Women Leadership: Rising Voices in Conflict Resolution Call for Applicants All through the history of humanity, little credit if any has been given to our role as women in bringing about sustainable social change in our communities. Very little attention has been given to our role in transforming conflicts. Instead, our role was absolutely stereotypical; as women we were blamed for being the reason for wars to erupt, and our participation in the tidal waves of war and peace was restricted in human-memory to boosting the army morals or healing their wounds. Recently and due to the spike in social justice movements all over the world, the focus on women’s role as agents of change has shifted dramatically. We are now in the forefront of social justice movements. We are the leaders who bring about social change to our communities non-violently, without otherization or victimization. We come up with creative ways to express our opinions and practice our rights; we invent new ways of resistance and resilience. Women now are country rulers, judges, ambassadors and business women. Groups of women in Africa ended violent conflicts, women voices in Tahreer square, in Egypt, in Tunisia, in Libya, in Yemen, as well as in Tel Aviv, were louder than men’s. Women victims of hate crimes are now peace builders and peace advocates. In its continued effort to foster and support a more active role of women in transforming the IsraeliPalestinian conflict, the Israel/Palestine Center for Research and Information (IPCRI), in partnership with the Institute for Foreign Cultural Relations (ifa)-German Federal Foreign Office, is now offering a ground breaking project – “Women Leadership: Rising Voices in Conflict Resolution”. The project aims to develop the political leadership capacity of committed Israeli and Palestinian women, and empower them to take an active role in changing the political situation. Through an application selection process, 20 mid-career level women participants (10 Palestinian and 10 Israeli), representing various roles in society, will be provided with professional training and collaborative visioning opportunities over a 6-month period. The training modules consist of three phases: Empowerment by training, joint strategy planning and on-the-ground action. Empowerment by training: This phase consists of two 3-day trainings led by expert facilitators, one uni-national and one binational. The uni-national training will cover discussing women’s role in society and politics, analyzing the current political situation, and general management and policy development skills. The bi-national trainings will then focus on conflict resolution, negotiation skills and joint policy development. Both trainings will strengthen the identity and the political communication and negotiation skills of the women. Joint strategy development: The strategy development phase will involve 3 half-day joint strategic meetings. During these meetings, participants will work collaboratively, under the guidance of professional facilitators, to develop recommendations for a conflict resolution strategy. The strategic meetings will focus on two key objectives: (1) the development of proposed policy changes, representative of women’s needs and roles in the conflict, and (2) a strategy for the public advocacy of these recommendations and ideas. The latter will include activities targeting media, politicians, academics and civil society on both sides.
Women Leadership: Rising Voices in Conflict Resolution On-the-ground Action: Through the two first phases participants would form a strong and vibrant joint Israeli-Palestinian Women’s Partnership. The last phase will focus on implementation of the public advocacy strategy garnered in the second phase, to induce real policy change toward and promoting a just and sustainable peace. The women will target media, politicians, academics and civil society within both communities to promote their policy suggestions. Proposed outcomes include:
The publishing of at least 2 articles in different local journals and/or online outlets The writing and online publication of 2 policy papers 2 Advocacy meetings with NGOs 2 lectures in academic settings
The intended project schedule is as follows: Activity
Date
Location
3-day seminar (uni-national) “Women’s role in Society and Politics"
August 22-24 for Palestinian women August 29-31 for Israeli women
To be determined (TBD)
3-day seminar (bi-national) “Conflict Resolution and policy development”
0ctober 10-12
TBD
3 Joint strategy meetings of half a day
October 25 November 15 November 29
TBD
Publishing 2 articles in different local journals, writing 2 policy papers available via internet, having 2 advocacy meetings with NGOs and 2 lectures in academic spheres
All through December 2013
How to apply: Interested applicants please fill in the application form using this link Please note that the deadline for applications is August 7th. You will be asked to attach your updated resume during the online application process
If you have any questions or concerns please be in touch with the project co-coordinators Huda Abu Arquob
hudaabu@gmail.com
Shiri Barr
shiri.barr@gmail.com