GAZA CITY, Gaza Strip — On International Youth Day, which is celebrated annually on Aug. 12, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon chose Palestinian youth Hussein Murtaja from Gaza City to be part of the Advisory Group of Experts for Progress Study on Youth, Peace and Security.

In 2009, the Youth Advisory Board affiliated with UN-Habitat and concerned with urbanization and urban development was launched. This year on Aug. 12, the Advisory Group of Experts was formed and comprised of a youth advisory team affiliated with the United Nations. This group includes 21 youth experts who work in the framework of a project put forth by Jordan in December 2015, with the aim of finding a new role the youth can play in peace and security building.

Murtaja holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering and a degree in applied business; he is also the recipient of the Erasmus Mundus student exchange scholarship. He is a youth and social activist who has worked as the coordinator of several projects, such as the Palestine Model UN 2012 (PalMUN 2012). He has represented Palestine at several conferences and international and local events. He is also a spokesman for victims of war and armed conflict.

In 2008, Murtaja founded, with a group of friends, the youth group Rasail (Messages) that became a UN partner in the Committee on the Exercise of the Inalienable Rights of the Palestinian People. The Youth Letters program aims to raise awareness among the youth about the UN’s role, and to provide financial support for economic empowerment projects dedicated to Gaza’s youth. The group also conducted volunteer work, and local and international projects.