PCO
Tradition here is a verb: stitched, danced, cooked, told.
No. 01 ٠١
The Organization
المنظمة
The Palestinian Cultural Organization was founded at UNC Charlotte by nine students who wanted the campus to know who Palestinians are as a people: our traditions, our art, our resilience, and our joy. What began as a handful of meetings is now a full calendar of cultural nights, iftars, lectures, showcases, and fundraisers, run entirely by students and open to the whole university.
We treat culture as something you do, not something you look at through glass. A henna night in traditional attire, a lecture on the Dome of the Rock over an iftar meal, a table at the International Festival strung with flags: these are small acts of keeping, and anyone willing to learn is welcome to help carry them.
Culture kept to itself gets smaller. Culture shared grows.
So we keep Palestinian culture in living practice and share it generously, and everything we raise along the way goes back out: more than $10,000 to date for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, and the Palestinian Students Scholarship Fund.
No. 02 ٠٢
What We Do
البرنامج
laylat henna falastiniya: a Palestinian henna night
Evenings built around the traditions our families celebrate with. Henna Falastiniya, hosted with Aswat Al-Ard, the Arab Student Organization, and Charlotte United for Palestine, filled Cone Center with henna, music, and traditional attire, and every ticket went to the Palestinian Students Scholarship Fund. Nights like it are the heart of our calendar.
Ramadan with our partner organizations
During Ramadan we break fast together. The United for Gaza potluck brought Palestinian, Pakistani, Afghan, Lebanese, and Egyptian dishes to one long table with UMR, ASO, and the Muslim Student Association. Our Dome Talk with NOMAS paired the iftar meal with a lecture on the meaning of fasting and the architecture of the Dome of the Rock.
dabke: the line dance of the Levant
We dance at Culture Week, and we stand behind Charlotte's dabke stage: for Firkat El Watan's seventh showcase, PCO curated the vendor lineup, hand-picking tatreez sellers, olive wood and jewelry makers, and relief organizations from across the city to share the night.
tatreez: embroidery
The cross-stitch tradition runs through everything we make, from our posters to the motifs charted in The Collection. A dress could tell you where its maker was from, stitch by stitch; we keep that grammar alive in workshops, displays, and the things we sew into our own clothes.
Filastin: Palestine, represented on campus
At the UNC Charlotte International Festival, the Palestine table is strung with flag bunting and stocked with sweets, tatreez, and answers to good questions. A flag, a kuffiyeh, a shirt: at last year's festival you could see Palestine in every direction, and that is the point.
al-'ataa: giving
Most of what we do raises something for somebody. Members have raised more than $10,000 to date for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, and the Palestinian Students Scholarship Fund, through ticketed nights, potlucks, and partnership with local sponsors like Zaytuna Halal Market.
Nearly everything is free and open to everyone; ticketed nights fund scholarships and relief.
No. 03 ٠٣
The Season
الموسم
The Fall 2026 executive board has been announced, with Mehdi Shawar at the helm. Meet the new board under Membership, No. 06.
General meetings
Held through the semester; the first meeting of the fall is announced in August.
Student Organizations Showcase
Over 250 clubs, food, and DJs across campus; find the PCO table, say marhaba, and sign up. 4:00 to 6:30 pm.
International Festival
The Palestine table returns to UNC Charlotte's annual festival: flags, sweets, tatreez, and good conversation.
Community iftars
Potlucks and Dome Talks with our partner organizations, continuing a tradition now in its third year.
The full fall calendar is posted on @pcouncc in August. Past seasons live in The Archive.
No. 04 ٠٤
The Archive
الأرشيف
A record of what we have made together so far. Photographs are drawn from the organization's own documentation on Instagram.
Spring 2026
No. 05 ٠٥
The Collection
المجموعة
Tatreez is a record kept in thread. For generations, a dress could tell you where its maker was from, what her town grew, and what she wished for, all of it counted stitch by stitch onto linen. The motifs below are charted at true stitch count, the way they would be passed from one embroiderer to the next, worked here in the three thread colors of the flag.
The art of embroidery in Palestine was inscribed on UNESCO's Representative List of the Intangible Cultural Heritage of Humanity in 2021. The tradition runs through everything we make: see What We Do.
No. 06 ٠٦
Membership
العضوية
Membership is open to every student, Palestinian or not, Arab or not; all you need is curiosity and a willingness to be fed. There are no prerequisites. Come to a general meeting, follow along at @pcouncc, or just show up to the next event on the calendar; someone will save you a seat and probably hand you a plate.
Faculty, staff, alumni, and Charlotte neighbors: our public events are yours too, and we are always glad for partners, venues, sponsors, and volunteer hands.
أهلاً وسهلاً, ahlan wa sahlan: welcome, you are among family.
A new board is announced each semester on @pcouncc.
The quickest way to reach us is a direct message on Instagram, @pcouncc; that is how we run, day to day, and someone always answers.
A share of everything we raise goes back out: more than $10,000 to date for the Palestine Children's Relief Fund, HEAL Palestine, and the Palestinian Students Scholarship Fund, which we support directly through the tickets sold at our cultural nights.
We do not take donations through this site, and our nonprofit registration is still pending, so nothing here is tax-deductible. To give or to help, the best way is to come to a ticketed event, message us on Instagram, or join through Niner Engage.