Act Beyond Borders

CSABB Contract Title Human Rights and Reconciliation – Civil Society Acts Beyond Borders Contract Number EIDHR/2009/167-502 Funding Period 01/01/2010 – 31/12/2012 Funding Agency EIDHR Total Cost €874.863,00 Partners PDC YAARI Website http://www.actbeyondborders.net

The Civil Society Acts Beyond Border Project is co-funded by the European Commission, EIDHR. It is coordinated by Future Worlds Center and is implemented with local partners: The YAARI in Israel and The PDC, in the Palestinian Territories.

Background

The modern day violent conflict between Israeli and Palestinian factions has lasted for more than half a century. This conflict exists at the political as well as the civic level because there have been repeated human rights violations within the two communities which have created a culture of mistrust, hatred and demonization. The political instability that exists within and between the two communities further polarizes Israeli and Palestinian civil society. Even though the conflict is engrained in the psyche of the people, the hope from many CSOs is for peaceful co-existence and increased respect for human rights. While recent political developments have been attempting resolution, especially since the most recent outbreak of violence, there is need for strong support for CSO collaboration to advocate for positive change at the society level regarding issues ranging from human rights, cooperation, and integration to democratic representation that will shape national developmental policies and a willingness to accept the other. The time is now for the civil society actors to be supported in their efforts to be strengthened in their capacity building exercises and continued dialogue. Experts in and on the region have begun to turn to civil society as a new direction to solve the age old problem. According to Middle East Journal, (Vol. 47, No. 2 Spring, 1993, pp. 258-274), civil society is a possible answer to the question of how society and state can interact and reinforce each other in a manner that creates and sustains a democratic system. CSOs can play a crucial role in raising awareness about democratisation, civic participation and human rights, including rights of citizens, and in mobilising citizens to stand up for these rights and to raise support for issues of concern to their respective political leaders if supported in these endeavours. Palestinian and Israeli civil society can utilise the experience of European civil society organisations and implement its model that has had a positive effect on governments across Europe to improve the capacity of civil society in various European countries and use these in Israel and Palestine to increase the strength of democracy and human rights.

Overall Objectives

• Increase dialogue among civil society actors, youth, and local authorities in Israel and Palestine;
• Increase capacity of CSOs in Israel and Palestine to promote Human Rights and Democratic Participation;
• Enhance collaboration among civil society actors, youth, and local authorities across Israel and Palestine

Specific Objectives

Through a comprehensive set of structured dialogue workshops, civil society trainings, as well as multi-communal public debates, round tables and conferences, this project aims to empower civil society actors, youth, and local authorities in Israel and Palestine to actively promote Human Rights and Democratization.

Activities

• A1: Project Steering Committee;
• A2: Interactive online portal;
• A3: Structured dialogue workshops;
• A4: Creation of multi-stakeholder Action Groups;
• A5: Five trans-national Action Plan support workshops;
• A6: 10-day Training of Local Trainers;
• A7: Series of Basic Civil Society Strengthening Workshops;
• A8: Series of non-formal civil society action workshops;
• A9: Series of Advanced Civil Society Strengthening Workshops;
• A10: Ten Panel Discussions/ Public Roundtables; A11: Final Human Rights Conference in Cyprus

Expected Results

• R1: Increased capacity of CSOs to promote and strengthen human rights and their implementation;
• R2: Increased dialogue among civil society across conflict zones;
• R3: Increased capacity of local CSOs to resolve conflict and enhance collaboration for common goals;
• R4: Strengthened collaboration for the promotion of Human Rights across stakeholders and countries