Limited Seating Available for Israeli-Palestinian Conflict Video Conference
Contact: Kay Hyatt at (207) 581-2761
The College of Education and Human Development has a limited number of seats available for the April 27video conference on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict with students from An-Najah National University in Nablus, Palestine. The goals of the conference are to develop a clearer understanding of the forces and factors affecting the conflict and to discuss perspectives regarding its resolution. The video conference begins at 9 a.m. in Soderberg Auditorium, Jenness Hall, University of Maine. Interested participants should contact Ed Jadallah, associate professor of social studies education, as soon as possible. Participation will be on a first-come, first-served basis. Jadallah can be reached at 581-2488 or through First Class e-mail.
The video conference runs from 9-10 a.m., followed by a half-hour question session and a debriefing of UMaine participants from 10:30-11 a.m. The conference will begin with an introduction to An-Najah National University, and the Zajel Youth Exchange Program, followed by a brief summary of the current situation presented by the An-Najah director of the public relations, Sami Al-Kilani. An-Najah students will speak about issues affecting Palestinian citizens on a daily basis, such as siege, occupation, invasion, assassination, settlements, apartheid wall, roadblocks and curfew..
Dr. Patrick Daly, an American instructor in the An-Najah Department of History, will serve as discussion facilitator for participants there. He will also provide a summary on the impacts of the conflict on university students, stressing the financial, psychological and social problems that accompany the constant threat of detention, injury, humiliation and loss of life.
Dr. Jadallah will serve as facilitator for the UMaine participants and will discuss the importance of understanding how historical context, cultural dynamics, perspective consciousness and social action can affect conflict resolution.
In-service teachers currently taking a seminar on Global Education, pre-service teachers enrolled in a Social Studies Education course, and selected students from Skowhegan High School and a Lincoln middle school are also expected to the conference.