Peres Center for Peace
Encyclopedia
The Peres Center for Peace located in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel
, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization
founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and current President of Israel
Shimon Peres
, with the aim of furthering his vision in which people of the Middle East
region work together to build peace through socio-economic cooperation and development, and people-to-people interaction. The first Director General of the Peres Center was Ambassador Uri Savir
, who, together with Shimon Peres, established the organization and currently serves as President. The Director General of the center is Dr. Ron Pundak
. The men and women who comprise the executive board are CEOs, Directors, and Presidents of various organizations, as well as scholars, academics, and journalists.
The Peres Center's peace-building activities are based on four main pillars: People-to-People Dialogue and Interaction; Capacity-Building through Cooperation; Nurturing a Culture of Peace in the Region's Youth; and Humanitarian Responses.
In October 2008, the Center commemorated its tenth anniversary in a series of festive events and extravagant festivities at a cost of ten million NIS but did not completely recoup the costs.
, an Arab neighborhoods of Jaffa
. The cost of the center was estimated at $6 million and timeline of three years. As of August 2009, the cost had increased to about NIS100 million (around 400% increase) and the building is unfinished.
The Peres House for Peace was opened in December 2009 after 10 year of planning and construction. The building (2,500 sq.m.), a distinctive architectural landmark on the Jaffa coast, was designed by renowned Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas
.
and Water; Business and Economics
; Civil Society
Dialogue and Cooperation; Information Technology
(IT) Peace Projects; Medicine
and Healthcare; Mediterranean 2020; Peace Education.
The Business and Economics department coordinates activities of the Aix Group
an Israeli-Palestinian-international economic study team that publishes policy papers on long-term economic solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
.
Israel
The State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
, is an independent, non-profit, non-partisan, non-governmental organization
Non-governmental organization
A non-governmental organization is a legally constituted organization created by natural or legal persons that operates independently from any government. The term originated from the United Nations , and is normally used to refer to organizations that do not form part of the government and are...
founded in 1996 by Nobel Peace Laureate and current President of Israel
President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with the real executive power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
Shimon Peres
Shimon Peres
GCMG is the ninth President of the State of Israel. Peres served twice as the eighth Prime Minister of Israel and once as Interim Prime Minister, and has been a member of 12 cabinets in a political career spanning over 66 years...
, with the aim of furthering his vision in which people of the Middle East
Middle East
The Middle East is a region that encompasses Western Asia and Northern Africa. It is often used as a synonym for Near East, in opposition to Far East...
region work together to build peace through socio-economic cooperation and development, and people-to-people interaction. The first Director General of the Peres Center was Ambassador Uri Savir
Uri Savir
Uri Savir is an Israeli diplomat and politician. He served as a member of the Knesset between 1999 and 2001.-Biography:...
, who, together with Shimon Peres, established the organization and currently serves as President. The Director General of the center is Dr. Ron Pundak
Ron Pundak
Dr. Ron Pundak is an Israeli director of the Peres Center for Peace in Tel Aviv. He is on the Board of Driectors of the Aix Group. Ron Pundak is the son of Herbert Pundik, a notable journalist and author....
. The men and women who comprise the executive board are CEOs, Directors, and Presidents of various organizations, as well as scholars, academics, and journalists.
Activities
In October 2008, the Center commemorated its tenth anniversary in a series of festive events and extravagant festivities at a cost of ten million NIS but did not completely recoup the costs.
Peres House for Peace
In 2003, construction began on the main building to house the Shimon Peres’ historical archives, a peace library, and to serve as offices of the Center and as a focal point for the Center’s growing community work in the AjamiAjami, Jaffa
Ajami is a neighborhood in Tel Aviv-Jaffa, Israel, situated south of Old Jaffa and north of the Jabaliyya neighborhood on the Mediterranean Sea.- History :...
, an Arab neighborhoods of Jaffa
Jaffa
Jaffa is an ancient port city believed to be one of the oldest in the world. Jaffa was incorporated with Tel Aviv creating the city of Tel Aviv-Yafo, Israel. Jaffa is famous for its association with the biblical story of the prophet Jonah.-Etymology:...
. The cost of the center was estimated at $6 million and timeline of three years. As of August 2009, the cost had increased to about NIS100 million (around 400% increase) and the building is unfinished.
The Peres House for Peace was opened in December 2009 after 10 year of planning and construction. The building (2,500 sq.m.), a distinctive architectural landmark on the Jaffa coast, was designed by renowned Italian architect Massimiliano Fuksas
Massimiliano Fuksas
Massimiliano Fuksas is an Italian architect, born in Rome in 1944 to an Jewish Lithuanian father and Italian Catholic mother. He received his degree in architecture from the La Sapienza University in 1969 in Rome, where he opened his first office. Subsequent offices were opened in Paris and Vienna...
.
Projects
The peacebuilding activities of the Peres Center fall into eight fields: AgricultureAgriculture
Agriculture is the cultivation of animals, plants, fungi and other life forms for food, fiber, and other products used to sustain life. Agriculture was the key implement in the rise of sedentary human civilization, whereby farming of domesticated species created food surpluses that nurtured the...
and Water; Business and Economics
Economics
Economics is the social science that analyzes the production, distribution, and consumption of goods and services. The term economics comes from the Ancient Greek from + , hence "rules of the house"...
; Civil Society
Civil society
Civil society is composed of the totality of many voluntary social relationships, civic and social organizations, and institutions that form the basis of a functioning society, as distinct from the force-backed structures of a state , the commercial institutions of the market, and private criminal...
Dialogue and Cooperation; Information Technology
Information technology
Information technology is the acquisition, processing, storage and dissemination of vocal, pictorial, textual and numerical information by a microelectronics-based combination of computing and telecommunications...
(IT) Peace Projects; Medicine
Medicine
Medicine is the science and art of healing. It encompasses a variety of health care practices evolved to maintain and restore health by the prevention and treatment of illness....
and Healthcare; Mediterranean 2020; Peace Education.
The Business and Economics department coordinates activities of the Aix Group
Aix Group
Aix Group is an Israeli-Palestinian-international economic study team hosted by the Université Paul Cézanne-Aix-Marseille III in France in coordination with the Peres Center for Peace in Israel and DATA Center for Studies and Research in the Palestinian Authority...
an Israeli-Palestinian-international economic study team that publishes policy papers on long-term economic solutions to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict
The Israeli–Palestinian conflict is the ongoing conflict between Israelis and Palestinians. The conflict is wide-ranging, and the term is also used in reference to the earlier phases of the same conflict, between Jewish and Zionist yishuv and the Arab population living in Palestine under Ottoman or...
.
See also
- Valley of Peace initiativeValley of Peace initiativeThe Valley of Peace initiative is an effort to promote economic cooperation between Israel, Jordan and the Palestinians. It has received the personal attention and support of Shimon Peres, President of Israel...
- Projects working for peace among Arabs and Israelis