Horizons of Hope through Storytelling

We are born in relationship, we are wounded in relationship, and we can be healed in relationship (Harville Hendrix).

Intersticia does not support political or religious projects or campaigns.  What we do support is people, particularly those who are stewards and leaders striving to make the world a better place for all of humanity, piece by piece over time.

So it is that last week I attended two events where members of our community from Palestine and Israel, all of whom have been impacted by the current conflict, and over a century of Colonialist policies, demonstrated their humanity, their resilience, their determination and their courage.

For thousands of years the area of Syria-Palestina has been a crossroads linking Africa, Asia, and Europe with natural corridors for trade, migration and cultural exchange formed by its geography.

The Empire podcast has recently published a wonderful overview of the area, particularly Gaza, which is well worth listening to.

I visited Gaza in February 2020 to meet with some of our Founders as part of a visit hosted by Gaza Sky Geeks and to hold a Brave Conversations. I met some extraordinary people and was showered with hospitality and kindness as I have always been in that part of the world, from Beirut to Mount Sinai; from Jerusalem to Amman.

With so much focus on the current conflict Gaza to me represents much more than a battle between ideologies, land rights and political machinations, it represents how humanity has failed to learn the lessons of history. We have failed to heed the cries throughout the millennia to become a kinder and more tolerant species to each other. We have failed to protect and nurture our humanity and to work towards living together peacefully on this precious planet that we call home.

In 2025 with all this history combined with the power of technology it is a disgrace that these conflicts still occur - as a species we should be deeply ashamed.

But just as we humans create chaos and cause havoc we can also bring forth beauty and find hope in the projects and tireless efforts of individuals who refuse to give up, and who believe that we can change things for the better.

These are the people that Intersticia chooses to support, no matter where they come from.

Last week I saw two shining examples of this.

Gaza Living Story - the launch of Yalla Labs

The Yalla Co-Operative was created in 2018 as an outcome of the Founders and Coders Founders programme and since then Yalla has worked to provide opportunities to champion technology for social impact and cross-border collaboration.

On Tuesday 14th October, 2025 Yalla formerly launched Yalla Labs a not-for-profit lab to help displaced technologists build open technology for communities. Their first project is Gaza Living Story which builds a virtual map of Gaza through the stories of people who have lived, and some of whom are still living, there.

The launch provided an opportunity to hear a few of these stories first hand and we were thrilled to be able to bring Ghada Ibrahim, former Manager of the Gaza Sky Geeks Code Academy and Tech Education Lead, to London where she could contribute to the event by reading out some of the stories, all of which were deeply moving.

Gaza Living Story aims to capture and preserve as much of the cultural and personal memory of Gaza through the people who have lived there for generations whilst also giving scope to imagine a future which could be rebuilt 'rooted in justice, dignity, and continuity'.

The full video of the event can be found here - stories of cafes and markets, schools and cafes, storytellers and teachers.

I felt especially proud and hugely privileged to have played even a small part in the Yalla journey.

Hand in Hand Haifa

Hand in Hand was established as a bilingual, integrated school of 50 children in Haifa, Israel, to combat one of Israel’s greatest existential threats - the growing social alienation and lack of trust between Jewish and Arab citizens of Israel. There are now six schools and communities in Jerusalem, the Galilee, Wadi Ara, Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Haifa, and Kfar Saba, which serve over 2,100 students with an active community of over 3,000 members impacting over 10,000 Jewish and Arab citizens.

Hand in Haid are ‍

trailblazers in the field of shared education and living, fostering a new generation of Arabs and Jews equipped to live side by side, as partners and peers. The curricula in Hand in Hand’s schools are based on values that reflect both cultures and languages, oriented in multiculturalism and shared and equal citizenship. In our bilingual educational model, Hebrew and Arabic have equal status, as do both cultures and national narratives.

On Wednesday 15th October, 2025 Hand in Hand held a Webinar interview with two Hand in Hand community members, Rana Farran and Karney Lahad, who each told their stories of how they have navigated the challenges of the past two years with their families and small children, what they have learned, how they have dealt with differing perspectives and mindsets, and how the Hand in Hand community has been determined in pursuing its mission especially during these difficult times.

It was inspiring to hear how these busy professional women have juggled their families, their careers and their identities and yet remained resilient, tolerant and determined to foster and support the future leaders of their country through bilingual education and culture.

We are grateful to have been introduced to Hand in Hand through our Intersticia Fellow Amira Shahla.

Amidst all the gloom and destruction, both physically and psychologically, of the past two years it was an inspiration to hear all of these stories and know that there are people who refuse to give up, refuse to be drawn into taking sides and thinking in and 'us/them' way, and are committed to working together to create a better for all of us living under the same sun.

‍

‍