Category: Youth Encounter Groups
Focus: Dialogue and Identity
Moderators: Eva Halahmi and Hussam Elias
For further information: hanab@jcjcr.org

In fall 2006 JCJCR joined together with the National Office of Catholic Schools in Israel and the TALI (Hebrew abbreviation for “Enhanced Jewish Studies”) Education Fund to initiate a large Dialogue and Identity Project. Until 2009 the project involved 8 schools. In the 2009-2010 school year the project was expanded to involve 12 schools. The project operates on three levels in the schools: principals, teachers and pupils. The principals of the 12 schools meet approximately once every two months to deepen the working relationship between them to discuss the role and development of project in their respective schools. The group of 24 teachers are in constant contact through a special internet forum for them and through regular meetings to discuss the central topic of dialogue and identity, to get additional professional input regarding the core subjects addressed in the project and to receive further training to serve as facilitators for the meetings between their pupils. The group of approximately 400 pupils is drawn from 12 classes and in Arab Christian and Jewish schools who work in pairs. The pupils have four extended cross cultural meetings that focus on getting to know the traditions and culture of the other, as well as ones own traditions and culture. The pupils hold four preparatory and processing meetings in their own schools prior to and after each cross-cultural encounter. With the exception of two groups of pupils from the intermediate classes, the remainder of the pupils are from the 5th and 6th grades.