Peacebuilding as a Tool for Policy Change at Unite the Field

On May 31st, 2022, ALLMEP hosted its 2022 regional conference “Unite the Field,” which included a series of panels involving ALLMEP’s member organizations and their relative areas of focus. The Peacebuilding as a Tool for Policy Change combined representatives from ALLMEP’s member organizations and other actors in the field of peacebuilding, civil society, and policy change.

The panel consisted of Tifat Ovadiah (Social Entrepreneur & Conflict Expert), Mohammad Darwashe (Director of Equality & Shared Society at Givat Haviva), James O’Shea (Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ireland in Israel), Rana Salman (Palestinian co-Director at Combatants for Peace), and Ron Gerlitz (Executive Director at aChord), and was hosted by ALLMEP Founder and President, Avi Meyerstein.

Meyerstein introduced the panel by outlining the goals of the panel discussion, saying, “We want to talk about how are we as a field engaging in policy change, how are we thinking about it, what are the goals, what are the techniques, what tools and networks can we bring to bear so that we can deliver policy change, which is an elite level goal and driven by elites, but doing it through civil society activity from the bottom up.”

James O’Shea, Deputy Head of Mission at the Embassy of Ireland in Israel spoke on the comparisons between the International Fund ALLMEP is advocating to establish for Israel and Palestine and that of the International Fund that preceded the Good Friday Agreement in relation to Northern Ireland. 

“Every conflict is different. Every conflict has its own origins, roots, different factors on which it depends. But at the same time, all conflicts are between human beings. So therefore, they are capable of being solved by human beings. Human beings have a certain number of the same needs, feelings, emotions, fears, etc…To get people to that level where they can engage with each other- they have to respect each other,” said O’Shea.

Momentum is needed for policy change, which Ron Gerlitz, Executive Director of aChord, believes can be activated by knowing what drives peoples’ mindsets and what can change mindsets in the context of the conflict. Gerlitz added, “We believe that hope for peace is very, very important in creating momentum…”

Peacebuilding as a Tool for Policy Change was just one of the many impactful panels that took place during ALLMEP’s “Unite the Field” conference. For more highlights, recorded panels, and information about “Unite the Field,” please visit: https://www.allmep.org/unite-the-field/