CHANGE and CONNECTION -- two words
of great importance for our times.
On CHANGE, Albert Einstein tells us: "We cannot
solve today's problems with the same kind of thinking that produced them."
About CONNECTION, our lives validate that nothing
replaces face-to-face compassionate listening and dialogue. We finally
see each other as human and equal, and begin to want the best for one
another.
From here, let us finally begin to correct the
"big disconnect." Then successfully collaborate together for the good
of all.
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*
THREE CONNECTIONS
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1. New York -- Cairo, Egypt
2. Chicago -- Birzeit, Palestine
3. California -- Tennessee, USA
====================
1. New York, NY -- Cairo, Egypt
After September 11, 2001, feelings of devastation
moved one couple to creative action.
Professor Bella Mirabella (Bella.Mirabella@nyu.edu)
teaches at the Gallatin School of New York University. Her husband,
Professor Lennard Davis (LenDavis@uic.edu), is Chair of English, University of
Illinois, Chicago.
"Let's get students talking together on a small
scale," they decided. "Everything starts small, and
universities should be models."
Bella found Arab Professor Abdelazziz Ezelarab
(Ezelarab@aucegypt.edu) at American University, Cairo. They cooperated,
and "A Dialogue Linking Peers" bridged Jewish, Muslim, and Christians
between New York and Cairo in a live video-conversation on November 13,
2001.
The announcement is at: http://www.nyu.edu/gallatin/e_events_nov.html
The NYU participants are seen at: http://www.nyu.edu/classes/duncombe/auc-nyu/
Their AUC counterparts are described at: http://www.aucegypt.edu/auc-nyu/
To sustain the student and faculty relationships, a
Web site and a listserv were promptly established. As a result, Arab and
Jewish students began working together on a writing project.
A written review about this videoconference is on the
AUC Web site at:
http://www.aucegypt.edu/message/1209.html
Sarah Davidson (UrbanMermaid@hotmail.com and
YearAbroad@hotmail.com), a Jewish NYU student studying for a year in Cairo,
said of her experience on the Egypt end: "This event was fabulous and I
hope it will happen again in the near future. In this instance, dialogue
brought together people who not only had different life experiences and family
histories, but lived in different cultures with different values, expectations,
and reactions to world events. Dialogue proved to be very powerful."
For more information, contact Christopher James at
212-998-6876 or Christopher.James@nyu.edu.
==============
2. Chicago, IL -- Birzeit, Palestine
On November 28, 2001, Professor Davis partnered with
Dalia Habash (webinfo@birzeit.edu), at Birzeit University, West Bank, to create
their first, successful audioconference, STUDENTS TALKING TO STUDENTS.
The announcement is on the Web at:
http://www.uic.edu/depts/paff/opa/releases/2001/westbankdialog_release.htm
"We have much to learn from the Palestinian
students, and they have much to learn from us," said Davis "We expect
both sides to change preconceptions and come away with better
understanding. Ultimately, that is what the university experience is
about.
Raed El-Sharif, an MBA student participant at Birzeit
University, said the session "was a valuable experience to know more about
how American people think of us and the level of their knowledge about our
situation. It was a good opportunity to correct part of their information
about our suffering by giving them suitable facts and figures about the
political, economical, and social situation here in Palestine."
The Birzeit University report of the conference is on
the Web at:
http://www.birzeit.edu/news/2001/audioconference.html
More conferences are planned. Additional
information is available from Anne Dybek at UIC, by phone at (312) 996-8279 or
by e-mail at adybek@uic.edu.
==============
3.
Then, for two hours on Monday afternoon, January 14,
2002, participants in the 9-year-old Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue
used an inexpensive home Web camera to video conference in depth with the new
Middle East Dialogue meeting at the University School of Nashville,
Tennessee. The Nashville coordinator was Caroline Blackwell White,
Director, Multicultural Affairs, at CBW@usn.org. The technical
coordinator there was Scott Merrick, SMerrick@usn.org. The California
group gathered in the home of Libby and Len Traubman (LTraubman@igc.org).
NetMeeting software was used, with telephone audio using speakerphones at both
ends. Below are responses from a few of the teleconference
participants.
Steven Robins (SRobins@usn.org), dialogue participant, Head of the High School,
University School of Nashville
"I am so glad that we in
Nashville have been able to expand our dialogue to include you and yours.
I need to focus on the positive results of individuals learning more about
other individuals, on the human side of the cultural and social divides in
America and in the world."
Carolyn Blackwell White (CBW@usn.org), dialogue convenor,
Director of Mulitcultural Affairs, USN
"I'm still trying to find the
words to adequately convey my experience of Monday afternoon...I can only say
that, in true dialogue style, I am changed...and hopeful that Monday was the
start of something big!"
Scott Merrick (SMerrick@usn.org), Technology Coordinator,
USN
"Thank you so much for being
there, and for being so enthusiastic about utilizing videoteleconferencing
(VTC) to facilitate the very special dialogue that took place January 14 in our
computer lab and in your living room. As the school's VTC advocate and
facilitator, I am pursuing every use of our new equipment that I can identify,
as long as it serves the purpose of education...I was struck by the depth of
the thinking and the sincerity of each participant...I am, by the way, working
on a brief CD-ROM film summary of the event, probably only 6 or 7 minutes in
length."
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PHOTOGRAPHS of this videoconference are one the Web at http://www.igc.org/traubman/vidcon.htm.
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