will produce an on-line English-language newspaper, “On the ground in Palestine”, that is unique in that it will offer detailed, local and independent reporting in English on a daily basis. The set-up of this module requires five staff, a coordinator based in the Ramallah Area; a reporter in the Southern part of the West Bank (for the Hebron/Bethlehem area); a reporter in the Northern part of the West Bank (for the Nablus/Jenin/Tulkarem.Qalqilia area); a reporter in the Jerusalem/Ramallah area; and another in the Gaza Strip.
Each will be provided with a laptop computer, modem and digital camera, the reporter in Gaza with a mobile phone due to the unreliability of the telephone link, necessary to send digitised textual and photographic material back to the central coordinator.
All reporters will be assigned a series of articles to produce each week, covering political, economic and cultural news. Being connected by mobile phone and e-mail, they will also be able to respond quickly to incidents such as the end-September clashes - as they occur - going to the scene and collecting information and photographs, sending them remotely to the central coordinator at Birzeit University who will prepare the material for the website. The material will also be sent via e-mail to the world, for those without Web access. All the material will be archived and available for people to search and research from. The Unit will also, as a by-product, provide information to many of the other Palestine Archive modules.
During the coming final status period, this kind of information will be invaluable to all those concerned with the peace process, journalists, students and academics, tourists. Looking at the success of the only other English daily Web reporting from the country - the Jerusalem Post, which records over 14,000,000 accesses every year - it is projected that the project will be self-financing by the end of the second year.
The newspaper format of this central module allows the project to seek funding through advertising, both corporate and private. It is intended that the revenue raised in this way will, in addition to private patronage, allow this module to continue to function after the 2 year project period. This sustainability will allow the retention of staff for a scaled-down updating process for many of the other modules. In addition, it is planned that a graduate scheme will be established to offer work experience to Birzeit students.
The second startup module. A centralized database of issues relevant to the outcome of the peace process: settlements and land, water, refugees, and other issues, as well as issues arising out of the current status quo such as freedom of movement between the different Palestinian areas and the right to education. The final stage of the negotiations is the most important and most critical. Availability and access of information is crucial to the success and outcome of this stage.
Currently, there are numerous organizations that have been collecting and documenting information on these issues. However, there are problems with this information:
The objectives of this module would thus be:
An archive of mostly written material about the political, economic and societal growth and eventually, the emerging of the current the Palestinian state. From the beginning of the Oslo accords to the current day, the university has gained permission from Middle East International magazine, the Jerusalem Times and the Palestine Report to reprint articles. The scope of newspapers and magazines will also be expanded as full-time employees become available and a call will go out for articles to be submitted. CD-ROM will become available as the project produces more and more material.
An archive of historical and current information specifically dealing with the status of Jerusalem in the peace process. All negotiation developments will be archived, along with interviews and commentaries from leading Palestinians on the importance of the city, demographic data, maps, photographs, links to other resources on the Web and existing publications or abstracts, where copyright forbids this. CD-ROMs will be published from this material.
A research and archive project to analyse the treatment of Palestine/the Israeli Palestinian conflict in the world media, particularly during the period of the peace process. Taking political and linguistic considerations into account, the project aims to monitor existing repertoires in the media, producing statistics, reports and a rich archive of Palestinian information in the world media during these crucial years in the life of country. CD-ROMs will be made available for political science and linguistic department in universities. This module will be carried out with the Birzeit University Media Center and English Department.
A historical look at the Israeli military occupation, with statistics, examples of the extensive land confiscation, human rights abuses, legal measures, economic domination etc., that formed the process of occupation. The idea for this section is to offer a background to the current peace process and negotiations. Among other parts, this section will include maps showing the chronological development of settlements juxtaposed next to official Israeli settlement policy and international reactions. A historical companion to the Peace in Palestine module. CD-ROMs will be made from this material. The module will be carried out in conjunction with the Birzeit University Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society, History and Political Science departments.
An archive of information about the current development of information technology in Palestine. The archive will contain information on all aspects of information technology: reviews and information of locally-used and available hardware and software solutions, existing hardware software and Internet service providers; the existing and developing telecommunications infrastructure existing local training, opportunities for further training in information technology abroad, and links to resources around the world that to assist Palestinians in their journey to appropriate this technology. It is intended that the archive will serve as an information bank for individuals, NGOs and institutions interested in expanding into this area.
An archive of information related to Palestinian health, including material from the medical, psychological, and community sectors. The archive will contain articles by health professionals, and reports on needs and health issues in the region. Information on existing health projects will be offered, contact address and future directions. This module will be carried out in conjunction with the Birzeit University Department of Public and Community Health.
In cooperation with the Women’s Studies Unit at Birzeit, as well as the numerous women’s organisations in Palestine, the archive will be a rich source of information, research and commentary by Palestinian women, on history, society, culture, political and social issues. This module will be carried out in conjunction with the Birzeit University Women’s Studies Center.
An archive looking at the recent history of Palestinian children, their needs and situation in terms of health, education, human development, psychological and other issues. Working in conjunction with NGOs and other sources, the module team will compile useful resources for researchers, child professionals and others.
A cross between the “Yellow Pages”, a “Lonely Planet” travel guide and the entertainment review section of a newspaper. Information will be accessible from a variety of points, whether someone is interested in the history, religious, tourist or cultural aspects of Palestinian life. Check out a critic’s opinion of the items on a menu in a Ramallah pizza restaurant or in a Hebron Chicken Restaurant, find out which hotels fall into which price categories, and get the fax number of the United Nations office in Jerusalem. A CD-ROM will be prepared from this material for distribution to tourist offices, hotels, travel information centres and libraries, which will offer an optional attachment to the on-line website of current and coming events in Palestine. An excellent, introductory sample of the intended project can be found at http://www.birzeit.edu/ramallah.
An archive of Palestinian art, culture and landscape, including short articles, poetry, downloadable Arabic songs (with translation), the memories of older Palestinians about their country, professional reviews of all existing Palestinian Literature and photograph images. A CD-ROM will be prepared from this material. This module will be carried out in conjunction with Palestinian arts and cultural centers, the Birzeit University Cultural Studies Department and Aural History project of the Center for Research and Documentation of Palestinian Society.
A rolling project, encouraging Palestinian school pupils, in connection with their teachers to undertake locally-focused projects, collecting photographs and textual information, all as part of a national project about Palestine, the pupils’ home towns and schools and surrounding area. The result will be a database of Palestinian society, history and culture from the point of view of Palestine’s children and young people. CD-ROMs will be made available from this project to schools in the international community who are studying the Arab-Israeli conflict as part of their curriculum. It is hoped that by the end of the project that teachers and pupils, through this introduction to WWW, will seek to incorporate the Web in future class projects. This project will be carried out in conjunction with the Palestinian Ministry of Education.
Most Palestinian universities and higher educational institutions only have a basic lnternet e-mail service. Most of the public relations information departments of the universities are not connected to e-mail. This module aims to introduce these institutions to the World Wide Web, by taking university personnel through the process of collecting information, creating homepages, maintaining a website, and utilising the resources of the Internet. The end product will be a web page for each institution and experienced individuals in each institution capable of providing an ongoing website service. It is intended that many students will be drawn into the new technology through this project. This project will be carried out in conjunction with the Palestinian Council for Higher Education, the Ministry of Education and the United Nations Development Programme’s Programme of Assistance to the Palestinian People.
Although copyright will exist on the Palestine Archive material in terms of sales and reproductions, any part of this information will be available for downloading to the personal computer of anyone browsing, without charge. Educational institutions, research centres, charitable organisations and other non-profit making institutions will be able to make arrangements with the university to utilise any of the thousands of images in their publications for free, encouraging more material about Palestine to be produced. It is a widely acknowledged fact that information often never reaches the publication stage because there are no images to go with the text. There will be charges for the multimedia CD-ROMs produced, to enable some expansion of the project.
In addition to the Palestine Archive website’s own resources, the Palestine Archive also presently contains links to other Web resources relevant to Palestine. This concept will be expanded throughout all the modules available above and beyond. If, for example, UNRWA has a website with extensive information on programmes about refugees or UNESCO a site on education, users of the Archive would be able to access these additional resources with a simple click of a mouse button. Consequently, people arriving at the Archive Website would have access not only to material produced at Birzeit, but material anywhere in the world that is relevant to the Palestinians.
The reverse is also true. For example, the political science programmes of American universities, could contain links to the Becoming Palestine or Peace in Palestine? sections of the Palestine Archive. We also hope that the site will become an excellent source for analysis of the material produced by the Palestinian National Authority, in commentaries from Birzeit faculty. As we advance, we intend that material in Arabic will also be available, although existing software solutions are far from satisfactory, a choice between searchability or wide access.
The Birzeit website and Palestine Archive project have been developing for approximately one year now, our launch in June 1996 greeted eagerly by people from all over the world. The website includes sections about the University, the wider Palestinian society and developments in the region:
From these successful beginnings and considering the vision to offer detailed research and information about developments in the region, it has become obvious that such a wide-reaching project will require staff dedicated to this task alone.
The whole Birzeit Website (including the Palestine Archive) is on-line (http.//www.birzeit.edu) and will continue to be updated on a weekly basis. It is expected that “The Palestine Archive” section will become even more popular, as the amount of information available is expanded.
Fieldworkers/Reporters - To collect and prepare material for the Archive. This will involve liaison with the Birzeit Webmaster and Web Development Team, liaison with Palestinian and international NGOs, Birzeit library and research, seeking permission from writers to reproduce articles for the archive, and the collection of photographic material. News Unit reporters will be based on location around the West Bank and Gaza.
Requirements: Research skills, some knowledge of the Arabic language, Palestinian history and society, as well as flexibility and willingness to work for the aims of the project. To some extent the particular skills required will be dependent on the specific module the fieldworker/reporter is working on. For example, someone participating in the Palestine Media project should have a background in communication studies and linguistics, the Palestinian Schools On-Line project will require someone fluent in Arabic.
Information Processors/Coordinators - To fulfill the role of preparing the information for the Archive. This will involve liaison with the Birzeit Webmaster and Web Development Team, fieldworkers/reporters, HTML authoring, preparing text and graphics with scanning software, and uploading the material onto the UNIX webserver.
Requirements: Working knowledge of standard computer software (Windows and Microsoft Word). HTML authoring /World Wide Web experience. Further training in concepts of the World Wide Web, HTML authoring, graphics preparation, scanning software and basic UNIX skills will be provided by Birzeit University. Musts are flexibility and willingness to work for the aims of the project.