Gaza Sky Geeks shows another side of Palestinian life under catastrophe: skilled young people still creating, learning and building futures, if the world is willing to open doors.

For almost three years, the images from Gaza have been almost impossible to comprehend. Every evening we’ve seen scenes of destruction, displacement and unimaginable loss.

Recently, however, I discovered another story from Gaza – one that rarely appears in the headlines. It centres on Gaza Sky Geeks, a technology and entrepreneurship hub established by Mercy Corps in 2011 with early support from Google for Startups. Through training, mentoring and connections to global employers, they help talented young Palestinians build careers in the digital economy. Their approach is about creating pathways to prosperity, recognising that meaningful work and opportunity can become part of a humanitarian response.

It’s a story of software engineers developing artificial intelligence (AI) applications, entrepreneurs launching startups, designers working with international clients and young Palestinian professionals seeking mentors while living through extraordinary circumstances.

As I’ve watched and listened to the nightly news, I began to wonder whether conflict had become the only lens through which many of us now see Palestine and the Palestinian people. When violence dominates the whole story, it becomes easy to define people by what they have lost........

© Pearls and Irritations