"3rdPARTY" is starting in September

"3rdPARTY" is starting in September I am really happy to hear that thanks to financial support from the Province of Antwerp, the private project "3rdPARTY" (a 3-year project around Palestinian and Israeli peace-activists) can be started in Antwerp from this Autumn on. It is a private initiative which I am taking together with Rik Coolsaet, Karin Heremans and Mohammed Filali. "3rdPARTY" (in Dutch: "3dePARTIJ") is a 3-year programme in 3 parts: 1. every 2 months a meeting with peace activists from Israel and Palestine: during 3 days they will meet in the city of Antwerp with schools, associations and finally also in public at one of the 2 theatres (Toneelhuis / Monty), to share their hopes, aspirations and difficulties. a well-read Flemish magazine will each time cover these meetings (5 per year, 15 in 3 years). 2. from the Summer of 2010 on, we will organise 3 years in a row a 10-day trip to Israel and Palestine for a group of about 10 youngsters who just finished highschool (18-20 year olds). 3. we will create a fund to give support to peace activists' projects in the Middle East. This private initiative wants to show that there are some very curageous people working for peace, against all odds and against the opinion of many around them, and that we as "third party" - outside of the conflict region - can be of help by making friends with them, presenting their work and giving support to some of their projects. As soon as we get firm confirmation about the budgets, the peace activists invited from September on will soon be contacted and the full programme of this initiative announced here and elsewhere.