The Council for the Advancement of Arab-British Understanding (CAABU) is co-hosting an evening of readings and music to raise money for charities that help Palestinians in the Occupied Territories.

According to Chris Doyle, Director of CAABU, the evening will be compered by Jeremy Hardy, the award-winning comedian who hit the headlines when he witnessed Israeli soldiers opening fire on peace protesters during a visit to the West Bank.

Guest speakers include Julie Christie, William Dalrymple, Sir Andrew Green KCMG (Chief-Executive of Medical Aid for Palestinians - MAP), Kika Markham, Corin Redgrave and Juliet Stevenson. Ghada Karmi, who is Joint Vice-Chair of CAABU, will be reading from her new book, In Search of Fatima. Adila Laidi, Director of the Sakakini Cultural Centre in Ramallah will also talk on the overall state of the arts in the Occupied Territories. The evening will be brought to its climax with music from Reem Kelani, one of the finest and most popular singers of Palestinian music.

"Visions of Palestine is about more than simply raising money for these extremely worthwhile charities. It is also about raising awareness of the everyday lives of the Palestinians living under the 36th year of Israeli occupation. But most importantly, it is about letting the Palestinians know that their plight and suffering has not been forgotten." John Austin MP, Joint Chair of CAABU.

Proceeds will go to the following medical and educational charities and NGOs that help many Palestinians living under the continuing daily oppression and violence in the Occupied Territories: Enlighten (Markaz at-Tanwir) was established as a charity in 1999 to promote and facilitate the introduction of computer-aided learning centres in the Palestinian refugee camps of the Middle East. Enlighten gives Palestinian children and young people the opportunity to develop computer skills and access educational information from the Internet in a safe and relaxed environment. Enlighten opened its first centre in Bureij camp - Gaza - in January 2000.

Friends of Birzeit University (FoBZU) seeks to "support education at Birzeit University" and to uphold its right to academic freedom. FoBZU assists Birzeit in their activities by securing grants from British and European funding agencies, for key development projects including an Adult Literacy Programme and the Food Safety Unit.

Medical Aid for Palestinians (MAP) was founded in 1982 in the aftermath of the Sabra and Shatila massacres.

The Khalil Sakakini Cultural Centre Foundation is a non-governmental and non-profit organisation based in Ramallah.

The Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees (UPMRC) is a grassroots, community-based Palestinian health organisation. UPMRC was founded in 1979 by a group of Palestinian doctors and health professionals seeking to supplement the decayed and inadequate health infrastructure caused by years of Israeli military occupation.

The event will be held at the Royal Geographical Society, Kensington Gore, London.

To reserve a ticket, call CAABU on 0207 832 1310. Reserved tickets can be collected at the door. To send donations to these charities send cheques to CAABU, 1 Gough Square, London, EC4A 3DE.