peacecamp 2012

peacecamp 2012: Talks4peace in Reibers:
Quatre groupes de jeunes affrontent les
grands problèmes de leur région et de leur temps
du 3 au 13 juillet 2012 à Reibers/Waldviertel (Basse Autriche) et à Vienne

Des jeunes Israéliens et Palestiniens d’Israël et leurs homologues autrichiens et hongrois se réuniront du 3 au 13 juillet à Reibers/Waldviertel et à Vienne pour un 10ème camp de paix – peacecamp.

Ils y amèneront une documentation de l’histoire de leur famille, de leur culture, de leur religion et un aperçu de la situation politico-sociale de leur région et de leur pays.

Ils apporteront aussi des instruments de musique, des poèmes, des chansons, des danses, des épices, des friandises, ainsi que leurs idées sur les thèmes conflictuels de leur région et de leur temps. Loin de leur entourage habituel, ils s’échangeront sur les obstacles contemporains à la paix et chercheront des solutions innovatrices, créatives sinon abracadabrantes, aux problèmes de leur temps. Une équipe multidisciplinaire d’artistes, de psychologues, d’enseignants, d’historiens et de diplomates accompagneront cette quête.

Divers ateliers, dont un grand groupe quotidien animé par un expert, un atelier d’histoire contemporaine, des soirées culture, des ateliers de danse, de méditation et de chant, des débats politiques etc., encourageront les jeunes à approfondir leur réflexion et leur compréhension des sujets complexes de notre siècle.

Lors d’une visite du village tchèque Slavonice, ils franchiront la frontière – de nos jours invisible – entre l’Autriche et la République Tchèque. Ils auront l’occasion d’écouter les récits d’ habitants des deux cotés de cette frontière qui ne se souviennent que trop bien du Rideau de fer qui divisait l’Europe pendant plus de 40 ans.

L’atelier talks4peace permettra aux deux groupes du Moyen Orient de discuter et de tenter de résoudre les grands problèmes du conflit israélo-palestinien. Ces débats seront animés par des experts et se dérouleront selon le mode de vraies conférences de paix (Camp David, Doha etc.). Les deux groupes européens discuteront les principes et le fonctionnement de l’Union Européenne, la signification de la charte des droits de l’homme et la manière dont celle-ci est appliquée dans leurs pays.

Finalement, le grand show4peace au Dschungel/MuseumsQuartier à Vienne donnera l’occasion de montrer à un grand public ce qui aura été fait et créé lors des dix jours passés ensemble. On y montrera aussi le film peacecamp 2012 réalisé au cours de la rencontre à Reibers ; le film sur DVD sera distribué à tous les participants.

Evelyn Böhmer-Laufer
Initiatrice et directrice du projet peacecamp

4 questions4peace

1.Dana
1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

The word peace in the context of my life means responsibility and friendship.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

The main obstacle to peace in the context of my life is the fact that there are in my country extreme people in both sides. I think they are scared to live with the other side.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I haven't done anything connected to peace with the Arabs but I think that in my personal life I do a lot of things to achieve good relationships with the people that are around me.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

I think that in the future I can do some things to promote peace in my country.
1. I can organize activities with the Arabs.
2. I can go to protest and help promoting peace.
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2. SHAHAR

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

peace means to me a way of life, to live with different people but still love and respect them even if their opinions are different from mine.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

I think that the main obstacles to peace are the fact that in one country there are many religions. There are people who are unwilling to accept that because of prejudice, this creates antagonism sometimes.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

To promote peace I try to solve problems between my friends in a peaceful way of talking, and also to condemn violence in any form, to make the dialogue a way of life for everyone.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

In the future I will tell my friends about this peace camp, I will explain to extreme people that minorities are people just like us. If each one of us supports peace in his private life- we will have a better society.
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3. Yoav

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

The word peace makes me think of the MiddleEast and all of the wars that Israel had gone through. For me peace means no wars and no violence.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

The main obstacle to achieve peace is the conflict between Jewish people and the Arabs.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I haven’t done anything connected to peace with the Arabs, but I think that in my personal life I do a lot of things in order to prevent violence and solving conflicts in a peaceful way.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

I can't promote peace in an active way, but I can respect every Arab I meet as a human being, and not judge him just because his an Arab.
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4. Yonatan

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

The word peace means responsibility and caring for each other. Solving conflicts not by violence but by peaceful ways and talking.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

The main obstacle to reach peace is the fact that we have an ancient conflict which is very hard to solve. Another obstacle is prejudice that the Arabs and the Jews have against each other.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

The acts that I have done so far to promote peace are:
1. Solving problems by talking and not by violence.
2. Trying to reach and understanding with the Arabs, we had meetings with Arabic youth in the past.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

For promoting peace in the future I can meet with Arabs about conflicts. I can also talk to my friends about the experiences I had in the peace-camp
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5. Mona

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

Peace is having no racism , no discrimination and no violence between each other, peace is excepting each others differences whether it’s the difference between each others opinions or difference in the color , race , beliefs and etc ...

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

I come from a country where people get judged for their race and nationality , where people don’t accept each others differences and for that I think that discrimination and racism are the main obstacles to peace in my country.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I personally try to listen to other people's opinions before I judge them and I avoid judging people for their background because people aren't their nationality nor their race . I also auditioned to this peace camp in order to promote peace in my country .

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

I can never know what the future holds but all I can say that I would like to make a difference in the way that people treat each other because I want the younger generation to live in a better world, a world where there is no place for racism and discrimination and everyone are treated equally .
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6. Noura

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

Peace is when people respect each other and are treated equally despite their nationality, religion and culture and when each one of us puts humanity first at the list of his priorities.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

I come from a place where everyone specially us the Arabs are judged for their background and believes, there are so many minority that racism is becoming a serious issue in our life that we face almost everyday!!


3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I think that there'll be peace in the world when each and every one of us tries to change his way of thinking and behavior in his daily-bases it starts with the smallest and "meaningless" things in life therefore I try to start this process by respecting people who surround me and furthermore with this peace camp I'm willing to contribute peace in my community.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

In the future, I want to keep on attending sessions that promote peace, I'd like to do more things in order to be sure that racism will vanish among the years …My hope for the future is to be able to have an influence on other people's thoughts so that the world will be a better place!!!
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7.SHERINE

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

Peace is when people from different culture, race, religion and etc. accept each other's opinions and beliefs and overcome their differences in order to live together on this planet.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

I live in the country where people don’t get treated equally and get judged for being from a specific race culture and religion, therefore I think racism and discrimination are major obstacles to peace in my life.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I personally, try to accept and treat people equally, instead of judging them based on racist features. Also, going to this peacecamp is another attempt for promoting peace in my country.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

I can't know what will happen the future but all I could say is that I hope I can make a difference and at least, help stop racism and discrimination especially in my country.
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8. CAROL

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

The word 'peace' can have endless defenitions depending on the way you look at it. Although the litterary meaning of it is tranquility and quiet, I see it as so much more. To me, peace means the hope of a better future. A future where people respect each other, look out for one another, and don't judge those around them. A world where people agree to disagree, agree to accept each other's beliefs.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

In the world generally and my country in specific, there are so many obstacles that come in the way of peace. The differences in people physically and mentally are what thrives them apart. That includes economical, political, and cultural differences. From unequall job opportunities to water shortages, the obstacles are endless.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I think that the best way to come to peace with others, is trying to understand their point of view and their perspective. Understading why they think the way that they do and what got them there is key. I try as much as I can to engage with those around me and find mutual interests that intrige them. Working on mutual projects like this peace camp for example is always a good way to get there.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

Judging others is a natural human instinct. So as hard as it can be, thats what I want to start working on next, accepting those around me no matter what or where they come from. I think that as soon as people let go of the hatred they hold against someone, peace will take its place.
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9.Dafna

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

Peace for me is to live together with other people.
In Israel we don't live in peace with the Arabs.
I want to change the attitude of Israel consuming the territories and find a solution to the conflict.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

There isn't a true cooperation between people and there isn't a true desire to reach peace.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

In the past I met with Arabs people.
The activities were organized in my school. We also had discussions about the conflict.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

In the future I will try to change the attitude of my friends about Arabs and emphasize the fact that we shouldn't judge a person according to his race.
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10. OFEK

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

The word peace means caring for each other, to have good relationship with the Arabs and solve problems by talking and not by violence

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

The main obstacle to achieve peace is extreme people that are not ready to listen to the other side and compromise

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I used to participate meetings with Arabs children, listen to their way of life and habbits

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

In the future u can tell my friends about this peacecamp and I will try to change their way of thinking about the Arabs
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11. Oren

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

The word peace means to me good connection with our neighbors. Live peacefully and as friends.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

I think that there isn’t peace between Israel and our neighbors because they want our country and they aren't ready to give up and compromise.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

In the past I took part in a program which lasted whole year. We met Arabs teenagers and talked, played and had fun together.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

I hope that in the future I will try to change my way of thinking about Arabs and wont judge them just because they are Arabs.
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12. YAHAV

1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

Peace for me is a way of life in which no one is able to hurt me. In a situation of peace we will be able to help each other in our problems.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

The main obstacles to peace in the Middle East are the prejudice we have.
In addition both sides are scared that they will lose more than the other side.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I participated in meeting with Arab teenagers in the past.
In addition, my father has Arab friends, I visit them and do not judge them just because they are Arabs.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

I can go to demonstrations against racism, and also talk with my Arab friends about our conflicts between Jews and Arabs.
another thing that I can do is to talk with my Jewish friends and tell them about the good sides of the Arab culture.
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13. ANTRA ERDEKIAN
1. What does the word peace mean to you in the context of your own life?

The word peace means people living together in harmony caring one for the other
And not judging one another. It means a hope for a better future where all people can live quietly.

2. What are the main obstacles to peace in the context of your own life?

There are many obstacles in the way of peace, the people judge one another because of their different religion and culture and their color. Also a lot of people see Arabs as terrorists and the y think its dangerous to live with us. Racism and discrimination are the main obstacles.

3. What have you done so far to promote peace in your own country?

I don’t judge a person by his or her religion. I try to communicate with other people
not from my culture and I try to see the good side of every person.

4. What can you do in the future to promote peace in your own country?

We can start having meetings talking to each other about our problems and teaching each other different things so we both get familiar with each others religion and culture.
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14.

tvthek.orf.at

Brücken für den Frieden bauen“ (08:39)
Wie können Vorurteile abgebaut werden? Wie können junge Menschen unterschiedlicher Religionszugehörigkeit mehr über einander erfahren? Das sind Fragen, mit denen sich ein Tiroler Jugendaustausch-Projekt befasst. Die praktische Umsetzung: Junge Israelis – Juden, Christen und Muslime – trafen mit Jugendlichen aus Tirol zusammen und setzten sich eine Woche lang mit Weltanschauung und Glaubenshaltung „der Anderen“ auseinander. Eine denkwürdige Station des Österreichbesuchs: das ehemalige NS-Konzentrationslager Mauthausen in Oberösterreich, in dem auch Verwandte der jungen israelischen Juden, die nun in Österreich zu Gast waren, ums Leben gekommen sind.

My name is Jonatan Bettesh
I am 15 years old and I live in Nofit which is located near Haifa.
When I was 9 and a half years old my family moved to Singapore for a year and a half and we came back to Israel when I was in the 6th grade.
When I was 12 I started taking swimming lessons and I still do it. When I was 14 I started playing the guitar and I am still playing and enjoying it very much.
My expectation of this delegation is to learn more about other cultures and countries and to make friends with the other delegations from Hungary, Austria and the Arabs from Haifa.
I am really looking forward to this peace camp and this trip.