This project was created 4 years ago, by an Israeli association, the Jedeo-Arab Centre for Economic Development (CDEJA), in conjunction with a Palestinian association, the Palestinian Institute for Development and Medias (IPDM).
The creation of this program was the result of:
· the understanding that peace and reconciliation in the Middle East should not only be a political ambition, but also the result of individual consciousness;
· the certainty of the central role that regional economic development can play in the founding of a zone of peace and stability in Israel and Palestine;
· becoming conscious of the central role that the young generations have in the reconstruction of the reconciliation process.
Statement
This program is built on a common conviction of the necessity to sensitise young Israeli and Palestinian executives to inter cultural management. In a region where two populations maintain a relationship polarised by political passions which often oppose them, tomorrow they will have to work together to construct a common future.
It is an essential asset in the economic development of the region to give the necessary tools to these future leaders so that they can create common initiatives. This program is a privileged learning setting so that the participants can develop professional competences and mutual knowledge of their societies at the same time, in order to create a regional cooperation program.
MBA
This statement has brought about the elaboration of an MBA (Master in Business Administration) in collaboration with Haifa University. The privileged targets of this program are young Israelis (Jews and Arabs) and Palestinians, having 2 or 3 years of professional experience and having shown leadership skills in the past.
The general goal of the program is to prepare the participants, as much on a personal level as a professional one, to work together in a multicultural setting by giving them the means to promote a regional economic cooperation.
The MBA is divided in two parts:
· An academic course geared toward management, which has the goal of preparing the participants to assume entrepreneurial and managerial responsibilities in a complex and unsure environment;
· an academic course oriented toward economic regional development in the Middle East, where the goal is to allow the participants to appreciate the opportunities of a regional cooperation.
Tomorrow's Decision Makers
Today's young generations have a choice in their futures. As tomorrow's decision makers and responsible for their futures, they should take an active role in the creation of a new reality in the region.
They will be the ones making tomorrow's decisions. It is to them that we must, as of now, give the necessary baggage to make decisions with tendencies toward humanity, justice and equality, and the initiatives which will contribute to local economic development.