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Izzat Salah Abdulhadi

About

Izzat Salah Abdulhadi is the Head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific.

Izzat was born in Nablus, Palestine, in 1957 and educated in Egypt, Lebanon, the UK and Australia.

Prior to joining the Palestinian Diplomatic Corp, he was the founding Director General of Bisan Centre for Research and Development, a leading NGO in community development and civil society strengthening. Established in 1989, he held this post for 18 years, implementing programs and producing ground breaking research funded by the World Bank and other premier international organisations. Izzat explains: ‘Bisan was and remains central to strengthening Palestinian civil society, promoting human rights, democratic principles, human sustainable development and social justice through community development, policy research, advocacy and networking.’

Following the Oslo Accords of 1993, Izzat was among a core group of civil society leaders who established the Palestinian NGO Network or “PNGO”, the most significant networking body for Palestinian NGOs, and was elected consecutively to the PNGO Steering Committee. He was also part of the establishment of the Arab NGO Network for Development and a member of its steering committee. He has been heavily involved in the move to NGOs leading the establishment and development of vibrant and democratic Arab civil societies.

In 2006, Izzat was appointed as the Head of the General Delegation of Palestine to Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. Guided by a strong commitment to public diplomacy, his work as Head of the General Delegation focuses on creating open and robust relationships between all levels of Australian and New Zealand society and Palestinian society.

He is an active member of the Council of the Arab Ambassadors in Canberra and currently holds the post of Deputy Dean of the Council. In this role, he implements Council decisions that engage the shared interests of Arab countries within Australia, New Zealand and the Pacific. In addition, he maintains relationships with other members of the international diplomatic corp.

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