NGOs Gather in Washington for Fourth Annual ALLMEP Conference - 2008 Event Highlights!
From March 10 – 13, 2008, the Alliance for Middle East Peace (ALLMEP) gathered almost 50 leaders of Middle East people-to-people coexistence and reconciliation organizations in Washington, D.C. for ALLMEP’s fourth annual conference. As representatives of ALLMEP’s 55 non-governmental organization (NGO) members, these leaders worked together throughout the conference to promote efforts to bring together ordinary Israelis and Palestinians, Jews and Arabs in the Middle East through cooperative projects in business, medicine, education, sports, and other areas of life – all to build critical positive relationships and key grassroots public support for peace and coexistence. During the conference:
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NGO leaders met to build a strategy for persuading world leaders in government and the private sector to establish a major International Fund for Palestinian-Israeli Peace with $100 - $200 million in multi-national, public-private funding to dramatically expand grassroots peace efforts.
- Officials of the U.S.
Agency for International Development (USAID), which manages grant
funding for Middle East people-to-people NGOs, met with NGO leaders to
provide insights into USAID funding and receive feedback on the grant
process and new opportunities for building grassroots peace.
- Dr. Mohammed
Abu-Nimer, a recognized expert in monitoring and evaluating civil
society projects, conducted a seminar to help NGOs strengthen monitoring
and evaluation practices.
- More than 40 philanthropists and representatives of private foundations joined “Funder Outreach Events” in Washington, D.C., Baltimore, MD, and New York City to learn about opportunities for investing in NGO projects to affect grassroots public support for peace. The dialogue at and after these events between funders and NGO leaders both enables NGOs to better understand funder perspectives and approaches and provides funders with information on key funding opportunities.
- NGO leaders canvassed Washington and held 40 meetings with members of
Congress and staff, State Department officials, diplomats, and Middle
East policy groups. A week later, 28 members of Congress signed a letter
in support of continued U.S. funding for Middle East people-to-people
activities.
- ALLMEP brought together more than 125 members of Congress, congressional staff, State Department and other U.S. officials, diplomats, Middle East policy advocates, religious leaders, journalists, and NGO leaders for its 2008 Peacebuilders Reception. The highlight of the evening was an East Coast premiere performance by the Israeli-Palestinian Comedy Tour before a full house on Capitol Hill.
THANK YOU for helping make ALLMEP’s annual conference such a great success. We concluded the events full of new energy and many new opportunities, and we look forward to working with you in the near future in support of Middle East coexistence!