This year, Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) will be attending the three main political party conferences to discuss vital issues affecting Palestinian health and dignity with Parliamentarians and the public.
Reflecting on a Year of Anniversaries: What’s next for Palestine?
Monday 25th September, 12.30 - 14.00
Cambridge room, Hilton Brighton Metropole
Hosted by Labour Friends of Palestine and the Middle East (LFPME) and supported by MAP, the discussion will look back at a year of anniversaries for Palestine in the current political climate and on the ground, and what hopes there are for the future.
The panel will be chaired by Owen Jones, author and Guardian journalist, and speakers will include Issam Aruri, Tareq Baconi and Mark McDonald.
Issam Aruri is General Director of Jerusalem Legal Aid and Human Rights Centre and a founding member of The Palestinian NGO Network (PNGO). He will be coming from Palestine to join the event and to give a direct experience of what is happening on the ground.
Tareq Baconi is an author and fellow at al-Shabaka: The Palestinian Policy Network. He is also a Policy Fellow at the European Council on Foreign Relation’s Middle East and North Africa programme.
Mark McDonald is a Human Rights Barrister and Founder of LFPME. Mark has worked in Palestine with the Bar Human Rights Committee and founded the London Innocence Project and Amicus.
LFPME Annual Reception
Monday 25th September, 19.00 - 21.00
Cambridge room, Hilton Brighton Metropole
LFPME will also be holding an evening reception with delicious Palestinian food and Taybeh beer. Speakers will include shadow foreign secretary Emily Thornberry MP, Iain McNicol and HE Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK.
Comedian Jeremy Hardy will also introduce MAP’s Health Under Occupation documentary which will be screened at the reception.
‘Health Under Occupation' follows comedians Imran Yusuf and Jeremy Hardy as they visit the West Bank to see how 50 years of military occupation have impacted the health and dignity of the Palestinians who live there. Chapter two of the documentary will be screened, where Jeremy and Imran meet Hajji Maryam, whose family’s farming land was confiscated when settlers established an outpost close to the Palestinian town of Silwan.
How can the UK best support development in the occupied Palestinian territory?
Monday 2nd October at 08.00 – 9:00, Manchester Central
Hosted by MAP, Prospect and Caabu (the Council for Arab-British Understanding), this private roundtable will be chaired by Sameer Rahim, Managing Editor, Prospect, and speakers include Sir Terence English, former President of the Royal College of Surgeons and the British Medical Association, and Aimee Shalan, Chief Executive of MAP.
Contributing to the discussion will be Dr Andy Ferguson, Director of Programmes at MAP, Kate Allen, Director of Amnesty International UK and Eugenio Donadio, Programme Manager at Plan UK.
Gaza in Crisis: 10 years of collective punishment
Sunday 8th October at 17.30 – 18.30, Crowne Plaza Glasgow
Hosted by SNP Friends of Palestine (SNPFoP) and supported by MAP, this panel discussion will be hosted by John Nicolson, broadcaster and former Member of Parliament, and speakers will include Ben Jamal, Director of the Palestine Solidarity Campaign, Sandra White Member of Scottish Parliament and Dr Philippa Whitford, SNP MP.
Dr Whitford, a senior breast cancer surgeon, will have recently returned from a breast cancer mission to Gaza and the West Bank with MAP and will be sharing her experieces of the visit.
We hope to see you there!
Please note that these events will be taking place at the party conference, and you will need a pass to attend.