Yasmeen El Khoudary, a student in the Palestinian Territories, finds that technology provides a valuable window to the world of literature.

When I was a child of seven or eight, sometime in the mid 90s, my aunt took me to the British Council Library in Gaza.

It was my first time in a library, and my first time at the British Council. The visit left me with an impression so strong I can still remember what the library looked like when I think about it today. I remember the feeling of the colourful new books that my young university-student aunt would borrow and read to me. It grew in me an affinity for books that helps me through difficult times today, as a child of 21.

I never had the chance to repeat my aunt’s post-lecture visits to the British Council because I went to university outside Palestine. Now, for different reasons, I can’t make the trip even though I am currently back in Gaza. The British Council’s library no longer exists, leaving a significant vacuum in the cultural reserve of Gaza.

Yet, thanks to technology and the determination of educators, the British Council is using a new means of communication to fill that vacuum.

Last year I was introduced to the Palestine Writing Workshop (PWW) through Facebook, and then, through the PWW, to the relentless efforts of the British Council. The PWW organizes writing workshops in Ramallah or in London, and the British Council in Gaza hosts the participants, allowing them to ‘attend’ the workshop via video conference.

I can’t think of a better example of creative solutions to education challenges.

We’ve always known that knowledge has no limits, and we’ve learned from experience that it has no borders either. No geographic or political obstacle was able to get in the way of the nonfiction writing workshop that we took in Gaza with writer-in-residence Mr. Jeremy Harding, who was in Ramallah.

All that was needed was determination from committed knowledge seekers in Gaza, the creative efforts of the PWW along with Mr. Harding, and video conference utilities kindly set up by the British Council office in Gaza. Combined, these ingredients enabled us to learn the basics of nonfiction writing in a three-day workshop.

Another example was our “Finding Your Inner Voice” workshop with author Kamila Shamsie, with whom we found more than just our inner voices. We found a key that opened a door to a country that people always confuse with our own, but about which we knew little: Pakistan.

We learned about our inner voices by discussing issues that pertain to both Pakistan and Palestine, and by learning how the same basic writing techniques are used by people everywhere to voice their thoughts and emotions.

Writing helps us find not only our inner voice, but also the human within; it teaches us about ourselves more than anything else. We look forward to learning more about ourselves, and to building new friendships via the PWW and at the British Council. We are particularly excited to finally start an English Book Club chapter in Gaza, thanks to the generous contributions of the PWW and support of the British Council.

Step by step, our memories of the British Council will build a new reality of culture, knowledge and everlasting friendships.

Find out more about the British Council’s work in the Palestinian Territories