Peace It Together

Posted

on Mar 04, 2014

Our speaker on March 4 2014 was Reena Lazar discussing a unique peace building program that brings Israeli, Palestinian, and Canadian youth together each year for a summer camp.

Reena Lazar is one of the Founders and the Executive Director of the Peace it Together Society. Reena oversees all programming and communications.

Reena's work stems from her background in creativity and international studies and her personal connection to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. Reena's academic background is in architecture (McGill University) and international affairs (Columbia University).

Reena was born and raised in Montreal where she attended Jewish schools and summer camps. Although she spent two summers in Israel as a child, it wasn't not until Reena attended a Compassionate Listening Delegation in 1999 that Reena learned first-hand about the lives of Palestinians.

Reena taught conflict resolution as part of the Peace and Conflict Studies at Langara College in Vancouver for four years. Before moving into peace work, Reena's career and volunteer work focused around international and sustainable urban development. Between 2000 and 2004, Reena sat on and chaired the Vancouver City Planning Commission and was a member of the City's Urban Design Panel.

Peace it Together empowers youth to work in equitable partnerships as media makers and cultural, social and political change agents. The program youth have frank and informed discussions of the realities of the Israel-Palestinian conflict, and co-create provocative and shareable short films that explore the complexities of the conflict and the pursuit of peace. Youth use their films to host courageous conversations about the conflict in their own communities, inspiring others to take action and build peace.

Throughout this process, youth deepen their critical awareness about the systems that perpetuate the conflict. Peace it Together helps equip the next generation of young peace builders in their pursuit of a just, secure, and sustainable peace.

The next dialogue and filmmaking intensive is planned for Summer 2014.

With each program 10 Israeli, 10 Palestinian, and 10 Canadian youth leaders develop the capacity to become innovative and intrepid peace builders. The 12-18 month program begins when youth in the three respective regions meet and begin the process of exploring their own experiences, views of the conflict, and intentions for the program. All three delegations then gather for a four-week summer intensive on Canada’s West Coast. During this intensive youth form authentic connections and learn how to work in fair and inclusive ways together, developing a deeper understanding of each other and their needs.