Peres Center for Peace
| The Peres Center for Peace | |
|---|---|
| legal form | NGO |
| founding | 1996 |
| founder | Shimon Peres , Uri Savir |
| Seat | Jaffa , Israel |
| purpose | Peacebuilding for the Middle East |
| method | Social interaction, education, youth work |
| Managing directors | Efrat Duvdevani (General Director) |
| Employees | 35 |
| Volunteers | 5 |
| Website | www.peres-center.org |
The Peres Center for Peace ( Peres Peace Center ) based in Jaffa , Israel , is an independent, non-profit and non-governmental organization in 1996 by the Nobel Peace Prize and former President of Israel Shimon Peres was founded. The aim of the organization is to pursue its vision of peace building for the Middle East through socio-economic cooperation and development as well as personal encounters between people.
tasks
The Peres Peace Center describes its mission as "promoting lasting peace and development in the Middle East by spreading tolerance, economic and technological development, innovation, cooperation and good living conditions - all in the spirit of President Peres' vision."
activities
The organization's activities take place in the following areas:
- Agriculture, water supply and the environment
- The Perez Peace Center runs programs for cross-border research, training and cooperation to improve cultivation practices, and protect the environment and water. Individual projects deal with pest control, aquaculture, regional water research, joint olive oil production and much more.
- economy
- The Peres Peace Center promotes joint economic research by interest groups on both sides, advanced training and networking for cross-border cooperation in a variety of business areas such as high-tech, food and luxury goods, textile and shoe production and tourism. Among other things, a Palestinian company directory was created.
- Civic engagement
- The Peres Peace Center develops and implements programs that address Israeli and Palestinian civil society and officials, form a strong cross-border network and offer continuing education and professional training. The programs create channels of communication between Palestinians and Israelis and between Jews and Arabs in a wide variety of areas.
The projects also include international youth exchanges, coaching programs for young politicians and forums for public debate.
- Culture, media and art
- The Peres Peace Center offers theater, photography, and art programs that bring together different groups of all ages.
The projects also include a cross-border photojournalism program, an arts program for children and a play that brings the message of peaceful coexistence to schools.
- Medicine and healthcare
- In cooperation with the Israel Medical Society, the Peres Peace Center supports the development of an independent Palestinian health system through the development of human resources, the promotion of complex medical services and cross-border cooperation and knowledge transfer. There are medical care programs for babies and children, as well as a training program for Palestinian doctors.
- Social media and communication technology
- The Peres Peace Center develops programs that aim to lead the people of the Middle East, especially young people, into a virtual dialogue with one another.
Projects include a popular Facebook group, school group communication programs through computer centers, and a diplomacy game.
- Sports
- The Twinned Peace Sports Schools bring Israelis, Palestinians, Jewish and Arab boys and girls together through joint sports. The main sports are soccer, basketball, wheelchair basketball, cricket, table tennis and Australian football .
Awards
- 2012 United Nations Gold Award for the Blood Relations Campaign
- 2010 Wingate Award as the best NGO in the field of peace and sport
- 2010 Peace and Sports Award (Monaco) as best NGO
- 2010 Global Sports Forum Barcelona Award for the best project
Peres Peace House
Since December 2009 the office of the Peres Peace Center has been in the Peres Peace House in Ajami , a predominantly Arab district of Jaffa .
The Peres Peace House also houses the Shimon Peres Archive, an auditorium and conference rooms, as well as a library on conflict resolution. There is an extensive educational program, readings and other cultural events take place. In the Peres Peace House there is also space for local initiatives that deal with legal aid, mentoring for disadvantaged children and many other tasks.
management
The first general director of the Peres Peace Center was the diplomat Uri Savir, who founded it together with Shimon Peres and is now honorary president. He was succeeded for over 10 years by Ron Pundak, a historian and journalist who was instrumental in the Oslo process on the Israeli side . He was followed by Ido Shahir. The current director general of the center is Efrat Duvdevani, who was chief of staff of the presidential office during the tenure of President Peres (2007-2014). The Executive Committee consists of CEOs, directors and presidents from various organizations as well as university teachers, academics and journalists.
Dispute over tax exemption
In 2011, the Peres Peace Center applied for tax exemption. For the approval, the Israeli tax authorities made the condition that the organization had to discontinue a training program for doctors from the Gaza Strip in Israeli hospitals. The organization continued the program and instead withdrew the application. In 2016, the Peres Peace Center was finally granted tax exemption.
criticism
Author Witt Raczka questioned the organization's effectiveness in his book Unholy Land , while Israeli peace activist and artist Jonathan Kis-Lev highly praised the Peres Center for Peace in his book My Quest For Peace .
Web links
Individual evidence
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Who We Are . Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Our Mission . Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Agriculture, Water and Environment . Archived from the original on August 12, 2012. Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Business and Economics . Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Civil Leadership . Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Culture, Media and Arts . Archived from the original on September 20, 2012.
- ^ Frames of Reality Exhibition Review . Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ↑ הריאליטי המציאותי בבית פרס לשלום . Archived from the original on October 12, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Medicine and Healthcare . Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Social Media and Technology . Archived from the original on September 20, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Sport . Archived from the original on August 12, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ British MPs arrive for the first cricket tour of Israel . In: Haaretz , October 11, 2012.
- ^ Blood Relations Campaign Wins United Nations Gold Award . Saatchi & Saatchi. Retrieved June 11, 2012.
- ↑ מרכז פרס לשלום זכה באות ויינגייט לשנת 2010 . In: one.co.il , May 27, 2010. Archived from the original on February 3, 2014. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ↑ The best initiatives for peace through sport rewarded at the Peace and Sport Awards . Archived from the original on January 21, 2016. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ^ Winners of global sports forum awards , www.sportbusiness.com. March 11, 2010. Archived from the original on August 20, 2012. Retrieved October 17, 2012.
- ↑ Photo Friday - Frames of Reality . In: 21c Israelity Blog . March 15, 2013. Retrieved April 17, 2013.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Staff . Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ The Peres Center for Peace - Board of Directors & Honorary President . Retrieved October 15, 2012.
- ^ Peres Center for Peace - Training Doctors .
- ↑ Jonathan Lis: Peres Center told: Choose between Gaza health project and tax break . In: Haaretz , December 9, 2011. Retrieved August 6, 2012.
- ↑ Witt Raczka: Unholy Country: In Search of Hope in Israel / Palestine , Hamilton Books, 2015
- ↑ Jonathan Kis-Lev: My Quest For Peace: One Israeli's Journey From Hatred To Peacemaking, Goldsmith Press, 2015