More than 22 institutions take part in a networking workshop during Beit Sahour Expatriates Week

As part of Beit Sahour Expatriates Week, Dar Dakkart hosted an institutional networking workshop on the evening of Friday 24 July 2026 that brought together more than 22 local institutions with representatives of the Beit Sahour USA Association, in the presence of Mayor Laith Hazim Qumsiyeh, members of the Municipal Council, Father Atallah Hanna and the heads and directors of a number of the city’s institutions.

The workshop was led by Dr. Natalie Tawil, director of the Wasata Centre for Youth Work. It opened with words of welcome from Mayor Laith Qumsiyeh and the president of the Beit Sahour USA Association, Mr. Munir Bannoura, who stressed the importance of building bridges between local institutions and Beit Sahour’s diaspora and of strengthening partnership in support of community development and institutional work.

Representatives of the institutions briefly presented their history and mission, the services they provide and their main contributions to the community of Beit Sahour, giving participants a picture of the many roles the city’s institutions play and of their current and future needs.

Participants also filled in a form introducing each institution and its needs, developed especially for the workshop, with the aim of building a comprehensive database of the institutions’ fields of work, aims, needs and possible areas of cooperation, as a practical basis for future partnerships.

The workshop stressed the importance of Beit Sahour’s expatriates carrying the message of the city’s institutions to the community in the United States, strengthening the spirit of belonging, opening wider prospects for cooperation and support, and helping to build lasting relationships that serve the local community.

Participants agreed on a number of recommendations, chief among them forming a joint follow-up committee of representatives of the Beit Sahour USA Association, the participating institutions and Beit Sahour Municipality, to follow up on the institutions’ needs, strengthen communication and turn the ideas and initiatives raised during the workshop into programmes and projects that can be carried out.

In closing, participants stressed the importance of holding such meetings regularly, as an effective platform for exchanging expertise, networking and strengthening the relationship between the city’s institutions and its people abroad, in the service of sustainable development and of Beit Sahour.