Processing the First Day’s Encounters
Led by facilitators from the Adam Institute and Besod Siach
The processing workshops had a two-fold focus: participants’ experiences during the first day, along with asking the question: what enables effective dialogue?
Below are a number of responses that emerged during the discussions:
- Joint action is a platform for dialogue.
- It is crucial to conduct dialogue during times of conflict.
- We must first conduct dialogue with ourselves, before turning to others.
- It is important to understand dialogue participants, how they differ, and who/how it was determined that they are different.
- Joint living is a partial solution, leading us to recognize that group divisions are less important.
- Among Israeli society, the Arabs are demonized or treated as invisible. This must be dismantled as a prerequisite for dialogue.
- The workshop in the Jerusalem forest provided an allegory for society – society can renew itself, just as nature does.
- Different religious texts can serve as the basis for dialogue and creating a joint space.
- Singing brings cultures together, and can be an amazing, powerful experience. I can use song in my work with teens.
- The various methods allowed professionals to examine their own work, causing many to consider utilizing new methods.
Without doubt, these reflections are an important first step towards joint thinking about the necessary conditions for optimal dialogue to occur between individuals and groups.
How Can We Promote and Spread Dialogue? Roundtable discussions (Day 2)
Led by Gil Gilad, facilitator and organizational developer, Besod Siach.
Facilitated by Dr. Udi Spiegel, Dr. Nitzan Rothem, Yaron Kener, Aliza Gershon, Doubi Schwartz, Hana Pesach-Haiman, Raz Spector, and Kholod Idris.
The goal of this final workshop was to create a space for participants to meet and learn about each other’s organizational strategies, including their founders’ vision and current operations. Participants broke into eight groups for roundtable discussions, each led by a facilitator. The workshop began with a brief round of introductions, both of participants and their organizations. Next, participants shared problems and/or challenges to their work, followed by ideas for overcoming these challenges. The workshop concluded with participants writing five insights that emerged during the discussion. In summary, participants were asked to raise issues for later discussions, suggest ways their organization can promote dialogue in Israeli civic society, and invite other organizations to cooperate.
A special thanks to the facilitators of the roundtable discussions.