The Beginning

In 2011, a group of dedicated Palestinian community servants in Hebron launched the Excellence Center in Palestine, primarily to connect international volunteer English teachers with Palestinian students wanting to learn English. In Hebron, Palestinian students in schools are taught English by Palestinian teachers and have little to no exposure to native or foreign English speakers unless they happen to meet them around the city.

As few tourists come to Hebron, many Palestinian students have never or rarely met English-speaking speakers from other countries. This is something that the Excellence Center endeavored to change.

Palestinian Students Learn English In School, However…

While Palestinian students learn English in school, the school curriculum in the West Bank has similarities with English curricula worldwide in that it is often teacher- and grammar-focused with little or no time for speaking practice. In addition, class sizes, particularly in public schools, can have 40-50 students per class, making learning another language much more difficult.

Community Development Summer Program 2025

This approach often leads Palestinian students and students all over the world to leave school and feel like they can’t speak or use English, even though they spent many years studying it. 

We Sought A Different Approach To Teaching English

The Excellence Center sought a different approach, wanting to teach English in a different way, using more practical and communicative methods and bringing native and fluent English speakers to Palestine.

Connecting international with Palestinian students inside the English classroom gives Palestinian students much-needed practice and exposure to English. Not only that, it can also increase their confidence and present the perfect setting for cultural exchange and building multicultural relationships.

Our Success Led To Expansion

As the Excellence Center became more established and reputable within the local community in Hebron, we began to have more Palestinian students join us for our English courses. We also began to develop our intensive Arabic courses aimed at international students wishing to come to Palestine primarily to study Arabic, whether the local dialect or Fus’ha. Success with our English and Arabic teaching programs led to continued growth, which allowed us to create Engage in Palestine, Volunteer In Palestine, and Study In Palestine to expand into other important fields. 

Volunteer With Palestinian Children Summer 2025

While the Excellence Center focuses primarily on teaching English to local Palestinian students and Arabic to international students, Volunteer in Palestine primarily focuses on community development. This includes working with Palestinian refugees, Palestinian children, and other members of the local Palestinian community. Volunteer in Palestine runs numerous programs and training services to develop our local community and create better career and economic opportunities and a better overall future.

Awards and Recognitions 

We continue to strive towards “excellence”: In 2023 and 2022, we were rated one of the top three programs worldwide for offering volunteer opportunities and one of the top three language schools worldwide by Go Overseas. We received a total of five Go Overseas Community Choice Awards in 2022 and 2023. The Excellence Center was also recognized as one of the top Teach Abroad Providers for the category of “benefits” and one of the Top Internship Abroad Providers for the categories of “growth” and “support”. 

We continue striving towards “excellence.” In 2021, we were rated one of the top three programs worldwide to offer volunteer opportunities. We received the community choice awards by Go Overseas in the categories “best language school”, and voted best on “fun” and “instruction.” 

In 2019, we received our first “Go Overseas Community Choice Awards” to acknowledge the Excellence Center’s impact on the community of travelers around the world. The Excellence Center continues to be a highly rated travel organization across its selection of programs. Check out our many great reviews here:

Making a Difference In Palestine

Volunteer in Palestine also aims to educate and inform international participants about Palestine in several fields, including human rights, women’s rights, Palestinian culture, laws and legal practices, medicine, and healthcare. Today, Volunteer in Palestine offers volunteer programs and internships in various fields for international participants wishing to come to Palestine and engage with the local community.

Volunteer in Local Palestinian Villages and Rural Areas 

This is very important work as there are many unfair misconceptions about Palestine and Palestinians in the international community, and this is an area where we can make a real difference. In addition, it is very difficult for Palestinians to travel abroad due to the restrictions imposed on them by the Occupation, which also limits the tourism industry within Palestine. So Volunteer in Palestine also provides an environment where Palestinians can engage with people from all over the world.

Expanding To New Facilities

Due to our success and expansion, in 2017, we left our original building on Ein Sara Street and moved to new facilities just a few minutes away on foot (Ein Sarah Street (Street 420), Building No. 7, next to Al Hussein Mosque 🕌). Our new facility, where we are located today, is larger and has more than double the classrooms we had previously.

This allows us to teach more English and Arabic classes and gives us a bigger space to host more international participants. Additionally, we now have more space to offer workshops, seminars, events, and training sessions for international students and our local community.

The Future?

Our story is not yet finished as we continue to expand and grow both internationally and within our local community. Our commitment to our values, local Palestinian community and international participants has led to our enormous success and expansion since our very humble beginning.

We will continue to grow and develop our local Palestinian community and our international participants from now until the future. We would happily welcome you if you wish to engage in Palestine with us. 

Get Involved

If you are as excited by our mission as we were, you can support the Excellence Centre Palestine in several ways. 

Get Further Information 

For more information, please visit our website: https://excellencenter.org/

Engage in Palestine: https://ecpalestine.org/

WhatsApp:+972 599 479 880

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/excellence.center

Facebook page: https://www.facebook.com/ExcellenceCenter

Facebook account: https://www.facebook.com/RafatECHebron

Watch us on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCsQSLdFZWZcBm6Uj0XMYuKg

Visit and Explore Palestine: https://www.facebook.com/ExplorePalestine