OneVoice Blog, Empowering Israeli and Palestinian Citizens Against Violent Extremism

Darya Shaikh, Executive Director of the PeaceWorks Foundation, to oversee execution and coordination of the International Steering Committee

Darya Shaikh, in her capacity as Executive Director of the PeaceWorks Foundation and OneVoice-US, will be taking on new responsibilities in 2008 to oversee the coordination and execution of the OneVoice International Steering Committee, a decision-making body comprised of OneVoice Executive leadership and leading Board Members from each of the regional and international boards. This new role will help facilitate strategic planning, as well as streamline interoffice communications and decision-making processes.

Nisreen Shahin promoted to General Director of OneVoice Palestine, ending Darwish tenure

OneVoice is pleased to announce that Nisreen Shahin, formerly the Executive Director of OneVoice Palestine, has been promoted to the position of General Director. Throughout her years working with OneVoice, Ms. Shahin has shown extraordinary strength, courage, leadership, and commitment to the Movement's goal of emboldening the people to support a two state solution. Ms. Shahin has also proven dedication to transparency and accountability. We are excited to see her in this new role.

The tenure of Dr. Fathi Darwish as General Director for OneVoice Palestine ended late November 2007.

 

OneVoice Palestine Conducts Youth Workshops All Over Palestine, Launches Youth Advisory Council

In January and February, OneVoice Palestine met with approximately 150-200 Palestinian youth leaders though youth workshops in Jericho, Ramallah, Tulqarem, Nablus, Hebron, Bethlehem, Qalqelia, Jenin, and Tubas.  Over the past couple months, OneVoice has been implementing some structural and strategic changes to its Youth Leadership program, in order to increase the effectiveness of the program and ensure that it serves to empower the leaders to take part not only in the execution of OneVoice activities, but also to participate in the planning and evaluation process.  These workshops served to brief the leaders about these changes, to get their perspective and feedback on OneVoice’s plan for 2008, and evaluate the successes and failures of OneVoice’s 2007 programs.

During the workshops youth were also asked to elect representatives to the newly-formed OneVoice Palestine Youth Advisory Council, which will act as the engine for activities (whether proposed and planned by the Youth Leaders or by the OneVoice Executive staff).  Thus far, elections have taken place in Jericho, Bethlehem, Tulqarem, Nablus, and Hebron, electing the following individuals to the Council:

Jericho
Salem Jalayta & Zulfa Asaliah

Bethlehem
Ibrahim Mubarak & Suha Taqatqa

Tulqarem
Adeeb Ofeh & Malak Saleh

Nablus
Mahmoud Mletat & Falastin Dwekat

Hebron
Jehad Naser Addin & Ayman al-Bakri

The first Youth Council training session will take place in Ramallah the first week of March, and it will focus on developing their skills in preparing a plan of action, preparing a budget, executing a plan, evaluating the success of an activity, reporting the results to a wider audience, and communicating with the youth groups they represent in each district.

OVI Launches Advanced Leadership Seminars and Youth Advisory Council

In February OneVoice Israel launched its Advanced Leadership Seminar series, meant to give its most committed and trained youth leaders deeper training and more responsibility, to make their work as professional and effective as possible.

The first of these seminars took place the first week of February, and included with 8 hours of intensive skills training: the leaders learned how to manage and execute a project, how to create and achieve critical milestones, and how to evaluate a project’s success.

One of the primary objectives of this first seminar was for the leaders to create a OneVoice Youth Leadership Council, comprised of youth representatives from each Youth Leadership chapter – Non Students, Hertzliya Interdisciplinary Center, Hebrew University, and Tel Aviv University. By the end of the meeting each chapter nominated Chairpersons.  The groups also outlined the particular role of each chapter, and set specific goals for the near future.<

Non Students
Odelia Englander – Chairperson
Rotem Yossef – Youth Representative for OneVoice International Steering Committee

Interdisciplinary Center
Yosef Kedmi – Chairperson

Hebrew University
Astar Yadid – Chairperson

Tel Aviv University
Tal Harris – Chairperson

The leaders were energized and motivated by the seminar – the new structure will give them the power they need and the ownership over the process they seek in order to advance the OneVoice mission and run successful activities.

Youth Leaders Meet with Knesset Member Ephraim Sneh

As a part of the “Highway Model” for Youth Leadership training, in which leaders meet with a different dignitary each month, OneVoice Israel Youth Leaders met with Knesset Member Ephraim Sneh in January. Mr. Sneh emphasized that the success of these negotiations is in Israel’s long term interest, noting that it is important to work with the moderate Palestinian leadership to come to a final status agreement. Compromises will have to be made by both sides to reach that agreement, he said, and there will be a price to pay in order to make peace.  However, that price is infinitely better than the alternative – failure to reach an agreement would surely mobilize, strengthen, and appear to legitimize the argument for “one state,” as well as allow violence to spread even further.  Lastly, Mr. Sneh lauded the work that OneVoice is doing in supporting the negotiations process.