Progress at the negotiating table is only one step in the process of reaching an agreement that can be implemented. An end to the conflict will only come when the leaders come to an agreement that their peoples are ready to understand, accept, and support; it is imperative that the public understand the process.
The objective of these programs is to provide a platform and an environment in which difficult topics germane to a negotiated two state agreement can be considered, discussed, and debated, bringing before ordinary citizens the same questions and conflicts with which the leaders must deal in order to end the conflict and occupation, to achieve a two state solution and secure a lasting peace. Experts on each issue will be brought in to speak to and educate the people on the details of these issues and the negotiations process as a whole.
OneVoice will seek to leverage the results gathered through its public opinion polls, extending outreach from individual-level engagement to community-level through a Town Hall Meeting Series. Based on an iterative polling process, the Meeting methodology will highlight the art of negotiation, and enable OneVoice to surface issues and break taboos, while building understanding that ending the conflict, ending the occupation, ensuring security, and achieving a two state solution is possible.
Grounded in National-Self Interest. OneVoice will bring in different experts – political figures, business people, leaders of think tanks and non-profit organizations, dignitaries involved in the negotiation process, board members, and so forth – to cover various topics germane to a two state solution, and to ground the sensitive issues being discussed in national self-interest.
Leveraging Our Unique Human Infrastructure. The Meetings Series will furthermore seek to leverage and empower the network of engaged Youth Leaders on each side, and are designed to scale up through the series to larger national and joint meetings later in the year. In Israel, the University Chapters will be in charge of advertising and administering the meetings. The aim is to create a network of leaders that will be trained by the experts to be moderators. In Palestine, the most involved and well-trained Youth representatives from each district will help plan and facilitate the meetings, working in tandem with the various experts brought in to discuss the issues.
The structure on both sides will empower the young leaders, giving them ownership & motivating them toward deeper involvement. These leaders will then be equipped to "spread the word" through both formal and informal meetings.
Scaling Up for Increased Impact. The meetings will run in a 4- or 5-part series, organized by district, designed to scale up toward parallel National Town Hall Meetings, to which the political leadership will be invited. Provided a suitable political climate, OneVoice will also orchestrate a Joint Israeli-Palestinian Town Hall Meeting, moderated by international dignitaries, and televised worldwide.
Timeline
Both the polling project and the Town Hall Meetings are designed to be longer-term undertakings, operating over a period of roughly one year.
OneVoice ran a focus-group pilot meeting with its Advanced Youth Leaders in 2008, and will be conducting a follow up upon the release of the results from the first round of public polling in April 2009. Based on the results of the polls, content for the series will be finalized for Meetings to start in May, and to continue throughout the year, with at least one held on each side per month.
These meetings are a courageous but critical step, both for OneVoice and for Israeli and Palestinian societies, as they deal with sensitive issues which need to be dealt with in an open and public forum in order to adequately connect people at a grassroots level to those running the negotiations at the top levels of government.
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