International Conference on Education for Peace and Democracy - Book of Abstracts (2008)

Spanish Cooperation And

Asamblea de Cooperacion por la Paz (ACPP)

International Conference on Education for Peace & Democracy

Book of Abstracts

5-6 December 2008 Tantur Ecumenical Institute

Jerusalem

Workshop for Peace Education Jerusalem, December 5-6, 2008

Israel Palestine Center For Research and Information www.ipcri.org

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TABLE OF CONTENTS

Academic Track 2

Experimental Track 14

Classroom lessons plans and experiences in PE 25



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ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN CONFLICT: WHAT CAN ANTHROPOLOGY DO? Type of Presentation: Lecture & Discussion. Length of Presentation: 60 min. Track: Academic Adrienne Mannov Anthropological researcher in Conflict Dialogue Group/ Student E-mail: [email protected] Contact telephone number: +972 (0) 52-470-5890 Abstract There seems to be an assumption that dialogue among Israelis and Palestinians is always good. The argument is that dialogue is necessary order to bring about change. Further, dialogue programs seek to invoke a personal transformation in its participants, a transformation that will inspire change at the community, grassroots level. It is hypothesized that a deeply personal meeting between individuals on each side leads to emotional understanding of how the other experiences the conflict. I would like to outline my research methods, present some anthropological theories that help to explain some of the central themes in the conflict as I see it. These theories seek to explain the social mechanisms within the studied group, but also, and perhaps especially, points the camera back to the organizations and finally the researcher, shedding light on the reflexive and contradictory “culture of conflict resolution.”



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WIKIPEDIA AMIDST THE CONFLICT - OUR KNOWLEDGE, THEIR KNOWLEDGE AND THE CHALLENGING DIALOG Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 60 minutes Track: Academic Dror Kamir Wikimedia Israel (volunteer) Email: [email protected] Web site: http://www.wikimedia.org.il/User:DrorK Contact telephone number: 054-5646753 Abstract This workshop will examine how the discourse surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian conflict is reflected in Wikipedia, the Free Encyclopedia project. Wikipedia is a "Web 2.00" and a "free content" project which started in English in January 2001, and grew rapidly to include more than 11 million articles in about 250 languages written collaboratively by volunteers around the world. I, Dror Kamir from Holon, Israel, started to use Wikipedia as part of my job as a linguist in a high tech company, and soon became an active volunteer in the Hebrew, Arabic and English Wikipedias. In June 2007 I joined several Israeli volunteers to establish the Wikimedia Israel association – the Israeli chapter of the Wikimedia Foundation which runs Wikipedia and other free content projects. I also joined the international meet-ups organized by the Wikimedia foundation, the most recent of which was held at the Bibliotheca Alexandrina in Alexandria, Egypt, in an attempt to promote the free content ideas in the Arab world and to boost the Arabic Wikipedia. On this occasion I talked about my experience as an Israeli Jew who writes in Arabic on the Arabic Wikipedia, and brought some examples of cross-cultural dialog which developed through the collaborative writing of articles. Arabic is not my native tongue, my only native tongue is Hebrew, but I studied and used Arabic and English extensively throughout the years, and I also speak some French and Spanish. I was born in 1975 in Tel Aviv and lived most of my life in Holon. My parents are either Israeli born or came to Israel in infancy. I studied General Linguistics at the Tel Aviv University. Wikipedia is based upon the idea of a collaborative work performed by an open community of writers. In principle, anyone who wishes to contribute his knowledge and is willing to conform to the neutral and scientific style of writing is welcome to join in. Each Wikipedia is written separately by its own community of writers, but there are links between corresponding articles in different languages. This method of writing allows us to reveal the basic knowledge which users from different places and speakers of different languages have about certain issues – in our case, about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. The articles are edited and updated regularly. Former versions are archived, and one can compare newer versions to older ones. Following the development of articles is a useful tool to learn how different points of views, which result in different knowledge, accumulate to form a richer article. Furthermore, each article is accompanied by a "talk page" or "discussion page" in which writers can discuss disagreement concerning the article's facts and terminology. These talk pages are a valuable source of information about how people collect their knowledge and whether they are willing to negotiate in order to achieve a broader view. While this process in interesting to follow in every field of knowledge, it is extremely valuable when examining the attitudes towards an ongoing conflict.



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STRUCTURING A PEACE BASED ON MEETING NEEDS Type of Presentation: Workshop. Length of Presentation: 90 min. Track: Academic Esther Riley Former educator and freelance writer-editor Email: [email protected] Contact telephone number: Abstract In peace negotiations, the usual tactic is to try to get as much for your side as possible. But what if the focus were to shift to needs, not just your needs but the needs of your adversary— the love-your-enemies approach? Where would that lead us? What if our classrooms trained us to do this? In this combination experiential workshop and demonstration lesson we will go through the following exercise: 1. Palestinians will come up with a list of Jews’ needs, and Jews will come up with a list of Palestinians’ needs, in relation to a peace settlement. 2. Each side will determine how well the other perceived their needs. 3. Commonalities and differences in needs will be noted. 4. Participants will take a moment to reflect on what this exercise has meant to them. 5. Participants will evaluate existing peace proposals on how well they meet the needs of both sides. 6. Participants will try to craft a peace proposal that meets the needs of both sides in the fairest possible way. 7. Some existing little-known peace proposals will be examined if there is time. At the end of the presentation, participants will be given two handouts, one listing a variety of political approaches to Israeli-Palestinian coexistence, together with Web sites, and the other describing in detail an out-of-the-box plan that was based on trying to meet the needs of both sides.



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HOW CAN WE USE THE INTERNET FOR PEACE? AN INTERACTIVE DISCUSSION ON MEPEACE.ORG Type of Presentation: Lecture. Length of Presentation:. Track: Academic Eyal Raviv Founder of mepeace.org Email: [email protected] Web site: mepeace.org Contact telephone number: 052-688-2828 Abstract Imagine peace, where Israelis and Palestinians are talking, sharing, and meeting one other, together with others across the world. This is possible. It’s happening right now on mepeace.org. Eyal and peacemakers from mepeace.org will tell the story of their community and open a discussion on what is possible for us on the internet. Eyal Raviv, the founder of mepeace, arrived in Israel from New York four years ago. He was once a committed religious student in Yeshiva. He is now a committed peacemaker. Eyal started the community of peacemakers called mepeace and attracted peacemakers from more than 170 countries and 6,300 cities around the world. These peacemakers meet on mepeace.org and share themselves for peace in the Middle East.



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WATER – COOPERATION OR CONFLICT Type of Presentation: Discussion Length of Presentation: 60 minutes Track: Academic Gershon Baskin Co-CEO IPCRI Email: [email protected] Web site: www.ipcri.org Contact telephone number: 02-676-9460 Abstract The water issue is being negotiated between Israel and Palestine. It is true that in the joint water pool that we share, there is a zero-sum game. Whatever one side gets is at the expense of the other. Today when the water deficit is more than one full year of rainfall, division of the water resources or it reallocation is a reallocation of the deficit. If we fight over water, everyone loses. Instead, if we cooperate, everyone can benefit. The next war in the region (which hopefully will not take place) will not be over water. The water issue will also not prevent an Israeli Palestinian peace agreement. In fact, water is probably the easiest of all of the issues on the table to resolve. The water conflict is relatively easy to resolve because the bottom line is that water equals money. Fresh water can be bought and created from seawater – it is mostly a matter of investing money. Water can also be the primary issue for building real cooperation. This is only possible if there is a complete attitudinal shift. Just because we have full control over all of the water resources between the River and the Sea does not mean that we have all of the rights over that water. There can be no difference in the basic right for water between any people living on the Land between the River and the Sea; certainly there can be no difference on the basis of nationality. ISRAELI AND PALESTINIAN CURRENT POLITICAL EVENTS Type of Presentation: Discussion Length of Presentation: 90 min. Track: Academic Gershon Baskin and Hanna Siniora Co-CEO’s, IPCRI Email: [email protected], [email protected] Web site: www.ipcri.org Contact telephone number 02-676-9460 Abstract We will hold an open discussion on the current political events in Israel and Palestine. Obviously, we will speak about the upcoming Israeli elections and the constitutional crisis on the Palestinian side. What will happen after January 9 when President Abbas’s term of office is officially ended? What will happen to the peace process of Binyamin Netanyahu is Israel’s next Prime Minister? Discussion will also focus on the situation of the peace process and the possible consequences of different Israeli election results. We will also cover the possible new directions of the Obama Administration. We will use the session to invite the participants to brainstorm on ways that civil society can move the peace process forward.



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PEACE BUILDING IN VIOLENT CONFLICT: ISRAELI-PALESTINIAN PEACE EDUCATION PEOPLE TO PEOPLE ACTIVITIES Type of Presentation: Lecture. Length of Presentation: 45 min. Track: Academic Ifat Maoz Hebrew University of Jerusalem, Associate Professor Email: [email protected] Contact telephone number: 02-5662321 Abstract This presentation deals with peace education activities in the context of the intractable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The scores of people to people projects that were conducted after the signing of the Oslo peace accords, in September 1993, did not seem to prevent the collapse of the peace process and the re-emergence of severe violence between the sides, in late September 2000. However, evidence from the field indicates that peace-education activities are still continuing. This lecture will describe peace education activities both before and after September 2000, discuss their effectiveness and define their relevance in the ongoing violent conflict between the sides. Within this framework I will present study on workshops of Israeli and Palestinian youth that were conducted in the post-Oslo era with the aim of promoting peace building between the sides. The workshops were organized by a major joint Israeli-Palestinian NGO - IPCRI- Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information - in the framework of a peace education project. In these workshops, youth from pairs of Israeli and Palestinian high schools, met for two days, to discuss social, cultural and political topics. Each workshop included approximately 20 youth from each side that were led jointly by an Israeli and a Palestinian group facilitator. The study examines processes in and effects of these dialogue events, relating to the following three facets:

• Mutual perceptions and attitudes expressed by Jewish and Palestinian participants during the encounter.

• The effects of participation in the workshops on attitudes and stereotypes held by participants

• What happened afterwards? Did the effects last? Attitudes of Palestinian youth towards Israeli-Jews several months after they had participated in the workshops



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A VISION OF PEACE Type of Presentation: Lecture. Length of Presentation: 30 min. Track: Academic Mohammad Ahmad Radi Mahareq Journalism & Assistant of (Fateh Bloc) in (PLC)- Hebron E-mail: [email protected] Web site: http://www.qudsnet.com/arabic/ Contact telephone number: 0599734260 Abstract If we look back in peace-building initiatives for the Middle East, we can see that there are more peace initiatives coming from outside than within the region itself. The main objective of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia's foreign policy to settle the Arab-Israeli conflict. Among the efforts there were two peace initiatives in 1982 and 2002. Initiatives that provide solutions to this conflict on the basis of United Nations resolutions. The force of the two peace initiatives is rooted in the recognition of Israel's right to exist by all Arab countries and experiencing normal relations with Israel as it accepts United Nations Security Council resolutions 242 and 338 request to end the occupation and withdrawal to 1967 borders. By early 2001, the situation in the Middle East has deteriorated dramatically. Both within the Middle East and the whole world, people were waiting for a breakthrough in the diplomatic efforts of the United Nations and the actors involved in the search for a way to resolve this conflict. By the end of February 2002, a new peace plan had begun to surface and the basic concept of this plan is to re-formulate the "land for peace." It should be noted that the peace plan this formula has transformed since 1967, although this version of it appeared to be possible for the recognition of Israel by the Arab community, in addition to the list of Egypt and Jordan recognition. Thus, the plan seemed to inject some hope for what is the rapid deterioration of the situation does not seem to be no end to the cycle of violence. Also, as it will be soon and pointed out that this initiative has become a source - a source of ideas and inspiration - later in the supra-national peace and plans for the same reason. To move forward in the peace process after the failure of many peace plans and countless United Nations resolutions, after years of negotiations did not end up by the experts, in January 2002 led King Abdullah to the Arab peace plan that include recognition of Israel . Collapse of the peace process and the outbreak of the Al-Aqsa intifada in late September, in September 2000 led to a more active role in Saudi Arabia wider Arab diplomatic initiatives. This included a copy of the peace process in the Middle East in 2002. Plan aimed at maintaining peace and stability and guarantees a just, lasting and reach a comprehensive solution to the Arab-Israeli conflict. The Saudi initiative and said that Israel's acceptance of this initiative means that the Arabs could establish normal relations with Israel in the context of this comprehensive peace. The central idea of this proposal is for the Arab States together to normalize relations with Israel within the pre-June 1967, in return for a Palestinian state in the West Bank and Gaza Strip, with east Jerusalem as its capital.



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GAZAN YOUTH SEEKING PEACE Type of Presentation: Lecture Length of Presentation: 30 min. Track: Academic Mohammad Talal Shamekh Tafesh Journalist and reporter Email: [email protected] Web site: http://www.qudsnet.com/arabic/ Contact telephone number: 059 8286417 Abstract Since the Palestinian Intifada the Palestinian-Israeli conflict and has escalated, There has been a continuous series of killings that has claimed the lives of both factions. Since Hamas has won the elections, Gaza has become a militant Islamic center which exacerbates current crisis. It is not in Israel's interest to continue the killings but to start a new era of peaceful co-existence between the parties. This current phase was brought on by the Arab demand that Israel withdraw to the pre-1967 boundaries, and recognize an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital. This is the true home of the Palestinian Arabs. If this could be achieved we would welcome the opportunity for two neighbors to live in peace and love without more killings or terrorism and the obsession with security that is the current situation. . Our Palestinian youth in the Gaza Strip, instead of death, destruction and barriers, would prefer to prepare for life after the end of the Palestinian-Israeli conflict, when they can enjoy calm and peace between the two groups , and where all provocations that lead to murder and terrorism are ended. They would like to stop the daily harassment at the military checkpoints, the rocket and terror attacks, and turn a new page full of love and peace. A just peace based on respect for the rights of citizens, an end to the incitement to murder and war propaganda, and for all Arab countries to recognize Israel and for Israel to retreat to the borders of June 67 with an independent Palestinian state with its capital in East Jerusalem . If this could be achieved, the Arabs and Israelis could live peacefully, and end the era of war and bloody conflict. We will examine how l we can transfer to the next phase without waiting for the Israeli politicians to bring and end the devastating conflict. We will endeavour to live side by side in peace, and provide an environment of prosperity and stability for future generations..



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SECULARIZING ISRAEL AS A NECESSARY FIRST STEP TOWARDS ANY SOLUTION OF THE CONFLICT Type of Presentation: Lecture & Discussion Length of Presentation: 60 min. Track: Academic Ofra Yeshua-Lyth PR & Strategic consultant, Lyth Nachshon Communications Email: [email protected] Web site: www.eretzbrith.com, www.lnc.co.il Contact telephone number: 050-5524372 Ex-journalist, presently a PR and strategic consultant, also active in several civil society groups. Her book A State of Mind; Why Israel should become Secular and Democratic was published in Hebrew version (2004 www.eretzbrith.com. Abstract

A critical examination of the religious character of the state of Israel as a major factor in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict remains a taboo in most forums. The popular Two States solution deliberately ignores the fact that at least one of the would-be states is bound to continue to be internally unstable and externally belligerent, due to its peculiar religious character. No religion is recommended for the shaping of political considerations. Judaism is particularly ill adapted for this task. Our religion has for generations served as a system to preserve a minority group within non-Jewish populations, avoiding any risk of merger and assimilation through self-segregation. Israel has adopted the self segregation decreed by the Jewish Orthodoxy. At the same time, Israel considers every relative increase of the non-Jewish population in the territory under its control as an existential-strategic threat. Against this background the conflict over the occupied territories should be examined as a religious conflict. It is not likely to end with the termination of the occupation (presuming such termination is at all viable). Already tensions occasionally lead to violent confrontations between Israeli citizens, Jews and Arab, in proper Israel inside the green line. The Israeli settlements in the occupied territories are islands of Jewish population separated and estranged from the non-Jewish hinterland. The mighty Israeli army is fully committed to the settlements welfare, at the expense of the non-Jewish population. The Israeli Left calls for a retreat to the 1967 borders as the only hope to preserve the "Jewish Character" of the state of Israel. The Israeli Right openly toys with the idea of making Arab Palestinians leave the territories under Israeli sovereignty. Both are united in the vision of preserving the Jewish State based on a Jewish majority. All Israeli Jews support a massive immigration based solely on religious criteria, with severe social consequences. Uniting non-Jewish families has become almost impossible. Palestinians and Jews pay dearly for these outdated religious-political aspirations. It is about time that Israeli Peace activists get over the nostalgic vision of preserving ethnic and religious purity and take a stand for the separation of State and Church in Israel. Until then, one has no grounds to complain about Palestinians who wish to mirror the Jewish national-religious vision with the vision of an Islamic state.



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A MEETING WITH A DIFFERENT REALITY. NORWEGIAN STUDENT TEACHERS EXPERIENCING THE ISRAELI/PALESTINIAN CONFLICT. Type of Presentation: Lecture. Length of Presentation: 60 min. Track: Academic Oyvind Wistrom Vestfold University College, Faculty of Education Email: [email protected] Contact telephone number: +47 97179079 Abstract I am teaching “international relations” and “out-door pedagogics” at the Faculty of Education and Teacher Training at Vestfold Universrity College in Norway. I have been in charge of cooperation between my college and Bethlehem University since 1995, and have organized various study visits both to Norway and to Israel and Palestine including both academic staff and students, and joint Israeli/Palestinian groups. This cooperation also includes research in teacher training. Norwegian student teachers (and most people) are rather “politically blue-eyed” and do not realize the seriousness of political conflicts and situations around the world. Experiencing political conflicts in other parts of the world might therefore be tough “learning contexts”. The question is whether the students do in fact learn anything that might improve their skills as future teachers in Norway, and what do the “local people” learn by having Norwegian students asking questions about the conflict? In one of the study visits, in February 2003, a Norwegian group of 9 teacher students and 1 primary school teacher first spent 3 days in Bethlehem organized by Bethlehem University, and then 3 days in Jerusalem organized by David Yellin Teacher Training College. The program included various school visits, talks with students and staff, political parties and officials, visits to religious and historical places, and staying overnight in Palestinian and Israeli homes. The pedagogical principle for the visit was based on the “Out-door pedagogics”, meaning “learning about nature in nature, about society in the society” by experiencing live the topics/questions the students are supposed to be studying. The group was quite “open” to the conflict and not biased prior to the visit. A couple of the students were “pro-israeli” and others “pro-palestinians”. Prior to the trip, they attended a couple of lectures both from the College and from the Israeli host at David Yellin TTC, and they were given some historical articles from the main newspapers in Norway and BBC. They were rather “open minded” to the conflict and situation. The study visit happened to come across rather heavy experiences from a Norwegian point of view, and these experiences made great impressions on the students. In a way the “biased” students changed their point of view, and the “neutral” students got emotionally heavily involved. There were many late night talks trying to understand the situation. In some situations the students became “ambassadors” for the “other side” by just asking question, in other situations they took a stand and showed it. But mainly they created an open door for dialogue. And several of the students became pen friends with both Israeli and Palestinian students, keeping a dialogue for several years. But a main result was their later assertion that the impressions from the visit made them more open-minded teachers in Norway, being able to sit down and listen to both parties in a local conflict or problem in their profession, and their improved awareness of immigrants’ different cultural and political background. They all claimed the visit had improved their interest in being teachers. The lecture will explain and tell about various experiences and situations during the visit and the pedagogical tasks and difficulties such a visit posed to a student teacher.



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INTERELIGIOUS DIALOGUE IN THE SERVICE OF PEACE Type of Presentation: Lecture and Discussion. Length of Presentation: 60 min. Track: Academic Ron Kronish Director, ICCI Email: [email protected] Web site: www.icci.org.il Contact telephone number: 02-561-1899, 0507-716989 Abstract This lecture and discussion will present the insights garnered after five years of working with religious leaders at the communal grass-roots level in Israel in INTERRELIGIOUS DIALOGUE IN THE SERVICE OF PEACE. I will share both theory and practice and stories of successful encounters that transformed people via the dialogue. A project which we call KEDEM— KOL DATI MEFAYEIS brings together Jewish, Muslim and Christian religious leaders from all over Israel for dialogue, study, conflict management discussions and planning of action projects. Come and learn about how religions can be part of the solution, Rather than part of the problem in our part of the world.



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HUMAN RIGHTS EDUCATION TO ERADICATE TRAFFICKING IN PERSONS Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 60 minutes Track: Academic Yael Litmanovitz Amnesty Israel - education to combat Trafficking in Person Email: [email protected] Web site: www.amnesty.org.il Contact telephone number: 0542-263390 Abstract Amnesty International is the largest independent movement for human rights in the world with over 2.2 million members and subscribers in more than 150 countries and regions who campaign for internationally recognized Human Rights for all as anchored in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. We view HR education as an holistic process including knowledge and awareness alongside attitude change and action. Recognizing HR fosters caring, solidarity and respect, allows sensitivity to differences and similarities among people and nurtures introspection and critical thought. It is a corner stone of a more humanistic society and therefore adjacent to peace education. Trafficking in persons in Israel (in which there is both sexual exploitation and forced labor) is a long standing human rights atrocity. There are numerous governmental and civil plans that cope with the phenomena but there is a lack of educational initiatives in Israel with the roots of people's perspectives, knowledge and behaviors related to trafficking. As a result, we witness the legitimacy of trafficking and the use of human beings by the Israeli public and youth and the indifference and lack of understanding by the law enforcement authorities who treat the victims of trafficking as criminals. The workshop will highlight key aspects of TIP as modern day slavery and list the phenomena included in this broad definition: slavery, bonded labour, sexual slavery and prostitution, organ trafficking, child slavery and child soldiers. We will then discuss the situation in Israel and Palestine- highlight historical developments and moral issues at hand. As a key aspect of Human Rights education we will ask - "what can we do?" - as human beings, educators and activists.

"people for sale"



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EMPOWERING YOUTH TO PROMOTE PEACE THROUGH DIALOGUE, FILMMAKING, AND MULTIMEDIA Type of Presentation: Film. Length of Presentation: 90 min. Track: Experiential Amber Houssian & Avi Goldstein Peace it Together – Regional Co-Directors Email: [email protected], [email protected] Web site: www.peaceittogether.ca Contact telephone number: 054 444 02718 Abstract Our vision is to build a culture of creative leaders inspiring and educating others to work toward peace. It is unreasonable to expect youth to come to a peaceful resolution to a regional conflict if they are growing up in an environment of fear, anger, and alienation. Our programs are designed specifically to overcome these hurdles, while at the same time giving youth educational tools to disseminate to wider audiences, and facilitating their transition to creative community leaders. In the summer of 2008, thirty Palestinian, Israeli, and Canadian teen-agers gathered in and around Vancouver, British Columbia to participate in an extraordinary dialogue and filmmaking experience. The youths lived and learned together for three weeks, discovered their personal strengths and created inspiring short films. The following eight new films will be screened for the first time in Israel, with young Israeli and Palestinian film-makers present to answer your questions and share with us their experiences. The 8 short films are:

• Inspired (10:31) [Documentary]: Palestinian, Israeli and Canadian participants discuss the inspiration they found in each other during the Peace it Together summer program. They reveal what they learned from the experience and how they hope to make a difference when they go back to their own communities.

• Heaven Forbid (4:09) [Drama]: Two girls, one Israeli and the other Palestinian meet on a deserted island. They have no memory of their past, but as their friendship blossoms they start to remember how they got there.

• Listen to This (2:14) [Animation]: Two musicians living on either side of a wall compete to see whose music can be the loudest. When the noise breaks the wall between them they realize that by playing together they can make something beautiful.

• Burdened (7:05) [Drama]: A young boy carries an unusually heavy load: a basket of stones. One by one, people from all walks of life come and take a stone from the basket while revealing their personal burden.

• Turning the Lens (9:26) [Documentary]: Participants explore how the mass media has contributed to their personal mis-impressions and stereotypes. They discover the power of engaging with their own experiences to shift paradigms through media.

• Checkpoint of Humanity ( 3:48) [Drama]: An Israeli and a Palestinian meet at a checkpoint. Flashbacks reveal the tragic circumstances in which they had met before and which now threaten both of their lives. Something changes for both of them when they are able to see the humanity in each other.

• Freedom (2:25) [Animation]: Hand-drawn paintings and meticulously rendered rotoscope images blend to create a poetic meditation on individual freedom and hope.

• My Enemy (11:32) [Docu-Drama]: Mohammad and Tom, two teenagers from Palestine and Israel, discuss the difficult issues that come between them. The more they talk, the more their friendship grows.



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CHILDREN'S LITERATURE AS A TOOL FOR CHANGE Type of Presentation: Lecture and Discussion. Length of Presentation: 60 min. Track: Experiential Bat-Shakhar Gorfinkel & Shira Lapidiot Email: [email protected], [email protected] Contact telephone number: 05-06974493 (Shira) Abstract Did you know that the foundation for racism and discrimination is prejudice and stereotypes? Did you know that stereotypes are being absorbed since the age of three? Did you ever think about what's the best way to reach the root of social in justice and influence it? Bikurim is a non-profit organization operated by a team of professional social activists, educators, artists and writers, striving to develop social awareness from early childhood. Our approach stems from an understanding that processes at early stages in life serve as the foundations upon which adults’ world views later stand. We believe that our work with young age groups strengthens the infrastructure for a multicultural society in Israel. We have chosen to use children’s literature and story telling as our principle medium for conveying social messages in artistic ways. Children’s books store within them multiple options and opportunities for this purpose, such as language, text, illustration, print and design all of which we utilize through our approach. We invite you to join us for an hour of lecture and discussion regarding how the Israeli-Palestine relationship is being reflected in Israeli children's literature for the last 15 years. We are going to look at a unique collection of books and to discuss the message we, the adults deliver to the future generation – our children. We are also going to look into the quality of using creative tools (such as stories, illustrations and texts) for developing social awareness and social change. "I believe that the best books can make a difference in building community. They can break down borders. And the way that they do that is not with role models and recipes, not with noble messages about the human family, but with enthralling stories that make us imagine the lives of others. A good story lets you know people as individuals in all their particularity and conflict; and once you see someone as a person — their meanness and their courage — then you’ve reached beyond stereotype." This presentation deals with peace education activities in the context of the intractable conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The scores of people to people projects that were conducted after the signing of the Oslo peace accords, in September 1993, did not seem to prevent the collapse of the peace process and the re-emergence of severe violence between the sides, in late September 2000. However, evidence from the field indicates that peace-education activities are still continuing. This lecture will describe peace education activities both before and after September 2000, discuss their effectiveness and define their relevance in the ongoing violent conflict between the sides. Within this framework I will present study on workshops of Israeli and Palestinian youth that were conducted in the post-Oslo era with the aim of promoting peace building between the sides. The workshops were organized by a major joint Israeli-Palestinian NGO - IPCRI- Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information - in the framework of a peace education project. In these workshops, youth from pairs of Israeli and Palestinian high schools, met for two days, to discuss social, cultural and political topics. Each workshop included approximately 20 youth from each side that were led jointly by an Israeli and a Palestinian group facilitator. The study examines processes in and effects of these dialogue events, relating to the following three facets:

• Mutual perceptions and attitudes expressed by Jewish and Palestinian participants during the encounter.

• The effects of participation in the workshops on attitudes and stereotypes held by participants • What happened afterwards? Did the effects last? Attitudes of Palestinian youth towards Israeli-

Jews several months after they had participated in the workshops



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SEEDING PEACE: EXPERIENTIAL ENVIRONMENTAL EDUCATION ACTIVITIES TO PROMOTE TRUST AND DEVELOP AWARENESS OF THE EXISTENTIAL INTERRELATIONSHIP OF PEACE, PEOPLE AND THE PLANET Type of Presentation: Workshop & Discussion Length of Presentation: 120 minutes Track: Experiential Chaim Cohen Email: [email protected] Website: www.peacechannels.org Abstract Seeding Peace is about people getting to know one another better, promoting peace and deepening relationships between ourselves and each other and the planet that we all share. Seeding Peace offers ways to develop critical and creative processes to explore values and develop skills to enhance harmonious relationships between humans and humans and between humans and the planet. Seeding Peace empowers participants to appreciate the importance of being fair and accurate in describing the environmental problems, issues, and conditions that have developed as a result of the lack of a sustainable peace between individuals, while empowering us to be reflective in understanding the diversity of perspectives on those conditions. Seeding Peace promotes an awareness of both the natural and built environment and an awareness of the feelings, values, attitudes, and perceptions towards environmental issues in different societies and cultures. The workshop promotes communication and teamwork skills as well as a sense of both a personal stake and a communal responsibility in assessing and addressing pressing environmental issues. Seeding Peace includes not only an ideological and activist approach, but also empowers participants make informed decisions and take direct action based on experience as well as data. The workshop will include trust building activities designed to promote understanding, mutual respect, openness and empathy, as well as helping to develop attitudes that we are all equally important and valuable. In the workshop we will engage in interactive games that enhance critical skills, social bonds, and global awareness. Each activity will be followed by a debriefing section to help participants discuss and understand the possible risks that we may have to take not only as individuals but also together and human beings sharing a common environment. The workshop will emphasize the importance of cooperation, fun, sharing and caring, while understanding how triumphalism, domination, egotistic behavior and personal gain have not only poisoned peaceful relationships between us, but also our relationships to our common planet. Seeding Peace carries a powerful ethical message of the existential need for caring for the environment and peaceful relationships through a holistic approach to society and the life raft of planet earth.



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HOW ARE WE DOING? TEAMWORK AND PEACE EDUCATION Type of Presentation: Lecture & Workshop Length of Presentation: 120 minutes Track: Experiential Chaim Cohen PeaceChannels, Rabbis for Human Rights Email: [email protected] Website: www.peacechannels.org, www.rhr.israel.net Tamer Halaseh Bridges Cultural Exchange Email: [email protected] [email protected] Website: www.bridgesculturalexchange.org Abstract Cooperation, proper planning, assessment and evaluation are important tools for not only measuring the effectiveness and efficiency of peace education, but also essential for the process of clarifying the reasons why we are doing our “peace work”, how we are doing our work and what we have/have not accomplished vis a vis our original objectives. This workshop/discussion will help us understand the importance of both the individual and the “team” in the ways and means that we undertake to reach our objectives in various social contexts. We will discuss the importance of including all team members in the decision-making process and in the planning and realization stages of our “peace” work. We will also delve into the psychological, social, economic, religious and political contexts of our work, asking hard questions of ourselves and each other as to the underlying reasons/drives why we do what we do and how we do it. The workshop/discussion will analyze the significance of consultation, good communication and training; ways to improve cooperation and constructively deal with conflicts; and the importance of working with other members of the team in proper budgeting and fundraising. Together we will share our insights and experience on the means that we implement to reach the goals of realizing the values of peace. Together we will explore the central points of reference against how we evaluate our work, asking ourselves to what extent our plans are flexible and feasible. We will share with each other our personal motivations, discussing our “self-interests” and learning how to identify possible conflicts of interests. Honesty and integrity are key values in our Peace Education work. Together we will empower ourselves and each other to increase the effectiveness of our actions.



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CAN WE GO ON? FOLLOW-UP MEETING OF CoME'S DIALOG SEMINAR Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 90 min. Track: Experiential Erez Lila & Reut Ron CoME Organization Email: [email protected], [email protected] Contact telephone number: Erez: 0544549149; Reut: 0524696813 Abstract These two workshops are limited to the participants of a dialogue seminar organized in Cyprus on July 2008 under the auspices of CoME (Communication Middle East). The group, about 20 people, includes Palestinians from the West Bank, Palestinians from Israel and Israeli Jews. The first workshop (1.5- 2 hours) will be dedicated to "re-breaking the ice", re-forming our acquaintance and catching up on each other's life and experiences since the seminar. It will deal with our return to our daily lives here after the experience of the seminar and questions such as: how did the seminar influence me? What did it change? Was I encouraged or disappointed when I came back? Do I see things differently now? Etc. The second workshop (1.5- 2 hours) will be devoted to discussing ways of keeping in touch and continuing joint activity towards Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Among other things, we will split into several working groups who will plan different parts of a follow-up seminar for the participants as well as for participants of previous years and possibly additional dialogue groups. Both workshops will be open only for the CoME group members and we would highly appreciate it if we can have them on Friday morning/noon so that Shabbat observers can take part.



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YOGA AND DANCE COMMUNICATION Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 90 min. Track: Experiential Lisa Waldbaum Yoga Teacher to 1st-3rd grade children at Ramat Moriah Primary School, Jerusalem Yoga Teacher to women in Jabel Mukaber, Sur Bahir, Sheikh Jarrah, Abu Tur E-mail: [email protected] Contact telephone number: 054-4896494 Abstract I am a qualified Dance and Yoga Teacher. I have been teaching Yoga to Palestinian women for this last year, and my vision is that through the common activity of body-mind practices and other non-verbal activities, we can connect to each other on a heart level, and from there deal with our differences. My hope is that more Palestinian women will want to be Yoga teachers in their communities, and that more Jewish Yoga Teachers (and other Holistic Health Practitioners) will want to share the good energy with our Palestinian neighbours, and get to know each other more. Yoga is union. Union of body/mind/soul/spirit. Through Yoga we can touch on the consciousness of oneness – the light, love and power that inter-connects us all, whether we are Jewish/Muslim/Christian/Buddhist/Israeli/Palestinian or International. From that point of interdependence, we can explore our independence, and vice-versa. From our connection to that part of ourselves that connects to the whole, we can connect to each other. Through Yoga, we connect to our body, mind and breath. We relax our body and mind, ground ourselves to earth, connect to our centre, lengthen, widen and expand in space, and become aware of our breath of life. We open our heart and connect to the love. In this workshop we will have a taste of Yoga practice, connecting to ourselves. We continue with communicating to each other through movement/dance. We will conclude with a sharing circle.



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EMPOWERING OURSELVES WITH REIKI Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 90 min. Track: Experiential Rachel Warshaw-Dadon Reiki Master and Director of the Israeli NGO Reiki for Peace Email: [email protected]; Contact telephone number: (077)-3434684; (054) 564-3468 Abstract We will talk about how the practice of Reiki can empower us to become responsible for our selves and our futures. Each participant will receive a demonstration Reiki treatment; we will start to experience how Reiki can help. When things happen, we often ask "Why?" If it is something BAD, we ask, why is this bad thing happening to ME, what did I do to deserve this? "This" could be an illness, a traffic accident, the death of someone close, losing something, including a friendship or a large sum of money, a natural disaster, political upheaval, anything at all. When something GOOD happens to us, sometimes we are so astonished that we ask "How did I get so lucky?" or perhaps "Surely this is too good to be true!" Good things include the obvious, like doing well on an exam for which one has studied seriously, enjoying a clean house when we have cleaned it ourselves, and more. Good things also include the unexpected: a relationship that starts to flourish, finding just the right house to buy and having the money to pay for it; finding peaceful neighbors, unexplained reversals of bad things, like cancer patients getting well. It is easy to say that we are not responsible, that some higher power has control over everything so all that we can do is ask for mercy from that higher power, and then hope for the best … . But there is another way to look at all these things. I am not suggesting here that there is or is not a Deity. If there is, and you believe that there is, then surely that Deity will help you if you make an effort to help yourself. If there is not, then we have no choice but to do it for ourselves. But how can we help ourselves? If we are ill, surely we are not responsible, are we? If we hurt someone's feeling, surely it is because that person is just too sensitive, not because we should act differently, or, perhaps, should we? If we damage property and no one knows, we can just keep the secret and then, perhaps, we will not have to pay for the repairs, or… ? But can we really avoid the (often hidden) costs?. I do not mean to 'blame the victim'. I do suggest that everything that happens to us in our lives, including illness, is created by us, ourselves. One may create an illness to avoid some catastrophic situation; and then when the situation has passed, the illness remains. Similarly, one may create an illness to avoid taking responsibility, so that others will be in charge and responsible. This is equivalent to never growing up: "It is not my problem, you caused it, you fix it." How can we overcome this difficult situation? How can we grow up? In any case, if we can 'make ourselves ill", I suggest that we can also 'make ourselves well." Reiki can help us. Reiki, a healing modality, is easy to learn, easy to practice, and surprisingly powerful. In addition to helping us to overcome our physical ailments, it helps us to create inner balance, and calm, and become happier individuals.



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THE OCCUPATION AS CANCER Type of Presentation: Discussion/Demonstration Length of Presentation: 90 minutes Track: Academic/Experiential Rahel Warshaw-Dadon Reiki Master and director of the Israeli NGO Reiki for Peace E-mail: [email protected] ; Website: www.reikiforpeace.org Contact telephone number: +972 (0) 77 3434684; +972 (0) 54 5643468 Abstract Many of my Reiki students have suffered from cancer; some of them have died. I asked many questions: Why did they get so sick? What 'made' them sick? Will conventional medical treatments help them to get well? Is there some other way to help them heal? I found that most conventional treatments have a success rate that is often as low as 2%. That means that a patient will be given a treatment that causes grievous harm to his body, suffers terrible side effects, but only rarely really gets well. I read about many alternative methods for healing cancer, including giving the cancer patients high concentrations of various substances, including Vitamin C, Vitamin B17 (often from apricot seeds), oxygen, selenium, and omega-3 oils (usually flax seed oil mixed with dairy protein, according to the wonderful Budwig Diet), and many other methods, including guided imagery, art therapy, and energetic treatments including Reiki.1 Conventionally treated cancer patients are passive: the doctors are exclusively in charge. Alternative treatments require an active patient who takes responsibility, transforms his or her lifestyle, diets, and ways of thinking. The few that recover through conventional treatments just want to forget it all and put it all behind them. Those who recover through alternative treatments are known to exclaim: "The best thing that ever happened to me was that I got cancer – I was asleep, and now I am awake. Now I am really alive!" As I thought about how to heal from cancer, I also watched as young Palestinians whose families had been displaced and who could have remained passive and bitter, instead, moving on to earn advanced academic degrees and wonderful careers. It is hard to believe that they would want to return to the same conditions in which their parents had grown up. I began to have the strong feeling that the Israeli Occupation of the Palestinian Territories is like a cancer, and the Palestinian People is like a Cancer Patient. Indeed, at a rally commemorating former prime minister Yitzhak Rabin who was assassinated 13 years ago, Defense Minister Barak called right-wing Israeli extremists "cancerous growths" saying: "The violence is also creeping today, they once called them bad apples in the bunch, but today they are dangerous, metastasizing cancerous growths."2 Many believe that we all have cancer cells in our bodies, but if we are healthy, the cells do not form tumors.3 Only if we are weakened by poor health will the cancer form. If we take responsibility for our health, and eventually clear out the toxins from our bodies, we heal and get well. Perhaps all the 'outside help' that is being showered on the Palestinians is similar to conventional medical treatments for cancer. I suggest that the Palestinian People must take alternate approaches to reclaim responsibility, regain health, and create a State. We will discuss the Occupation as Cancer, and how Reiki can empower us to take responsibility for our selves and our futures. Though this presentation is more of a discussion than a workshop, we will try to give each participant a demonstration Reiki treatment; we will start to experience how Reiki can help.



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MEDITATION FOR PEACEMAKERS Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 120 min. Track: Experiental Uta Gabay and Helene Kerem Co-directors, Hechal Center for Universal Spirituality Email: [email protected] Contact telephone number: 077-9610510 Abstract Based on the response to a pilot presentation at the August 2008 IPCRI Peace Education Workshop, we offer an introduction to meditation training for peace activists, in order to both support them and to expose them to this pioneering peacemaking tool. We believe that the practice of meditation has a unique contribution to offer to the wide range of peace initiatives in our area. Meditation is a multi-faceted training to enhance inner peace and empowerment, which results in more peaceful and respectful behavior. Through a process of inner alignment one develops right relation with the surroundings. Some of the aspects of meditation training:

• Relaxation techniques • Management of emotions • Stilling the mind • Learning to respectfully communicate from a place of inner balance • Learning to take responsibility for ones life from a place of inner strength

In this two-hour workshop we will offer an experiential taste of the practice of meditation, followed by sharing and discussing the experience and its potential in the peacemaking process. The workshop is for up to 15 participants. The language will be English.



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MEDITATION FOR PALESTINIAN PEACEMAKERS Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 120 minutes Track: Experiential Uta Gabay & Helene Kerem Hechal Centre for Universal Spirituality, co-directors Email: [email protected] Web site: www.hechal.org Contact telephone number: 077-9610510 Uta Gabay, psychotherapist, senior meditation teacher, founder and co-director of ‘Hechal Centre for Universal Spirituality’ Helene Kerem, biologist, senior meditation teacher and co-director of Hechal Centre for Universal Spirituality, with basic Arabic background. The Centre is a non-profit organization which is running a School for Meditation and offers meditation courses for educational institutions. Abstract Based on the response to a pilot presentation at the August 2008 IPCRI Peace Education Workshop, we offer an introduction to meditation training for Palestinian peace activists, in order to both support them and to expose them to this pioneering peacemaking tool. We believe that the practice of meditation has a unique contribution to offer to the wide range of peace initiatives in our area. Meditation is a multi-faceted training to enhance inner peace and empowerment, which results in more peaceful and respectful behavior. Through a process of inner alignment one develops right relation with the surroundings. Some of the aspects of meditation training:

• Relaxation techniques • Management of emotions • Stilling the mind • Learning to respectfully communicate from a place of inner balance • Learning to take responsibility for ones life from a place of inner strength

In this two-hour workshop we will offer an experiential taste of the practice of meditation, followed by sharing and discussing the experience and its potential in the peacemaking process. The workshop is for up to 15 Palestinian Muslim and/or Christian peace activists, male and female. The language will be English and simple Arabic.



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LISTENING AS A TOOL FOR ENDING WAR Type of Presentation: Workshop. Length of Presentation: 120 min. Track: Experiential Varda Ginossar- Zakay Psychotherapist and couple therapist – Private practice Leading in the international organization- "Re evaluation Counseling" Teaching and supervising in the project –" Beyond words" E-mail: [email protected] Abstract This workshop will enable people to experience a process of healing from hurts due to war and oppression, by expressing our feelings with an attentive listener. Re-evaluation Counseling is a powerful process in which people learn to listen effectively, in order to heal emotional pain which blocks our thinking. We get to deal with painful past experiences as human beings and regain our ability to heal from hurts. This process enables us to deal with oppression and damages of war in a more effective way and makes it possible to find better solutions that will lead to peace. The result of this work is the strengthening of people's ability to interrupt racism in their daily life, free themselves from its effects, take leadership, and form deep relationships across racial lines. The workshop will present the theory upon which this process is based. The participants will have the opportunity to experience how this process works in pairs, small groups and possible demonstration in front of the big group.



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PEACE X PEACE: WOMEN ON THE FRONTLINES Type of Presentation: Film Length of Presentation: 60 min Track: Classroom lesson plans and experiences in peace education Ilana Shochat Administrative Assistant, TRUST - Emun Email: [email protected] Web site: www.trust-emun.org Contact telephone number: 0506265019 Abstract “Women On The Frontlines” is an award-winning documentary which is a tool to stimulate classroom discussion about the role of women in peace-building in post-conflict situations. This documentary film was made by Peace X Peace, a US NGO, in the aftermath of 9/11 to answer the question of how women can be empowered to build sustainable peace. Peace x Peace connects women worldwide through the Internet to build partnerships and create peace. “Women on the Frontlines” is a one hour documentary film profiling courageous women on the frontlines of rebuilding post-crisis societies in Burundi, Bosnia, Afghanistan, and Argentina. Patricia Smith-Melton’s all women film crew takes viewers inside the lives of courageous women in four countries * A teacher who educates women and girls in Afghanistan * A champion of the unemployed running for office in Argentina * Community builders providing Microcredit to women in Bosnia-Herzegovina * Hutu and Tutsi women working together to operate a peace radio station in Burundi Interviews with women experts on various aspects of peacebuilding frame these personal accounts. Academy Award winner Jessica Lange narrated the documentary, which premiered at United Nations headquarters in October 2003 on the third anniversary of UN Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and security. It was shown on more than 300 PBS stations nationwide in 2003 and 2004 and at film festivals around the world.



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ENVIRONMENTAL PROBLEMS DURING SIEGE IMPOSED ON GAZA Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 30 min. Track: Classroom lesson plans and experiences in peace education Mustafa El-Hawi Professor at Al-Aqsa University Email: [email protected] Contact telephone number: (08) 2845935, (0599) 401667 Abstract Environment knows no boundaries, since 2 years and in specific after Hamas taken over the government in Gaza, the international community with Israel has set a siege on the Gaza Strip, this includes boarder closure and commercial trade. The environmental situation has been deliberately deteriorated, municipal trucks were not able to transport solid waste to landfills, waste water treatment were not properly functioning due to the lack of fuel, s[are parts and security of roads to landfills. In addition to the frequent cut of electricity, patients no not have easy access to roper medication, they can't leave Gaza, more than 270 patients died for these reasons. During the workshop, joint activities will be proposed and feedback will be considered to be passed to the people in decision-making positions. POLITICAL SITUATION IN GAZA Type of Presentation: Discussion Length of Presentation: 30 min. Track: Classroom lesson plans and experiences in peace education Mustafa El-Hawi Professor at Al-Aqsa University Email: [email protected] Contact telephone number: (08) 2845935, (0599) 401667 Abstract In 1996, Hamas won the election and formed it's government in Gaza, the international community with Israel has set a siege on the Gaza Strip. On 14 June 2006, an armed clash between Fateh and Hamas started where many people from both factions were killed and thousands wounded. As a result, two governments were created one for Fateh in Ramallah with Mahmoud Abbas and the other (Hamas) with Ismaiel Hanyieh in Gaza. The two Palestinian governments were not properly functioning, people in Gaza became very much confused regarding whom to listen to, Fateh is not allowed to campaign in Gaza while Hamas is not allowed in the West Bank. During the workshop, key issues of internal conflicts will be discussed and some alternatives will be highlighted on how to enhance the peace process.



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BUILDING PEACE THROUGH NEW MEDIA – WEB DESIGN SCHOOL IN PALESTINE Type of Presentation: Lecture. Length of Presentation: 30 min. Track: Classroom lesson plans and experiences in peace education Sophy Dukarevich Coordinator - “Butterfly Works Organization” Email: [email protected] Website: www.Butterflyworks.org Contact telephone number: 03- 9213470 Abstract Butterfly has already landed in many burning points of our planet. Now it can fly to Palestine. "Butterfly Works” is the name of a Netherlands based organization. Key words of the Butterfly’s mentality are cosmopolitanism, reciprocity, design, innovation and open entrepreneurship – all intertwined with a deeply rooted sense of global justice. Digital Design School is one of the projects of Butterfly Works. The idea is to put digital tools in the hands of youth who have the creativity but not the means to express themselves. At the same time, this results in a group of people who get a voice on the Internet that wasn’t there before, a voice widely divergent from that of the average, well-to-do western Internet user. The first web design school was initiated in Nairobi in 2000 by four Dutch women: Emer Beamer, Hester Ezra, Fiona Whelan and Ineke Aquarius. The school is doing well, with nearly 100% employment rate for their graduates. Companies who employ it's graduates – the major Kenyan Internet companies among them – praise NairoBits’ practical and creative approach, the motivation of the students and their eagerness to learn. ICT Multimedia: A group of 20 students in the media lab class are being trained on intensive skills of designing websites. The students have completed four months of training and they have two remaining months to complete the course. The students spend time in their class project making web sites for real clients. For example, each student has to complete websites depicting different levels of technology like animation in flash , Content Management Systems (CMS), PHP and MYSQL database. Nairobi bits runs independently by a team of Kenyan managers and teachers. The project expanded in 2008 to two more new Bits-projects in Africa - AddisBits and ZanziBits. A Positive Chain of Events can be created in Palestine as well. Come and offer your suggestions for places, people , community's etc... , we are looking for people who are interested in developing and working in such a school, professional web design instructors will be provided by “Butterfly Works Organization”. More opportunities: The mentality of the organization with the desire to share and longing for peace are expressed in a number of projects, some of which after some compatibility testing, can be used as tools for Dialog and Peace Education between Israeli and Palestinian youth. For example: “Words over Weapons”, “Unsung Peace Heroes”,” Children’s Book” and “product Innovation”. For more see Butterflyworks.org.



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ETHICAL GLOBALISATION Type of Presentation: Lecture Length of Presentation: 60 minutes Track: Academic Dr. David Anthony Leighton Address: Hebron Road, Doha, Bethlehem. Email: [email protected] Website, www.peace-palestine.com Contact telephone number: 052 401 4392 Abstract This Subject considers the Development of World Peace, clarified by the genius of Albert EINSTEIN, who in the 1940's believed the principle of two partitioned states existing alongside each other as unachievable and unmanageable but he considered that Culture could offer a bridge between these two local Semitic peoples. Professor *Hans KUENG* also gives an important contribution. He is Emeritus Professor of Ecumenical Theology, Tuebingen, Germany. His interest includes "The Globalisation of Ethics". Hans Kueng considers that the following view of virtually all religions is the same, "We should always treat others and their views with respect and encourage them to treat us likewise". Hans Kueng, states, Jesus worded it positively, "So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you". My proposal is for a Motor Coach Tour accommodating Jewish, Muslim and Christian Speakers, for Meetings at locations along the Route, an Informative TOUR of Europe including the UK and all Ireland. This would offset the inaccurate representation of information by the MEDIA which seriously underplays MORALTY or ETHOS with a threat of future widespread destruction of the Planet, an Apocalypse. Read the prophetic view in the Biblical Revelation of St John, Chapter 6, verses 1 to 6, the opening of the 7 seals by the Lamb, the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and especially the second Seal. "… ..in taking Peace from the earth and causing men to slaughter one another", this prophecy could lead to the danger of an ever increasing Apocalyptic disaster. I recently attended a Meeting in Minden, Germany, its Title "World Religions – World Peace – World ETHOS". Judaism, Islam and Christianity were represented. These differences, some religious are surely part of a root cause for present serious World Strife So Albert Einstein was paid due emphasis and homage in ETHICS in his book of about 70 Years ago, "How I see the World", quote:- "Dear Future World, if you do not more correctly, more peacefully and if you do not become absolutely more sensible than we are/than we have been, then you will be overtaken by the DEVIL". For some this has already happened!! And does this not explain the terrible situation in Gaza?



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CAN WE GO ON? FOLLOW-UP MEETING OF COME'S DIALOG SEMINAR Type of Presentation: Workshop Length of Presentation: 90 minutes Track: Experiential Erez Lila & Reut Ron CoME Organization Email: [email protected], [email protected] Contact telephone number: Erez: 0544549149; Reut: 0524696813 Abstract These two workshops are intended for the participants of a dialogue seminar organized in Cyprus on July 2008 under the auspices of CoME (Communication Middle East). The group, about 20 people, includes Palestinians from the West Bank, Palestinians from Israel and Israeli Jews. The first workshop (1.5- 2 hours) will be dedicated to "re-breaking the ice", re-forming our acquaintance and catching up on each other's life and experiences since the seminar. It will deal with our return to our daily lives here after the experience of the seminar and questions such as: how did the seminar influence me? What did it change? Was I encouraged or disappointed when I came back? Do I see things differently now? Etc. The second workshop (1.5- 2 hours) will be devoted to discussing ways of keeping in touch and continuing joint activity towards Israeli-Palestinian dialogue. Among other things, we will split into several working groups who will plan different parts of a follow-up seminar for the participants as well as for participants of previous years and possibly additional dialogue groups. Both workshops will be open only for the CoME group members and we would highly appreciate it if we can have them on Friday morning/noon so that Shabbat observers can take part.

International Conference on Education for Peace and Democracy - Book of Abstracts (2008)

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Transcript of International Conference on Education for Peace and Democracy - Book of Abstracts (2008)