Ms. Wadad Sourani - Director General of the Association of University Graduates delivered the partners’ speech at a meeting presenting the results of identifying the needs of the civil coalition institutions and the partner institutions within the "Citizen First" project funded by the European Union and implemented by the partners, the Center for Civil Society Studies (Civitas), the Arab World Observatory for Democracy and Elections and the Association University graduates. She indicated in her speech that the project seeks to enable the Palestinian civil society to become an effective force for social, economic and political reform by strengthening the process and culture of accountability in the Palestinian society, including strengthening the roles of civil society and social actors in addition to the bearers of responsibility - decision makers. She added that during the past year and a half of the project, many activities were implemented, starting with identifying the needs of different institutions and measuring the level of gender sensitivity within those institutions, as well as evaluating the status of strategic planning in institutions. She stated that during the coming period, the capacities of the institutions will be built in various fields that will directly and effectively contribute to achieving the goal of the project and improving the level of capabilities of civil society institutions in Palestine of exercising the role of accountability and oversight in order to enhance the level of citizens’ access to various services. At the end of her speech, she thanked the partners and partner institutions in the Gaza Strip and the West Bank for their presence, which reflects the level of seriousness and desire to improve the reality of civil society institutions in Palestine.