العربية

Palestinian Narrative Program

A cultural heritage and memory preservation program rooted in the Palestinian landscape — its olive groves, villages, and oral traditions — documenting stories that define Palestinian identity.

Get Involved

Voices Across Palestine

Participant Stories

Click the dots on the map to meet Mayroun participants from across Palestinian communities.

Palestine map

Click a dot on the map to read participant stories.

About the Program

Roots That Remember

Palestine and its people have a long and distinguished history, marked by many challenges across time. With the genocide war on Gaza and the aggression on the West Bank including Jerusalem, Palestinians have been reduced to their suffering and struggle. But Palestine and Palestinians are much more than that — they are a civilization, a geography, a history, a living and ever-renewing identity, a vibrant culture, a rich human heritage, and unbreakable creativity. Palestinian history must not begin with the Nakba, because the Nakba is not a beginning but a painful milestone. One history, for one people. Meron — named after a depopulated Palestinian village north of occupied Palestine, west of Safad — focuses on the Palestinian narrative as a space for knowledge, memory, and belonging. The project brought together the historical dimension led by Dr. Jonni Mansour, and the emotional dimension of Palestinian refugee experiences led by researcher Tariq Bakri, founder of the Kona Wa Ma Zilna initiative.
Mayroun Heritage
150+ Stories Documented
8 Village Communities
3 Active Projects
40+ Community Volunteers

A Journey Through Memory

Stories of Heritage
& Preservation

Four acts. Four voices. One continuous thread of Palestinian memory.

Through the Portal
Act I
The Festival Lives
Act II
The Occupied Road
Act III
The River Remembers
Act IV

Researchers reach Al-Maqam and discover a transparent portal glowing through the arches of Al-Riwaqs.

“
Walking into the archive felt like stepping through time. Suddenly, 1946 wasn't history — it was a living, breathing world I could touch.
D

Dina K.

Oral History Volunteer, Jaffa

Mawsim Rubin cultural rituals mark the start of the Mawsim — with marches, Zaffet Al-Bayraq, drums, and folkloric singing.

“
My grandmother described the Zaffa so vividly — the drums, the flags, the whole village walking together. Recording her words, I felt the procession moving inside me.
T

Tariq M.

Heritage Researcher, Ramallah

The researchers reach the site of Maqam Al-Nabi Rubin — now the Palmahim natural reserve. They continue on foot.

“
Every stone on that path has been renamed. Our work is to hold the original names — to insist that Yebna existed, and still does, in our memory.
H

Hala S.

Village Mapper, Hebron

The river was an important element of the Mawsim. People crossed the ford, then the actual Mawsim started.

“
Heritage preservation is not about nostalgia — it is about ensuring that Palestinian voices, knowledge, and memory endure.
D

Dr. Nour A.

Academic Partner, Birzeit University

"The olive tree is not merely a tree. It is a witness to time, a keeper of stories, and a promise that roots can outlast even the hardest stone."

Palestinian Proverb

Stories From the Field

“Whoever has no history has no present.”
Meron Program Palestinian Narrative Program — ROA Center
“Palestine and Palestinians are much more than suffering — they are a civilization, a history, a living and ever-renewing identity.”
ROA Center Palestinian Narrative Program

Frequently Asked Questions

Meron is a project by ROA Center focusing on the Palestinian narrative as a space for knowledge, memory, and belonging. It brings together historical and emotional dimensions of Palestinian identity.

The program is named after Meron, a depopulated Palestinian village north of occupied Palestine, west of Safad. The name connects the program to a rooted sense of Palestinian place and belonging.

Dr. Jonni Mansour leads the historical dimension from the late Ottoman period through modern history. Tariq Bakri leads the emotional and nostalgic dimension through the Kona Wa Ma Zilna initiative.

The Palestinian narrative places Palestinians as actors, not objects — grounding identity in a living, continuous relationship with land, memory, and community, built on history rather than on suffering alone.