16 November 2011

Chess for creativity and leadership – empowerment of Palestinian women
Chess blog for latest chess news and chess trivia (c) Alexandra Kosteniuk, 2011


Hello everyone,


Here is some great chess news.


‘Chess for Leadership and Creativity’ – (placed under the patronage of international chess Grandmaster and former World Champion Alexandra Kosteniuk – The Chess Queen) is now helping Arab women.





Melissa Levacic, a strong chess player, and daughter of president of Mediterranean Chess Association, Damir Levacic, is in Palestine for five weeks, to share her passion for the chess game with Palestinians kids, as a voluntary for the Association “Peace and Sport”. The Peace and Sport peace-building programs aim at putting sport at the service of peace education and social inclusion for vulnerable youth. Melissa will be working with two NGOs based there – “Care Palestine” and “Jerusalem Suburb Communities”.


Read Melissa’s blog at this link.

You would also like to read the following related links:






On November 10, ‘CHESS FOR LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVITY’, a structured program using chess to encourage Palestinian women’s empowerment and develop their leadership skills, was launched in five Youth Centres in East Jerusalem, Bethlehem, Qatanna and Hebron.






“CHESS FOR LEADERSHIP AND CREATIVITY” is a three-year pilot program dedicated to young Arab women living in challenging and sometimes dangerous environments with the objective of empowering them to create a better future and to develop activities for their neighbourhoods.


The intrinsic values of chess (such as perseverance, discipline, creativity, accepting defeat, continual quest for progress and focus) will facilitate these vulnerable young women’s personal development, improve their emotional stability and encourage their social integration.


The program, based on the structured and supervised practice of chess, will be offered in five Youth Centres:


  • Qatanna Youth Centre, Dhiesha Youth Centre (Refugee camp of Bethlehem) and Al-Mahawer Charitable society (Hebron) – all run by the NGO Care Palestine;
  • Dahiat El Sallam Youth Centre and Kfar Akeb Youth Centre – run by the NGO Jerusalem Suburbs Community Center located in East Jerusalem.
  • “Chess for Leadership and Creativity” is a project under the guidance and leadership of the Palestinian Chess Federation with support from the Monaco-based international organization Peace and Sport and the World Chess Federation (FIDE). It is designed as a pilot project, which will be duplicated and transformed into a national program at a later stage. 
  • As you know Chess Queen Alexandra Kosteniuk is also a Peace and Sport Champion for Peace and a true ambassador for chess worldwide, who has always worked to ensure that her favourite sport serves peace, human development and social progress.
  • Peace and Sport and FIDE signed a partnership in 2010 to pioneer activities that use chess as a vehicle for youth development, social cohesion and pacific coexistence. The “Chess for Leadership and Creativity” program is the third achievement of this partnership, after similar programs in Colombia and Haiti. 
To support the program, please go to our webpage.


From Alexandra Kosteniuk’s
Also see her personal blog at
www.chessqueen.com