Sustainable Fashion Symposium Palestine

On October 18th and 19th and on November 13th 2022, the Kultur Ensemble – French-German Cultural Institute in Ramallah hosted the first “Sustainable Fashion Symposium Palestine”. The aim of the event was to connect international sustainability advocates with local game-changers and brands. The event focused heavily on current reflections and perspectives for sustainable fashion in Palestine, and created a platform to bring contemporary Palestinian fashion designs and voices to the world.

Showcasing the local textile scene and contributing global perspectives

The rich program consisted of a variety full of engaging workshops, talks, lectures and presentations. We offered expert level knowledge on relevant key topics as zero-waste design, textile certifications and ethical production methods. Our Brand Accelerator created possibilities for international business opportunities.

LECTURES AND WORKSHOPS

Online and Digital

Our program was designed to engage local students, professionals but also curious minds in the conversation around sustainability and fashion. A selection of content was translated to Arabic and streamed at the French-German Cultural Institute in Ramallah and the Al-Ghussein Cultural House in Gaza. The event was created as a hybrid event.

Daily panels and thought-provoking conversations to reflect on the fashion and textile industry in Palestine.
Digital lectures and inspirational talks on the global trend of sustainable fashion and artisans work.
Free on-site workshops to get new sustainability impulses and tools for fashion and textile businesses.

Local Production

Palestine has a rich history in textile and leather production. Together with Fashion Revolution Germany, we want to highlight the potential and showcase the scalability of responsibly-made-in-Palestine items for international markets.

About the project

Our brand program was meant to connect local talent and export the fascinating world of Palestinian fashion design. Established and new Palestinian fashion brands could apply for a so-called "Brand Accelerator", which aims to improve the performance and visibility of the brands in a sustainable way.

Speakers

The program was a mix of international sustainability experts and local fashion professionals. We were thrilled to connect the different experiences, focus points and ways of working with fashion and ethical approaches. Our schedule was meant to start conversations and offer new insights.

Program

Our schedule was designed to provide educational content exclusively to local students, industry professionals and curious minds on-site.
Additionally, we curated a selection of Palestinian fashion brands, game-changers and textile/leather.

The Sustainable Fashion Symposium Palestine was an initiative of DS Agency (curated and designed by Dorothee Sarah Spehar with the help of Celine Aweidah) and was financed by the Goethe-Institut's fund “Global Support for the Arts”and implemented by the Goethe-Institut Ramallah. The project was also supported by the Institut français Jerusalem-Ramallah. The events took place on the 18th of October and the 13th of November 2022 at the French-German Cultural Institute and on the 19th of October at Birzeit University.

PROJECT PARTNER OF THE SUSTAINABLE FASHION SYMPOSIUMS PALESTINE