On 25th April, MEND UK hosted “Rhythms of Palestine”, a fundraising concert in the Bloomsbury Theatre, London. The event attracted an audience of over 200 hundred, including Professor Manuel Hassassian, Palestinian Ambassador to the UK. Palestinian Oud player and composer, Adel Salameh opened the event which included performaces from Naziha Azzouz and Marwan Abado and Austrian Percussionist Peter Romanith. The concert was a tremendous success and provided a fantastic opportunity to not only raise funds for MEND but also raise the profile of its important work.
On 31st March MEND marked the final stage of its Curriculum Project which aims to increase the emphasis on human rights and nonviolence within the Palestinian school curriculum, with the launch of a book titled “Rights First….” in Ramallah. The event was well attended by a variety of guests including the PA Ministry of Education, the UN, foreign government representatives, community activists and local teachers and youth. This vital project has been generously supported by the European Union’s “Partnership for Peace” Programme for over three years.
On the 20th July 2008, MEND was delighted to announce the launch of a new project entitled “Town Hall Style Discussion about Violence in Palestinian Society”. Led by Issa Asslan, this 10 month project will involve community discussion on the importance of non-violence and human security in Palestine.
Each meeting will involve four guest speakers and 100 members of the local community and will take place throughout the core cities of the West Bank. MEND is particularly grateful for the generous contribution from the Foundation for the Future which has made this project possible.
MEND continues to organize its Digital Videoconferencing (DVC) network among coordinators of the Active Nonviolence Network (ANN). Due to limitations the meetings have been restricted to the West Bank, but MEND hopes to incorporate its ANN members in Gaza as soon as possible.
The aim of the DVC is to lower the cost of meetings as well as ensuring more productive use of MEND resources, made possible by more regular meetings. The Project Coordinator, Yacoub R’Joub (ANN Izzarrya), organised three DVC youth exchanges in June and July 2008. In their discussions the young people discussed their experiences with MEND summer camps, non-violence and their desire to meet with other young people from the ANN.
August 4th was day of great fun and relaxation on which any anger or stress was cast aside. In participation with the Trueman Institute for the Advancement of Peace, a research institute of Hebrew University, Jerusalem, MEND organised the workshop.
MEND was privileged to have Professor France Schott Billman, a specialist in the field of Art Therapy, to explain how art can have pragmatic qualities whilst also being aesthetically pleasing. It facilitates communication down to a neutral, primitive and nonverbal form. A feedback session was subsequently organised to explore the impact of the workshop and to stress the reduced importance of language in dialogue.
