Personal Info
- Country of residence: Palestine
Information
Mahera Al-Dajani (1936-) is a Palestinian educator and feminist activist from a Jerusalemite family. She was born in the Nabi Daoud neighborhood in East Jerusalem and studied at the Al-Mamouniya School in Sheikh Jarrah . A member of the Board of Trustees of the Hassan Mustafa Cultural Center , she led the establishment of scouts and guides in the Arab world . She was elected the first president of the Jordanian Girl Guides Association, participated in workshops and camps for Girl Guides in various countries, and supervised training and camps for Brownies and Girl Guide leaders in Jordan . She has been a member of the Family Revival Association since its establishment in 1967, and supervised the opening of the association's vocational training centers in twenty villages in the Ramallah and Al-Bireh Governorate and the training of its women leaders. She participated in the establishment of three women's associations, and is the chair of the Board of Trustees of the Arab Child House Foundation .
Honoring her
Al-Dajani is considered one of the most prominent figures in education in East Jerusalem in particular, and the Palestinian territories in general, for her role and activity. She has received the following honors:
Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas awarded her the Medal of Merit and Excellence as part of honoring the people of Jerusalem and supporting their steadfastness on their land.
She was honored by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan during an international conference held by the Turkish Triyak Association in Istanbul for the most distinguished figures in the world entitled “Bridging the Gap between Civilizations.”
She was honored by the Al-Murtaqa Foundation for Women for receiving the title of Distinguished Jerusalemite Woman of the Year for her constructive role in Palestine, in the presence of the Minister of Jerusalem Affairs and its Governor , Eng . Adnan Al-Husseini , and His Eminence Bishop Atallah Hanna .
The Order of Education was awarded by the Jordanian Crown Prince, Prince Hassan bin Talal, on behalf of King Hussein of the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan.
Her professional life
After graduating from school and obtaining a Matric certificate, she worked in the field of teaching in the Jordanian Ministry of Education for thirty-eight years. She was appointed by the Jordanian Ministry of Education to participate in preparing the physical education curriculum for the primary stage. She managed and supervised several workshops and training courses for physical education teachers in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan in general as well as in Palestine during the period between 1956 and 1984.
She specialized in training popular dabke , western rural dances, gymnastics and badminton . She prepared for the first and second summer festivals held in Ramallah in 1962-1963, which included several segments of Palestinian traditional dances. She supervised the sports festivals held in the Jerusalem Governorate, which included sports competitions between schools and dabke segments in the period between 1962-1984.
Her international participations
The most important conferences in which I participated:
She was elected by the Jordanian Ministry of Education to represent the Jordanian Girl Guides Association at the 18th World Girl Guides Conference held in Denmark in 1963.
She was appointed as Deputy Head of the Jordanian Scout Mission and participated in the Sixth Arab Scout Conference and Camp, which was held in Alexandria in 1964.
I was elected as the head of the Jordanian Girl Guides delegation to participate in the first Arab Girl Guides Conference and Camp, which was held in Libya in 1966.
International Education Association Conference at Hind Al-Husseini College in Jerusalem in 1996.
The Second Conference of Civil Society Organizations, under the patronage of His Highness Prince Talal bin Abdulaziz , was held to honor pioneers of social work in 1997.
Jerusalem Calls You Conference was held in Sharjah under the patronage of the Emir of Sharjah, Sheikh Sultan bin Mohammed Al Qasimi , where Al Dajani delivered a speech on the situation in the city of Jerusalem and the Dar Al Tifel Al Arabi Foundation. Following this, Her Highness and his wife made a generous donation of one million dirhams, while his children made another donation of 600,000 dirhams to restore the Dar Al Tifel Al Arabi Museum in 1998.
The first general conference of the National Authority for Institutions entitled “The Future of Arab Jerusalem” under the patronage of King Hassan II, the Center for Arab-European Studies, and the League of Arab States in the city of Rabat in the Kingdom of Morocco in 1999.
The Jerusalem and Environs of Jerusalem Conference, under the auspices of the Jerusalem Day Committee, was held in Amman , the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, in 1999.
Her volunteer life
Mahera Al-Dajani volunteered in the Girl Guides movement since 1945, and was elected as the first president of the Jordanian Girl Guides Association in 1962. She participated in workshops and camps for Girl Guides that lasted a month in Finland , and supervised training and camps for Brownies and Girl Guide leaders. The first training camp for local Girl Guides committees was in Umm Safa Forest for ten days. She was elected as a volunteer in the administrative body of the Arab Child House Foundation in 1962, and was appointed as a trustee of the foundation’s endowment by the Chief Justice.
She is also the head of the museum committee at the Arab Child House Foundation. She also participated in many international activities representing community institutions, attended the first and second conferences of the Arab NGO Network, the Teachers Conference, and the Sixth Arab Scout Movement Conference in the Arab Republic of Egypt , as a delegate from the Family Revival Society to Kuwait, and a member of the Jordanian Girl Guides Mission to Iraq, attended the workshop to activate the Palestinian-Italian Network, of which the Arab Child House Foundation is a member in Italy , and the project to activate the relationship between the Minnesota Museum and the Arab Child House Museum, where students from the Arab Child House School participated in a fashion show that combined modernity and heritage, where they designed, sewed, and displayed in America.
Releases:
She published a number of books, including:
Girl Guides Games.
The World of Girl Guides and Girl Guides: Giving and Belonging, published in 1997.
Entertainment, heritage and cultural games in 2010.
Her accomplishments
Al-Dajani received many medals, shields and certificates of appreciation from many local and Arab institutions and associations for her achievements in the field of volunteering and community development. From the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan, she received the Education Medal for her efforts in developing education and guidance, from the Palestinian Teachers Union for her distinguished role in developing Arab Palestinian education in the city of Jerusalem, from the Ministry of Women's Affairs as one of the distinguished Palestinian women, the Arab NGO Network for her efforts in national and social work, Al-Quds Open University for her efforts in serving and supporting Palestinian folklore, from the Refugee Girl Association for her pioneering and distinguished efforts in volunteer work, the Jerusalem Women's Institutions Network Shield for her role in developing Palestinian women and Palestinian society, and the Jerusalemite Artists Forum Shield for her tireless work in serving the Jerusalemite community.
She received certificates of appreciation from the Palestinian Youth Parliament in recognition of her national and social role, from the Palestinian Scouts and Guides Association for her excellence in supporting the Girl Guides movement, and from the Family Revival Association for preserving Palestinian folklore.
Source
Achievements and Awards
- Years in active
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