Three cheers for the backroom boys (and girls!)

It didn’t start on July 26. It wasn’t going to end on July 26 either. It didn’t start with names on posters, or a massive order for chicken shawarma, or even a conference room booking.  It was the logical conclusion of something that started 7 years ago. And you know what? I don’t think conclusion is the right word because I feel like it was actually a beginning.

 Creativity and the Coursebook - the first ever Hands Up Project conference at the Islamic University of Gaza on the 26th July 2023. Just let that sink in for a minute. A 5 person delegation from the UK and Spain, presenters online from Morocco and the UK, Palestinian teachers and educational supervisors and a support team that dealt with permits, logistics, publicity, technology and some very hungry attendees. It was no mean feat.

I wish we’d televised the whole thing. I wish I could say Go to our YouTube page and watch the video  but, as I can’t, you’re going to have to read to the end of the page while I try to convey exactly what an extraordinary event it was.

There were 13 presentations, some co-authored and co-presented by teachers in the room or combining online and in-person in the best Hands Up tradition. Each of them was unique and each of them directly addressed creativity in English language teaching. Wendy Arnold posed the questions “What is creativity? And what is it not?” and the presentations that followed went on to answer with demonstrations of classroom activities and suggestions that any teacher, anywhere, could try. Storytelling, chants, art, sound and rhythm were all enlisted in the name of student engagement and motivation.  I won't go on to detail the content because we’ll be running a series of webinars in September/October where you can see these brilliant presentations for yourself.

What I do want to talk about is the behind-the-scenes stuff that went on pre, during and post-conference. For it to run as smoothly as it did, it took a great deal of organisation, goodwill, flexibility and sheer hard work. It wasn’t showy or flashy - nobody claimed the credit, but from the first moment the decision was taken to hold the conference in Gaza, wheels went into motion and they haven’t stopped running yet.  The hospitality of the university, tech support on the day, the preparation and printing of lanyards and name settings, volunteers helping out in the coffee breaks, press and publicity and clearing up and food when it was most needed and a million other details I’ve forgotten all contributed to making something so complex look so simple.

It wasn’t a conclusion, but a beginning. We sometimes take the commitment, the creativity and the cooperation for granted at the Hands Up Project. It’s what we're built on, after all. But we never forget that behind it lies a huge communal desire to make things work,  because that’s the way we amplify the voices of young Palestinians.  And, above all, what the first - but maybe not the last - Hands Up Project at the Islamic University of Gaza left me with was the sense of joy and pride that ran through the entire event, from the biggest to the tiniest detail.