Promoting Peace Education and Dialogue

Program Overview

In spite of a long and complex history of conflict between the Palestinians and Israelis, working with youth offers a real chance of overcoming attitudes of prejudice and a hope for peace. USAID supports today’s youth through a project entitled “Promoting Peace Education and Dialogue in Israeli and Palestinian Centers of Learning (PPED).” In September 2007, Seeds of Peace (SOP), an organization know for empowering young leaders to advance reconciliation and coexistence, received a $531,000 grant from USAID to carry out this activity.

This project builds upon SOP’s Delegation Leaders program, a unique network of Palestinian and Israeli educators dedicated to the mission of Seeds of Peace. With the support of USAID, SOP expands and strengthens this cross-border network of educators and community leaders in pursuit of a more peaceful future. The program is comprised of two kinds of activities.

The PPED project works closely with Israeli and Palestinian teachers to introduce peace education in their schools. This is accomplished in cooperation with regional and American experts who help participants develop school curricula, create long-term projects, and train other educators. Workshops on fostering peaceful learning environments are carried out through a model schools network, as well as through cross-border sessions to encourage participants to share experience, knowledge and resources, as well as to create a network of educators the bridge the cultural divide.

In addition to working with teachers, PPED reaches out to the general public and, in particular, to youth to promote cross-cultural understanding. Through public fora for cross-border dialogue, youth camps for Palestinians, and freely disseminated publications, the program provides precious opportunities to promote and encourage peaceful dialogue, leadership and civic engagement and the peaceful transformation of conflict.

Goals

• Cultivate an environment of tolerance, dialogue, and civic engagement in Palestinian and Israeli schools and youth organizations

• Improve leadership skills through respectful communication

• Create a younger generation of peace-promoting leaders with the means to work towards better relations between Palestinians and Israelis

Successes

• Palestinian educators and young people in their teens and twenties, work together, exercise leadership, do outreach into their communities, and expose young children to the values and skills reflected in this project.

• Palestinian and Israeli educators create a set of sustainable initiatives—including a peer mediation program in Jenin; a community service project in Hebron; a youth leadership council in Bethlehem; and a set of dialogue opportunities and exchange programs for Arab and Jewish citizens of Israel.

• During difficult times, Palestinian and Israeli educators engage in meaningful discussions while strengthening bonds of trust and commitment.

• The Seeds Café provides a precious forum for members of the Palestinian, Israeli and international public meet and discuss issues of common concern.

• Through the Olive Branch Teacher’s Guide, the best practices of Seeds of Peace educators are collected and disseminated to a broader public.