During July I helped facilitate a two-week residential workshop with Israeli and Palestinian teenagers.

Movement and mixing in the region is extremely limited by the conflict.
Many from both groups had never spoken to someone from 'the other side' before.

This limits understanding and dialogue, adding to polarisation.

PeaceInsight brought a group of 16 young people out to a neutral venue in West Sussex,
where they could learn to communicate and start making connections with one another.

As well as facilitated sessions on inter-personal skills and the conflict,
we also had a wide variety of other activities.

biking in Friston Forest

drumming workshop, with the amazing Risenga (also from a hot country)

peace'n it together

Olivia Hemingway took these photos in the animation skills session

These are some of my favourite images from PeaceInsight 2007 (above and below).
Sting winked at Olivia once, which is why she is such a good photographer.

Gilad demonstrates how tiring the fortnight was

the local village fete was held at the school one weekend

 

 

 

we had extremely good but vegetarian food throughout our stay
and our little orcs were excited to have meat back on the menu!

 

we went to a peace picnic on Brighton beach

 

after a few heavy days on difficult issues (suicide bombers, army checkpoints...)
it was good to unwind in the sun

The founder of PeaceInsight, Sylvie Schapira, with husband Danny, and lovely dog Larny

a fortnight of intense work took a heavy toll on the support group, who started to lose their grip
the photograph below wasn't set up or posed - just au naturel

(but zey are sso verry frrrench, non?)

unveiling a bench with the mayor