News - Australian Representative Office

Australian Representative Office

Ramallah

Australian Representative Office address: 48 Othman Ben Affan St, Trust Building 7th Floor, El-Bireh, West Bank, Ramallah - Telephone : +972 2 2425301, Fax: + 972 2 2428290

Australian Representative Office News

Presentation of Letter of Introduction

Australian Representative Jenny Grant-Curnow presented her Letter of Introduction to the Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas on 19 October 2010.

The ceremony was attended by Foreign Minister Dr Riad Malki, Chief of Staff Dr Hussein Al A’raj and Secretary General Tayeb Abdel Rahim. Ms Grant-Curnow inspected the Presidential Guard of Honour, accompanied by the Chief of the Presidential Guard in the West Bank, Colonel Munir Al Zu’bi.

Palestine World Cup

The Australian Representative Office, with the support of the Football Federation of Australia, sponsored the “Australia” team in the Palestine World Cup competition.

The Australia team of 14-15 year old youths from East Jerusalem played a number of games in the competition between June and July 2010, at the same time as the FIFA World Cup was held in South Africa.

The best and fairest players were awarded Australian football jerseys and footballs, while the entire team received caps and towels.

Garden of Nations

In April 2010 the Australian Representative Office unveiled a sculpture of an Australian ‘emu’ at the Garden of Nations Park in Ramallah.

The mission also held an Australia Fun Day at the same park which was attended by local primary school students aged between 7 and 13, parents from Ramallah and surrounding villages.

We also welcomed a group of vision-impaired students from the Helen Keller School in East Jerusalem.

The event was held in coordination with Ramallah Municipality and with the assistance of the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR).

The activities at the Garden of Nations – including drawing, an Australia quiz, clowns, music and dancing –allowed the children to explore different dimensions of Australia in a simple and fun way.

Aboriginal cultural items (including a hunting boomerang, clapsticks and bullroarer) introduced the children to aboriginal culture

APHEDA Visit to the Australian Representative - Ramallah

On the 8 March 2010, an Australian Union delegation organised by Union Aid Abroad (APHEDA) visited the ARO as part of their study tour to the Palestinian Territories. The delegation also visited Tulkarem and Gaza.

AusAID field visit to Gaza

The Australian Representative Office (ARO) and the Australian Agency for International Development (AusAID) undertook a two day assessment visit to Gaza, from 2-3 March 2010. The delegation visited Australian funded projects with UNRWA UNMAS, UNICEF, WHO, OXFAM GB, Maan Centre and World Vision. The delegation witnessed the difficult conditions Gazans are living under.

Delegation visit to the Commonwealth War Cemetery in Gaza

The ARO-AusAID delegation visited the Gaza war cemetery (managed by the Commonwealth War Graves Commission). The well kept cemetery is located in the Toofah neighbourhood, a poor residential district in north Gaza. The cemetery contains graves of 3,600 soldiers of different countries, including Australia.

AusAID workshop in Ramallah

From 23-25 February 2010, AusAID organised three days workshop for the Australian NGO’s and their local partners who are funded under the Australia – Middle East NGO Cooperation Agreement Program (AMENCA2).

The NGOs are implementing livelihood, agriculture, health and sanitation projects in Hebron, Jenin, Tulkarem and Gaza.

ARO Visit to Rawabi site

On 16 February 2010, The Australian Representative visited the Rawabi site 9 kilometers north of Ramallah, to be briefed on the first planned town in the Palestinian Territories.

ARO – UNRWA tour in Askar Refugee Camp - Nablus

The Australian Representative, Jenny Grant-Curnow joined a tour organised by UNRWA to the Askar Refugee Camp in Nablus, on 20 January 2010.

Signing of Human Rights Small Grants Scheme

On 13 January 2010, an agreement for the project “Consolidating "was signed by the Australian Government represented by the Head of the Australian Representative Office in Ramallah, Ms Jenny Grant-Curnow and the Womens' Centre for Legal Aid and (WCLAC) represented By Ms Maha Abu Dayeh-Shamas. The funding amount granted to this project is AUD 100,000.

The project will contribute to the development of the legislative and institutional policies which support Palestinian women and will raise community awareness of women’s rights. It will also document violations of women’s rights and prepare studies to be disseminated locally, regionally and internationally.

2009

Australia Fun and Sports Day

The Australian Representative Office in Ramallah held its second Australia Fun & Sports Day on 24 April 2010, which was attended by local primary school students from Ramallah and surrounding areas. The event was held in cooperation with, and hosted by, the First Ramallah Group and was supported by the Council for Australian-Arab Relations (CAAR). The Australian Representative opened the event.

The day included a number of activities, which allowed the students to explore different dimensions of Australia in a fun and simple way. These included an Australian Quiz and a play by Fadi Al Ghoul, an art workshop by Abdel Hadi Ya’ish, a puppet production workshop by Yacoub Abu Arafeh, various sports activities by Lamees Khayyat, as well as clown and musical performances.