Featured Co-Existence Grants
2007
It is hard to think of someone as the "other" when you are a guest in their home. Yet, how do you accept an invitation when the other person lives thousands of miles away? According to the creators of Chat the Planet, the answer is that you give someone a video camera, help them record their life, and then screen clips of that video for over 2 million people via the internet. That is what happened in the case of their project Hometown Baghdad, a documentary web series that followed three Iraqi young adults trying to survive in this war torn city. Instead of focusing on the usual stories of conflict, Hometown Baghdad showed these young people as they really live — spending time with friends, going to classes, dating despite the curfew, and ultimately deciding whether or not they could build a life for themselves in Baghdad. In March of this year, 38 short clips were placed on YouTube, iTunes and other sites, garnering millions of viewers, a barrage of press (from Nightline to the Today Show to Rolling Stone), and most importantly countless email exchanges among those who had seen the footage.
Given this success, Chat the Planet aimed to replicate this model for a new series — Hometown Jerusalem — that would explore the lives of Arabs and Jews living in Israel's capital city. As with Hometown Baghdad, participants are given cameras to record their own lives, with care to ensure a diversity of opinions.
Basketball may not bring peace to the world, but there is an organization committed to demonstrating how shooting hoops can create a more tolerant society. Since its founding in 2002, PeacePlayers International has brought together over 45,000 children in conflict-ridden areas such as Northern Ireland, South Africa, and Cyprus for basketball training, competition, and leadership development. Now they are bringing their program to the Middle East — to adjoining Jewish and Arab neighborhoods that are literally across the road from each other, yet worlds apart.
The program begins by having Jewish and Arab youth train with a local coach. Eventually, they meet with youth from the "other side" to form integrated teams as part of a peace basketball league. The fact that basketball is at the core of the program enables PeacePlayers to attract families who are interested in an afternoon sports program for their kids, rather than a co-existence program per se. Even so, despite some initial hesitation, by the end of the first year students and local coaches report an improved perception of the other. Because youth can participate in the league from age of 8 to 18, these relationships can be sustained and deepen over time.
While Sesame Street has had an impact on generations of American children, few realize that the show's creators have taken what they have learned and expanded their message globally. Along with independent productions in 28 countries around the world, Sesame Workshop is launching two new series – one for Israeli Jewish and Arab children (Rechov Sumsum); the other for Palestinian children in the West Bank and Gaza (Shara'a Simsim), each scheduled to launch in late 2009 early 2010.
Given the ongoing tension in the region and the unique needs of the various ethnic groups, producers decided that separate programs would have the most impact. Thus, while each production will use core Sesame methodology, the Israeli series will focus on exposing children to the ethnic, religious and cultural diversity of their community. The production will feature the first ever Arab-Israeli Muppet and will be broadcast on Israel's most popular children's network, reaching 1.6 million households. The Palestinian production, anticipated to reach 80 percent of households, will focus on Palestinian identity and culture, respect for others, and boys empowerment in order to provide preschoolers with positive social relations skills. To deepen the impact and expand the reach, each project includes a strong community outreach component. Educational materials for caregivers and teachers, children, and parents are being developed.
Israel has one of the highest rates of media consumption in the world. 63% of adults read at least one daily newspaper compared to about 40% in the U.S. Yet, while media plays a major role in how Israelis view and understand their world, Israeli Arabs are largely absent from this medium. In fact, research shows that Israeli-Arabs, who comprise 20% of the Israeli population, appear in the media less than one percent of the time.
Given that most Israelis only know about their Arab neighbors from what they read and see on TV, Agenda (The Israeli Center for Strategic Communication) launched a three year campaign to change the way Israeli-Arabs are presented. Specifically, the campaign works to increase the number of Israeli-Arab reporters and broadcasters, while ensuring that Israeli-Arabs are more present as interviewees or commentators in general stories. Last year, Agenda provided media training for 125 Israeli Arab professionals. They helped with the hiring of the first-ever Israeli-Arab woman news reporter by a main television channel and ensured that an Arab media outlet was accepted as a member of the Israeli National Press Council for the first time. Still there is much to be done.
