SFP opens its 2005 - 2006 activity year

In a festive ceremony attended by program facilitators, NSWAS members and guests, the SFP marked the opening of its activity year.

The event provided an opportunity to introduce Wafaa Zriek Srour as the newly elected director, replacing Nava Sonnenschein, who has completed her three year term.

Nava summed up her three years of directorship as a period of great educational as well as financial challenges, but also one in which the School for Peace had made considerable development in important fields. Among the latter, she counted the breakthrough of organizing a longterm project for senior Israeli and Palestinian media people, the publishing of "Identities in Dialogue" in English, work that had been achieved in the SFP’s research centre, and the development in programs for women.

Wafaa, who followed Nava in speaking, brings with her many years of
experience on the SFP team. She is particularly responsible for
developing the women’s program of the SFP. She has also co-directed
the youth programs, been a trainer conflict group facilitation, and a
teacher in the SFP - Hebrew University program.

Every two/three years, the School for Peace elects a new director, on
a basis of alternating leadership between a Jewish and an Arab member
of staff. So though Nava has completed her term as director, she will continue on staff to facilitate encounters - which she pointed out is "the heart of the SFP’s work". She will also be taking time to write her doctorate.

Among the other speakers at the SFP’s opening event were board members
Abdessalam Najjar and Dr. Youssef Nashef, both of whom are also residents of NSWAS. The evening ended with a presentation by SFP members Dr. Rabah Halabi and Michal Zak of the conclusions of a longterm research project on graduates of the youth encounters. Their presentation (watch the SFP website for a report) brought many insights that are both
intrinsically interesting and important to the development and fine-tuning of the SFP’s programs.