Gaza Sky Geeks: Crisis Management in Times of Uncertainty

By Gaza Sky Geeks 

Reflecting on how Gaza Sky Geeks (GSG) has navigated crises over the years reveals not only the resilience of our team but also the incredible strength and spirit of the community we serve. As a program of Mercy Corps, established in 2011, GSG has grown into a hub for Palestinian youth, digital talent, and innovation. Over the years, we have faced disruptions that tested our ability to respond, adapt, and continue delivering impact, in 2012, 2014, 2021, 2022, and most recently, during the 2023–2024 genocide. Each event demanded that we rethink our approach, reorganize our operations, and innovate solutions to ensure that our programs could continue to support youth and talent in Gaza, the West Bank, and East Jerusalem. 

Gaza Sky Geeks is more than a program: it’s a movement built by Gazans, for Palestinians  The majority of our team and operations have always been rooted in Gaza, giving us firsthand understanding of what it means to continue creating, learning, and building amid uncertainty. Our team’s lived experience in Gaza has shaped the way we approach crisis management: not as a set of rigid procedures, but as a flexible, human-centered approach rooted in resilience, creativity, and community trust. 

For years, Gaza Sky Geeks has been teaching Palestinians how to thrive in the remote work ecosystem, challenging borders and boundaries through technology. When the COVID-19 pandemic hit, GSG was among the first organizations in Palestine to transition fully to remote work. We adapted swiftly, ensuring continuity for our learners while maintaining safety for our team. During lockdown, we organized Hack the Crisis, the country’s first virtual hackathon, turning uncertainty into opportunity and showcasing the potential of Palestinian youth in the digital economy. 

These experiences shaped our ability to respond creatively to crises, but nothing fully prepared us for the scale of atrocities that began in October 2023. Initially, we believed the situation would last only a few days/weeks and applied the same strategies we had used before. But as the crisis continued, it became clear that this was unlike anything we had faced. 

Our Gaza-based team and community found themselves at the center of a situation that canceled all daily life, education, and work. Meanwhile, our West Bank team shifted focus to support emergency programs while continuing to deliver trainings and online sessions for youth across Palestine. Despite the uncertainty, we held on to what we had built: a strong reputation for Palestinian tech talent abroad and a vibrant community of thousands of freelancers known for professionalism, creativity, and dedication. 

Stopping was never an option. Sumud “ steadfastness” sometimes means moving forward quietly, even while grieving. It is the resilience to continue creating and building, even when circumstances seem impossible. 

Our approach to crisis management is multi-layered and continuously evolving: 

1- Operational Flexibility: We shifted the majority of our activities online, ensuring training, mentorship, and employment support could continue despite lockdowns, communication blackouts, and displacement. Our programs were redesigned to function under conditions of limited electricity, internet disruptions, and ongoing instability.
 

2- Supporting Our Team and Community: Crisis management is not only operational, it is deeply human. We prioritized the well-being, safety, and mental health of our team and community. Check-ins, peer support networks, and flexible schedules allowed staff and learners to continue working without compromising safety or dignity.
 

3- Maintaining Opportunities: Even amid the crisis, we ensured Palestinian youth had access to remote work, digital skills, and mentorship. Thousands of freelancers continued to work with companies globally, proving that talent and professionalism can transcend borders.
 

4- Learning and Adapting: Every crisis brings valuable lessons,and at Gaza Sky Geeks, we make sure to learn from each one. We actively listen to our community and adapt our programs to meet their changing realities. From developing hybrid learning models to redesigning bootcamps that can operate under the most restrictive conditions, we have continuously evolved to stay responsive and relevant. 

5- Our learning approach goes beyond internal reflection. We regularly conduct deep dives and join focus group discussions with key ecosystem players, from tech companies and freelancers to educational partners ,to exchange insights, co-create solutions, and strengthen our collective capacity to manage crises effectively. 

6- Over the years, we have also built operational resilience by ensuring continuity of leadership and coordination. Having a spare location and team outside of Gaza, primarily based in the West Bank, has allowed us to sustain operations when local conditions made it impossible to work on the ground. This decentralized structure ensures that our programs continue running, our community stays engaged, and our mission remains uninterrupted. 

7- Sustaining Hope and Purpose: Perhaps most importantly, crisis management at GSG is about maintaining hope. For us, Sumud is not passive endurance,  it is active perseverance. It is about creating pathways for youth to earn, learn, and thrive, even when circumstances are dire. 

Through these experiences, GSG has learned that true crisis management requires more than plans, it requires mindset, collaboration, and resilience. Some of the lessons that guide us include: 

• Flexibility is essential: Programs must adapt in real-time to shifting realities.
   

• Community trust is invaluable: Our work relies on the confidence and engagement of the participants we serve.
   

• Opportunities must be maintained: Even during crises, keeping pathways for learning, income, and professional growth open is critical.
   

• Resilience is collective: Sumud is not an individual effort; it runs through our team, our learners, and our community. 

• Add a point about supporting the local companies at emergencies for the benefit of national economy
   

Gaza Sky Geeks continues to operate virtually, delivering online trainings, supporting digital talent, connecting talent  with global opportunities, and sustaining coworking spaces in Gaza. We have demonstrated that against all the odds and  even under conditions of extreme uncertainty, displacement, and restricted access, programs can continue to provide meaningful impact. 

Our commitment is clear: to equip Palestinian youth with skills, opportunities, and confidence, so that no matter what challenges arise, they can continue learning, creating, and thriving. Sumud is not merely a cultural concept, it is the foundation of our crisis management approach, guiding our team and community through adversity, innovation, and growth. 

Crisis management at Gaza Sky Geeks is more than planning or strategy; it i a lived, active experience of resilience, perseverance, and hope. Sumud guides us to continue creating, teaching, and connecting, even in the most challenging circumstances. 

Gaza Sky Geeks remains steadfast in our mission: to empower Palestinian youth with digital skills, opportunities, and pathways to global employment. We continue to stand with our community, proving that even amid crisis, resilience, creativity, and determination can turn challenges into opportunities and hope into action. 

At Gaza Sky Geeks, we believe that resilience grows stronger through collaboration. As we continue to empower Palestinian youth and strengthen the region’s digital economy, we invite partners, supporters, and innovators to join us in creating sustainable pathways for opportunity. 

👉 To learn more about our work or explore partnership opportunities, reach out to us at info@gazaskygeeks.com