Five members of the JAI-supervised Youth Ecumenical Movement – Palestine participated at the youth conference organized by the Student Christian Movement in Haughton, Norway, from the 22nd to 27th of June 2012, together with other participants of Student Christian Movements from different countries including: Lithuania, Finland, Denmark, Georgia, Poland, India, Hungry, Ghana, Germany, and Sweden.
The Palestinian delegation were invited two days prior to the conference for introduction to the touristic and archeological sites in Oslo which included visiting some public parks, the royal palace as well as some boat trips and visits to old Norwegian buildings to witness the Norwegian architecture.
The conference had various events and activities, including drama, bible study and readings, morning prayers in different languages and lectures on the history of Christianity and Churches. Working groups were formed to discuss the topics raised and their impact on Christians, as well as discussion group sessions to exchange the participants’ religious, cultural and political experiences, in addition to workshops and presentation of cultures, history and national issues from the various participants.
The Palestinian delegation also screened documentary movies on the history of Palestine under occupation and the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, as well as a special presentation about the Israeli apartheid wall, the Kairos document Palestine and the Youth Ecumenical Movement – Palestine, in addition to preparing a Palestinian dinner that was admired by the conference participants. The Youth Ecumenical Movement – Palestine - delegation also visited and partially participated at the Teenagers Festival (TT).