On March 9th, 2026, PhD candidate Lamia Yasin of the PhD program "Human Rights, Society, and Multi-level Governance" successfully defended her thesis at the Human Rights Centre "A. Papisca"’s headquarters at Polo Beato Pellegrino, University of Padova.  

Dr Yasin defended her thesis “Palestinian Youth Movement and Counter-Hegemony: The Use of Non-Formal Education for Identity and Citizenship Among Palestinian Citizens of Israel (‘48)”, under the supervision of Prof. De Perini. Her research aims to examine whether a counter-hegemonic discourse exists among Palestinians in the ’48 territories. This term refers to a historically defined community of Palestinians who are Israeli citizens and whose families neither fled nor were expelled during the Nakba and consequent establishment of the State of Israel. The study focuses on Palestinian youth movements as part of Palestinian civil society in the ’48 territories. In particular, it explores whether non-formal education institutions provide a platform for the development of counter-hegemonic discourses that challenge Israel’s framing of identity and citizenship, and whether these discourses contribute to alternative forms of social reproduction.

The examination commission was chaired by Prof. Ayman Agbaria, University of Haifa; Prof. Elena Pariotti, University of Padova and Prof. Laura Lundy, Queen's University Belfast. 

With the successful defence of her dissertations, Dr Yasin has been awarded her PhD in Human Rights, Society, and Multi-level Governance. Her success is the culmination of years of research with dedicated commitment and devotion and the Human Rights Centre of the University of Padova extends its congratulations to the new doctor and wishes her continued success in her future academic and professional commitments.