Upcoming Guest Talk about a Grassroots Peacebuilding Initiative in the Middle-East

On September 25^th, AGS will host a guest talk about a unique grassroots initiative promoting dialogue and peace in the Middle East: Roots.

The NGO Judur/Shorashim/Roots was founded in 2014. It brings together local Palestinians and Israelis who have refused to remain the enemies that history made them, and have come to “see each other as the partners they both need to make changes to end their conflict” (see the organization's website).

Through various activities fostering understanding and bridge building between Palestinians and Israelis, they seek to “challenge the assumptions that [their] communities hold about each other and change the mentality and discourse around the conflict in their respective societies.” Activities include holiday camps for children of the two communities, youth meetings, language courses to learn the “other”’s language, and more. These activities have reached over 15,000 participants in the past three years; the majority of the Israeli participants are settlers. 

Talking about this initiative will be one of the two founders of Roots, Palestinian peace activist Ali Abu Awwad, and Franco-Israeli lawyer Jean-Marc Liling, who heads the Center for International Migration and Integration in Israel and has joined Ali Abu Awwad in his peace enterprise. Ali Abu Awwad and Jean-Marc Liling will also introduce the larger grassroots movement that this NGO is a part of, called b8ofhope, which also hosts other peace initiatives.

Watch Ali Abu Awwad's TED Talk (2015)

The talk will take place on September 25th from 7:00 pm to 8:30 pm. It is open to AGS students, alumni and faculty. A few seats will be open to the public on RSVP. If you are interested in attending, please contact us at rsvp@ags.edu.

Photo courtesy of www.b8ofhope.org