Peacecamp 2009

Hello, my name is Linda,
i am 26 years old, i come from Burgenland (Austria) and i will do with Maria the „rhythm and movement“ workshop at the peace camp. This is my third peace camp. I was studying rhythmic/music and movement - education and paedagogic in Vienna.
I am very interested in dance, specially in contemporary dance. A very important part of my life is the music. I play the piano, i am singing and i play the clarinett too. I like to be creative and work on dance and music projects.
When i am out of the city, in the landscape, i like to ride my bike very much. To share my time with friends is very relaxing and important for me, e.g. go out for dancing, eating, into the cinema, to a concert, cooking together,...

I am looking forward to meet you at the peace camp.

The Galil High School of Nazareth, Israel

http://www.galil-school.net/

Thank you for your initiative to welcome our students in your summer camp.
Our school, EL JALIL SECONDARY SCHOOL, is a high school with a magnificent history.
It was established in 1923. Hundreds of people graduated here and many have become the academic and intellectual leaders of arab community in Israel.
The school staff believes and work on providing our students diverse educational opportunities to develop their skills and intellect, by exposing them to various activities at schooland with other schools in Israel .The school also believes that our students must develop a strong sense of belonging, responsibility and commitment to our community. They learn the theoretical and practical implications of the principals of ”civil society”.
Therefore the school encourages such projects where students meet from different countries, with a different background and culture in order to learn about the other.
The school has different major subjects.
The students are involved in voluntary work in town , they edit the school newspaper and publish their creative work as well as their opinions on contemporary issues .They also have their council (The students council) where they decide their own programs.
We are proud to send our “chosen” and hope al the members of the delegation will enjoy their time and have a fruitful work.





The Carmel Zvulun High School, Kibbutz Yagur, Israel



http://carmelz.org
"Carmel Zvulun" is located in Kibbutz Yagur, 5 km east of Haifa. It serves a total of eight hundred and forty students who come from kibbutzim and moshavim in the north of Israel. It offers academic study leading to matriculation and vocational training which includes fashion design, graphic design and robotics/mechanics. The school is widely acclaimed for its educational standards and achievements whilst maintaining an atmosphere of flexibility, warm relations with students and an ability to respond to their special needs.
The Carmel-Zvulun Junior High and High School knows in his special for its program which serves 76 deaf and hard of hearing students.
Those students travel daily from far and wide to attend Carmel Zvulun, coming from Kiryat-Shmona in the North and Hadera in the South.




The Szent László Gimnázium, Budapest, Hungary



http://www.szlgbp.sulinet.hu/




..., Vienna, Austria

This is the Jewish Israeli delegation with their coordinator Osnat Oknin and
1. Sharon Elad
Hallo - I'm Sharon
Hallo, my name is Sharon Elad. I am fifteen and a half years old. During my childhood, I got to live in various places in Israel and abroad. These include Udim, Haifa, Tivon, and even Palo-Alto in California. In the past five years we live in Kiriat Tivon.
I learn in the regional high-school of Carmel-Zvulun, with few more students from my town. After school, I usually focus on my school work. In my free time I go to the gym, I participate in meetings of the "Hanoar-Haoved-Vehalomed", and attend to afternoon German classes in sponsor of the Austrian embassy. I also have neighborhood friends with whom I like to meet every now and then.
My family includes my mother (Rita), who is a dentist-medical doctor, my father (Miki), who is a professor in the computer science faculty at the Technion, and my younger brother (Adar) and sister (Yuval). I love my family and appreciate each one of them very much.
I am truly grateful for the fact that I have been chosen to represent my school in the Austrian peace-camp and see it as a great privilege and honor. This is a chance to teach our young generation how to live in peace, for the young generation is us.
I Hope that the camp will be enjoyable and educational for everyone and that we make the best out of it.

2. Ziv Keidar
I am Ziv Keidar and I live in Kiryat Ata. My hobbies are playing on the drums and training karate. I love to play on the play station and meet friends.
I would like to go to peace camp to meet new teenagers from different cultures and share my ideas with everyone. I think I am a tolerant person and am ready to listen to other opinions and response them.

3. Ori Amit

My name is Ori Amit. I live in Sha'ar Ha'amakim which is a kibbutz. I am fifteen years old and I study in Carmel Zvulun. My hobbies are singing, playing the guitar, drawing and photo shooting. I think I can contribute to the Peace Camp because I accept other opinions , and I think that it is good that different people think in different ways, but yet I never give up on my opinion and I'm not afraid speaking it out, especially if it relates to important issues. I hope to enjoy my stay in Austria and to meet new people.

4. Noy Nidam

My name is Noy Nidam, my realign is a Jew and I am an Israeli's citizen.
I live with my family at a beautiful small town named 'Nofit' that is located near by Haifa at the north of Israel.
I am now 14 years old and I am a 9th grade student at the 'Carmel Zvulun' School.
My hobbies are free style and classic dancing, singing at the school gang and off course I like the time hanging out with my friends, but most of all I love to sport exercise with my lovely family such as biking, skiing and tracking.
I am excited to join the camp and looking forward to hear other people's opinion about how can we together gain to the efforts in order to achieve a world peace. I really do think that a peace is not just a dream and it can be achieved if only the peoples will be willing to hear and understand each other needs and fears.
I am looking forward to join to the amazing experience at the Peace Camp that for sure will contribute a lot to any one who will join the camp.

5. Imri Geffen

My name is Imry Geffen, I'm 15 years old from Nofit and I learn in Carmel Zvulun School, 9th grade. I lived several years in Nigeria during elementary school.
I'm quite an average student. My favorite lessons at school are history and literature. My hobbies are reading, drawing, listening to music and watch TV shows and movies. I like riding on bike as well. I also love to use the Photoshop software to design and edit photos in the computer. I take theatre lessons in the school.
I'm coming to Peacecamp with a unified opinion about the Israelian-Palestinian conflict and peace generally. I think wars are caused due to the carelessness of people or organizations, and I think the only way to stop them is by fighting back. Yes, it probably will cause a tougher war and more victims, that's why I think that the term 'Peace' is so complicated in these times.
I come to Peacecamp and hope to discuss and learn about the ways you can attempt achieving peace, and to hear other opinions about the wars around the world and if world-peace is possible these days.
I think I can contribute to the camp by expressing my opinions and ideas.

6. Shahak Shalev

My name is Shahak Shalev, I'm 14 years old from a small place called Bialik Village. I'm in 9th grade in Carmel Zvulun School.
The lessons I like the most at school are History, English and Geography.
My hobbies are playing volleyball, watching TV, playing video games and all kinds of other gadgets. I also learn Krav-Maga, which is an Israeli developed martial arts. I guide the younger children at our village and help create activities for them with some other high-school students from the village.
I think that as a child my opinion about the Israelian – Palestinian conflict is not very clear though I still have thoughts about it. I'm coming to peacecamp to hopefully make me see the picture more clearly and help me get my opinion straight. I'm very interested in hearing what other people think about it though I think some things can't be changed here, like discussing about whom Israel's land really belongs to. I am interested in hearing how people that don’t take part in the conflict see the two sides of it too. I think I can contribute to the camp by expressing my opinions and ideas.

7. Shir Lekach
My name is Shir Lekach, I'm 15 years old and I live in kibbutz Ramat-Yochanan. I'm in ninth grade and I learn at Carmel Zvulun Regional High School. On my kibbutz we eat lunch every day in the cafeteria and go to the children's club just like in the old days. I love living on the kibbutz, and playing water-polo is one of my hobbies.
I believe that I can contribute a lot by going to the Peace Camp. I have good debate skills and I stick to my beliefs, but I am also open and accepting of other people's opinions. I also have the patience and the maturity expected of people who are to attend the camp.
I am very proud to have been chosen to go to Peace Camp, and I am excited to go. I think it will be a great experience for me, and it will give me the chance to share my thoughts and beliefs with people from different cultures who will also be attending the Peace Camp.

8. Moriya Shahar
My name is moriya shahar and I am 15.5 years old. I live in Kiryat Tivon, which is a small place near Haifa.
Sports and music are very important to me, I play the clarinet and the guitar. I love to play tennis and basket-ball.
The reason I agreed and wanted to go to "peace camp" is that I truely believe in peace and I think it is the only way to have an agreement between any two contries that are in a conflict.
In my opinion the way to solve the conflict between us and the Arabs is to do those kind of camps and to have meetings and groups in schools.
I think that the adults need to realize that we (teenagers) are the
one that will live in this country in the future and if we will come with a more positive and understanding opinion and open mind about
the Arabs,it will assist in over coming the gap between us.
I think that this camp is a wonderful initiative and I hope that in the future more students will be exposed to this kind of adventure.
moriya shahar.

9. Yonatan Ben Shalom

My name is Yonatan Ben Shalom, I live in Nofit , which is near Haifa, I am 15 years old. My hobbies are to hang out with friends and computers. I am looking forward to meet you all in the peace camp. I believe that world peace is very important. In my opinion every person in the world has the right to live peacefully, and we should all do whatever we can to achieve that.

I am Osnat Oknin. I am 47 years old, have two sons and live in Kiryat Ata, which is a city near Haifa. I have been teaching English in Carmel Zvulun for twenty-three years, and I love to work with teenagers. I think it makes me feel younger…
My hobbies are reading and taking long walks along the beautiful beaches of Israel. The sight of the sea and the sound of the wave relax me and fill me with energy.
I am looking forward to participate in Peace Camp 2009 and meet you all. In my opinion peace education is one of the most important topics in our world today.

Hi everybody, please meet Ronny, and that's me:

I am not only Evelyn's husband (which is already quite a fulltime job) , but also the handyman and utility man and general dogsbody on each single peacecamp, both the previous ones as well as the future ones. Being almost 63 years of age, I might be the oldest one on the peacecamp, but since there is always one the oldest, I do not really care much.

Anyway, as every year I am very much looking forward to the coming peacecamp and to meeting all of you. Whenever you have a question on the camp, please don't hesitate to ask me. Sometimes, I might even have an answer for you...

See you soon,
ronny

Dear friends,

I am Silvio Gutkowski, a good friend of Evelyne and also friend of other members of the Staff.

I worked the last two years in the Peace Camp and felt how important for me was as a human being.,To contribute to grow up young people, that is able to work for peaceful life.

My task in the Peace Camp is to coordinate the group event, and to promove dialogue .

In my private life I work in jerusalem in a hospital and I have my family , a nice wife 2 wonderful daughters, and a grandson. I think many times about there future and in that moments I am convinced we have to make all we can to give the next generations a world that it's fun to be and enjoy.

I like music, walking and riding bycicle, and making jokes, and laugh. I hope to see you and enjoy next july together.

Silvio

Hallo!
Mein Name ist Gerald Muthsam, ich bin 37 Jahre alt, und komme aus der
Gemeinde in der das Peacecamp stattfindet. Ich lebe seit 7 Jahren als
Künstler und ich arbeite immer wieder mit Gruppen im Bereich Teambuilding,
Kommunikation und Selbsterfahrung. Ich habe schon viele Spiele und
Herausforderungen für das Camp vorbereitet.

Heuer gibt es zum ersten Mal einen Foto- und Videoworkshop, den ich betreuen werde, und ich bin schon gespannt auf die Filme und Fotos die entstehen werden.

Ich war auch die letzten zwei Jahre mit großer Freude dabei, und ich freue mich auf euer Kommen. Bis bald, Gerald

__________________________________________

Hallo,
I am Gerald Muthsam; I am 37 years old and come from the region in Austria, where peacecamp is taking place.

For 7 years I have been working as an artist and conducted team-building-, communication- and self-awareness-workshops with various groups.

I have already prepared quite a few games and challenges for your peacecamp.

This is going to be the first time that a film- and video-workshop will take place on a peacecamp. I am already curious to see the films and photos that you will create.

I have participated in the two last peacecamps with great enthousiasm and am very much looking to meeting you at the peacecamp.

See you soon

Gerald

I am Evelyn. I have been organizing peacecamps since 2004 with Arab and Jewish teenagers from Israel and European youngsters from Austria, Slovenia and Hungary.

It is quite a headache to organize a peacecamp: the most difficult is to raise the money to pay for your trip, for the youth hostel, the restaurant, the workshops, the busses etc. You need to find a place, workshop leaders, the participating schools, teachers, pupils. I do it benevolently, with the help of my husband Ronny and many friends who help us.

Each time, I say that this is going to be the last peacecamp I organize, because it really is a lot of work and it takes much of our free time. But when the groups arrive and when we all start working, I forget how tough it was to prepare and really enjoy each peacecamp very much.

Each peacecamp is different from, and a result of the previous ones. We all learn a lot at each peacecamp. We are trying to improve each peacecamp by applying what we have learnt in the previous ones.

A peacecamp is a place where each person can learn from any other person who is there. This is really unique. It's a place where I can teach you something and you can teach me something; you'll be surprised to find out how much you can learn and teach at the same time. And when we go home we will all be a little wiser than before we met.

People usually feel that they bring home something from the peacecamp, something to share with others - our family and friends.

Well, I realize that I cannot really tell you what a peacecamp is: you have to come and see yourself. I am sure that you will not regret it.

Kindly yours,
Evelyn

I am Austrian of Hungarian descent, a history teacher, a psychotherapist and large-group-therapist and a university instructor of German as a foreign language for international students.

I am the coordinator of the Austrian youth group. I have been supporting the Peacecamp for many years. In the large group, it is usually possible to reflect on the ideologies and freely exchange different opinions. Through exposure to a variety of cultures we can strengthen mutual understanding and tolerance for different views, opinions and lifestyles.
My personal goal is to encourage the young people to understand the history and the sources of conflict in the Middle East and search for possible reconciliation.
I would also like to contribute to a safer and more peaceful world and to a better understanding between the Austrians, the Israelis and the Palaestinians.
Freud said " The voice of the intellect is quiet but it goes on speaking until peope hear it."

my name is wolfgang hofkirchner. i was born in vienna. i’m 55 years old. in the 80ies i participated in the austrian (and worldwide) peace movement. every now and then i also wrote some pieces of text concerning international peace matters. recently i began to become interested in ways of thinking that facilitate or hinder conflict resolutions. this is because i am interested in system theory which says that there is a principle that has to be done justice to: unity through diversity.

currently i’m professor of internet and society at the paris-lodron-university of salzburg (paris lodron was an archbishop and the founder of the university). thus i’m also professionally interested in social networking tools. the big research question that puzzles me is whether or not the new web 2.0 tools that are said to foster democracy and human rights can help bring about conditions of peace too. this is what i want to explore with you.

i’m married with gertrude, a psychoanalyst (she is very helpful when i need consultation in psychological matters) and we share two daughters (at the age of 28 and 25).