The ILO organized a one-week training of trainers (TOT) on ILO’s tools “Think Coop and Start Coop" for cooperative members and service providers from in the Gaza Strip, OPT. The workshop took place within the framework of Be The Impact Program funded by the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) Jerusalem and as part of the multilateral component of the program implemented by ILO “Cooperative Support Programme CSP-OPT” project.

The workshop aimed at building knowledge and skills of participants from national institutions including the the Cooperative Works Agency (CWA), the General Cooperative Union (GCU), the Sectorial Cooperative Unions, Primary Cooperatives, and selected NGOs. Trainees received theoretical and practical guidance on how to conduct training for beneficiaries, on the tools’ methodology and business plans based on the cooperative’s identity. Five of the 32 participants were identified to establish an action plan to implement training activities that will target direct beneficiaries of the project.

In the closing remarks the Representative of the ILO in Jerusalem Mr. Mounir Kleibo started by thanking the Italian Agency for Development Cooperation (AICS) for their support. He also commended the trainer Mr. Shawkat Sarsour and all trainees for their commitment and cooperation. He pointed out to the interest shown by women in the topics proposed. Mr. Kleibo highlighted the importance of the cooperative sector for economic development. He stressed upon the importance of social dialogue on the cooperative sector mentioning that successful cooperative experiences should be shared with tripartite partners and the wider development community. He said that Think.coop and Start.coop are low-cost, effective and efficient tools that are easy to use especially for beginners. Mr. Kleibo ended his words by saying that strengthening and increasing multilateral partnerships with cooperatives and improving the ways of doing business in line with the values and principles of cooperatives are key factors for the development of the sector as well as the importance of bonding with the CWA and GCU

Mr. Mohamoud Musleh from the AICS in Jerusalem thanked all the participants and the ILO for organizing and conducting this workshop. He emphasized the role that cooperatives can play particularly in generating women’s employment in Gaza. He noted that there is still room for increasing women’s participation and contribution to this sector. Mr. Nabil Al Mabhouh representative of the CWA in Gaza also thanked ILO, the AICS and the trainer for conducting the workshop and noted that the trainees are going to become qualified trainers for ILO’s training tools.