Despite the generally low level of awareness regarding social accountability in Palestine, many Palestinian civil society organizations are actively and increasingly engaged in implementing social accountability activities. These efforts are viewed as part of a broad framework of action, directly linked to public affairs and the provision of essential services that concern every Palestinian citizen.

Accountability tools are often employed across a wide range of complex topics in the hope of improving the quality of services provided by public service providers—particularly local councils that are spread across all areas of Palestine.

However, Madarat Center for Community Development, through the “Rasid” Coalition of Institutions, has chosen to work in a unique and exceptional way by establishing a new youth body—the first of its kind in Palestine and possibly in the region. This body is made up exclusively of young individuals who are specifically interested in leading community dialogue and accountability sessions that focus solely on youth-related issues with public service providers from local authorities.

As part of an exceptional work program, the Community Youth Accountability Team carries out accountability activities directly related to the promises monitored during the local elections, which were held in two phases at the end of 2021 and in March 2022. The promising team works to compare the electoral promises made by the winning lists with their actual performance after assuming responsibilities in public administration—specifically focusing on promises related to the youth sector. This highlights the importance of the team’s specialization, which stems from the Rasid Coalition project.

As for the training plan aimed at building the capacities of the Community Youth Accountability Team, it has been documented in this report, along with an evaluation of the training outcomes and their impact on enhancing the knowledge and skills of the participants who now form the Youth Accountability Team in Palestine.

Moreover, Rasid is currently developing its own specialized monitoring tool to measure the gap between electoral promises and their real-life implementation. This tool has been named the “Rasid Barometer”, which was introduced and defined during the Youth Training Camp previously conducted as part of the project’s activities.