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History of Ibda'a

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History , of Ibda'a

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Highlights & Achievements

  • As a result of the organization’s children and youth traveling extensively around the world, the late President Yasser Arafat named Ibda’a’s children “Ambassadors of Palestine.”
  • The organization was awarded the title of “The Most Active Organization in Palestine (West Bank and Gaza)” in a poll conducted by Al-Hayat Newspaper in 2006.
  • The Ibda’a Artistic Troupe delivered several distinguished international performances, most notably at a meeting of the United Nations in New York City, another at a meeting of the World Council of Churches in Washington, D.C., and a performance during Native American celebrations held in October 1999 on Alcatraz Island in the United States.
  • The Ibda’a Artistic Troupe won first place at the “Algiers, Capital of Arab Culture” festival, competing alongside 18 Asian and African troupes.
  • The troupe inaugurated the “Center of Continents” in Brussels in the presence of representatives from numerous countries around the world.
  • The artistic troupe performed at the closing ceremony of the Palestinian Refugees Conference in New York City, attended by Edward Said, who described the troupe in 1999 as the finest representative of Palestinian refugees.
  • The organization established the first guesthouse in the Palestinian refugee camps, with a capacity of 45 guests.
  • The organization founded the first women’s basketball and volleyball teams across Palestinian refugee camps in the Middle East.
  • Ibda’a Organization became known as the “Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Palestinian Refugee Camps” due to its extensive and diverse international relations.
  • The organization launched the first radio station in the Palestinian refugee camps, which operated for one year before closing due to the absence of an official license.
  • In partnership with a Korean organization and in cooperation with the Arab Society - Beit Jala, the organization facilitated more than 100 free surgical operations.
  • Ibda’a’s men’s basketball team is widely known as the “Team of Championships” due to its long-standing dominance in Palestinian basketball despite its relatively young age.
  • Since 1995, no Palestinian women’s volleyball team has been able to take the national first-place title from Ibda’a’s women’s team.