Training & Capacity Building:
There are very direct implications for education in the area of capacity building since by definition the term (and the process) has both formal and non-formal dimensions. It focuses on a series of actions directed at helping participants in the development process to increase their knowledge, skills and understandings and to develop the attitudes needed to bring about the desired developmental change.
The term “Capacity building” means different things to different organizations. In Panorama’s case, the definition has evolved with its community development programs:
Capacity building is the development of organizations’, groups’ and individuals core skills and capabilities, such as leadership, management, finance and fundraising, programs and evaluation, in order to build their effectiveness and sustainability. It is the process of assisting an individual or group to identify and address issues and gain the insights, knowledge and experience needed to solve problems and implement change. Capacity building is facilitated through the provision of technical support activities, including coaching, training, specific technical assistance and resource networking.
From our perspective, Capacity building interventions are designed to improve the services and sustainability of the target groups, and the evaluation of the impacts of capacity building focus on results which demonstrate an improvement of the target groups ability to fulfill its mission and provide the it provides as well as results which demonstrate increased sustainability.
The training & capacity center is the most active center between all other operating centers within Panorama. It works closely with the different centers in providing the basic training skills and capacity building for projects’ participants from the different NGOs, CSOs, government agencies, professional individuals, and individuals.
The center offers its services to other NGOs and government agencies upon request, and as sub- contractor in the different other projects.
The center enjoys the most active experience in the last 10 years. Thousands of courses were conducted for different recipients in different geographical areas and covering a variety of topics.
The center was able to develop, on a parallel track, both training of trainees (TOT) work, intended to promote and to introduce new cadres of qualified trainers, and at the same time producing the highest number of training manuals in Palestine and by covering a number of training topics.
Through the training & capacity building programs, Panorama ensures the widest participation of the target groups both males and females, and that the necessary knowledge, skills are available to all.

Community Development:
Values & Approaches: Community development is a structured intervention that gives communities greater control over the conditions that affect their lives. This does not solve all the problems faced by a local community, but it does build up confidence to tackle such problems as effectively as any local action can. Community development works at the level of local groups and organizations rather than with individuals or families. The range of local groups and organizations representing communities at local level constitutes the community sector.
'The community sector' means all the joint activity undertaken by people on the basis of shared local or other concerns. It’s most sustained and visible expression consists of community groups and organizations, but it also includes the even more informal and invisible activities that knit people together in common effort.
Community development is a skilled process and part of its approach is the belief that communities cannot be helped unless they themselves agree to this process. Community development has to look both ways: not only at how the community is working at the grass roots, but also at how responsive key institutions are to the needs of local communities
The community development programs aims to work with all sectors of Palestinian society, including youth and the elderly, villagers and city-dwellers, university students and professionals, the handicapped and volunteers.  All members are given the opportunity to have their voice heard on issues that affect them, their families and their society most.
By the end of 1999, Panorama established the Community Development Center in Ramallah/ al Bireh District to serve a population of over 250 thousand. The main objective of the Center is to activate the local community and facilitate their work. The C.D.C. was able to provide concerned individuals with the opportunity to express themselves and to participate in public life through advocacy and lobbying activities. The Center provided a room for open debate and citizen involvement. The center formed interest groups in the different locations that will deal with the emerging needs of the local community.

The different projects on community development aimed to:
- Promote active and representative participation toward enabling all community members to meaningfully influence the decisions that affect their lives.
- Engage community members in learning about and understanding community issues, and the economic, social, environmental, political, psychological, and other impacts associated with alternative courses of action. 
- Work actively to enhance the leadership capacity of community members, leaders, and groups within the community.
- Incorporate the diverse interests and cultures of the community in the community development process; and disengage from support of any effort that is likely to adversely affect the disadvantaged members of a community.
- Be open to using the full range of action strategies to work toward the long- term sustainability and well being of the community.
The contribution of the community development projects to communities can be summed up in maximizing volunteering, representation, monitoring and feedback, long-term capacity , social cohesion and meeting developmental needs.

Democracy, Civic Education and Good Governance:
Panorama was the first Palestinian NGO to introduce the democracy issue in the Palestinian arena, at a time when others did not even considered the issue to be an issue in the Palestinian areas and among Palestinian people. More than 1300 workshops were conducted over a period of 10 years, and covering almost every town, village, refugee camp, in both West Bank and Gaza Strip. Tens of thousands were exposed to our teachings and influenced by our topics. Specialized international conferences were also organized by the center in 93 and 94. Different training of trainers courses were also conducted, and hundreds of new trainers were produced and prepared. Manuals were prepared, written and distributed to strengthen such an approach, and to provide training the necessary mechanisms and orientation.
Concerning civic Education, Panorama works on two levels, horizontally through workshops and vertically through training courses. The center strives to reach as many participants as possible and at the same time accumulate experiences for other groups. The target groups include youth, women and governmental and non- governmental organizations, Community- based organizations, and individuals. Thousands of workshops were carried out at the different locations of West Bank & Gaza Strip and for different target groups on the following topics:
Democracy, democracy & development, civil rights, transparency, accountability, civil society, planning, strategic planning, conflict resolution, leadership, equity, citizenship, the image of the other, pluralism, human rights, women’s rights, community intervention, voluntary work, elections and electoral systems, and many others.

Good Governance:
In the Palestinian context, it is vital to clarify that Panorama has been actively working for the promotion of transparency and accountability norms and practices and demanded for political and social reforms much earlier before the term good governance started to emerge. Now the opportunity is greater than ever, the NGOs should seize the opportunity to start preparing a solid ground where governance can be used in several contexts such as corporate governance, international governance, national governance and local governance.
Governance is the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented, an analysis of governance focuses on the formal and informal actors involved in decision-making and implementing the decisions made and the formal and informal structures that have been set in place to arrive at and implement the decision. Based on our accumulated experience in the field of good governance over the last two years, Panorama was able to monitor and assess the good governance situation in relation to fundamental indicators associated with the concept that are internationally recognized. On the Palestinian context, Panorama focused on eight indicators: participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law.
Our experience in good governance focus on the following actions:
Public opinion polls, Capacity building, Raising awareness activities, Advocacy & Lobbying and Promoting Community participation.

Youth Development:
The majority of Palestinian population in the West Bank and Gaza are young and they represent not only the future, but also the present with enormous potential, but also great challenges. Panorama’s youth leadership programs and activities allow the youth the chance to explore, express, learn, belong, and influence the community and themselves in order to promote positive citizenship and positive youth participation in public life.
The center believes that youth need opportunities to be active participants in the design, implementation, and evaluation of activities and structures, the chance to choose how, when, and why to be active citizens. To summarize, panorama works to introduce democratic concepts and practices to the lives of Palestinian Youth, and train potential Palestinian youth leaders on the skills required for them to effectively realize their leadership roles and responsibilities and to better respond to the needs of the youth within their communities.
Panorama has been working on a number of projects concerning youth. Most of these projects aim to promote the role of youth influence in society transactions. Most of projects aim:

1. To introduce democratic concepts and practices to the lives of Palestinian youth.
2. To train potential Palestinian youth leaders in the skills required for them to effectively realize their leadership roles and responsibilities and to better respond to the needs of the youth within their communities.
3. To establish youth leaders groups, that will help motivate youth leaders to take more action in their community and to respond better to the needs of the young people around them.
4. To coordinate with other youth centers in order to create more of a unity between them.
5. to conduct research and studies on youth issues.
6. to exchange with other youth groups and organizations and share experiences and capabilities.
7. to build youth organizations and cadre and provide them with the required skills and knowledge.

Crisis Management Project:
Panorama and starting from 2003 has been implementing the Crisis Management Center project for the first time in Palestine. The ongoing project was implemented as a pilot activity to introduce the crisis management culture into the structures of the Palestinian organizations and institutions from the different sectors.
During the project cycle and through the offered training courses participants were provided with a full spectrum of skills in all phases of crisis preparedness, planning, drills, on-site response and follow-up. The project offered participants an easy way to store and have exactly what they need in a time of crisis. The major thrust of the training program is to equip the participants with tools on how to develop contingency plans for emergency or crisis situations utilizing the available resources through introducing conceptual aspects, problem-solving, planning, skill-building and pragmatic steps to take action to overcome crisis.
During the project, Panorama targeted managers and senior employees of the three working sectors: Private, NGO, Government. Panorama was able to conduct this project as a national project where the project activities covered the West Bank & Gaza Strip.

Training courses and raising awareness workshops:
Panorama was able to conduct through the project cycle 42 training courses for 577 participants. The trainees represented 237 organizations from West Bank & Gaza Strip:  41 private sector, 105 NGOs and 104 governmental sector. Additional to training courses, the project implemented 150 workshops in West Bank & Gaza Strip:
Training of Trainers:
In order to build the capacities of institutions in the area of crisis management, TOT courses were delivered to Panorama’s counterparts.
Project Newsletter:
The project Managed to publish a newspaper supplement with Al Ayyam local daily newspaper. The main purpose of the supplement is to reflect the Palestinian experiences in crisis management and to provide space for the trained organizations to write about the project..
the supplement is available on line:
http://www.al-ayyam.com/znews/site/appendixes/3_2004427/p01.pdf
Project Conference:
Based on the outstanding memorable success of project which, it was decided to coronate the project activities through the execution of a consultative meeting between a selective group of Palestinian institutions to discuss the Israeli disengagement plan from Gaza and the Palestinian readiness to takeover.
Executive report in Arabic and English available online:
http://www.panoramacenter.org/announcments/announcment9.pdf 

 Good Governance Project:
Starting from 2003 till now, Panorama has been involved in introducing and promoting good governance issue to the Palestinian society.  In recent years within the Palestinian context, there has been increasing concern about governance issues in the development debate. This has been reflected in the ongoing discussion on the objectives, priorities, and approaches to operational programs reflecting the government’s performance and the process of decision-making and the process by which decisions are implemented (or not implemented).
The overall goal of the project is to involve civil society organizations in development of policy formulation, implementation and monitoring. The project comes as a natural outcome to the work Panorama has been doing for the last two years in terms of good governance and community participation

The project tries to assess the Good Governance 8 major characteristics:
participatory, consensus oriented, accountable, transparent, responsive, effective and efficient, equitable and inclusive and follows the rule of law. The activities of the project are implemented in five regions of the West Bank & Gaza Strip: Ramallah, Hebron, Jenin, Gaza & Rafah.
This Project on its third phase will gather, examine, analyze and disseminate comprehensive information on the status of good governance in Palestine. Analysis of public opinion polls and the raised discussions of round table meetings will be utilized to compare findings and analyze the situation to find trends and common themes and, more importantly, potential common solutions. A report will be published by the end of the 10 month project on the status of Good Governance in Palestine based on the gathered information.
While gathering and analysis of information is crucial, this project phase will also add to the literature on Good Governance in Palestine. A research will be implemented on the topic.
Throughout the project implementation, monthly raising awareness advertisements will be published in addition to a monthly article on the issue. The Project will culminate with publishing a newspaper supplement on good governance.
Public Opinion polls are available online at Panorama’s website:
www.panoramacenter.org            

Democracy Incubator Project:
Need is increasing within the Palestinian public, and demand for democratic knowledge and for experience transfer is becoming an issue by itself, especially for most of new comers to democracy and for the new NGOs to emerge soon.  The cumulative work done by Panorama and by the other Palestinian NGOs in the promotion of democracy has produce excellent results after more than a decade of constant and serious work. The results can be measured in the form of increasing requests for basic democracy service, for capacity building in democratic culture and in the management of democratic organizations to become specialized NGOs and CBOs working as service providers in the promotion of democracy and its related dimensions.
The project is of a capacity building and an institutional strengthening of NGOs component targeting the Palestinian institutions and individuals in relation to democracy and civil society norms. Through the incubation period the participants will be provided with basic knowledge and skills of democracy principles and applications and how to maintain internal democratic practices within associations and NGOs, and how to engage in advocacy and lobbying practices, and the best mechanisms for success.
Capacity building and institutional strengthening of NGOs  is a recurring theme and focus of attention in the West Bank and Gaza Strip.  Significant attention is being devoted to the need, recognizing that a strong institution is more likely to attract resources, manage them well, and to be sustainable.  It is clear that an organization cannot be better than the individuals who work in it.
The project’s general goal is to provide the required opportunity for new democracy initiatives to go through an elaborated, sophisticated and perfected process of preparation within an existing first hand qualified local democracy institution before their enrollment as democracy service providers.
The purpose of this project is to design and implement a sustainable, intensive training democracy program (incubators) that will provide small community based organizations and newly established NGOs as well as university graduates and/or young professionals, including women, with the practical knowledge, skills and attitudes to be effective professionals in relation to democracy and civil society.  Effective staff are expected to strengthen the institutional capacity and sustainability of their eventual employer institutions, thereby strengthening the employer institution’s ability to participate in the public discourse.
Panorama has drawn upon its considerable experience in the area of capacity building to formulize a training incubator which relies on interactive learning and serves the specific requirements of the position of civil society oriented professionals.  This training incubator aims to instill the crucial skills and attitudes that characterize a competent, well-rounded leader in a civil society.
The project will target not only small NGOs and Community Based Organizations but will target as well unemployed university graduates and undergraduate students as to equip them with required knowledge and skills that may accumulate over their experiences and give them opportunity to find their own career in civil society organizations.

Youth Studies & Training Center:
Recognizing the important role young people play in carrying on community traditions, the YTSC has developed specialized youth training programs.  This training has been recognized as a successful, as well as a highly reproducible model for community development.  The basic premise is that youth will be the future caretakers of their significant community building.  Leadership and advocacy are the core philosophy of this program. Panorama’s aim is to intervene in the lives of youth in a positive and effective way as well as to promote a greater appreciation of their potential contribution.
The training offered focuses on a series of actions directed at helping participants in the development process to increase their knowledge, skills and understandings and to develop the attitudes needed to bring about the desired developmental change. From our perspective, Capacity building interventions are designed to improve the services and sustainability of the target groups (youth, youth workers, youth organizations), and the evaluation of the impacts of capacity building focus on results which demonstrate an improvement of the target groups ability to fulfill its mission and provide the services it says it provides as well as results which demonstrate increased sustainability.
Panorama developed 2 training manuals for the training in close coordination with distinguished trainers in the field of youth development. The manuals are designed for youth groups, youth workers and youth organizations depending on the topics addressed by the training for each group.
A total of 45 training courses and 110 workshops were conducted in West Bank & Gaza Strip for youth groups, youth workers and youth organizations including the ministry of Youth & Sports and some governmental bodies who work with the youth sector.  Additionally, the project conducted a set of researches and studies about youth concerns or about other issues from the youth perspectives.
A Library was established covering many issues that might be of interest to youth as democracy, women, economics, politics among many other topics.
20 commissioned studies implemented by youth themselves were carried out analyzing local issues related to youth or analyzed from a youth perspective. 4 researches are developed as well by Panorama. A complete list of researches & studies are available online: http://www.panoramacenter.org/publications.asp
A special participatory research is under development concerning the impact of Training on youth work: Participation and leadership. The research will be using a participatory approach of focus groups, questionnaires and in-depth interviews with youth groups, trainers and youth organizations.

Settlements’ Database Project:
The main objective of the project is to develop a comprehensive database on settlements, and to assess the compensation value for retrieving Palestinian properties and settlement evacuation.
It is expected that settlement evacuation will be an issue of its own in the final status negotiations. The evacuation process will entail cost for the Palestinian side and the introduction of implementation mechanism to oversee both evacuation and compensation, the compensation is completely complicated process on the Palestinian side. The project intends to go through such an exercise. At the end of the project, the presentation intends to close gaps on existing information, and to develop a complete report on the actual settlement reality, for possible future compensation mechanism.

The main objectives of the project are:

1. Learn about the concrete situation of the settlements in terms of total residents, existing types of fixed and service infrastructure, housing units and types, occupation rate, built-up areas, expansion, development master plans, among other variables.
2. Construction of a comprehensive database and follow-up mechanism regarding all items included in the compensation plan. The database will be built in such a way that it can support estimation of the value of all evacuated settlements irrespective of their final status at the conclusion of the negotiations.
3. Preparation of lists of Palestinian candidates for relocation in the former settlements, preparation of ownership and leasing documentation, and development of unit renovation plans where needed.
4. Estimation of the financial value of evacuated Israeli settlements and related infrastructure viewed as part of the total compensation package.
5. Estimation of the financial value of settlement property according to current Palestinian real estate prices.
6. Estimation of the financial value of Palestinian ownership rights, including losses of income based on land development, cultivation or usage, and the psychological losses.
7. The promotion and setting up of Palestinian specialized Agency to oversee the transfer of property, the identification of ownership, and the collective development plans.

The agenda involves Israeli withdrawal from the occupied territories and the exploration of potential Palestinian resettlement of the majority of the returning refugees in the evacuated settlements or promoting new development plans for existing population. It is economically prudent for the Palestinians to plan ahead regarding where and how returning refugees can take advantage of the evacuated settlements and their extensive infrastructure.
Survey of Palestinian Refugees Real Estate Holdings in Historic Palestine of 1948
One of the most crucial issues underlying the Palestinian-Israeli conflict is the land property left behind by Palestinian refugees. The importance of creating a credible source of information regarding lost real estate is enormous.
The purpose of the project is to revise the land ownership map in 1948 in order to enable estimation of the total value of these holdings, to subsequently assess the amount of personal compensation to be granted as well as to advise a mechanism for dispensation of that compensation.
These ideas are intended to facilitate negotiations when time comes. It is not allowed to even think in implementation outside an agreement arrived at through direct negotiations which should guarantee achieving solutions to all pending issues. Compensation is an individual right as much as being a collective right, according to UN resolution 194.

The project intended to fulfill three objectives:

1. Comparing and validating the Alternative Land Registry with other sources of information in order to seek an avenue to unite the UNCCP database with the ALR.
2. Comparison of different models used in different as well as similar situations internationally. Although the Palestinian case is highly unique and cannot be compared to any other refugee phenomenon, much can be learned from diverse international experience gained about methods for solving problems and compensating those who were harmed.
3. To identify the indicators to be used in the elaboration of special formula/formulas for compensation based on thorough analysis of the compensation solutions adopted in similar circumstances. Current values and the recently adopted Israeli compensation laws for properties of individuals are possible approaches to the elaboration of the needed formulas.

Third Party Presence in Palestine:
For more than a decade and the Palestinians through their leadership have been calling for a direct role for the third party. Without defining exactly what they mean, the leadership kept repeating such request while putting it in different formats and in different contexts. While agreeing on the need for a third party involvement, there was no such consensus on the objective, mission, role and mechanism. The project intends to shed light on this issue.

Main objectives of the project:
1. To build Palestinian capacity in human resources and in required knowledge on the issue of third party.
2. To unify definitions and concepts used by the different Palestinian leadership regarding the role of the third party.
3. To build Palestinian consensus on such need, and to develop the proper associated mechanisms for implementation and/or reaction.
4. To develop a Palestinian file on the issue with the require information and background material to facilitate actions by the decision makers.
The project was initiated in its first phase by organizing a two days conference to introduce the topic to the Palestinian leadership, with different and related presentations and papers. A full documentation of the conference procedure is available, including recommendations and suggestions for actions.
Research topics were identified related to the different dimensions of the third party involvement and role, covering judicial and legal, infrastructure, security, social and economic, among others. Discussion sessions were organized to revue the research papers among the built up core group and other special invitees, and final version were prepared. A total of 7 papers are ready to constitute the first Palestinian file on Third Party Role and Involvement.
The second phase of the project intends to organize a study tour to countries of similar experiences, in particular Bosnia, Kosovo, Macedonia to learn such experiences and to digest lessons, to seek clarifications on the following items:
• Mechanism of decision making
• Civil Concerns
• Military Aspects
• Legal Aspects.
It is intended to take a group of 10 people to such conflicting areas with proper coordination with the local governments, civil society and NATO forces.
Documentation of Refugees Perspectives and Recommendations
An Educational Campaign in Qalandia & Jalazoun Camps
The Refugees cause stands as one of the major keys to solve the Palestinian Israeli conflict. Many experts in the field recommended for taking into account the refugees perspectives and opinion as an attempt to find possible prospective solutions as to ensure a comprehensive, just and permanent solution between the Palestinians and Israelis. During the last periods, the refugees were not asked for their perspective which was not reflected during bilateral negotiations or the multilateral ones. From Panorama’s perspective, the refugees should realize what is really meant by the right of return and should finalize an informed opinion about the issue.
The main goal of the project is to educate, inform and empower the Palestinian refugees on their rights, different resolutions and positions, initiatives, and proposed solutions to the refugees problem. Additionally, the project will provide the refugees with the required space to present their perspectives, and document their reactions and recommendations. The project is being implemented as a pilot project in both Qalandia and Jalazoun. A final report will be published and will focus on:
- Overview of refugees perspectives on the suggested positions
- Evaluation of the refugees short and long term needs
- Presentation of the refugees perspective of the comprehensive solution
- Provision of suggested ideas and tools to the Palestinian negotiator
For the purposes of the project, panorama established a steering committee of representatives of active centers, political parties and commissions inside the two refugees in addition to members of the Legislative Council who are aware of the refugees’ question.
The project developed a set of researches and papers related to the different positions of the right of return. The project stands as a qualitative participatory activity where the stakeholders are involved. A set of focus group discussions will be implemented with different age groups representing men and women.