Scholar in the spotlight – Yasser Khaldi

Name: Yasser M. Khaldi
University: University Of Edinburgh
Course: MSc Urban Strategies & Design
Country: Ramallah, Palestine

While studying in the UK at the University of Edinburgh, Yasser Khaldi, a Chevening Scholar from Palestine, has been involved with an outreach programme called Solutions Not Sides.

The programme aims to raise awareness of the Israel-Palestine conflict and to facilitiate constructive and informative dialogue about the subject.

Yasser tells us about his studies in urban strategy and design, as well as the documentaries and books that he has worked on about cities in the two states.

Chevening: Tell us a bit more about Solutions Not Sides and how you are involved with them

Yasser: Solutions Not Sides (SNS) is a programme advocating being not simply ‘pro-Palestine’ or ‘pro-Israel’ but ‘pro-solution’. Solutions Not Sides is designed to prepare students to make positive, solutions-focused contributions to debates on Israel-Palestine.

The purpose of our tours is to provide an in-depth education about the conflict while facilitating harmonious discussion aimed at raising awareness, inviting people to work towards peace, and ending major misconceptions. We were able to reach out to hundreds of people from more than 20 different institutions including schools, colleges, and interfaith groups. The audiences were either young people aged 15 to 18, 18 to 25, or adults.

Chevening: Why is this program important and how do you hope to achieve success?

Yasser: The Israeli-Palestinian conflict continues to dominate front pages and social media feeds in the UK. Young people, passionate about human rights and justice, and interested in the world as we know it, often see the Israeli-Palestinian conflict as representative of the wrongs in the world.

By bringing Israeli and Palestinian speakers into the classroom, we help to empower teachers to tackle this difficult subject and push back against Islamophobia, anti-Semitism, conspiracy theories, and simplistic combative views. We give young people the chance to hear from ordinary Israelis and Palestinians and ask questions that they may have always been afraid to ask.

What are you studying, why did you choose this course, and how did you find it?

I am currently studying an MSc in Urban Strategies and Design at the University of Edinburgh. This programme covers the gap between urban design and strategic planning, while allowing me to participate with the urban transformation, design, and planning issues tossed up by rapid social, economic, and political transformation.

Urban planning and design are important for Palestinian cities in attaining sustainable growth. Strategic planning would also consider the creation of recreational places such as parks, open space, and community facilities, as these are lacking in Palestinian society. On another scale planners are needed to work with energy utilities to predict future energy demands.

What have you enjoyed most about your year in the UK?

The wide-ranging accessible infrastructure is what I admired the most. The ability to move freely and with ease at any time between different cities was absolutely stimulating. Moreover the availability of exclusive online services exposed me to brilliant sources of new and up-to-date knowledge.

The education benefits of studying in the UK are countless. I’m exposed to world-class teaching, which has helped me develop skills for success in the global workforce. I am able to meet new people from different nationalities here, to learn about their backgrounds, and discover new perspectives.

What have you found most challenging?

I found the most challenging thing was choosing wisely what activities to participate in during the limited time we have here. As the scholarship allows scholars to stay for one year, I had to make decisions about how to make the most of my time, network widely, all while wanting to excel in my studies.

What do you plan to do when you return to Palestine?

After the knowledge and experience that I have gained through postgraduate study in the UK, I am hoping to join the Palestinian Planning Ministry as an Urban Planner. This is exciting as it’s a committed partner in making impressive progress on sustainable land use, institution building, security issues, and economic management, in addition to constructing new cities and neighbourhoods.

My studies at the UK can also enable me to lecture in Palestinian universities and specialised academic instructions. I visualise myself doing this in the future.

You’ve written books and produced a documentary about cities in the region. Can you tell us a bit more about these?

In summer 2016, I collaborated with the Alquds Education Channel (supervised by Alquds Open University) in Ramallah, Palestine, towards researching, producing, and presenting a documentary: ‘Vision 2050, Cities Of Palestine’.

The objective of this project was to propose urban strategies and concepts that could potentially be implemented, leading towards sustainable, smart, and inclusive urbanisation for Palestinian cities.

During my undergraduate program, I was able to work on publishing three books about the three main cities in Palestine: Jerusalem, Speaks For Itself; Ramallah, Like You’ve Never Seen Before; and Bethlehem, The Birth Place Of Hope.

These books represent the cities which are dearest to the hearts the followers of the three divine religions, who experience the journey of the holy city with their bodies, hearts, and their lives.

The books are like ‘coffee table’ books, with large, high-quality pictures accompanied by text that aims to highlight how Palestinian people actually live, away from the image created by the media of Palestine as a warzone. It is in fact a place flourishing with deep-rooted culture and history, where, by just roaming the streets, you can feel the vibrant atmosphere.