GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — Yasser Harara, a 25-year-old engineer, failed to make it to the final-round selections at the Gaza Startup Weekend held June 19 and co-sponsored by the Palestinian Telecommunication Group (Paltel), Google and other organizations. Startup Weekend bills itself as “54-hour events where developers, designers, marketers, project managers and startup enthusiasts come together to share ideas, form teams, build products and launch startups.” Harara presented a project about exchanging business cards via mobile phones. He did not lose hope after his project wasn't selected and in the end joined one of the winning projects as an assistant.

“I graduated two years ago, but I haven't found a suitable job. I presented this project today to try to get out of unemployment, but luck was not on my side. I did not get the required number of votes to be selected,” Harara said.

Alaa Sakr, who works in Google's technical development group in the Gaza Strip, spoke with Al-Monitor during the forum. He said, “There are 160 men and women who participated in the forum and presented innovative ideas and projects that combine technology and public services. Most of the participants are young graduates who do not have job opportunities.”

Although Harara and his friends were able to find their way to Google to present their projects, this was not the case for thousands of others who are struggling. Mohammad Helou, 24, sells falafel and corn on the streets to make money to feed his family of seven.