Ramallah – 22 January 2026 Al-Quds Open University and the Palestinian Center for Development and Media Freedoms (MADA) signed last Tuesday, at the University’s headquarters in the city of Ramallah, a strategic cooperation agreement aimed at structuring and expanding areas of joint work in the fields of media, training, and academic research. The agreement seeks to contribute to the development of the Palestinian media environment and to the promotion of freedom of opinion and expression.
The agreement was signed on behalf of the University by its President, Prof. DR. IBRAHIM AL-SHAER, and on behalf of MADA by the Chairman of its Board of Directors, DR. GHAZI HANANIA.
The agreement aims to develop the capacities of students of the Faculty of Media at Al-Quds Open University and to empower them to engage effectively in the media labor market by equipping them with advanced professional and ethical skills that respond to the requirements of digital transformation and the challenges facing Palestinian media.
Prof. DR. IBRAHIM AL-SHAER welcomed the delegation, emphasizing the importance of this partnership and noting that it reflects a shared and valuable foundation for supporting responsible national media. He stated:
“This agreement stems from our shared conviction of the vital role of free and responsible media in building societal awareness and safeguarding the Palestinian narrative. Through this cooperation, we seek to provide our students, particularly those specializing in 'Media’ and 'Mobile Phone Cinema’, with high-quality practical and field experience offered by MADA, thereby helping to bridge the gap between academic education and the needs of the media labor market, while reinforcing the values of freedom of expression and meaningful Palestinian content”.
For his part, MR. HANANIA expressed his pride in this partnership, affirming its significance in advancing media professional ethics in Palestine. He said:
“Our cooperation with a national academic institution such as Al-Quds Open University represents a progressive step in our efforts to promote professional ethics and digital rights”.
He added: “We are committed to providing technical support and institutional expertise to students, offering practical training opportunities focused on media freedoms and fact-checking, and working jointly to develop projects to be submitted to donor institutions, with the aim of establishing an advanced media training center within the University”.
In turn, the Acting Director of the Center, Ms. Shireen Al-Khatib, introduced MADA’s journey and strategic objectives, stating: “The Center began as an initiative by a group of journalists who believed in the importance of protecting media freedoms, and today it is concerned with journalists’ rights and protection, as well as harmonizing legislation and laws”.
She added that one of the most important programs the Center currently focuses on is monitoring and documentation, noting that MADA has recently launched a mobile application directed at journalists and human rights defenders to enable them to report violations they face in a safe, confidential, and direct manner. She emphasized that the partnership with Al-Quds Open University will make it possible to transfer this expertise and these tools to media students and train them in their use, thereby enhancing their awareness as journalists and enabling them to protect themselves and their profession within an exceptionally challenging media environment.
