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Each year, Peace Child Israel convenes the active “troupes” to perform excerpts of their original bi-lingual plays for a year-end “fun day”.  This year will be the “same but different”.

Reunion

In celebration of 20 years of activity, the graduates of the program, the “alumni”, will be sought out, by their peers, and invited to reconvene on June 26, 2008 for a very special celebration at the Jerusalem Theatre.

Bonus

After saluting the performance of  “Class of ‘08”, Peace Child Israel is appealing to top stars from theatre and music for a “happening” on the Jerusalem Theatre stage.   A “wish list” includes celebrities from abroad.  Sometimes miracles DO happen.

Grads Search and Scenario

The”search committee” is made up of 6 graduates and who will also be “empowered” to design the program and agenda of the day for their fellow alumni.

Blast from the Past

Former staff members will also be invited to the event, and some will be engaged to facilitate the workshops with the alumni.

Press Campaign and VIP’s

Peace Child Israel is committed to bringing the press and VIP’s to this event in abundance, including the Mayor of Jerusalem, to address the convention of teens and adults, no small amount of which come from the City of Jerusalem, east and west.  The European Commission is one of the major supporters of the event and will be represented at the performance.

Research

The day will include workshops for groups of alumni according to region, and a survey will be taken to learn about their activities since “the old days” and whether they would like to devise ways of activism of their own for the future.  A formal evaluation will also be part of the process, answering the often formed question:  “What happens later?”

For more details please call: (972-3) 730-0481

See clip of PCI anthem “We Brought Peace Upon Us”, produced in November 2000

by “Volunteers for Peace” :

MISSION STATEMENT^[1]

Peace Child Israel was founded in 1988, and continues its activity, in order to promote, and contribute to, a life of peace and equality between Arab and Jewish citizens in Israel. The contribution of the organization to this objective is by activity amongst the future generation, the youth from the two peoples.  It uses the theatre as the vehicle for reaching its objectives.

Within the constraints of the capacities of teenagers, the time and the means at the organization’s disposal, it is guided by the following objectives: 

• Creating acquaintances, friendly relations and mutual respect with the youth of the other people;
• Education towards democracy, as a way of life for all citizens of the country, encouragement and strengthening of the willingness to accept the views of the other, and to respect them, even in disagreement. Development of tolerance and empathy towards the other;
• Education towards  equal rights for both peoples, while maintaining the unique identity of both;
• Education towards changing reality through peaceful means
• Involvement, as much as possible, of the teachers, parents and community at-large in the process and in adoption of the organization’s objectives.

The Program 20 Weekly Meetings	Peace Child Israel partners with neighboring Arab and Jewish schools. Groups are comprised of 20-30 Arab and Jewish teenagers from the 9th and 10th grades. Each group is co-facilitated by two professionals, Arab and Jew, one with a background in theatre and the other in group-facilitation and social work. School liaisons are identified by each school to act as interface between the program, the school and the parents. Fieldwork, delivery and standards maintenance are provided by pedagogical director  and by psychological & theatre consultants.

Preparation for the multicultural encounter is facilitated by four sessions of 2 hours, emphasizing individual and cultural identity.  A 3-day team-building seminar is provided after the first bilateral meeting. 15 more weekly meetings of 2 hours each take place before the group sets out on a second overnight outing for the purpose of jump-starting rehearsals.  A 6-week period is set aside for writing and rehearsing. A nationwide fieldtrip, which convenes all the existing groups takes place at midway at one of the major theatres in Israel.

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^[1]As agreed upon by the Board of Directors at is meeting of December 9, 2001

Cooperation in Creative Process – The Play

The original bi-lingual play that is developed by each Peace Child Israel group, is derived from the experiences accumulated during the 8 months of meetings.  It is performed for the entire class of students one year younger than the workshop participants from both participating schools or community centers in a noon-time dress-rehearsal.  An evening ”gala” performance for family, friends and the community at-large, is addressed by representatives of the pairing municipalities and regional councils and by the school principals.  An after-show celebration, in which authentic foods are brought by the families, takes place to salute the teenagers in their efforts.    In a second year of activity,  "Leadership Troupes" continue their activity by performing their plays for student audiences once-a-month.  In addition to the inter-personal skills of expression, that is enhanced as a result of the program, personal growth is an integral part of the program in these informative adolescent years.   Excerpts of all the new plays are performed on one of the major theatre spaces in Israel each year.