Fechtergasse 16/1
1090 Vienna
Autriche
- International/Cultural relations
- Youth and education
We are striving to
- enhance young people's awareness of the social and political issues of their region and their time
- stimulate a self determined perception and judgement of social reality
- help resist indoctrination and incitement to violence
- train youth in speaking up and expressing their opinion
- offering an occasion to get to know young people from other parts of the world and learn about their society and culture
- help them communicate with people from other countries in a foreign language
- stimulate an attitude of, and appropriate skills for active citizenship
- stimulate reflection on issues of national identity: what it means to be a "European"/A Jewish Israeli/A Palestinian etc.
In 2013, Evelyn Böhmer-Laufer has received the Honorary Cross for Science and the Arts from the Austrian Ministry for Education, the Arts and Culture for ten continuous years of peacecamp work.
The main activities are annual "peacecamps" - multicultural encounters of four different groups of young people. They always involve Palestinian and Jewish Israelis and two European groups - one from Austria plus one from a country behind the former Iron Curtain. So far we had Slovenian and Hungarian groups participating in peacecamps.
peacecamps' main activities are:
- getting-to know the "other's" culture, religion, history, society, nation, social reality, etc.
- learning the narrative of the "other"
- cope with mission impossible challenges
- debating (listening, arguing, speaking up one's mind)
- talking/presenting issues to an audience
- going on stage (giving a speech, a presentation, performing on stage)
- show4peace and welcome reception with speeches, awards and many invited guests (public figures and private persons)
Our experience is based on 12 peacecamps which we have realized since 2004, each new and different from the previous ones in many respects - with a different focus, different workshops, team-members, workshop-leaders and participants each time.
Right now peacecamp no. 13 is in preparation for July 2015.
With our experience in peace related activities and workshops, both for the Middle East as well as for EU countries.
We want to benefit from other projects' experiences.