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The Community Advocate
Mentor Program - Middle East 2008
The CAMP delegates meet with IWDC Barbara
Ferris.
The generosity of Steven Spielberg’s The
Righteous Person’s Foundation ensured another resounding
success for CAMP-Middle East. In 2008 we partnered with MercyCorps,
an international NGO, to provide in country recruitment efforts,
and pre-departure training, The women were selected based
on certain criteria: a commitment to cross-border peace building,
and a demonstrated willingness to work alongside women from
the other side of the conflict.
Pre-departure training sessions over a two-month period included
cross culture sessions, how to use the media, how their legislative/public
policy process works, presenting oneself as a leader and an
overview of the program. Our delegation of ten women from
Israel and Palestine arrived in Washington D.C. October 22nd,
2008, ready for a week of intense training, networking, and
education. A core component of the program was that the participants
share a hotel room with a woman from the other side. While
initially strange and even uncomfortable, roommates soon became
friends, as they began to understand their supposed “enemy.”
The first day was spent at General Mills, where our participants
received an overview of the way the US government operates,
its transparency, its problems, and how the media can be used
as a tool in affecting policy. This was followed by a presentation
from GalleryWatch, and its mission to act as an information
clearinghouse by ensuring all information coming out of Capitol
Hill is available and accessible through their website. This
was particularly interesting to the delegation, as they found
it incredible that Americans enjoy such unbelievable access
to information. Later in the afternoon, the delegation enjoyed
a presentation on the ethics of lobbying in Washington, how
it works, and how it can affect policy and policy-makers.
Friday afternoon, the delegation visited the Women’s
Studies Department at George Washington University, where
they saw first hand how GWU incorporates the academic field
of Women’s Studies in such an effective and rigorous
way. Following lunch at a wonderful Indian restaurant, our
delegation went to the Foundation Center, where they enjoyed
a presentation about International Funding- a topic of particular
importance to our delegation as many of them found funding
to be a constant issue within their own organizations.
The CAMP Middle East 2008
delegation enjoy dinner with IWDC President Barbara Ferris,
and Dr. Nabil Abuznaid, the Charge' de' Affaires to the PLO
Mission to the United States.
Sunday was spent visiting the National Museum
of Women in the Arts, followed by a day trip to Annapolis,
where the delegation toured Maryland’s capital city,
and continued to learn more about state government vs. national
government, and the distinct powers and roles of each.
Monday was a truly fascinating day, as each participant was
matched with her professional counterpart. We had such an
amazing group of counterparts participate, which spoke to
the equally impressive caliber of our participants. Our counterparts
came from the National Democratic Institute, VSA Arts, Bread
for the World, Center of Concern, The Public Forum Institute,
Politics and Prose, the Women’s Democracy Network, the
Interfaith Alliance, and the Alliance for Justice.
Our final day was spent on Capitol Hill, in the office of
the Honorable US Representative Carolyn McCarthy. Our delegation
enjoyed two presentations, one from the Congressional Research
Services of the Library of Congress, who spoke about the procedure
of legislation, as well as the Chief of Staff to the Honorable
US Representative Jan Schakowsky.
Although CAMP-ME 2008 was a slightly shorter program, it
achieved its goals of fostering understanding and friendship
between women from opposite sides of the conflict, and giving
them the knowledge and skills necessary to become effective
participants in their own country’s governments and
peace-building efforts.
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