“Hawamesh” is an important project successfully developed and established by alQaws in Haifa in 2014. “Hawamesh” (which means "margins" in Arabic), is a Haifa-based monthly discussion forum about issues related to sexual and gender diversity in Palestinian society. Hawamesh aims to fill a void in the mainstream discourse - including the rhetoric of local queer organizing and sexuality activism - in order to disrupt and broaden its domain.
Hawamesh successfully organized eight intellectual discussion forums, reaching over 150 activists and academics, as well as others interested in broadening their knowledge relating to sexual and gender diversity. Hawamesh gatherings generally took place at alQaws’ Haifa office, although Hawamesh sessions were also organized in collaboration with Almahata, the Palestinian Youth Cooperative in Haifa.
Some topics addressed in Hawamesh sessions included:

• The Relevance of a Rights-Based Approach in Palestinian Queer Organizing;
• The Palestinian LGBTQ movement and Western Hegemony;
• Sexual and Gender Diversity in Palestinian Society;
• Gender Analysis in Homosexuality;
• The Potential Use of Arab Cultural Heritage in Modern Queer Organizing;
• Queer Literature in the Arabic and Palestinian Literary Traditions
• “The Journey of Discovering Eden” (2 lectures by Dr. Esmail Nashif)