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| {{Project | | {{Project |
| |acronym= CSABB | | |acronym= CSABB |
| |logo= | | |logo=ActBeyondBordersLogoMedium.png |
| |project_title= [[Human Rights and Reconciliation – Civil Society Acts Beyond Borders]] | | |project_title= [[Human Rights and Reconciliation – Civil Society Acts Beyond Borders]] |
| |contract_number= EIDHR/2009/167-502 | | |contract_number= EIDHR/2009/167-502 |
| |funding_period=01/01/2010 - 31/12/2012 | | |funding_period=01/01/2010 - 31/12/2013 |
| |coordinator=[[Larry Fergeson]]<br>[[Cinzia Bernardinello]]<br> | | |coordinator=[[Maria Georgiou]] (Current) <br> [[Rahme Veziroglu]] (Current) <br> [[Larry Fergeson]]<br>[[Cinzia Bernardinello]]<br> |
| |funding_agency= European Commission, European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights (EIDHR). | | |funding_agency= [[European Commission, European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights|EIDHR]] |
| |total_cost= <br>€ 874,863 €(Total Budget) | | |total_cost= <br>€ 874,863 €(Total Budget) |
| |partners=YAARI<br> PDC<br> | | |partners=[[Association for Progressive Education in Honor of Meir Yaari]]<br> [[Palestinian Dialogue Center]]<br> |
| |website=http://www.actbeyondborders.net | | |website=http://www.actbeyondborders.net |
| }} | | }} |
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| The Civil Society Act Beyond Borders Project is co-funded by the European Commission, European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights [[(EIDHR)]] and was carried out in collaboration with [[The Palestinian Dialogue Center (PDC)]] from West Bank and [[The Association for Progressive Education in Honor of Meir Yaari (YAARI)]] from Israel. | | The Civil Society Act Beyond Borders Project is co-funded by the European Commission, European Instrument for Democracy and Human Rights [[EIDHR]] and was carried out in collaboration with [[Palestinian Dialogue Center]] (PDC) from West Bank and [[Association for Progressive Education in Honor of Meir Yaari]] (YAARI) from Israel. |
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| Cyprus has experienced many of these same situations over the period of its conflict. In recent years the CSOs in Cyprus have begun to work together in a collective manner to achieve what the political apparatus has not thus far, namely cooperation and trust building measures. This is why FWC has chosen to propose this action. It is oganization's strong belief that if the cypriot experience can be shared with the colleagues from Israel and the Palestinian territories, it can be developed a real change from a bottom-up approach at the civil society level. Utilising the strategies that have proved most effective from their years of conflict resolution work, namely structured dialogue and capacity building trainings for CSOs, Future Worlds Center deem it relevant to contribute to the capacity building efforts of civil society in Israel and the Palestinian territories. | | Cyprus has experienced many of these same situations over the period of its conflict. In recent years the CSOs in Cyprus have begun to work together in a collective manner to achieve what the political apparatus has not thus far, namely cooperation and trust building measures. This is why FWC has chosen to propose this action. It is oganization's strong belief that if the cypriot experience can be shared with the colleagues from Israel and the Palestinian territories, it can be developed a real change from a bottom-up approach at the civil society level. Utilising the strategies that have proved most effective from their years of conflict resolution work, namely structured dialogue and capacity building trainings for CSOs, Future Worlds Center deem it relevant to contribute to the capacity building efforts of civil society in Israel and the Palestinian territories. |
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| ==Activities== | | ==The vision of this project== |
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| ===Project Steering Committee===
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| A Project Steering committee was created and has been monitoring as well as offering feedback and ongoing communication with the partners and the lead applicant. An advisory board of esteemed members all of whom are experts in conflict resolution topics was created as well.
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| Advisory Board Members:
| | ==Objectives== |
| | '''Increase dialogue among Civil Society actors, youth, and local authorities in Israel and Palestine''' <br> |
| | The project aims to enable the participants to listen to each other on issues of common concern, going beyond what they think is important, to find the deep drivers that dynamically influence their situation. It will actively engage Palestinian and Israeli civil society actors, youth and representatives of local authorities in a well-orchestrated set of structured dialogue workshops, interactive workshops, action groups for community projects and civil society organisational capacity building trainings. Each activity is designed to foster dialogue with each target group so that they actively engage with one another and increase their communication, collaboration and understanding of each other as human beings and not enemies. |
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| * President, Dr [[Aleco Christakis]], Founder, Institute for 21st Century Agoras.
| | '''Increase capacity of CSOs in Israel and Palestine to promote Human Rights and Democratic Participation''' <br> |
| * Dr. [[Harry Anastasiou]] - Professor of International Peace and Conflict Studies in the Conflict Resolution Graduate Program and International Studies Program at Portland State University.
| | Through a comprehensive set of basic and advanced civil society strengthening trainings, the projects intends to enhance the capacity of civil society actors within Israeli and Palestinian society. By training local trainers to be multipliers in their own communities, the project contributes to a strengthened role of civil society as a crucial actor in deepening citizen dialogue within and across communities and participation in decisions affecting the region's development. |
| * Dr. [[Hrach Gregorian]] - President of the Institute of World Affairs.
| | This component of the project aims to provide a highly focused programme of support to a selected number of CSOs. The participating organisations will take an active part in shaping their own development strategies, starting with participation in the design of the methods and tools to be used. They are being accompanied by civil society experts in their assessment and diagnosis of their organisational capacity and in the design and implementation of projects that come from the grass roots and promote human rights and democratic participation. The trainings will target both those organisations that are already involved in human rights so as to strengthen their operational capacity and their partnerships, as well as to invite civil society organisations that are involved in other activities. |
| * Mr. [[Marios Michaelides]], Acting Head of Cyprus Intercultural Training Initiative.
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| ===Interactive online portal===
| | '''Enhance collaboration among civil society actors, youth, and local authorities across Israel and Palestine''' <br> |
| | The structured dialogue workshops are designed to produce consensual action plans, created by the target group participants themselves. Equipped with the knowledge of what is really driving their situation, they will devise action plans with enthusiasm and commit to working together in carrying them out. The participants, comprised of members of both the Israeli and Palestinian communities, will create joint action groups. Throughout the project, these action groups will work together in shaping their own collaborative actions that bring civil society, youth and local authorities together to work towards mutual interests that benefit both communities while improving inter-personal relationships. |
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| A website has been created with all relevant information about the project and the partner organisations as well as newsletters, informative material, publications, links, and various news articles. Also available on the website are all deliverables produced throughout the project (reports of the structured dialogue workshops, workshop reports).
| | ==Activities== |
| | | *[[Project Steering Committee]] |
| Also created was a closed facebook group where participants can freely communicate with each other to exchange ideas, information, actions as well as keep in touch with each other on a personal level.
| | *[[Interactive online portal]] |
| | | *[[Structured dialogue workshops]] |
| ===Structured dialogue workshops=== | | *[[Creation of multi-stakeholder Action Groups]] |
| | | *[[Five trans-national Action Plan support workshops]] |
| '''Bringing the leaders together'''
| | *[[10-day Training of Local Trainers]] |
| | | *[[Series of Basic Civil Society Strengthening Workshops]] |
| A six day workshop was held in Cyprus at the Sandy Beach Hotel in Larnaca, Cyprus from 25 July - 31 July 2010.
| | *[[Series of non-formal civil society action workshops]] |
| Ten Palestinians and eleven Israelis attended. The participants were a unique combination of civil society actors, local business people and youth. In total, there were 21 participants and 2 partners that took part in the process.
| | *[[Series of Advanced Civil Society Strengthening Workshops]] |
| On the first day a project orientation workshop took place so the participants could learn and understand what is required from them throughout the project. Following was the SDD co-lab: the process of SDD involves 3 co-laboratories or Co-Labs, including The Tree of Vision co-lab; The Wall of Obstacles co-lab, and The Action Agenda co-lab to penetrate the wall and approximate the Tree of Vision.
| | *[[Ten Panel Discussions/ Public Roundtables]] |
| In each Co-Lab, stakeholders respond to a triggering question: during the first session of the co-laboratory, the participants focused on the triggering question: What are descriptors of a mutually beneficial co-existence of Israelis and Palestinians?
| | *[[Act Beyond Borders International Conference]] |
| During the “Wall of Obstacles” co-lab, participants identify obstacles that are preventing us from reaching the vision tree. The triggering question was “What are obstacles to what “ought to be” to create an ideal, mutually beneficial model of coexistence of Israelis and Palestinians?”
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| '''Launching the project'''
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| On July 29 2010 at the CCMC (Cyprus Community Media Center) at Ledra Palace, Nicosia, Future Worlds Center (FWC) organized for the participants a "Cyprus Peace Makers Act Beyond Borders" conference. Several key individuals were invited from peace building projects in Cyprus to give a small welcoming speech, all of whom attended and gave small speeches about their experiences in Peace Building projects between the Turkish-Cypriot communities and the Greek-Cypriot communities.
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| The aim of this small gathering was for the participants to be able to experience firsthand conflict resolution cases from these two communities and thus relate some of these issues to their own problem.
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| The keynote speakers were: Mr Marios Michaelides member of the Advisory Board,Mr. Mustafa Damdelen, a prominent businessman who leads the Turkish Cypriot business community’s efforts to promote resolution of the Cyprus conflict and to normalize relations between Turkey and Greece. As a director of the Turkish Cypriot Chamber of Commerce, he works to educate the people of his community about the benefits of European Union accession and supports conflict resolution training and other activities that seek to advance integration of Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Since 2006, Mr Damdelen has been the vice president of the Cyprus European Union Association, which aims to achieve a united Cyprus within the EU. Following was Ms. Canan Öztoprak who was the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus Cabinet Minister appointed in April 2005 by the Government of Prime Minister Ferdi Sabit Soyer. Her portfolios are National Education and Culture. She has been an active peace activist member of the Cyprus Conflict Resolution Trainers Group.
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| Mr. Lellos Demetriades then spoke to the Palestinian-Israeli group. Mr. Demetriades served as Mayor of Nicosia for 30 consecutive years from 1971 – 2001. During his long term in office as a mayor he initiated a harmonious joint venture with Mr. Mustafa Akinci on the Turkish Cypriot area of Nicosia in setting up a general Town Planning (Master Plan) of Nicosia and a public city Sewage System, which was a very difficult exercise in the divided city, the beneficial results of which have been noted by the U.N. Secretary General and appreciated by the people of Nicosia. Certain International Organisations (Europa Nostra, Habitat and very recently (22 September 2007) the Aga Khan) granted awards and medals to Lellos Demetriades and Mr. Mustafa Akinci, for their contribution in the cause of their common endeavour in particularly difficult times. Mr. Mustafa Akinci, the final speaker, was elected Mayor of Nicosia (north) by the Turkish Cypriot residents of the Northern half of Nicosia. Mr. Akıncı, was re-elected twice and served for 14 years, during which he established a fruitful dialogue and cooperation with his counterpart Mr.Lellos Demetriades. The projects –within the framework of the Nicosia Master Plan-which were initiated jointly with Mr. Demetriades, they received wide recognition and were also awarded by various prestigious international organizations.
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| {{Youtube normal|www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhAUD646xp0}}
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| ===Creation of multi-stakeholder Action Groups===
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| The participants chose to separate into 4 groups with different categories about the actions in which they believe are needed.
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| The categories are Business, Non Formal Education, Women, Students.
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| Business: This action group focuses on the business aspect; their target is to open a center of both Israeli and Palestinian businessmen who can openly work with the Arab countries, Europe and the States. The main point they agreed upon was to focus on marketing strategies that will open the markets between Israel and Arab countries, and to open the markets of the west, Europe to the Palestinian side. This action group believes that they can create jobs this way and they focused on mutual agreements and programs in order to create mutual basis of understanding. Other ideas include to find a way to produce and export things together; the support by the Israeli side to the exportation of Palestinian products; and to create a group of people, students, economic organizations who would be interested in this program, which will result in creating positive public relations and increase the marketing possibilities. The target is to achieve these goals and then the corporation itself be able to overcome all the difficulties that exist for exporting and getting products across the checkpoint, and when this finally comes through then this will build trust and create jobs.
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| Non-Formal Education: The entire group has experience working with youth. The goal is to begin with trainings, first in their own region and the jointly on both sides. This event will include also social activities and a seminar.
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| Women: The women view women as leaders in society and leadership in the field of education, so they thought to create a model of twinning’s schools. The twinning model means that all people involved, the school students, the teachers, the principal, and the parents know that this includes introducing certain things from each side. The first step is to find an elementary school, and start the process with the principal so that they commit to the process. Then they will have a meeting with the teachers about social issues and education and the problem of education in the two societies and about the two cultures of the communities. From these meetings they will develop a team of Palestinian and Israeli teachers. Each team will follow a certain process, and each teacher will have activities for the pupils that will teach them the cultures, sports, arts of the other community. Their goal is to try to touch 3 target groups: teachers as leaders in the field of education, pupils; 30 pupils in each class and the third group will be the parents who are related to their community. Then at the end of the process all the groups will convene for a big festival.
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| They haven’t decided yet the exact content to include, but the target is to create a role model of corporation between two schools and each pupil in these schools will know that their school cooperates with another school whatever their political opinion is.
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| Students: This group decided to talk about creating a program between two universities in Jerusalem. They did not decide on the specificities but agreed it will be about cultural issues, religion, language and other. The aim of this program is to engage young Palestinian and Israeli students and to raise a generation that cares about the “other”. A generation that cares about the others’ culture, issues, and has the opportunity to get to know one another. The course will take place over three months, throughout the duration of a semester. Israeli and Palestinian students and professors will have the same content and the same curriculum. This idea is directed towards the obstacle of prejudice that Israelis have towards Palestinians and Palestinians have towards Israelis.
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| ===Five trans-national Action Plan support workshops===
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| The workshops took place on the 20th – 21st of December at Talita Kumi. The aim of the workshops was to cover topics such as Project Planning, Project Development and developing detailed and concrete action plans for the implementation of the action projects.
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| Under the guidance of the lead applicant team members, the action groups divided themselves accordingly to discuss project ideas. The businessmen discussed the problems that prevent business cooperation is due to a lack of trust but also differences between the two business cultures.
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| In the Non-formal education group, they discussed ways to be successful in creating a peaceful society. They believe that educational programs on both sides can lead to two states for two nations, by strengthening the culture of peace through education. The participants envision writing shared educational programs, discussing environmental issues and the ways to work together towards a better environment. The participants also discussed cooperated projects dealing with social and legal rights to help produce a better economy.
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| The students divided themselves into two separate groups. One group decided to focus on the proposed ideas from the Cyprus workshops, and the other on media projects. They agreed to contact the newspapers at their respective universities and that all involved participants are to write articles about the project.
| | ==Model== |
| | [[File: Fig5_Model_Change-CABB.png |800px]] |
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| Finally the women’s group; they agreed that in order to develop project ideas, it is important to build relationships first. As a result, the women spent the evening familiarizing themselves with one another and later expanding their project ideas.
| | ====Selection of stakeholders==== |
| | Participants were selected from diverse local communities by expert informants. The key criterion was to secure a mixture of peace activists but also a few who were against any peace “rapprochement.” |
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| | ====Approach==== |
| | The project was designed as participatory action research grounded on the science of dialogic design. The project began with three consecutive (within a week) SDD processes (develop shared vision, identify obstacles, and explore actions) outside the conflict zone (in this case, Cyprus) engaging committed, already active peace builders (see left side of Figure). Between the second and the third SDD, the participants co-organized an international peace conference together with Greek and Turkish Cypriot actors. Having identified four target groups (business, informal education, students, and women) they created action groups (i.e., AG labels in Figure). |
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| | ====Actions==== |
| | Each AG selected and invited additional participants and organized their own SDD process, which was then followed by a comprehensive set of participatory intra-communal non-formal workshops (NFWS boxes in Figure). In parallel, a number of other activities were taking place. Following a training of trainers (top of Figure), those trained implemented a number of civil society strengthening pieces of training (purple boxes with a “W” in Figure , as well as multi-communal public debates (blue boxes with a “PD” in Figure), and a conference (purple box in Figure). |
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| ===10-day Training of Local Trainers===
| | The above design offered the conditions for the objectives of the project to go viral, engaging several thousand people in various activities, i.e., to continue through self-replicating processes beyond the lifetime of the project. |
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| 10 local trainers, 5 Palestinians and 5 Israelis, met on 28th-30th July 2011 in Talitha Kumi, West Bank, for the first phase of the training.
| | ==Special Mentions== |
| The aim of the training is to empower local trainers to take a lead in promoting Human Rights and Democratic participation within the CSOs and within their societies and to act as multipliers within their communities.
| | [[Yiannis Laouris]] presented the theory and practice of the project as a keynote at the 2014 meeting of the [[International Society for the Systems Sciences]] on the invitation of its president [[Gerald Midgley]]. |
| The ToT involves CSO leaders and the partner organisations as well as other civil society actors in Israel and Palestine, who are interested in developing their skills and understanding effective training for CSOs and play an active role within the project. The effectiveness of the TOT is to equip 10 prospective local trainers with the skills, tools and creative techniques to deliver interactive training events in a way that makes learning enjoyable and effective. It provides the local trainers with an introductory understanding of the theory and practice of civil society strengthening, organisational development and capacity building. The participants who complete the training course will form the pool of trainers that will conduct the Basic and Advanced Open CSO Training Workshops in Israel and Palestine.
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| So far the participants had the chance to try different tools of teambuilding and to reflect on the mission and the vision of their own organizations. After creating 2 groups, the participants build up their own organizations with shared vision, mission and common goals and they started to use some tools of strategic thinking to improve and promote their new organizations.
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| The second phase of the training will take place in Cyprus and will focus on the training and facilitation tools.
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| ===Series of Basic Civil Society Strengthening Workshops===
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| ===Series of non-formal civil society action workshops===
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| ===Series of Advanced Civil Society Strengthening Workshops===
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| ===Ten Panel Discussions/ Public Roundtables===
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| ===Final Human Rights Conference in Cyprus===
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| | ==Expected Results== |
| | *Increased capacity of CSOs in Israel and Palestine to promote and strengthen human rights and their implementation |
| | *Increased dialogue among civil society across conflict zones |
| | *Increased capacity of local CSOs in Israel and Palestine to resolve conflict and enhance collaboration for common goals |
| | *Strengthened collaboration for the promotion of Human Rights across stakeholders and countries (Israel, Palestine, Cyprus (north and south)) |
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| | ==References== |
| | {{Reflist}} |
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| [[Category:Future Worlds Center Projects]] | | [[Category:Future Worlds Center Projects]] |