The summer was a busy time for Mediators Beyond Borders with three projects traveling
internationally. Team Kenya traveled to Kenya as a final assessment trip to solidify partnerships and gather the remaining information needed to ensure Kenya becomes a full-fledged, board approved project. [Read more…]
Remembering Abdessalam Najjar: A Partner for Peace in Israel
By Dorit Cypis and Heather Wellman
Abdessalam Najjar 1952-2012
Team member).
Abdessalam Najjar was an important partner member of Mediators Beyond Borders ‘(MBB) Israel project. He was the co-founder and long time resident of Wahat al Salaam Neve Shalom/NSWAS, the intentional village of Palestinians and Jewish Israelis in Israel that the MBB Middle East Initiative, now the Israel Project, has been in partnership with since 2008. Many members have visited the village and made deep connections with Abdessalam assisting him with defining a custom multi-cultural mediation curriculum for Palestinians and Jews. He was deeply visionary and lived his vision of co-existence between Palestinians and Jews.
Najjar passed away on March 22, 2012 after working for peace his entire life. Members of his community remember him as embodying the meaning of his Arabic name: A Servant of Peace. MBB members also remember him as a compassionate man who held the mission of peace in Israel near to his heart.
Dorit Cypis, MBB Project Israel Team Member said, “I was honored to have spent time with Abdessalam in 2009 at WASNS/NSWAS, as a member of Mediators Beyond Borders, assisting him and Yoni Naftali with their multi cultural mediation curriculum. After a week at the village I grew very fond of Abdessalam and his subtle and most generous ways. Never will I forget the book he showed me of the community and peace work his father accomplished in his village in past times. Clearly, Abdessalam followed in his father’s footsteps, honorably. Many members of the MBB Middle East Initiative, now the Israel Project, have travelled and worked with Abdessalam since 2008. Each one has shared deep connection with Abdessalam and his vision of co-existance and peace. We mourn his passing.”
Her sentiments were echoed by Maureen Dabbagh. “Abdessalam’s work in peace building stands as a legacy to his compassion for others. I am privileged to have had the opportunity to learn from him. “ It is clear that Najjar will not be forgotten and his work has touched the lives and hearts of so many and made such a huge difference for the wellness of humanity.
6th Annual Congress in Istanbul, Turkey, Fall 2013
Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) continues to prepare for our 6th Annual
Congress in Istanbul in 2013. About 30 MBBI members are working on various ommittees,
and 60 people from 9 countries have said they are planning to attend. We have received a
commitment of involvement from the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and are working
closely with William Ury’s Abraham’s Path organization.
Because of the complexities involved in holding our first Congress outside North America, the Congress Coordinating Committee, co-chaired by Steve Goldsmith and MBBI Board Member Deniz Kite, recommended, and the MBBI Board of Directors has approved, moving the dates of the 2013 Congress from late April to September 26, 27, 28, 2013.
5th Annual Congress Video
Curious about what happens at a Mediators Beyond Borders Congress? Check our taste of MBB video to discover all the highlights of the 5th Annual Congress. If you weren’t there, you can get a taste of the community built during congress. If you were there, check it out and look for yourself, the videos’ best cameo appearance!
The 5th Annual Congress in Baltimore, MD focused on the projects and chapters of MBB. It also included keynote addresses from Melanie Greenberg, President, Alliance
for Peacebuilding; Abderrahim Foukara, Washington Bureau Chief Al-Jazeera (Arabic) Satellite Channel; and Sanam Anderlini.
Taste of Congress MBBI 2012 from Steve Goldsmith – MBBI on Vimeo.
Mediators Beyond Borders Makes the Move to Washington, D.C.
In June 2012, Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBB) moved to the Washington, D.C. area to share office space and staff with The Institute for Multi-Track Diplomacy (IMTD), an organization that shares MBB’s vision of building a peace “able” world.
IMTD’s mission is to promote a system-based approach to
peacebuilding and to facilitate the transformation of deep-rooted social conflict through education, conflict resolution training and communication. You can find them on the web at http://www.imtd.org/
Director.
The move took MBB from New York City to IMTD’s office in Arlington, Virginia, just across the Potomac River, from the District of Columbia, two blocks from the Rosslyn Metro Station.
MBB and IMTD will be sharing the services of Finance and Operations Director Tadios Tekeste. Tad has a Master’s degree in Accounting from Strayer University, Washington, D.C. and a Bachelor’s degree in Business Administration from the University of Pune, India.
We are very excited about this creative collaboration between two peacebuilding organizations and look forward to the opportunities that this new development will offer to advance MBB’s mission of building local skills for peace and promoting mediation worldwide.
MBB’s new mailing address is:
1901 North Fort Myer Drive, Suite 405
Arlington, VA 22209, USA
Our new office phone number is 703-528-6552
Our new Fax is 703-528-5776.
Our general email address will remain the same: info@mediatorsbeyondborders.org