Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy

Middle East Nonviolence and Democracy (MEND)
purpose	Establishing a nonviolent Palestinian civil society
Chair:	Lucy Nusseibeh
Establishment date:	1998
Seat :	East Jerusalem
Website:	www.mendonline.org

MEND ( M iddle E ast N onviolence and D emocracy) is an NGO whose goal is to establish a non-violent Palestinian civil society. It has been active in the West Bank and Gaza Strip since 1998 .

concept

With the concept of the Active Nonviolence approach, MEND pursues the goal of opening up prospects for Palestinian civil society to resolve conflicts without violence. In order to create such awareness, MEND tries to tread unconventional paths, preferring to address population groups that are usually disadvantaged in Palestinian society. Therefore, women and young people are specifically addressed.

Projects

The association tries to gain access to the Palestinian population through various projects, including:

• So-called MENDers are trained in regular workshops that take place in the course of several weeks of camps . These are usually Palestinian students who are introduced to the principle of the Active Nonviolence Approach. The trained MENDers then have the opportunity to gradually pass on their knowledge to the general public in the regional Active Nonviolence Centers in their hometowns.
• The organization created working materials based on the world-famous television series Sesame Street , which were specifically aimed at preschool children. The aim was to eliminate the prevailing lack of useful teaching materials for preschool children.
• Video conferences give MEND activists the opportunity to exchange ideas with one another ( Activists Talk ). The personal exchange through visits turned out to be difficult within the Palestinian territories, as travel is associated with considerable expenditure of time due to the political situation.

distribution

Since 2002 the organization has succeeded in spanning a network of Active Nonviolence Centers across the entire West Bank and Gaza Strip. As of 2010, the following branches are active:

• East Jerusalem (Office)
• Hebron
• El-Azarjeh
• Jenin
• Jericho
• Nablus
• Qalqiliya
• Ramallah
• Tulkarm
• Gaza

Web links

• Club homepage
• MEND summary

Individual evidence

1. ^ Principle of Active Nonviolence
2. ↑ MEND: Target ( Memento of the original from August 20, 2009 in the Internet Archive ) Info: The archive link was automatically inserted and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice. 
3. ↑ MEND project: workshops
4. ↑ MEND project Sesame Street
5. ^ MEND Project: Activists Talk
6. ↑ List of Active Nonviolence Centers