KAICIID Training Report—January 2022
By Mohamad Jamous
I am writing this report with great enthusiasm and a feeling of joy, because KAICIID contains valuable information, great challenges, and many ways to reach my first and only goal in this life, which is to achieve peace and stability in the Holy Land.
Three months ago, I received an email stating that I was accepted and selected to participate in the International Fellows Program of the King Abdullah bin Abdulaziz International Center for Interfaith and Intercultural Dialogue “KAICIID” in Lisbon, Portugal. This decision was made after a rigorous selection process in which my application was accepted along with approximately twenty-five others out of a pool of more than 500 applicants.
Upon hearing this beautiful news, I immediately went to the Portuguese representative office to apply for a visa (Schengen visa) in the city of Ramallah in Palestine.
Unfortunately, the representative office in Ramallah was closed for visa applications, due to the Corona virus epidemic that had escalated recently in Portugal. They informed me at the representative office that I must come in January to apply.
During this time, I was very happy–meditating and imagining the moment I would arrive in Portugal and participate with international colleagues in the KAICIID Program, to share with them my work as a Palestinian peacemaker and my work as a Program Director for the Abrahamic Reunion in Palestine.
In fact, I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a long time.
I have waited to raise my voice loudly in front of participants coming from all over the world, as “a voice of hope”.
I waited to share with them the challenges, difficulties, hopes and dreams that exist in the Holy Land.
I waited to share with them the multi-religious programs that we do in Israel and Palestine.
I waited to share with them the important work that we are doing under risks, and the threat of real danger.
On January 17, which is the date set by the representative office for the appointment
I went to apply for the visa again in Ramallah, carrying the documents required.
The great shock for me was that the Portuguese Consul refused to accept my application for submission, due to what was described as current conditions in Portugal.
I really wanted to travel to participate in this program in person, and meet my colleagues face to face, but fate decided that I participate in the program online.
The training started on January 31, 2022 and was attended by 25 participants from all over the world, five of whom, including me participated online because we were unable to obtain a visa. Twenty participants met in Lisbon, Portugal, to participate live.
The title of this first training was: “Orientation and Capacity-building.”
It included several different topics, levels, and models during the 5-day training period. Here is my record of these special days: (Possible break for “Click here to Read More”)
JAN 31st – First day
The first day of training was an interesting and beautiful day, during which we watched a presentation about the KAICIID Center.
At the beginning of the day, we all introduced ourselves and gave a short overview of our lives. Then we broke down the barriers between us by getting to know each other and forming a beautiful friendship among all the participants. One person I got to know was a man named Francis, who is of African descent and has recently begun to take an interest in world peacemaking. He comes from a very large family! Francis has such a beautiful smile that I made him a friend and a brother on the very first day of the program.
In the second session, we studied what we mean by dialogue, and its basic rules. We discussed the importance of dialogue in our societies, our work, and our life systems. Everyone shared their opinion on this topic, drawing us closer together.
Then, in the third session, the KAICIID team gave us an introduction to their approach to peace building and conflict resolution. They presented many examples and models on this subject. I had an active role in this matter, because of the importance of this topic and its presence in our Holy Land. I shared many vivid examples and different models in building peace in Palestine and Israel, through the various programs that we carry out in the Abrahamic Reunion, including our programs related to youth, families and clergy.
FEB 1st – second day
The second day of the training was a busy day for the participants due to the many different sessions on this day. The title of the day was “Identity” and began with exploring the definition of identity and other related issues, such as conflict and culture and their relations to identity.
I shared my opinion on the issue of identity and defined it as a mixture of social and cultural characteristics shared by individuals, on the basis of which one can distinguish between one group and another. In Palestine, for example, there are different nationalities, sects and religions that coalesce with each other in order to create a conscious and educated society, with all the separate groups identifying as Palestinian.
This day also included other topics such as perceptions and misconceptions in dialogue and how to properly build and address these perceptions. On this day, we formed small groups consisting of two to three people and experimented with dialogue with each other and presented and discussed different topics. In our wonderful little group, we considered the topic of false dialogue and how it can happen here in the Holy Land between Palestinians and Israelis when they talk to each other about some of the outstanding obstacles between the two sides. We know that both peoples want to live in peace, and we know that they both want the other to live next to them, but the way they sometimes narrate the dialogue is unhelpful in creating peace.
FEB 2nd – Third day
On the third day of the training, we completed and discussed the concept of dialogue in a peacebuilding process, different methods for dialogue, and different approaches to conducting dialogue. We explored the question “How does dialogue affect the peacebuilding process and what are the ways in which it influences it?” We considered dialogue in its inputs, outputs and impacts in making peace. The important thing here is learning the basis of this process and reinforcing how to do it correctly.
In the second part of the day, the KAICIID team put forward theories in dialogue and we discussed these with each other. We also reviewed the dialogue between religions (theory and practice), and participants developed different theories and applied them.
FEB 3rd – Fourth day
On this day, we studied the role of religious leaders in building peace and the extent of the influence of religious and other leaders in the peace process. We looked at different examples of dialogue between religious leaders and the importance of this group in making change for the best, among peoples and societies. I realized that making peace is like a long street branching into several sub-streets. In every sub-street, there is a different topic, and we must delve into all these topics until we reach the end of the road, bringing with us education, hope, love and culture.
FEB 4th – Fifth day
On the last day of the training, we talked about the topic of peace initiatives, e-learning, modern educational resources, and opening an educational platform on the center’s website.
Here, I asked the center’s administration for the educational lessons to be translated into different languages, because there are many people interested in these programs and lessons, and language may currently be an obstacle to them. The team stressed the importance of my request and said that they will translate the lessons and educational platforms for many languages.
Before the end of the day, we closed the circle by introducing each other and giving each a small evaluation. To complete the process, we received graduation certificates for this stage of the training.
On Friday, February 4, we completed the first phase of training.
It was five days full of information, precious examples and different models in peacebuilding education and dialogue-making between different societies and cultures.
This experience was a powerful educational program, filled with many hopes, perseverance and success. I learned so much and finished this phase of training hoping to meet my colleagues and the KAICIID Team once again, for the second phase in Malaysia, in May.
