| Posted: Mar. 10 2005,15:27 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
Our
organization saw progress towards a culture of peace among the majority
of the participants in our activities, who reported upon reentry to
their societies about significant transformations in their systems of
beliefs and values as a result of encounters with 'the other' - whether
Israeli or Palestinian.
The key indicator we have is the number
of participants who upon reentry reject the use of violence for any
purpose other than self defense (compared to the same number before the
activities).
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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Dehumanization
of the enemy, nearly utter mistrust as a result of misinterpreting
history and existential fears are probably the three most important
obstacles preventing some individuals from accepting a culture of peace
that includes 'the other'.
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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The
Young Israeli Forum for Cooperation (YIFC) promotes Israeli-Palestinian
dialogue and understanding and widens and deepens Israeli-European
relations and works to empower Israeli young professionals. Since
September 2002 the YIFC has organized 6 week-long
Israeli-Palestinian-European conferences, which led in turn to a large
variety of uni-national and cross-border projects taking place in
Europe and in the Middle East. Follow seminars ensure sustainability
and further action between and among the participants.
The YIFC also
works to reignite the contact betwee Young Fatah and the Young Guards
of the Israeli political parties and brings them together to meetings
in Europe.
Through its repeated involvement in over 10
Euro-Mediterranean activities, the YIFC works to improve relations with
Israel's Arab neighbours. The meetings are also used as a vehicle to
bring Israel closer to the peaceful European sphere of influence.
Members
of the YIFC make presentations in various social, political and media
forums, sharing the peaceful insights gained from meeting 'the other'.
This effort is augmented by publications printed and distributed by the
organization to various bodies, institutions and individuals in Israel
and around it.
Israeli, Palestinian and European participants in a YIFC seminar in Northern Ireland.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
Promoting
a culture of peace to peoples depends greatly on the work of civil
society and its NGOs. The crucial obstacles facing these NGOs come from
the technicalities of recieving funding. Two institutional changes can
be of particular value to NGOs working for Conflict Resolution. First,
the removal of the often present condition that an activity has to be
novel/new to be supported - it should not be a repetition of a previous
one. This seriously harms the potential for true sustainablity of
activities. Second, unwillingness of funders to distribute the grant
between the two cooperating NGOs, and insistence on giving all the
money to one of them (for reasons of contractual convinience) add an
awkward element to the already difficult relations between the NGOs and
enhances the potential for problems. The UN should strongly advise to
donors to change this counter-productive manner of distributing
otherwise much-needed and welcome grants.
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
We
are currently in the process of becoming affiliates in the Alliance for
International Conflict Prevention and Resolution (AICPR).
(http://www.aicpr.org/)
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
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Postal address of organization
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Hadishon street 17/9, New Malcha, Jerusalem, Israel, 96956.
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E-mail address of organization
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ofer@yifc.org
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Website address of organization
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http://www.yifc.org
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Understanding, tolerance, solidarity
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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International peace and security
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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Israel
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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Palestine
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