This article was originally published by Mennonite World Review

Mideast peace work grows

A grant from the Canadian government will allow Mennonite Central Committee to enhance its peacebuilding work in Iraq, Lebanon and Syria.

Mennonite Central Committee will work with a partner organization, Iraqi al-Amal Association, to provide training to 900 students and 250 teachers in Najaf, Baghdad and Erbil governorates in Iraq. Here, MCC works with IAA in another project, the distribution of humanitarian aid to displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan region of Iraq.  — Salar Ahmed/Iraqi al-Amal Association
Mennonite Central Committee will work with a partner organization, Iraqi al-Amal Association, to provide training to 900 students and 250 teachers in Najaf, Baghdad and Erbil governorates in Iraq. Here, MCC works with IAA in another project, the distribution of humanitarian aid to displaced Iraqis and Syrian refugees in the Kurdistan region of Iraq. — Salar Ahmed/Iraqi al-Amal Association

The grant is worth $500,000, or $402,150 in U.S. funds.

  • In Iraq, MCC will work with a partner, Iraqi al-Amal Association, to change the civics curriculum in schools in Najaf, Baghdad and Erbil governorates.

Nine hundred students and 250 teachers will receive training in cross-cultural communication, with emphasis on active citizenship and acceptance of other cultures and religious values.

The Iraqi Ministry of Education has identified the prevention of sectarian violence as a priority.

  • The ministry has said that if this project is successful, the curriculum could be used throughout the country.
  • In Syria, MCC will continue its long-term partnership with Forum for Development, Culture and Dialogue. Young activists and community leaders will receive training on citizenship and interreligious dialogue, and some will use provided funding for initiatives within their own communities. Up to eight local projects could take place in Homs, Damascus, Aleppo, Tartous and Latakia governorates.
  • In Lebanon, where tensions between religious groups are growing, a series of workshops will develop strategies on mitigating and resolving interreligious conflict. One hundred teachers and community leaders in Mount Lebanon and North governorates will participate. The strategies will be used at a local level to assist collaboration between groups. MCC will work alongside its partner, Permanent Peace Movement.

This peacebuilding work across the region will culminate with a conference in Beirut, where participants from projects in the three countries will gather.

“They will come together to share stories, resources and curricula with one another and with religious leaders,” said Krista Johnson Weicksel, MCC’s peacebuilding coordinator. “This will all lead to a statement about religious cooperation in the entire region.”

Preventing violence

Johnson Weicksel calls MCC’s peacebuilding work an integral part of building healthy communities.

“War and conflict are costly,” she said. “By focusing on building peace and preventing violence, we are actually investing in a better, more sustainable future.”

Peacebuilding efforts are “most significant when they are actively working with networks that are already in place,” Johnson Weicksel said. “This is the way to prevent violence from erupting.”

Funding for these projects comes from the Office of Religious Freedom, which operates within the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development Canada.

Peacebuilding and interfaith dialogue have long been a major focus for MCC in the Middle East. MCC’s permanent presence in the region began in the 1940s.

MCC also has been involved in relief work in the Middle East, including providing humanitarian assistance to refugees and displaced people.

Through the Syria and Iraq crisis response, MCC has provided more than $30 million in support. This response includes food, blankets and hygiene kits, shelter, education and trauma healing.

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