Arava Valley of Peace Short Project (2010):

While taking steps to create and build the Eastern Mediterranean College, its founding committee wishes to accelerate the process with a practical smaller-scale manifestation of its vision:  The Arava Valley of Peace Short Project.

UWC short programmes have long been a way to expand UWC reach to a wider audience. The Israeli UWC National Committee held a short course in the past, successfully bringing together youth from Israel, Palestine, and 10 European countries for an amazing 3 week summer course focused on the desert and bridging between societies and cultures in the Middle East.
Read more about the 1992 Desert Short Course.

Building on this success, the Eastern Mediterranean United World College founding committee and the Israeli UWC National Committee Have re-launched this project. They teamed up with the Arava Institue that has long experience in running academic courses on environmental leadership for students from the Middle East region, Europe and US. In the summers of 2010 and 2011 two short courses have taken place.
Arava Short Course Facebook page
Arava 2010 short course Facebook page

The next Arava Valley of Peace Short Project will take place in July-August 2012 and will be open for 30 students selected by UWC National Committees around the world including from Israel, Palestinian Authority, Middle East, Europe and elsewhere. In activity-packed three weeks, the students will explore the desert and Middle East from every aspect, history, archeology, culture, geography, zoology, botany, learn and participate in environmental and sustainability projects and take part in hiking, cycling, mountaineering, snorkeling in the Red Sea and other exciting activities. The short course will include a 3-day expedition to Jerusalem to acquire a first-hand understanding of how this unique city became important to so many people and religions.

Most of the short course take place in the magestic settings of the Arava Valley also known as the Valley of Peace. Accomodation will be in the Arava Institute in Kibutz Ktura. There the students will find that being together in an exciting and challenging settings helps them build bridges and form strong friendships overcoming cultural, political and georaphical barriers. The students will end the project with 3 days in Jerusalem getting familiar with its historical, religious and cultural treasures.

For more information Contact Project Coordinator.