How AYWA came together

Ask a Palestinian teenager what they would change about their community and you rarely get silence. You hear about the waitlist a younger brother has been stuck on for months, the shelf of imported products that pushed the local ones aside, the friend who has no one to talk to. The ideas are there. What has been missing is a place to take them, the skills to shape them, and people willing to say yes.

That is where AYWA comes from.

A name that says yes

In Palestinian Arabic, aywa (أيوا) is the everyday word for yes. In English, the letters stand for Aspire Youth With Action. We wanted both meanings in the name: a yes to young people's ideas, and the action that turns an idea into something real.

Starting with high school students

We chose to start where ideas form earliest. Our Youth Innovation Programs bring students in grades 9 to 12 together for five focused days during school breaks, in January and April, with a longer ten-day program in the summer. Students learn design thinking, choose a track in prompt engineering, PR & design, or business development, and work in teams on a real community problem until they can pitch it on demo day.

We never schedule a program during school hours. Students should not have to choose between their education and their ideas.

Building the rest of the ecosystem

A student with an idea needs more than one good week. They need people a few steps ahead of them, and companies willing to take young people seriously. So AYWA grew in three directions:

• Students, through the Youth Innovation Programs and the workshops that run between them.
• Young talent, through the Networking Series, which brings university students, young founders, professionals, and ecosystem leaders into the same room.
• Corporates, through our Corporate Innovation arm, which helps businesses solve real challenges and build new ventures with the talent around them.

Each part feeds the others. Companies bring real challenges. Young professionals mentor and inspire. Students bring fresh eyes and the confidence to try.

Who said yes with us

None of this works alone. BuildPalestine, Madfoatcom, Ahdaf, TechnoPark, Makani Innovation Hub, The WorkShop, Coffee Lab, Cliché, and Donuttery are among the partners who have supported and trusted our work.

Over the past year, that support added up to three innovation programs, more than 250 applicants, 40 students accepted on full scholarships, and 13 sector-specific projects.

What comes next

Our vision has not changed: generations of Palestinians equipped to use innovation to solve social challenges and shape meaningful change in every sector.

Applications are open for the January 2027 Youth Innovation Program. If you are a student with an idea, a professional who wants to give back, or a company with a challenge worth solving, we would love to hear from you. Apply for the January program or get in touch.