1-Establishment of IT infrastructure in partner refugee camps including websites,
2-Existing trained supervisory and working teams,
3-Credibility of the center in the eyes of the communities,
4-Contribution to the upgrading and development of technical skills and educational levels of the disadvantaged and marginalized groups in the camps,- Providing opportunities to some refugees to conduct studies/research and prepare papers pertaining to refugee issues,
5-Communication between camps, with limited scope
Program Justification:
The Situation of Refugees
More than 600,000 Palestinian refugees live in 27 refugee camps in the West Bank and Gaza. There are 19 refugee camps in the West Bank and 8 in Gaza. Palestinian camp refugees are amongst the poorest and most vulnerable communities in the Palestinian territories. Although the situation of refugees varies considerably between one camp and the other, camp refugees in general are faced with the following socio-economic issues:
•Vulnerability arising from uncertainty about the future, with the fate of the refugees still awaiting a solution in the context of the final status negotiations between the Palestinian National Authority and Israel.
•High and fluctuating unemployment rates, due to decrease in employment and slow economic growth in the camps (especially in Gaza).
•Decrease in the quality and provision of services by UNRWA, the principal service provider for Palestinian refugees, due to the budget crisis of UNRWA, and subsequent austerity measures.
•Limited opportunities for investment in human development.
•Chronic population density, which leads to poorer housing, greater physical and mental health problems as well as lack of recreational space or appropriate study environments for children, and young men and women.
•Social exclusion, isolation and a general sense of powerlessness amongst the populations.

The Palestinian refugee population remains the most marginalized and impoverished segment of Palestinian society and the most in need of having its voice heard. Despite the internationally recognized right of return and compensation, the right of refugees to speak for themselves has often been neglected.Many Palestinians have found that the Internet provides a means of transcending the isolation which is one of the many effects of the Israeli occupation of the West Bank and Gaza Strip. Through the Internet, Palestinians find ways to continue, establish, and re-establish social relations despite the physical separation they experience as well as discover spaces where they can express themselves in international fora. For the refugee camps, the issue of transcending political boundaries is even more critical as most refugees in the West Bank and Gaza camps have been separated from relatives and are living in different camps with limited possibility for travel because of political borders, complex procedures to obtain permits which are only infrequently granted, and limited funds. A field survey conducted in 2004 by ABP found that communication through the internet has reduced the impact of physical separation resulting from refugee status.While it has reduced the impact of some aspects of physical separation it also offers opportunities for addressing the separation artistically, socially, and politically, and exploring more durable and concrete paths to overcome that separation. The following are quotes from refugees living in the ABP partner camps of the West Bank and Gaza:.
“I feel totally cut off from the world and now e-mail and the Internet have become the only air of freedom that I breathe”
“And those in refugee camps in Lebanon have a totally different experience. And their suffering is totally different. And also we gain that part of experience. We can learn from it and we can identify with it.” 
”My dad would dictate messages to his sister in Jordan, and would get even more excited when she would respond, and a dialogue ensued, whereas their relationship had been the occasional phone call here and there.  Over email, they realised that they could afford to talk about what may seem like mundane matters that should not be discussed over costly long-distance phone calls.  Ironically, it is these mundane matters like who went where, what we had for lunch that day, gossip about an eccentric sibling of theirs that restored their sense of closeness, if only temporarily.”
On the other side of the borders, many Palestinians who have never been to Palestine because of the refuge status either in 1948 or 1967 wars, addressed a strong need for strengthening and enhancing online communication stating the following:
”Having the Internet has allowed me to mentally be in the West Bank, though physically I am miles away. I know practically every incident that takes place [though mailing lists], and am in constant contact with everyone I am close to over there, even if it is just a “hi, everything is okay.”
”Unfortunately I have never had the chance to visit my beloved homeland therefore, by communicating through the Internet with people there I have become more aware of the problems there and I have felt more connected to my people”
“I had never met any Palestinian from Palestine. My family sought refuge during 1948 in Lebanon. [...]I believed there were no more Palestinians in Palestine, that we had all been uprooted and that we were all living in various parts of the world’
”One of the surprising revelations I encountered as I spoke to more Palestinians from Palestine was their own lack of knowledge of the Palestinians living in the Diaspora.”
The field surveys have shown that the communication through the Internet is the most accessible way for refugees to communicate if it is not the only one for most of them. The Internet communication involves e-mailing which ranges from sporadic to daily e-mail correspondence between friends and relatives and at times involve re-establishing contact to family members or friends who have not been in contact for decades. This use also takes place among ‘computer-illiterate’ people often of an older generation via the expertise of younger family members.  
However, the accessibility of the Internet communication is not easily affordable among the target groups due to the high cost associated with such services in terms of the cost of owning a computer (PC), the cost of communication (telephone), and the cost of internet access. According to the survey of the computers, Internet and mobile phones by the PCBS in 2004, only 26.4% of households own computers in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, of which 28.4% in the West Bank and 22.5% in Gaza. For those households who don't have computers at home referred the reason for the high cost of the computers (78.7%), as well as the lack of competency within the household for using the computer (42.3%). As for the Internet access, the findings indicated that only 9.2% of the Palestinian households in the West Bank and Gaza Strip have internet access, 9.8% of which in the West bank and 7.8% in Gaza. Among individuals, 35.7% use computers in their daily lives, where 40.5% of which are using the computer for entertainment purposes and 32.1% using it for learning and study as addressed by the PCBS survey.
It is important to note that the majority of Palestinian households do not own a computer or have access to the internet, especially those people living in refugee camps across the West Bank and Gaza. The reasons are either financial constraints or lack of knowledge and competency. At the same time, the refugee community recognized the access to Internet communication as a priority because of their refuge problem and lack of travel permissions to visit friends and relatives as mentioned earlier.
Program goal and objectives
“To reduce the social, economic, and political marginalization of Palestinian refugees living in the refugee camps of the West Bank and Gaza Strip.”
This goal would be realized in the long run by offering a basic and vocational IT training to residences of six Palestine refugee camps and developing a sustainable educational and communication information tool through:
-Offering camp refugees access to computer and internet technology,
-Enabling refugees to develop skills and access employment opportunities in information technology,
-Promoting information technology as an educational tool for children,
-Facilitating communication, exchanges and debate between refugee communities and the international community.