Roundtable Discussion on “Decolonizing Education” Held with the Participation of Munir Fasheh

On October 31, Institute Social organized a roundtable discussion on “decolonizing education” with the participation of Dr. Munir Fasheh, founder of the Ramallah-based TAMER Institute for Community Education, education theorist, and teacher. During the meeting, Fasheh examined non-formal education spaces that emerged during the First Intifada as practices of social solidarity, developed independently of any political authority. Drawing on this example, he questioned the pressures to preserve conventional curricula and offered a critical assessment of the prevailing education system.

Explaining the core of his educational approach through the concept of mujawarah, Fasheh described this model as a pathway that nurtures children’s and young people’s capacities for renewal and healing, a sense of solidarity, and resilience in contexts of war and conflict. He elaborated on this culture through experiences of non-formal education that took shape during the First Intifada. At a time when schools were closed, he noted, TAMER Institute for Community Education implemented the “reading passport” program, which centered on education and freedom of expression, enabling children to read books of their own choosing and write their reflections on them. He emphasized that these texts were not subjected to “right–wrong” evaluations by teachers.

Fasheh further stated that young people were able to publish their writings in newspapers during this period, underscoring that the removal of curricular pressure fostered creativity in an organic manner. He also highlighted the role of this approach in community-based organizing, noting that approximately 40,000–45,000 neighborhood committees were established through civil initiative over the course of four years.

The meeting offered a perspective that views education not merely as a mechanism for transmitting knowledge, but as a process that generates community, belonging, and capacities for healing, while also emphasizing how the pressures of traditional curricula constrain creativity and collective consciousness.