peacecamp 2014

peacecamp 2014: If you meet a stranger, talk to him
Lackenhof/Lower Austria and Vienna
July 3rd – 13th, 2014

peacecamp 2014 will take place in the Young Hotel Lackenhof. Lackenhof is a remote, tiny village in the Ötscher Mountains in Lower Austria, surrounded by mountains and forests, away from consumer society, a place that inspires calm and peace of mind. The last day will be spent in Vienna.

32 young people from four different communities and about twelve adults will participate in the peacecamp:

The peacecamp has a structured timetable consisting in a number of workshops, activities and recreation times.

All participants are requested to participate in all the activities and to provide feedback and assessment data upon request, at two different times before and after the peacecamp.

The aim of peacecamp
- to offer young people of different communities and societies an opportunity to meet and to get to know one another
- to offer opportunity to check images and fantasies about the other nations in the light of a real encounter with age mates from these nations
- to know and understand the current social, political and cultural reality of my own and the other participating nations
- to trace the personal, cultural, political, historical lines that led to the current situation of my own and the other countries
- to give young people tools for active citizenship
- to give young people opportunities to experiment with creative modes of problem-solving and with non-violent modes of coping with conflict

Participants
4 delegations of 8 pupils (age: 14 - 17 years):
- Hungarian delegation from the Szent László Gimnázium, Budapest
- Jewish-Israeli delegation from the Carmel Zvulun High School of Kibbutz Yagur
- Austrian delegation
- Palestinian delegation from Hand in Hand School, Jerusalem

Adult staff:
- 1 accompanying teacher per group
- 2 artists/art therapists will lead art workshops, work on family albums, relaxation/meditation sessions
- 3 historians/teachers/educators – workshops “talks4peace”
- 1 group psychologist will lead the daily “large group-sessions”
- peacecamp-director
- 1-2 assistants

Requested Preparation

individual preparation
• “my family, my roots”: Each pupil is requested to bring a documentation of the history of his/her own family with pictures, documents, stories, etc.
• “4 questions”: Each pupil is requested to send us his/her questionnaire “4 questions” (see att.) on two different dates (will be notified).

group preparation
• culture evening: Each group is asked to prepare an evening which conveys the characteristics of its own culture.
• “talks for peace”: Pupils of each delegation are requested to prepare information and personal thoughts/opinions about the following topics:

Topics to prepare by the Jewish and Palestinian delegations from Israel

1. Is there an Israeli-Palestinian “peace process”?
What were the attempts for peace negotiations between Israelis and Palestinians and why did they fail?
What are your personal ideas about how to achieve a peaceful coexistence between Israelis and Palestinians?
Please outline your personal “road to peace”.

2. The Shoah and its impact on the Israeli-Palestinian relationships

Topics to prepare by the Austrian and Hungarian delegations

A peace project called “European Union”
- How was the European Union created and what led to the formulation of the Charter of Fundamental Rights?
- What are the basic premises on which the European Union is founded?
- What do you personally think of the charter? Do you personally agree with it/a part of it? Please specify.
- How are these rights put into action in your country? Are you personally satisfied with the way your country realizes the charter?
- What would you suggest/change in the way your country realizes the charter of fundamental rights?
- What can be done in your country to improve the situation of minorities – particularly the Roma? What can your country do in order to dissolve prejudices and to allow better integration of foreigners/minorities into your society?
- Freedom of expression and freedom of press in your country
- Political parties in your country. Can political parties be a threat to democracy, freedom and equality in your country?
- What can the European Union do to safeguard democracy in Hungary?
- The situation of Jews in Austria and in Hungary before and during WW2, the Shoah (Holocaust)
- Europe divided by the Iron Curtain; fall of the Iron Curtain

Each delegation is requested to bring posters reflecting the issues mentioned above. Pupils will not be asked to lecture about these topics, but should be prepared to answer questions or explain their posters – and their personal thoughts – on request.

Suggestion for reading
• I shall not hate - Izzeldin Abuelaish
• We just want to live here - Amal Rifa’i and Odelia Ainbinder with Sylke Tempel
• The Diary of Anne Frank

General information about the peacecamp project
http://peacecamptexts.blogger.de/
http://2013.peacecamp.net/

Videos
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Aqvjex9T11I&feature=youtu.be (peacecamp 2013, teaser, 6 minutes)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=27mSLvz6TU0 (peacecamp 2013, 35 minutes)

Vienna, November 2013
Evelyn Böhmer-Laufer
Initiator and director of the peacecamp project
http://peacecamp.net/

http://www.lackenhof.noejhw.at/

Our next peacecamp will take place in Lackenhof, Lower Austria, from July 3rd to July 13th, with the participation of
Jewish Israeli, Palestinian, Hungarian and Austrian Youth