I recently worked with different organizations within Israel that focused on dialogue with Palestinian and Israeli youth. During my time within these organizations I saw youth from both sides of the conflict shed their judgments, fears and prejudices through simple dialogue. The challenge was that after the encounter, individuals went back to the same environments of hate and prejudice. I observed that the process was effective only to a point but to evoke real change, I knew critical mass was needed. The program was not being exposed to more than 40-60 youth at a time and there was no mechanism or support structure to sustain the perceptional shift that youth underwent.

On my return to South Africa, I felt that I still HAD to impact and assist the shift of perception within global conflict. Even if it meant from afar. As a result of this, the Living Peace Foundation was born.

The big idea: Offer passionate youth a vehicle to transform raw passion for change into effective action. A 3-month certifiable online training in Living Peace. The initiative empowers youth to realize their own knowledge, wisdom, foresight, awareness and understanding into the inner workings of their own minds and hearts. Once that has taken place, we offer the mechanism to apply what the youth has become in a conflict zone teaching other youth what they have learnt.

The process: Training in developing the art of awareness and conscious perception so that youth do not just regurgitate material but learn to perceive the dynamics, balance between separation and unity, understanding and miscommunication and take active part in contributing to the program.

The training modules:

Module 1: Mastering conscious observation/perception

Module 2: Facing & understanding the past: Learning from history: Case study on South Africa, Palestine and Israel

Module 3: Conventional and unconventional methodologies of conflict resolution and transformation.

Out of those who will complete the online training and be certified, 60 will be chosen to fly out to South Africa to undergo an intensive 3-week training in integrating the material, training in leadership and facilitation skills. From this group, 30 will fly to Israel and 30 to Palestine commencing a 3-month "away mission". Working with local youth NGO's and staying in local "adoptive families", these youth will teach the Living Peace 3-day workshop 15 times.

The training structure will be somewhat pyramid-like. It is a combination of multilevel marketing and peace education. I have termed this Multi-level Peace Education (MLPE). The only "payment" the youth will incur is a commitment to co-teach this material with an international youth leader to 5 of his/her friends and those 5 youth's commitment is to co-facilitate the material to 5 more and so it goes on. The international youth will also focus on coaching and setting up maintenance programs that will be carried through by the emerging local youth leaders.

Why did I create The Living Peace Foundation? Why this methodology?

We cannot continue addressing only the symptoms and ignoring the cause of war and violence. The separation we perceive "out there" is a direct mirror of our own separation that we have perpetrated and perpetuated within our own minds, hearts and psyche. It is crucial to empower the youth into a unity-based mindset, as they are the world's future leaders. Empower the youth - empower the future. It is the only way to sustainable unity within our world. If action is taken to transform the individualistic cognitive perception into a unity-based consciousness and, enough of our world's population is reached, a transformation on a global level is possible. Then, any change that we do "out there" will be a direct reflection of our inner way of being. This is what Living Peace is about.

Are you passionate about changing the world?

The Living Peace Foundation is a vehicle to help you, the passionate and dedicated youth to change and impact your world. It is your opportunity to master what it means to be a human, being!

The Living Peace Foundation believes that if you want to see a change in the world, the best place to make that change a reality, is within yourself. Our mission is to help educate, assist and expose highly motivated, visionary youth, like yourself, in ways of making a transformation within their daily lives into a unity-based perception of being and, through doing, then facilitate the same shift in other youth around the world.

Our work is about revealing the passion, dedication, vision, transformation, leadership, love, unity and action that lie, dormant within each of us and assisting you to take those beautiful gifts that you possess and use them to impact within your selves and within your environment.

"No tree has branches so foolish
As to fight among them selves."

- The Ojibway Tribe

If you would like to collaborate with our efforts or assist in any way, please e-mail the director of The Living Peace Foundation at the following address:

www.livingpeaceproject.org

e-mail oran@livingpeaceproject.org

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