The Excellence Center/Engage in Palestine is an organisation based in the West Bank. It was founded by dedicated local community servants to create a bridge between Palestine and the world. 

We offer educational, cultural, social, and community programs to a diverse range of international students, interns, and volunteers. With a wide variety of topics to choose from, the Excellence Center has something for everyone interested in learning about and experiencing life in Palestine.

Since its beginning in 2011, the Excellence Center has provided a rich and immersive learning experience for over 1,000 international visitors, which has greatly benefited the local community, including children, Palestinian refugees, youth, and women. 

Today, we speak with the woman behind the success of the Excellence Center, Managing Director Marwa Shantir. 

Getting to Know the Manager

Marwa began studying Islamic Law, but she didn’t find her true calling until her brother, Rafat, invited her to come and lead the Excellence Center in 2013. The Center was going well, but it needed someone with the attention and dedication to take it to the next level. At the time, Marwa didn’t have any English or any experience running an organization like the Excellence Center. For 12 months, she trained and learned English until she was ready to take over the day-to-day operations as Managing Director. 

When Marwa agreed to take on the role, she didn’t really know what to expect. Now, she sees so much change has happened in the time since she first started with the Center. As a family business, she wants the Center to succeed. She also enjoys being around foreigners, sharing her language and her culture with them, and learning about theirs in return. 

Marwa met her now husband Osama through the Excellence Center, and they share four young children together. Their family lives close to the Center campus and next to the female shared volunteer apartment, where they are almost like a host family for the visitors who come through. Marwa somehow manages to balance managing the Center, being a wife and a mother, as well as a generous host. 

The Vision Behind the Excellence Center

The goal of the Excellence Center is to establish itself as an outstanding educational and cultural center that will serve the needs of its diverse Palestinian community,  providing innovative and creative opportunities to learn, grow, and achieve.

Importantly, the Center also seeks to increase mutual understanding between the Palestinian people and people from other countries through educational and cultural exchange, which assists in developing peaceful relations.

Marwa has seen a lot change since she first began leading the Center. Her strong leadership has not only seen the Excellence Center thrive, but it has also supported the development of an Excellence Center in Germany. Marwa was the first woman to lead the Center. Prior to her starting it was all men. She believes that having a woman at the helm has increased people’s trust in the Center and its activities. 

In the long term, Marwa hopes to see the organisation thrive as more and more people are interested in coming to Palestine, engaging with the culture, and learning about the situation. 

Her Role and Daily Work

Marwa’s job at the Center spans a wide range of responsibilities. As Managing Director, she oversees the experience of all international volunteers and students when they come to the Center; organising schedules, finding host families for the female guests, managing the accommodation including the fitout, and the cleaning and functionality of the shared apartments. 

The most rewarding aspect of Marwa’s work is engaging with the people who come to visit the Excellence Center. Interacting with foreigners helped Marwa to learn English. She has also made, and been able to visit, dear friends from all over the world. The vast cultural exchange she has experienced through this work has been incredibly enriching and really helps in the mission of the Excellence Center to share some of the Palestinian story and culture with the world. 

Impact on the Community

Marwa is proud of the impact that the Excellence Center has had on the community. Part of the work of the Excellence Center is to equip young Palestinians with the tools to help them create the best future for themselves possible. Given the prevalence of English in many opportunities, language instruction is especially important for children of all ages. When international volunteers come to stay in Hebron, they also help support the local community through teaching or practising English with students, especially in places of high need like the refugee camps around the city. 

One of the big priorities for the center, according to Marwa, is sharing the story of Palestine with the world. Through collaborations with local community organisations and initiatives, international volunteers from around the world visit and get to know local initiatives like human rights organisations, media outlets, artists, small business owners and students. In these interactions, people hear stories of Palestinian resistance and resilience, helping to share the story of this important cause when they return home. 

Time spent in Palestine and with the Excellence Center also tends to have a deep impact on the volunteers who take part. Many of them leave saying that their time volunteering at the Center has changed their lives for good. The sense of family and belonging is such that many volunteers also return, and some even end up relocating to the West Bank. Marwa is a big part of making the Excellence Center such a welcoming place. 

Challenges and Overcoming Them

When asked what the biggest difficulty is that she faces in her work, Marwa said without a doubt, it would be the military occupation of the West Bank. For the local people, it makes everyday life difficult in terms of freedom of movement. This is especially true across the Palestinian-controlled area of H1 and the Israeli-controlled H2 area of Hebron city, where people have to pass checkpoints to access certain parts of the city, including the holy Ibrahimi mosque. The occupation, especially during the recent war since October 7th, has also set up over 800 more gates around the entire West Bank, making movement between Palestinian cities in Area A more difficult to access. In recent years, this has impacted the Center by limiting the number of local students who feel comfortable traveling from outside, and even within Hebron, to attend classes. 

Another impact of the occupation is that they control who is allowed to come to the West Bank and for how long. Recently, immigration security has become more restrictive in terms of who they are willing to let in, which makes operations difficult for the Center. They can prepare the program, the accommodation, and the transport for new volunteers only to have them turned away at the border, sometimes completely arbitrarily. For Marwa, this is incredibly frustrating because she believes it’s very unfair for people to travel all this way only to be denied entry. It also impacts the income of the Center when people are not able to come and participate in their chosen program. 

Some international people end up not coming to the West Bank because they are worried about what they hear in the news, or their families are not comfortable with them coming here. Once through immigration, Marwa would like to let people know that life in Hebron and the West Bank generally is very safe and pleasant for international travellers, as the restrictions of the occupation are not meant to impede international travelers. Since 2011, the Excellence Center has welcomed over 1000 volunteers to come and spend time in Hebron. 

Women in Leadership: Breaking Barriers

The Excellence Center has thrived under Marwa’s leadership. Reflecting on her journey as a woman and as a leader in Hebron, she says that Hebron used to be less accepting of women working, but that attitude has changed over the last decade or so. She and the other women staff at the Excellence Center all bring a spirit and passion to their work, as well as a dedication to making things run smoothly and work well. 

Her advice to other young women aspiring to leadership roles is to fight for your education, and then if you are educated, then do your best to work. Now mother to four young children, including two new twins, Marwa continues to dedicate herself to her work, the volunteers, as well as her family. She says even with an incredibly busy schedule, she will not give up on her work. 

The Future of the Excellence Center in Europe/the Excellence Center

Given the Center’s great success since its inception, Marwa reflects on what is next. In 2018, the Excellence Center Europe, located in Germany, was established as a sister organisation. Now, they are considering where else they might expand to. One practical answer might be Jordan, to help limit some of the current risks to the business model of the Excellence Center in Europe/the Excellence Center – Jordan is perceived as much safer than the West Bank, which might make people less hesitant to travel. There is also less likelihood that people will be refused entry in Jordan. 

When asked how people can contribute to the Center’s mission, Marwa says to come and volunteer! The Excellence Center has developed a wide range of programs for people of all backgrounds, expertise, and areas of interest. While helping to support the local community, people can also come to learn more about Palestine, its people, and their incredible resilience in the face of oppression. 

Personal Reflections and Advice

Marwa says that she is motivated by seeing the happiness of the people who are impacted by the Center’s work. Whether it’s young kids improving in their English skills, or international volunteers learning about the Palestinian situation, when she sees people happy through their interactions with the Center it makes all her work worth it. 

Reflecting on her time at the Excellence Center, Marwa says that she has learned a lot about leadership. When asked about her most important lessons, she says that it’s all about how you are with people. For Marwa, leaders need to be patient and generous with their people, to learn when to ignore things that aren’t worth getting into an argument about, and to be flexible instead of rigid when it comes to taking steps forward.

Conclusion

The Excellence Center is a testament to the power of education, cultural exchange, and strong leadership. Under Marwa Shantir’s guidance, the Center has flourished, creating opportunities for both local Palestinians and international visitors to learn, connect, and grow. 

Despite the challenges posed by the occupation and restrictions on movement, the Center continues to thrive, offering a space of hope, learning, and mutual understanding. As Marwa looks toward the future, her dedication to expanding the Center’s reach and impact remains strong. 

For those seeking a meaningful way to engage with Palestine, the Excellence Center offers an experience that is both enriching and transformative. Check out our volunteering options or email us at Info@ecpalestine.org. 

Find Us Online

WhatsApp: +972 599 479 880

Website: https://ecpalestine.org/

EC Website: https://excellencenter.org/

Volunteer in Palestine: https://volunteerinpalestine.org/

Study in Palestine: https://studyinpalestine.org/

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