tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-2462402601392151542023-10-31T05:22:21.769-07:00BUILD PALESTINE INITIATIVEBUILD PALESTINE INITIATIVE:
<a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-initiative.html">an Integral Movement to align efforts and stakeholders for the good of all.</a>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.comBlogger35125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-81311331457286454902010-09-14T10:45:00.002-07:002010-09-14T19:25:32.989-07:00Breaking the Cycle of Failed Negotiations<span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" id="internal-source-marker_0.7525432976346097">For many reasons US Middle East policy has failed to make lasting peace a reality. Early on in his administration, President Obama sent a message to the world that things will be different. By granting his first media interview to Al-Arabia Network based in Dubai and delivering a powerful speech in Cairo to the Muslim world he set the tone for things to be different. But, how much beneath the tactical surface would policy makers need to go in order to achieve a different, sustainable outcome. At the Washington summit this past August with President Abbas and Prime Minister Netanyahu, Secretary Clinton and President Obama set a one year deadline for both parties to come up with a workable peace treaty. Is this approach any different than that of previous administrations and would it work? </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">These are questions that Don, Said and I will be discussing during Peace Week this coming Wednesday September 15, at 5:00 PM (PST).<a href="http://peaceweek.info/feature/Elza-Maalouf"> Click here</a> for details and to sign up.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">1. Are the 2 parties ready to step fully into these negotiations, or is this Washington’s own timing leading to mid-term elections?</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">2. It is true that Prime Minister Fayyad is doing a good job with making sure that Palestinian security forces in the West Bank are well trained, but is that enough for Israel to pull back its 10,000 troops?</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">3. With all right wing opposition in Israeli opposing for the settlement freeze, can the Palestinians trust that Israel has good intentions at the table?</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">4. Most importantly, are all parties, including the US looking at these negotiations from a Natural Design perspective? From a value systems perspective? Do they take into account the Memetic contours and the lay of the land in both cultures? Or, are they coming to it from the traditional negotiations processes that failed to achieve tangible results like in Madrid, Oslo, and Camp David. </span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">The truth is whoever is at the negotiations table does not represent the full spectrum of value-systems and mindsets of their respective cultures. Why isn’t it a bottoms-up referendum on the future of their respective countries? Who’s really addressing what the moderates in both countries are looking for? This is something that the Center for Human Emergence Middle East has been deeply involved in for the last 5 years. We have uncovered and informed, through our field-tested framework, the thinking of over 200,000 in Palestine who are of the mindset that in order for negotiations to be successful and have collective support, the negotiators must be informed by real-time data from the trenches of the culture.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"></span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">Below is a reposting from a year ago of our call for a “Design Conference” and not a “Peace Conference”. Not much has changed in calling for the building blocks that form the foundation for a lasting peace.</span><br /><span style="font-size: 11pt; font-family: Arial; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: transparent; font-weight: normal; font-style: normal; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;"> </span><h2><span style="font-weight: bold; text-transform: uppercase; color: rgb(221, 221, 255); font-style: italic;">Design Conference</span> for Palestine/Israel<br />To break the cycle of failed "Peace Negotiations"</h2> <p><img src="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/images/Israel-Palestine-Map-big.gif" alt="Israel Palestine Regional Map" style="margin-left: 10px;" width="300" align="right" height="225" />The Israeli/Palestinian conflict is a collision of “tectonic plates” — deep values system codes — that have created a logjam. It is this underlying logjam that generates continual surface-level blockages that erupt in conflict. </p> <p>We propose a problem-solving methodology with the power, precision, and complexity to span over human groupings to construct the unique economic and political structures that overarch the mountains and valleys of those unique human groupings.</p> <p> We need to see the patterns as through a prism — where all the various colors of worldviews are made visible, each with a different “tint” on the world. The goal is to understand the needs of all the mind-sets, so as to begin to craft “full-spectrum” solutions which are fundamentally different from those that a single perspective would offer.</p> <ul><li>Capacity to uncover the deeper dynamics within each society, as well as between societies. </li><li>Craft decisions and measure priorities not against the past, nor based on <span style="font-style: italic;">who is responsible for what</span>; </li><li>Avoid the typical problem resolution systems such as <span style="font-style: italic;">majority rule</span>, <span style="font-style: italic;">rule by the elite</span> or <span style="font-style: italic;">by the wealthy</span>, or <span style="font-style: italic;">rule by the so-called experts</span>, or those that have <span style="font-style: italic;">military strength</span>.<br /> </li><li>Defuse the ideologies that produce<span style="font-style: italic;"> “us vs. them”</span></li><li>Avoid raising expectations which can be faulted.<br /> </li><li>Focus on who the people are who live in the region and what their resources are</li><li>Design a strategy to mesh people, geography, and resources together into a workable solution for all who live in that region.</li><li>Draw upon all of the solutions which are currently available (as well as many that haven’t been thought of yet). We often call these “scaffoldings of solutions”,<br /> </li><li>Solutions that involve the whole region: Israel, Syria, Jordan, Palestine</li></ul> <blockquote> <p>"The issue is less about <span style="font-style: italic;">democracy,</span> rather the question is to design the best structures for meeting the needs of the people as they develop through the stages that are most natural to them; open, adaptive systems appropriate to their life conditions."</p></blockquote>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-76280902117527701132009-11-30T11:04:00.006-08:002011-03-12T19:53:37.376-08:00Fateh's Sixth Convention and the Building of a Nation by Elza MaaloufThe following article was written for the news agency Common Grounds and distributed widely throughout the world and the Middle East in many languages. This article briefly summarizes our work with the Build Palestine Initiative and serves as an open letter to the Palestinian leadership. <a href="http://www.commongroundnews.org/article.php?id=26158&lan=ar&sid=0&sp=0&isNew=0">Here's a link for the article in Arabic </a><br /><br /><br /><table style="padding-bottom: 10px; width: 674px; height: 77px;" border="0" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tbody><tr valign="top"><td width="60"><img src="http://www.commongroundnews.org/images/art_images/pal_flag.gif" width="60" height="60" /></td><td style="padding-left: 8px;"><div class="art_title0"><span>6th convention Fateh's and the building of a nation</span></div><div class="author"><span>by Elza Maalouf</span></div>20 August 2009</td><td width="75"><br /></td></tr></tbody></table><span class="art_body">SAN DIEGO - After its long-awaited Sixth Convention, Fateh has inched a bit closer toward building the institutions needed to establish an independent Palestinian state. In spite of the power jockeying, participants renewed their commitment to a two-state solution, and the voices calling for resistance through economic development outnumbered those wishing to keep the status quo. Fateh’s challenge now is to create a platform with new goals and a new interpretation of its charter, in order to become a movement that represents all Palestinians. In a true gesture of reconciliation, Fateh should extend an olive branch to Hamas and invite the movement to join in creating a new national platform.<br /><br />It remains to be seen how effective the election of a younger generation of Fateh members will be in establishing a new national agenda, but the only way forward for Fateh is to boldly assume the responsibility for creating a developmental roadmap that will prepare all Palestinians to negotiate a two-state solution from a position of strength.<br /><br />The idea of a development roadmap was born based on the Center for Human Emergence in the Middle East’s work with third and fourth generation Fateh members over the last five years. We approached the problem using an innovative socio-political framework, such as the one that helped South Africa transition from apartheid.<br />First and foremost, our research pointed to the enormous asymmetry in societal capacities between Israelis and Palestinians. This has been a principal cause for the failure of previously-attempted peace treaties. The Palestinians simply did not have the capacity to self-govern or to develop a unified vision of a future state. Internal clashes generated by extremists on both sides have also continued to fuel the conflict.<br /><br />Our work focused on guiding third and fourth generation Fateh members in creating a distinctly different party — transitioning from one that was out of touch with the Palestinian people, to a party that will lead the entire nation in a state-building effort. Because we understood the significance of the Sixth Convention, we designed a pre-congress conference for 700 members of Fateh, which took place in February 2008. This conference provided a unique forum for Fateh members to debate the future of the party and send recommendations to their leaders. Our focus was not merely on the success of Fateh, but on the viability of a future Palestinian state, which should be President Abbas’ focus as well.<br /><br />To shift the focus away from both intra-party fighting and the defeat of Hamas, we created a platform whereby members offered their best visions and frameworks for building a Palestinian state — a country designed by its own people, for its own people. It turned out that professional women and young party members in their twenties offered some of the best suggestions for nation-building. They were most aware of the important issues affecting their people.<br /><br />In order for Fateh to guide the emergence of a Palestinian state, the participants presented a number of pragmatic recommendations most of which could be initiated despite the restrictions imposed by the Israeli occupation. These include: accountability from all public officials; the ending of corrupt practices among government bureaucracies; the establishment of world-class educational and healthcare systems; development of the agricultural and industrial sectors; the creation of an IT sector, whereby young people could find gainful employment; and the instituting of a broad spectrum of socio-economic programmes essential to a thriving state.<br /><br />Based upon the results of our pre-conference event — and the challenges that the outcome of the Sixth Convention present — President Abbas should immediately hold a “nation-design conference” that would call on the brightest minds in Palestine and throughout the world to create a developmental roadmap for Palestine. This would be informed by the needs and aspirations of all Palestinians, and would put forth a vision of a thriving region. It would honour the past while building the infrastructure necessary for the younger generation to emerge socio-economically and overcome the region’s historic conflict. For moderates in Israel, a plan such as this would provide the assurance they need to enter into a partnership of mutual peace and prosperity, while quelling Hamas’ and Likud’s extremist positions.<br /><br />####<br /><br />* Elza S. Maalouf is an Arab-American futurist and cultural development specialist focusing her work on societal, business and political reform in the Arab world. She is the CEO and co-founder of the Center for Human Emergence Middle East, a research and strategic design centre that uses the emerging science of value-systems to address various challenges in the region. This article was written for the Common Ground News Service (CGNews).<br /><br />Source: Common Ground News Service (CGNews), 20 August 2009, </span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-69644528048755675842008-12-27T08:34:00.014-08:002008-12-27T09:54:52.756-08:00Deema Al-Shawa Pleads with Pres-Elect Obama to End the Attack on Gaza<script>is_readmore=false;</script><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Deema-722057.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 139px; height: 128px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Deema-722053.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">In light of</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);"> Israel's invasion of Gaza, our Palestinian partner sent me this heartfelt letter exp</span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">ressing her pain about the death of innocent people, </span><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">yet remaining optimistic about a fresh start with President-Elect Obama.</span><br /><div><br />"Habibti Elza,</div> <div> </div> <div>After reading your letter to Obama and while watching the news about Gaza today, I felt like sending something to Obama too, by using the alphabets of the word <strong>PALESTINE.</strong></div> <div> </div><br /> Deema Al-Shawa"<br /><br /><br /><br /><div style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:180%;">PALESTINE</span></div><ul style="list-style-type: none; list-style-image: none; list-style-position: outside; margin-left: 0pt; padding-left: 1.5em; text-indent: -1.5em;"><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >P.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">President</span> </span>Obama, Dear "Abu Hussien" that's how we call you in the Middle East.<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Young-Pale.-girl-757874.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 240px; height: 320px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Young-Pale.-girl-757870.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a></li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >A.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">An Action</span> </span>by you would make a historical difference! Your words: "CHANGE HAS COME TO AMERICA!" brought back our lost hopes & faith in the change that might come to the Middle East, through a better American political policy.</li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >L.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Let</span> </span>Peace Rule the Globe and bring back the missing justice.</li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >E.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Encourage</span> </span>our Palestinian vision for a better future & development, Palestinian young people are educated enough to handle it very well.</li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >S.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Save</span> </span>our hungry poor children in Gaza and millions will pray for you. Save them from the unjustified non-stop Israeli harm and the non-sensed political conflicts. Dear Mr. President in our Palestinian case, supporting the basic human rights by such a leader like you, will be remarked with a golden line in history.</li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >T.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Time</span> </span>has come for us to be treated as humans! It's almost 2009, 60 years of an unfair war, enough of erasing and neglecting our harmless Palestinian identity, kindly support our people, we do exist and we have rights. African Americans had suffered for years but today while celebrating your presidency HOPE is back! Justice will come after all to Palestine.</li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >I.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Initiating</span> </span>action for Cultural emergence in the Middle East by Enhancing "the Center for Human Emergence" through its SDI needed mission, will definitely help the US administration in implementing a better political, social and economical international transformation. Dr. Don Beck and CEO Elza Malouf our American Heroes will help you as much as they helped us, if you just give them the chance.</li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >N.</span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" > </span><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >NO!</span> For more genocides by the Israeli army, PALESTINE is screaming for your HELP!</li><br /><li style="background-image: none;"><span style="font-weight: bold;font-size:130%;" >E.</span><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span><span style="font-weight: bold;"><span style="font-size:130%;">Enough</span> </span>of taking sides! HO HO HO!! The Israeli Santa did deliver his bombs as a Christmas gift to the Palestinian Innocent children in Gaza, documented 27.12.2009. Merry Christmas Mr. President & Happy New Year.</li><br /></ul><div style="text-align: center;">By Deema Shawa.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);">Deema is a founding member of the Palestine Integral Committee at the Center For Human Emergence-Middle East . Since 2005, she has been leading the efforts to promote "<a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-initiative.html">Build Palestine Initiative</a>" among young Palestinian leaders. </span><br /></div>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-75145998793727722982008-12-22T11:02:00.004-08:002008-12-22T11:27:08.596-08:00Maysa Gayyusi comments on our Letter to Mr. Obama<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/maysa_tony-Blair-716607.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 320px; height: 240px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/maysa_tony-Blair-716604.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />Maysa Gayyusi, a dynamic Palestinian community leader, sent us this letter expressing her renewed faith in a potential independent Palestinian state after the election of Mr.Obama.<br /><br /><p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >"Dear Elza, </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >You said it all to President-elect Obama. You have no idea how high the expectations are among young Palestinians. Words that Obama said that "we can, and we will" inspired many youth here to see the light at the end of the tunnel; and to realize that change is doable.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >I was in NY, in Time Square when the result of the elections were revealed, you have no idea how loud I screamed cheering for Obama. My friends told me the next day, "Maysa, you acted like a crazy kid. You jumbled and yelled". I replied why not, A drowning person will not think twice before grabing a stick handed to rescue him. This is how I feel, young Palestinians as well as Israelis are desperately looking for the day when they can leave the conflict behind and look for better future. </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >My brother kept asking me for an Obama shirt, saying "Maysa I don't want anything from you except a shirt with Obama photo." I brought him one that he wears to impress his friends!</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >I hope that your words will find their way to Mr. Obama, and that he will put the Israeli- Palestinians issue among his priorities.</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" > </span></p> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >Let me know how I can help,</span></div> <div style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"> </div> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >Regards,</span></p> <p style="margin: 0in 0in 0pt; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><span style=";font-family:Times New Roman;font-size:100%;" >Maysa "<br /></span></p><br />This is the letter that we sent to President-Elect Obama: http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/open-letter-to-barack-obama.php<br /><br />Maysa Gayyusi has been working with the <span style="font-style: italic;">Center For Human Emergence Middle East</span> on the <span style="font-style: italic;">Build Palestine Initiative </span>since 2005.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-6799081501815519572008-11-23T21:50:00.002-08:002008-11-23T22:00:25.078-08:0080 Fatah Leaders meet in Bethlehem to discuss the upcoming 6th Convention<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CELZAMA%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:applybreakingrules/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Franklin Gothic Book"; panose-1:2 11 5 3 2 1 2 2 2 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:swiss; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);" class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><span style="font-style: italic;">The CHE-mideast grassroots movement continues to grow. The Build Palestine Initiative that is lead by our Palestinian partners is reaching critical mass and is now influencing the direction of the entire Fatah movement.</span></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p><meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CELZAMA%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:applybreakingrules/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:Wingdings; panose-1:5 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0; mso-font-charset:2; mso-generic-font-family:auto; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:0 268435456 0 0 -2147483648 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} /* List Definitions */ @list l0 {mso-list-id:1171724062; mso-list-type:hybrid; mso-list-template-ids:-1074645000 -176644944 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693 67698689 67698691 67698693;} @list l0:level1 {mso-level-number-format:bullet; mso-level-text:; mso-level-tab-stop:14.4pt; mso-level-number-position:left; margin-left:25.2pt; text-indent:-10.8pt; mso-ansi-font-size:11.0pt; mso-bidi-font-size:11.0pt; font-family:Wingdings; color:#999999;} ol {margin-bottom:0cm;} ul {margin-bottom:0cm;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]--> <p class="MsoNormal"><st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Bethlehem</st1:city></st1:place> -Maan News</p> <p class="MsoNormal">Nov18, 2008</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">On Tuesday Nov. 18<sup>th</sup> approximately 80 Fatah leaders , from a number of Palestinian provinces met to discuss challenges facing the party ahead of the hugely anticipated 6th Convention. The Meeting took place at the Women’s Union Hall under the slogan “Taking Responsibility for the Emergence of Fatah Movement.” Nafiz Rifaee presided over the conference along with Abdel Majeed Suwaiti and Thabet Swaitat. Also present were leaders representing the various sectors and committees of Fatah in the West Bank and <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Gaza</st1:city></st1:place>. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Emphasis at the meeting was placed on the need to sustain the role that the Fatah Movement is achieving with the Palestinian National Project with its focus on internal reforms as well as open communication with the Executive committee. The attendees acknowledged the prolonged difficulties the movement has gone through and the need to reform it at this critical juncture in the absence of effective structures to implement such reforms.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The speakers emphasized the following points: </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 25.2pt; text-indent: -10.8pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:Wingdings;font-size:11;" ><span style="">§<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Sending recommendations to expand participation in the 6<sup>th</sup> Convention by <span style=""> </span></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 25.2pt;">including the young Generation.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 25.2pt; text-indent: -10.8pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:Wingdings;font-size:11;" ><span style="">§<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Specify what the members wish to see from this convention.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 14.4pt;"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 25.2pt; text-indent: -10.8pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:Wingdings;font-size:11;" ><span style="">§<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Prepare action-plans and strategies of implementation after the 6<sup>th</sup> convention.</span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 25.2pt; text-indent: -10.8pt;"><!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="color: rgb(153, 153, 153);font-family:Wingdings;font-size:11;" ><span style="">§<span style=";font-family:";font-size:7;" > </span></span></span><!--[endif]--><span dir="ltr">Make sure all resolutions of the convention support the leading role that Fatah plays in the National Palestinian Plan.</span></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-left: 25.2pt; text-indent: -10.8pt;"><span dir="ltr">
<br /></span></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">The speakers emphasized the necessity for radical change within the party through internal elections that will enable the movement to continue its path toward freedom and <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Nation</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Building</st1:placetype></st1:place>. Emphasis was also placed on holding all elected officials of Fatah who contributed to the demise of the movement accountable for their actions.<span style=""> </span>Attendees also vowed to hold transparent internal party elections away from personal agendas and nepotism. </p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Fatah leader Nafiz Rifaee declared<span style=""> </span>that this meeting is part of a series of important meetings that started on Feb 2, 2008 where 700 Fatah members voiced their opinion about the 6<sup>th</sup> convention. These meetings have str<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/ahmed-qurei-777448.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer; width: 87px; height: 110px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/ahmed-qurei-777446.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>essed the need to transform the movement and help it emerge.</p><p class="MsoNormal">
<br /></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Mr Rifaee added that the group will continue its meetings and will come up with a list of recommendations that will be presented to Ahmad Qurai (Abu Alaa’)- the head of the Annapolis negotiation team, and the Fatah official in charge of organizing the 6<sup>th</sup> convention—and to Mr. Hakam Balaoui , in charge of the organizing committee of the conference. These recommendations will also be presented through every channel possible to make sure the overall vision of the movement includes the third generation Fatah members who have been the torch bearers of the group for years.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal">Other speakers including Mohammad Taha Amin, the Secretary General of Fatah in <st1:place st="on"><st1:city st="on">Bethlehem</st1:city></st1:place>, Abdallah abu Hadid and Mousa Al Shaer, were supportive of Mr. Rifaee’s vision for change and transformation of the movement.</p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p> </o:p></p> <p class="MsoNormal"><span style=";font-family:";" ><o:p> </o:p></span></p> Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-7049523497081699122008-09-22T10:34:00.014-07:002008-10-06T17:43:55.181-07:00Nafiz Rifaee:" Why aren't Arab Universities Excelling?Why aren't they on the list of the Top 500 Univ. in the World the Top 500 Univ. in the World??"<script>is_readmore=false;</script><br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Nafiz-pic-796991-782004.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Nafiz-pic-796991-782001.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />In an article published last week in Al-Quds newspaper in Jerusalem, Nafiz Rifaee, a leading Palestinian mind who is bringing cultural and systems innovation to Palestine, asks why isn't any Arab university mentioned on the list of the Top 500 Universities in the world. A recent study published by Shanghai Universities ranked European, American and 6 Israeli universities among the top universities in the world. Mr. Rifaee is calling on all Arab academics, politicians and business people to take a closer look at the problem. He says "We have some of the greatest minds in the world. Our young Arab men and women are eager to learn and be innovative; the question remains, are we providing them with the best education and technologies to help them excel?" adding " our young generation is where we need to invest most. they are the tallest buildings we want to build, and the most precious resources we have."<br /><br />Nafiz Rifaee is the President of Bethlehem University Alumni Association. He is leading the <span style="font-style: italic;">Build Palestine Initiative</span> sponsored and designed by the <span style="font-style: italic; color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Center for Human Emergence-Middle East</span>. He can be reached at nafizrifae@buildpalestine.org<br /><p>Click on either link to read the full article in English or Arabic:<br /></p><p><a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/docs/Why-aren't-Arab-Universities-Excelling-(English).pdf">English Text PDF</a></p><p><a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/docs/Why-aren't-Arab-Universities-Excelling-(Arabic).pdf">Arabic Text PDF</a></p><p><br /></p><span style="font-size:130%;"> </span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-56672523178051720572008-08-31T20:06:00.004-07:002008-08-31T20:18:15.190-07:00Large Scale Psychology presentation at The Engaging The Other Conference in San Francisco<meta equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=utf-8"><meta name="ProgId" content="Word.Document"><meta name="Generator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><meta name="Originator" content="Microsoft Word 11"><link rel="File-List" href="file:///C:%5CDOCUME%7E1%5CELZAMA%7E1%5CLOCALS%7E1%5CTemp%5Cmsohtml1%5C01%5Cclip_filelist.xml"><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceType"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="PlaceName"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="City"></o:smarttagtype><o:smarttagtype namespaceuri="urn:schemas-microsoft-com:office:smarttags" name="place"></o:smarttagtype><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:worddocument> <w:view>Normal</w:View> <w:zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:punctuationkerning/> <w:validateagainstschemas/> <w:saveifxmlinvalid>false</w:SaveIfXMLInvalid> <w:ignoremixedcontent>false</w:IgnoreMixedContent> <w:alwaysshowplaceholdertext>false</w:AlwaysShowPlaceholderText> <w:compatibility> <w:breakwrappedtables/> <w:snaptogridincell/> <w:applybreakingrules/> <w:wraptextwithpunct/> <w:useasianbreakrules/> <w:dontgrowautofit/> </w:Compatibility> <w:browserlevel>MicrosoftInternetExplorer4</w:BrowserLevel> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:latentstyles deflockedstate="false" latentstylecount="156"> </w:LatentStyles> </xml><![endif]--><!--[if !mso]><object classid="clsid:38481807-CA0E-42D2-BF39-B33AF135CC4D" id="ieooui"></object> <style> st1\:*{behavior:url(#ieooui) } </style> <![endif]--><style> <!-- /* Font Definitions */ @font-face {font-family:"Book Antiqua"; panose-1:2 4 6 2 5 3 5 3 3 4; mso-font-charset:0; mso-generic-font-family:roman; mso-font-pitch:variable; mso-font-signature:647 0 0 0 159 0;} /* Style Definitions */ p.MsoNormal, li.MsoNormal, div.MsoNormal {mso-style-parent:""; margin:0cm; margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-fareast-font-family:"Times New Roman";} a:link, span.MsoHyperlink {color:blue; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} a:visited, span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {color:purple; text-decoration:underline; text-underline:single;} @page Section1 {size:612.0pt 792.0pt; margin:72.0pt 90.0pt 72.0pt 90.0pt; mso-header-margin:36.0pt; mso-footer-margin:36.0pt; mso-paper-source:0;} div.Section1 {page:Section1;} --> </style><!--[if gte mso 10]> <style> /* Style Definitions */ table.MsoNormalTable {mso-style-name:"Table Normal"; mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0; mso-tstyle-colband-size:0; mso-style-noshow:yes; mso-style-parent:""; mso-padding-alt:0cm 5.4pt 0cm 5.4pt; mso-para-margin:0cm; mso-para-margin-bottom:.0001pt; mso-pagination:widow-orphan; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-ansi-language:#0400; mso-fareast-language:#0400; mso-bidi-language:#0400;} </style> <![endif]-->Dr. Beck and Elza Maalouf and I will be presenting at the Engaging the Other Conference in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">San Francisco</st1:place></st1:city> <a href="http://www.cbiworld.org/Pages/Conferences_ETO_ProgSessions08.htm" target="_blank">http://www.cbiworld.org/Pages/Conferences_ETO_ProgSessions08.htm</a> . Sept 4-7, 2008
<br />
<br /><p class="MsoNormal">For the first time, Dr. Beck will reveal certain aspects of Large Scale Psychology, (the new branch of psychology that he is introducing to APA in 2009) in particular the recognition of the master codes that shape whole societies and how to impact large scale systems with integral design engineering principles, processes and strategies. As you all know, Dr. Beck is virtually the "pathfinder" of master codes in large scale systems with applications in 1st, 2nd and 3rd world societies. Further, he will roll out the Assimilation-Contrast Effect (ACE) that describes how the Us vs. Them polarization forms, thus producing the "face of the enemy" in the other. This is the critical process that creates serious conflicts between tribes, empires, ideologies (such as Shia and Sunni) and even between the "Red" and "Blue" states in this country. The entire package is part of the Large Scale Psychology templates, illustrates how to defuse the conflict, build over arching superordinate goals, and find ways to integrate common interests beyond the rigid and dangerous borders and boundaries. The concept has been field-tested within many societies where a dangerous civil war was the only apparent option. Beck worked with Professor Muzafer Sherif while at the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">University</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Oklahoma</st1:placename></st1:place> and was a graduate assistant at the Institute for Group Relations that produced the autokinetic physical judgment study and the world famous Robber's Cave experiment.</p> <p class="MsoNormal">
<br />Elza Maalouf will present the major application of Large Scale Psychology that they designed and continue to apply in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>: including how they are uncovering the master code that shapes the Palestinian society, and will give concrete details about the processes and strategies they are following to impact change/emergence. This will be a case study in the Natural Design framework and the application of the ACE technology both within Israel and within Palestine and between Israel and Palestine (Intra-Conflict and Inter-Conflict), while creating a compelling <i>future vision</i> – of Israel/Palestine as the Hong Kong of the Middle East or the Dubai of the Levant— that will benefit all and anticipate the next moves in the dangerous dance between the Middle East and the West. </p> <p class="MsoNormal" style="margin-bottom: 12pt;">
<br />We would appreciate you posting this announcement on your blogs, and/or forwarding it to people who might want to attend. Topic and date are listed below.
<br />
<br /><b><span style="color: rgb(1, 84, 7);font-size:13;" >
<br />"Psychology at the Large Scale: the Design and Transformation of Whole societies"</span></b><span style="font-size:13;"> </span><span style="font-size:10;">Sept 5, 2:00 - 3:30 pm</span>
<br />This presentation will feature Spiral Dynamics, a biopsychosocial and value system driven framework and illustrate its role in diagnosing and defusing "us -vs- them" polarity. It will identify eight different types or variations of worldviews, and will uncover the "DNA-like" Master Code that shapes cultural emergence, conflict, transitions, and transformation. It will describe the conditions for large scale societal change which will guide decision-makers to know what to do, when, in what manner, with which resources. Finally, It will address the critical issues with regard to nation-states, large cultural and global movements with a focus on a major <st1:placename st="on">Nation</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Building</st1:placetype> design and application in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>.
<br /><b>Don Edward Beck, PhD., Elza Maalouf, JD.</b> <i><span style="font-size:10;">(Lecture, Experiential, Discussion)
<br />
<br /></span></i><b><span style=";font-family:";font-size:10;" >EVENING PLENARY ROUNDTABLE:</span></b> <span style="font-size:10;">
<br />Sept 5, 7:00 - 8:45 pm</span>
<br />
<br /><b><span style="color: rgb(1, 84, 7);font-size:13;" >"The Development of Identity: Our Personal and Historical Relationship with The Other" </span></b>
<br />- What is the role of The Other in the process of establishing our personal and communal identities, and belief systems related to these?
<br />- How can this role take on negative characteristics, and how can it be transformed from negative to positive?
<br /><b>Maureen O'Hara, PhD, Don Edward Beck, PhD, Sal Nunez, JD, Michael Nagler, PhD</b>
<br />Moderaters:<b><span style="font-size:10;"> </span></b>Aftab Omer, PhD, and<b> Steve Olweean, MA</b></p> Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com56tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-15221043795567029802008-02-21T13:13:00.012-08:002008-02-21T16:50:17.301-08:00Palestine Emergence - In the Words of one of its Enlightened Leaders<a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/100_0183-761669.JPG"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/100_0183-760567.JPG" border="0" /></a>When Tom Christensen was visiting the West Bank in early 2005, he introduced Nafiz Al-Rifaie to the Spiral Dynamics theory over tea at one of Bethlehem's small cafés. Nafiz turned around and explained the framework in Arabic to his colleagues drawing levels and quadrants on napkins found in the café.<br /><br />Two months later, Dr. Beck and I arrived in the West Bank and held our first conference in Bethelehem. It was Nafiz who organized the conference, inviting professors, bi-partisan party leaders, the governor of Bethlehem, members of Parliament, and Board members of the Women’s Arab Union. By the end of that conference, Nafiz recognized the transformational potential of this systemic framework and its vital application to the Israel/Palestine conflict and most importantly to solve the intra-conflicts in each society.<br /><br />In the last three years, together with Mr. Rifaie, we trained various groups of women in business and other professions, young men and women and community leaders in Palestine.<br /><br />Mr. Rifaie holds a Master's Degree in Sustainable Rural Development and a Bachelor's Degree in English Literature. He did several independent studies in strategic planning and election campaigns, and a comparative study of the political parties in Sweden, Israel, and Palestine.<br /><br />On February 2, 2008, Nafiz Al-Rifaie, a prominent leader in Fatah Third Generation, addressed the attendees of the Nation Building Movement urging them to focus on the future of Palestine and to change the standing of Palestinians in the world, equipped with education, innovation and the pursuit of excellence.<br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GjIDOD1kct8&rel=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><br /><br /><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GjIDOD1kct8&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></div><br /><p></p><br /><blockquote><p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="left">“An extraordinary speech.” </p><p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px" align="right">—Dr. Don Beck</p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 0px">“Nafiz Rifaie has emerged as a true Arab Integral thinker and Spiral<br />Wizard.” </p><p align="right">—Saïd Dawlabani</p></blockquote><blockquote><p style="PADDING-BOTTOM: 0px">“This is the most encouraging speech I have read from Palestine in 70 years.”</p><p style="PADDING-TOP: 0px" align="right">—Judea Pearl<br /></p></blockquote><p><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-024-retouched-739013.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-024-retouched-738260.jpg" border="0" /></a>On a personal note, It has been a tremendous honor for me to work with Mr. Rifaie. His openness and vision of a better future for his children and for every Palestinian is a quality that every Arab leader should have. Nafiz spent more than 5 years in Israeli jails as a political prisoner where he continued his education and set up a school inside jail. I have met many Palestinian PLO leaders who told me that Nafiz was their professor/mentor in jail. He might not have read about Mandela's Robin Island university at the time, but amazingly followed the same evolutionary patterns that Mandela followed. He and his friend Marwan Barghouti were/are the educators of a whole generation of Palestinians who left jail to become some of the most optimistic and progressive human beings.</p><p>It is truly Nafiz's respect for Palestinian women that impresses me most. He has been a staunch supporter of Palestinian women and focuses on helping them become the leaders they truly are.</p><p>Thank you for your continued support of Center for Human Emergence Middle East.</p><p>Join us,</p><p>Elza</p><br /><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com14tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-51785449847177147552008-02-19T16:59:00.006-08:002008-02-19T17:23:21.526-08:00Emergence in Palestine and the Arab World<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-061-739552.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 0pt 10px 10px; float: right; cursor: pointer;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-061-738953.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><br />At the outset of the February 2, 2008 Nation Building Conference in Bethlehem, Palestine, Elza Maalouf spoke to the nearly 700 Palestinian community leaders from all over the West Bank addressing societal emergence in Palestine and the Arab world.<br /><br /><blockquote><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">“Young women and men in Palestine are some of the most resilient human beings I have ever met. They surprised me with their optimism, their full engagement in the socio-political process and uncanny ability to grow and emerge.”</span><br /><div style="text-align: right;"><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153); font-style: italic;">— Elza Maalouf</span><br /></div></blockquote><br /><br /><div style="text-align: center;"><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/GrwvEm80FrI&rel=0"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/GrwvEm80FrI&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" height="350" width="425"></embed></object></div><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>CHE-Mideast Staffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785288846927551766noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-87737170076894423852008-02-17T18:26:00.003-08:002008-02-17T19:10:10.904-08:00Palestinian Engineer Presents Ground-Breaking Proposals<a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-033-772377.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 10px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" height="144" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-033-771902.jpg" width="183" border="0" /></a>At the Palestine 21 Nation-Building convention, many groups presented proposals on how to design the emerging state of Palestine. Each group chose a name and was represented by the leader of the group. Names varied from "Hope" to "Cradle of Peace" to "Optimism" to the names of Martyrs from Fatah.<br /><br />Group #40 "The Promising future" was mainly formed from professional women from Salfit and Hebron. Engineer Nasra Zgheil presented ground-breaking proposals in the name of her group.<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><br /><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/08fGGdlLOFA&rel=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/08fGGdlLOFA&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object><br /></div><br /><br /><p>Here we translate the conclusions of group #40 which was made up of Palestinian women. This photo shows the group preparing their page for inclusion on the wall presentation:</p><p><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 10px auto; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-056-791514.jpg" border="0" />(Translation:)</p><ol><li>Economic: To create the grounds for Economic Stability through: </li><ul><li>Job Creation (through projects, Industrial parks, strong institutions) that will provide opportunities for women, workers and graduates of universities </li><li>Opening International Markets</li><li>Supporting the agriculture and tourism sectors and developing the Palestinian rural region<br /></li></ul><li>Culture: </li><ul><li>Focus on programs that help the development of women, children and young people in all aspects (Healthcare, psychological and cultural)</li></ul><br /><li>Education: </li><ul><li>Focus on skill training and provide support for innovators</li><li>Free Public school system</li><li>Illiteracy projects</li><li>Enforce a system of Merit for the hiring process based on social justice</li></ul><br /><li>Politics: </li><ul><li>Put our Nation first not the political movement</li><li>Electing the right Leader</li><li>Independence in decision making away from outside influences</li><li>Transparency in managing public funds and NO nepotism</li></ul></ol><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-055-731849.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY:block; MARGIN: 10px auto 10px; WIDTH: 268px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 213px" height="126" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-055-731243.jpg" width="182" border="0" /></a><br /><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-37620248864031022022008-02-17T13:39:00.005-08:002008-02-17T13:59:03.311-08:00A 10-year-old Palestinian Girl Thinks BigThis video of Balkis Rifaie, a 10 year old Palestinian girl, sums up the "Future Pull" (forward-looking future orientation) of the Palestinian historic Nation-Building event on Feb 2, 2008 in Bethlehem.<br /><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/hdfQcNyqmds&rel=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/hdfQcNyqmds&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></div><br /><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-72902658242265209152008-02-16T21:03:00.006-08:002008-02-17T13:37:13.764-08:00"Ana Falistini" -- I am Palestinian!Dr. Don Beck addressing 700 Palestinian Leaders mostly from Fatah at the Nation-Building Convention Feb. 2, 2008. In his speech to the Fatah 21 Movement, Dr. Beck focused on the theme "Palestine 21, Palestine first!"<br /><blockquote>“For the political ‘Road Map’ involving Israel and Palestine to be successful,<br />the ‘Palestinian Development Map’ must first be implemented.”</blockquote><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/KKFzg1QMQRE&rel=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/KKFzg1QMQRE&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></div><br /><br /><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-92097556111348877762008-02-13T17:56:00.018-08:002008-02-15T09:39:43.966-08:00A Palestinian Nation Building Movement for the 21st Century<div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">A Palestinian nation-building movement for the 21</span><sup style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">st</sup><span style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold"> Century has been born.</span></div><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><em><span style="font-size:78%;"></span></em></div><br /><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/100_0189-767177.JPG"><img style="MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/100_0189-766321.JPG" border="0" /></a></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><em><span style="font-size:85%;">(click on any photo to enlarge) </span></em></p><p class="MsoNormal">Close to 700 Palestinians came together earlier this month in <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:city><st1:place>Bethlehem</st1:place></st1:city>, the <st1:place>West Bank</st1:place> “city of new beginnings” in <st1:city><st1:place>Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>, to plan their own future. </p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-023-746756.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0px 10px 10pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-023-746064.jpg" border="0" /></a>Sponsored by The Center for Human Emergence Middle East, the event inaugurated the “<st1:city><st1:place>Palestine</st1:place></st1:city> 21” project which aims to empower Palestinian citizens to design their own state.</p><p class="MsoNormal">The convention was organized by Palestinian leaders inspired by the geopolitical work of Dr. Don Beck, the American founder of the Global Center for Human Emergence (CHE). </p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="LETTER-SPACING: 0pt">"For the political ‘Road Map’ involving </span><st1:country-region><st1:place><span style="LETTER-SPACING: 0pt">Israel</span></st1:place></st1:country-region><span style="LETTER-SPACING: 0pt"> and </span><st1:city><st1:place><span style="LETTER-SPACING: 0pt">Palestine</span></st1:place></st1:city><span style="LETTER-SPACING: 0pt"> to be successful, the ‘Palestinian Development Map’ must first be implemented</span>,” Dr. Beck said at the event. <span style="LETTER-SPACING: 0pt"><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p></span></p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:0;"></span></p><p class="MsoNormal">Palestinian participants traveled by bus from <st1:city><st1:place>Jericho</st1:place></st1:city>, Qalqyliah, Tulkarm , <st1:city><st1:place>Hebron</st1:place></st1:city>, Ramallah, <st1:city><st1:place>Nablus</st1:place></st1:city> and <st1:city><st1:place>Jerusalem</st1:place></st1:city>, spending long hours at checkpoints throughout the <st1:place>West Bank</st1:place>.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-056-772013.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Fatah21-08-056-771505.jpg" border="0" /></a>Elza Maalouf , the Arab-American CEO of CHE Middle East, opened the event, saying “’Palestine 21’ fits within our overall plan to support human and societal emergence in our region, and Palestinians, together with other Arabs, will lead the way. </p><p class="MsoNormal">“It is an honor and a deep source of happiness for me to partner in the <st1:place>Middle East</st1:place> with Dr. Beck, a world-renowned expert on human and societal emergence, “ Ms. Maalouf added. “His work was field-tested during the South African transition from Apartheid and will greatly benefit the transition to nationhood in <st1:city><st1:place>Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>.”</p><p class="MsoNormal"><span style="font-size:0;"></span>Nafiz Rifaee, the Palestinian leader who designed and organized the event with the help of a team of dedicated men and women, urged the audience to focus on the future of their children and the future of <st1:city><st1:place>Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>. “This all started when Dr. Beck asked us how were we going to spend the seven billion dollars coming from donor countries. Do we have a sustainable plan for development? Or will the financial aid follow the usual channels?” Mr. Rifaee recalled.</p><p class="MsoNormal"><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/100_0186-715761.JPG"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0pt 0px 10px 10pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/100_0186-714865.JPG" border="0" /></a>The walls of the convention room at the Shepherd Hotel in <st1:city><st1:place>Bethlehem</st1:place></st1:city> were plastered with large sheets of paper filled with the people’s personal ideas and aspirations for their beloved <st1:city><st1:place>Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>. Recommendations included the design of a <st1:place>First World</st1:place> public school system, world-class universities, an eco-sensitive transportation plan, universal health care, and representative government. </p><p class="MsoNormal">The full list of suggestions is being compiled in a booklet which will be presented to Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Prime Minister Salam Fayyad, President George W. Bush, Special Envoy to the Middle East Tony Blair, and the United Nations.</p><br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/2UuWGroTXoM&rel=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/2UuWGroTXoM&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" height="355" width="425"></embed></object></div><br /><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-68845784160422091322008-02-11T17:39:00.004-08:002008-02-16T13:33:50.265-08:00SDi Training for Palestinian WomenSDi Training for Palestinian Women from Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah,Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Khalil Jan 25-26, 2008<br /><br /><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/IMG_1790-786765.jpg"><img alt="" hspace="10" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/IMG_1790-786328.jpg" align="left" border="0" /></a>Dr. Don Beck and Elza Maalouf, CEO of the Center for Human Emergence – Middle East presented a 2-day Spiral Dynamics Integral training for Palestinian women January 25 and 26, 2008. Participant came from Jericho, Nablus, Ramallah, Bethlehem, Tulkarm, Khalil and many other areas of the West Bank. They were all taking part in what is now becoming known as The Future Movement of Palestine 21.<br /><br />The group was invited by Dr. Nehma Assad, a gynecologist from Bethlehem who introduced the training as a 'true' empowerment for women's roles and capacities in the Palestinian society. The attendees were educators, students, directors of NGOs and mothers who are working on the development of their communities in Palestine.<br /><br /><div style="TEXT-ALIGN: center"><object height="355" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/vyVF0lw5Uv8&rel=0"><param name="wmode" value="transparent"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/vyVF0lw5Uv8&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" wmode="transparent" width="425" height="355"></embed></object></div><br />After learning the colors/codes of the Spiral, the participants used the memetic language to explain how organizations like USAID, UN or EU NGOs who operate from the orange/Green value-systems try to impose unrealistic conditions on programs they fund in Palestine, that do not fit the culture or the value-systems in their communities. Butheina who is leading a local organization said, “We are tired of them pushing their women empowerment training on us without providing opportunities to create sustainable jobs and solid careers. The abstract concepts are fine, but they are not helping us create businesses, or helping our children learn computer skills. They force us to spend hundreds of thousands of dollars on restaurants, hotels and seminars and refuse to give us part of the money to build a small center to train women and children on how to use the computer!”<br /><br />Two young girls who hold degrees in education and computer science have been looking for a job for the last 7 months to no avail. They just want to work and make a living… Not learn about Democracy and Governance in seminars while not having a job or a place to exercise ‘Governance’. (Most seminars offered by Western organizations focus on Democracy, Governance and Empowerment of Women….) .<br /><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>CHE-Mideast Staffhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17785288846927551766noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-76668244021896012432008-02-10T10:21:00.002-08:002008-02-15T09:40:58.615-08:00News from our Middle East trip Jan/Feb 2008<div style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN-LEFT: 10px"><object height="350" width="425"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/aTQMpw2u-38&rel=0"><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/aTQMpw2u-38&rel=0" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" width="425" height="350"></embed></object></div><p>Just a short note to let you know that Dr. Don Beck and I have just returned from the Middle East where we have some very exciting news, pictures, audio, and videos that we will start sharing with you here and elsewhere on this website. </p><p>This video taken by Dr. Beck shows Elza on February 2, 2008 addressing 700 Fatah members at the Palestine21 meeting in Bethlehem. They came from Janin, Tulkarm, Nablus, Ramallah, Jericho, Bethlehem, Hebron/Al Khalil, Qalqilyah and Jerusalem.<br /><br />Please check back regularly over the next days and weeks.<br /><br />Thank you,<br />Elza<br /><br /><script>is_readmore=false</script>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-88505133118209282952008-01-14T13:57:00.000-08:002008-02-10T11:18:28.807-08:00What Should Bush Do in Palestine?<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Bush-Abbas-Palestine-701651.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; CURSOR: pointer" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Bush-Abbas-Palestine-701645.jpg" border="0" /></a><span style="COLOR: rgb(51,51,255); FONT-STYLE: italicfont-size:85%;" >(This article was sent as an Op-Ed to the New York Times and Dallas Morning News)</span><?xml:namespace prefix = o /><o:p></o:p> <p class="MsoNormal"><o:p style="COLOR: rgb(51,102,255)"></o:p>When Air Force One soars across the Mediterranean shoreline and touches down at Ben-Gurion Airport in Israel, President George W. Bush’s team had a great deal to “see” through the plane’s windows. Tel Aviv is only 20 km<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>to the South. <?xml:namespace prefix = st1 /><st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Palestinian</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Territories</st1:placetype></st1:place> are less 10 km away. Most first-time visitors are shocked at how compact and interwoven everything is.<o:p></o:p></p><span class="fullpost"><p class="MsoNormal">But, we are interested in what the White House party “sees” in terms of value systems, cultural dynamics, and below-the-surface priorities and mindsets of the people who live landing the various regions. Because what they will “see” will shape and determine what they “do,” and whether the trip will be a success, or yet another visit by an American President looking for a legacy. There is a long list of those.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><i>So, how do we Americans leave a lasting impression on the hearts and minds in the <st1:place st="on">Middle East</st1:place> long after an administration leaves the White House?</i> If Bush and his advisors are trapped in ethnic or religious stereotypes, or limited by economic and political models that grew out of the American experience, they will be “blind” to the realities they are about to encounter. <i>After Karen Hughes spent close to a <b>billion dollars </b>on “image” alone, in that region, there’s still no improvement on how the <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on">U.S.</st1:country-region></st1:place> is<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>perceived</i>. Welcome to <st1:place st="on"><st1:placetype st="on">Tower</st1:placetype> of <st1:placename st="on">Babel</st1:placename></st1:place> II.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">If you are interested in a fresh approach, one that shifts the conversation to a different level and generates authentic “breakthrough” solutions, you, too, will need to “see” through different eyes. The question then becomes, how do we do this?<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>WHY WE PLACE EMPHASIS ON CULTURE<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">The two of us have spent considerable time in the region. We have made presentations across the entire political spectrum, including groups in the <st1:place st="on">West Bank</st1:place>. We present in English, Arabic and Hebrew. In February, we will be working on a reform plan for the Fatah Movement with leaders from the Third Generation and members of the <span style="font-size:+0;"></span>Committee.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span><o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We are advocates of a new discipline we call “<i>Natural Design</i>” that builds solutions based on an assessment of the deeper “codes” that are embedded in each culture, and the unique anatomy of the conflict. This was the approach we developed during the transformation out of apartheid in South Africa, and reflects five decades of academic research and field-testing (in hot zones) all over the planet.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Cultures consist of a series of belief systems, a kaleidoscope of world views that emerge in societies over time.<span style="font-size:+0;"> </span>Human nature is not a fixed type. People and cultures do indeed change when life conditions warrant. These belief systems are “bottom-lines” which define what matters most to a group of people at any given time. They explain the differences between our “Red” and “Blue” states, and hold the key to recognizing the characteristics of cultures that are “development-prone” vs. those that are “development-adverse.” And, more than anything else, they define the major political and economic gaps between <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> and <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>. It is <i>not</i> about religion after all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>First, it is critical to develop a “cross-sectional view” of the conflicting cultures, both within each of the two societies, and between them as well.<o:p> </o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">If you walk around <st1:country-region st="on"><span class="yshortcuts">Israel</span></st1:country-region>, certainly in <st1:city st="on"><span class="yshortcuts">Jerusalem</span></st1:city> and all over the <st1:place st="on"><span class="yshortcuts">West Bank</span></st1:place><span class="yshortcuts">,</span> you can “see” these cultural codes. Many people are living in basic survival conditions just to stay alive. Others have bonded in tribes, families, and ethnic origins, full of relics and rituals to stay in contact with their ancestral histories. You can detect quickly the code of the Warrior, as expressed in gangs and power-driven empires scattered everywhere, ready to fight.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">Then there are True Believers of many different stripes and hues, especially visible around religious and nationalistic cores, willing to die for their cause and sometimes demanding that you do so as well. They often attack and demonize each other in the name of their religious brand and respective deities. At the same time, Materialists, seeking the good life here and now, are abundant in <st1:place st="on"><st1:country-region st="on"><span class="yshortcuts">Israel</span></st1:country-region></st1:place><span class="yshortcuts">;</span> and the number is growing, especially in young Palestinians. They carry <span class="yshortcuts">cell phones</span>, are constantly on the Internet, and have no interest in fighting historic battles.<o:p> </o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And you will also find a growing number who embrace a humanistic perspective that transcends ethnic or religious categories, and who are the strongest advocates for peace and understanding.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">These are the differences that express competitive political views in the elections, or cluster around specific leadership styles, or have totally contrasting perspectives on where boundary lines should be drawn, and who should control what.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Second, all of the resources and stakeholders need to be focused like laser beams on steps to be taken to build a new state.<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">There are 4,000 NGOs in <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:city> alone. Efforts are ad hoc, piecemeal, fragmented, vulnerable to corruption, and inevitably competitive. We propose the creation of a Center for Integration that will mesh, align, and synergize all of the resources to focus them like laser beams on the steps and stages of emergence, utilizing the concepts of our <i>Natural Design</i> framework. With the promise of billions of dollars to flow into the <st1:place st="on"><st1:placename st="on">Palestinian</st1:placename> <st1:placetype st="on">Territories</st1:placetype></st1:place>, it is essential that those resources be managed and distributed in a systemic fashion. The social infrastructures that are being developed in the minds and cultures of the people need to be optimized to prepare Palestinians for the new job opportunities, and fresh access to resources, that are ready to emerge. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">By using <i>Natural Design</i> principles and processes, we believe we can assist the New Palestine to be brought to life by offering Palestinians healthy ways to take charge of their own future. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><b>Third, a future vision should lift everyone from the paralysis of the past, one that creates “The Hong Kong of the <st1:place st="on">Middle East</st1:place>.”<o:p></o:p></b></p><p class="MsoNormal">The future must play a more important role than the past in shaping the present. The only way to persuade people to dissolve frozen positions, or stop hiding behind rigid beliefs, is to offer something that is so attractive and so promising that it raises hope releases a spirit of collaboration, rather than confrontation. We have raised these prospects with a number of Palestinians, and the responses have been most positive. Mustapha, a young promising Fatah leader, told us “I want us to build exceptional Palestinian Universities that will attract students from every Arab country.” Exposure to the principles and tools of <i>Natural Design</i> helped to create this response. They had to become Visionaries. Now they will launch a campaign with the slogan “No Politics, No Religion… Only Computers.”<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">We believe this future vision is now possible in both <st1:country-region st="on">Israel</st1:country-region> and <st1:city st="on"><st1:place st="on">Palestine</st1:place></st1:city>. It will take patience and good will, with the collective actions and technological knowledge of people from all sides to propel this vision into reality.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal">And, the rest of the world can wish for their children and grandchildren a better world as well as help and encourage their vision, because what happens in that cradle of the world’s religions impacts us all.<o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p></o:p>We have had the <i>Dogs of War</i>, and the <i>Doves of Peace</i>. Welcome now the <i>Visionaries of</i> <i>the Future</i>. President Bush needs to find these <i>Visionaries</i> and lift up their hands and hearts.<o:p><br /></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal" style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Don Edward Beck, Ph.D.<o:p></o:p><br />Founder, Global Center for Human Emergence. <o:p></o:p></p><p class="MsoNormal"><o:p style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></o:p><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">Elza Maalouf</span><o:p style="FONT-STYLE: italic"></o:p><br /><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">President of the Center for Human Emergence, </span><st1:place style="FONT-STYLE: italic" st="on">Middle East</st1:place><span style="FONT-STYLE: italic">.</span> <o:p></o:p></p><span style="font-family:';font-size:12;"></span></span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-35026475127233579482007-10-12T21:44:00.000-07:002008-01-05T21:34:31.826-08:00A Close-Up of Syrian Culture: an Integral Perspective<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Governor_Elza-Maalouf_Bettina_Anna-773672.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 120px; height: 107px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Governor_Elza-Maalouf_Bettina_Anna-773672.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>I just came back from a trip to Syria where I had a closer view of the vMemetic (Value-systems) structure of Syrian society. Consulting on a project with the EU, in Bosra-Syria, I was privileged to have access to a cross-section of the Syrian society, and have a closer look at what is really emerging in a culture that remains perplexing to most Westerners...<span class="fullpost"><br /><p align="left"><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Integral Perspective on Syria<br /><br /></span></strong>As the Arab world becomes less and less relevant to the political decision making process on the international scene, Syria is constantly positioning itself as the Arab country that holds a “semblance of power” and a well crafted role in balancing influence in the region.<br /><br />The major powers in the Middle East region are not Arabs at this point; Iran, Israel and Turkey are the countries that matter most to the Middle East Quartet. I am bewildered every time I read about the Quartet meeting to discuss the future of Arab related issues (Iraq, Palestine…) without Arab partners present as an integral part of the Quartet or the Quintet if need be…<br /><br />In the midst of such Arab political irrelevance, what kind of power does Syria hold? That is questionable…Syria’s notorious influence in Lebanon and Iraq and its alliance with Iran, Hamas, Hezbollah and the Sunni Baathist in Iraq, enables it to guarantee a seat at any negotiation table about the future of the region.<br /><br />Of course Syria has its own share of internal and external political and economic problems: facing political alienations from its former Arab allies, the loss of a major source of income from highly lucrative deals done through Lebanese individuals and institutions, a growing influence to the opposition inside Syria and a well organized opposition in the West threatening to overthrow the current regime. All this is further exacerbated by the influx of refugees from Iraq. Their impact on the country’s social and economic fabric have stressed Syria’s resources with very little help coming from outside.<br /><br /><strong>Integral Perspective</strong>.To look at Syria from a flatland/linear perspective, we can only repeat what the world media is voicing about this country, and most of it is true. However, the integral framework helps us use multi-coloured lenses to assess the deeper issues and successes of a country that co-led the Arab Nationalist movement, fought wars with Israel, and occupied Lebanon for more than 30 years. All that while improving its educational system, introducing technology and innovation, and opening its tourism doors to the rest of the world.<br /><br />Strategic Alliances: it is said that Syria’s alliance with Iran is a marriage of convenience. I am not so sure about that. Iran subsidizes almost $1 Billion worth of oil to Syria. Iranian engineers helped Syrians start their first car manufacturing plant. Soon Syrians will be driving a Syrian made car, leading the Arab world in a new revolution, the kind of technological revolution needed in every Arab country. Iranian tourists flock to Syria to visit sacred Shiite sites as well as to enjoy its beaches and mountains. European Union NGOs (Non Governmental Organizations) are financing various development projects in municipalities all over Syria, and contributing money and expertise to the success of cultural and educational projects. Bi-lateral relations between Syria and China expanded to having Syria as a tourist destination to Chinese. Kuwait and Dubai pledged to boost tourism and financial ties with Syria.<br /><br />Internally, Bashar Al-Assad is hailed by young people as the modernizer of Syria. The Syrians see that their leader is taking half-steps –undeniably solid ones- towards a better future. He introduced information technology to all the ministries and schools in Syria, imposed mandatory education to eliminate illiteracy, and attracted foreign investments to the country. The Syrians in general are very patriotic, be it they admire Assad or despise him, they have a love and pride of their country that is to be admired.<br /><br />I am not trying to draw a rosy picture of a dictatorial regime that oppresses political freedom, and controls the media. However, the Syrian cultural value-systems are threads of the cultural fabric in the region. Tribal and neighbourhood loyalties surpass national loyalties and duties. In many Arab cultures, when voting for a mayor or a member of parliament, family and tribal bonds take priority -in many cases- over the aptitude and eligibility of the candidate.<br /><br />Spiral Dynamics integral framework advocates a stratified approach to ruling countries and the concept of democracy. Instead of a one size fits all style of governing, Dr. Don Beck writes: </p><blockquote>“<em>Democracy or “rule by the people” can take many different forms and expressions. These are influenced by the natural habitat, the patterns of genetic and memetic migration, the unique set of life conditions, the impact of wild cards, the mesh of people and cultures, and the quality of leadership in all aspects of society itself.<br />These Systems and Structures emerge in response to the unique set of problems of existence in each society. Movement may occur in the direction of greater<br />complexity or less; there is no ideal or universal form; attempts to impose the model from one set of circumstances onto others are futile.”</em><br /></blockquote><br /><p align="center"><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Stratified-Democracy-774491.gif"><img style="" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Stratified-Democracy-773017.gif" border="0" /></a></p><p align="left"><br />In Syria’s case, applying a Western style democracy would have a disastrous effect. We see what happened in Iraq when the ‘coalition’ forces tried to bring such style of democracy. The next step for Syria can be stronger governmental institutions devoid of corruption, and the rule of law where every citizen is equal under the law. Tribal centred societies (Purple), tend to have “Power Gods” (Red) leaders whose leadership style is based on intimidation, force and coercion. To move the rule to the hands of institutions (Blue) will be an appropriate next step.<br /><br />When an unchallenged super-power like the United States, represented by the current Bush-Cheney administration, decides what are the next steps in dealing with Syria, it behoves them to re-assess the Iraqi experience through a Stratified model for democracy and prevent another collapse of a major power in the region.<br /><br />A closer look at the different models that could emerge in the Middle East region, will be discussed in greater detail in future articles.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);"><em>If you would like to send in your comments or questions on Syria, we will be publishing a Q&A in an upcoming Blog.</em></span> </p><p align="left">You can read about the Integral work we did in Syria with the EU-project SHAMS in Bosra-Syria here <a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/meshworks-syria.php">http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/meshworks-syria.php</a></p><p align="left"><a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/meshworks-syria.php"></a></p></span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com17tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-41834080056437536242007-10-02T12:58:00.000-07:002008-01-05T21:46:26.111-08:00A New Approach to "Giving" and Philanthropy<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/stitched-earth-721880.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 116px; height: 86px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/stitched-earth-721880.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a><span style="font-style: italic;">Dr. Don Beck wrote a timely piece about the different types of Philanthropic foundations with a specific focus on the newly emerging form called "MeshWORKS."</span><span class="fullpost"><p style="font-style: italic;">Beck says: "Different foundations exist for different reasons, and serve multiple purposes for the people who create them, the folks who manage them, and the populations and causes they were designed to serve. Historically, foundations can be grouped into six overlapping categories. Each category has a different core motivation and priority for existence, with different reasons that “matter most."</p><p><strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">The Meshworks Foundation: A New Approach to Philanthropy<br /><br /></span></strong><em>"Giving: How each of us can change the world,"</em> is the highly acclaimed book written by Bill Clinton. The description of the book on Amazon.com says "Clinton shares his own experiences and those of other givers, representing a global flood tide of nongovernmental, nonprofit activity. These remarkable stories demonstrate that gifts of time, skills, things, and ideas are as important and effective as contributions of money. From Bill and Melinda Gates to a six-year-old California girl named McKenzie Steiner, who organized and supervised drives to clean up the beach in her community, Clinton introduces us to both well-known and unknown heroes of giving."<br /><br />The Fall 2007 issue of Stanford's <em>Social Innovation Review</em>, names the 12 high-impact Nonprofits and the secret of their successes: enlisting and inspiring partners outside of their organizations, rather on focusing on strengthening their internal operations.<br /><br />Everywhere you look these days, it seems that philanthropy and giving are becoming a theme in our cultural value-systems. The most talked about 'giving' in 2006, was Warren Buffet's sizable donation to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. And of course the generous giving that happened after the Tsunami in South Asia and Katrina.<br /><br />For many entrepreneurs who made their fortune during the boom of the last decade, the new consumerism is evolving into social entrepreneurship. People who made a a fortune, large or small, and instead of buying more stocks, more yachts and more stuff, they now want to 'buy' and invest in a service that can help others in their neighborhood and all over the world. Many businessmen and women have started their own personal foundations that send money to Darfur, Peru and Nigeria or to programs in local schools and local non-profits. Large corporations have their charitable funds, and some are trying to be directly involved in the projects they are funding.<br /><br />Dr. Don Beck wrote a timely piece about the different types of Philanthropic foundations with a specific focus on the newly emerging form called "MeshWORKS."<br /><br />Beck says: "Different foundations exist for different reasons, and serve multiple purposes for the people who create them, the folks who manage them, and the populations and causes they were designed to serve. Historically, foundations can be grouped into six overlapping categories. Each category has a different core motivation and priority for existence, with different reasons that “matter most."<br /><br />In the Seventh emerging category of Foundations, Dr. Beck talks about the "Third Win Purpose" ... "a foundation that possesses an uncanny ability to morph itself to find rapport, identify with, and shape itself to connect with a number of different organizations, interest groups, political groupings,and professional societies..."<br /><br />To read the full description of the emerging foundation please click here:<br /><br /><a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/meshworks-foundation-philanthropy.html">http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/meshworks-foundation-philanthropy.html</a> </p></span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-60426043321546444732007-08-05T19:40:00.000-07:002008-01-05T21:49:22.362-08:00From Syria To Singapore: Our Center's Activities for July<a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/WomenPeace_ElzaMaalouf-751019.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 145px; height: 102px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/WomenPeace_ElzaMaalouf-751019.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>Dr. Beck and I had a busy schedule in July. While Dr Beck's presentations and meetings in many countries had a wider scope and focus on Global Change " From Clash to Confluence of Civilizations," with an emphasis on the most pressing issue of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict and the model we are co-designing with our Palestinian partners for <em>Build Palestine Initiative</em>. My presentations and meetings focused on the Emergence of Arab women and their vital role in solving Middle East problems, as well as the role of the affluent Arab community in London, and a starting project with the European Union in Syria.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br /><strong><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);">Dr. Beck's Presentations/Meetings:</span><br /></strong><br />July 9<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_0">th</span> in <strong>Aspen, Colorado</strong>: <em>"Beliefs, Cultures and Values:How Spiral Dynamics Transforms Conflict and Finds Innovative Solutions in a Split World."</em> Dr Beck presented to a well informed crowd after attending the Festival of Ideas at the Aspen Institute. He was invited back to Aspen and to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_1">speak</span> at the Aspen <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_2">Institute's</span> Festival of Ideas next year. The integral group in Aspen set up brief meetings for Dr. Beck with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman and many US leaders and world renowned <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_3">philanthropists</span>. They all showed great interest in the work we are doing in Palestine and in the fresh approach that the Spiral Dynamics' framework can offer to solving the Middle East conundrum.<br /><br />July 15<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_4">th</span> in <strong>Toronto, Canada</strong>: <em>"Spiral Dynamics integral Application to Global Organizations."</em> Dr Beck met with business leaders in Toronto after the workshop and discussed with them Social Entrepreneurship. They expressed their genuine interest in supporting our Middle East initiatives.<br /><br />July 17<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_5">th</span> in <strong>Singapore</strong>: Dr. Beck was invited by top leaders in the Government of Singapore to present his model and help with the design of an integral center to study the Singapore culture.<br /><br />July 29-31 st in Minneapolis-<strong>Annual World Future Society Conference</strong>. <em>"A Spiral Dynamics Perspective on Global Integration and Human Emergence."</em><br /><em></em><br />August 1st <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_6">Ashland</span>-Oregon<em>, with <strong>Dr Jean Houston: Social Artistry Summer Leadership Institute</strong></em><br /><div><div><div></div><div><br /><p><span style="color: rgb(51, 102, 255);"><strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_7">Elza</span> <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_8">Maalouf's</span> Presentations/Meetings:</strong></span><br /></p><p>July 14<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_9">th</span>, Dallas: <strong>Third International Women Peace Conference: Empowering Peacemakers</strong>. <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/WomenPeace_ElzaMaalouf-751708.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 0px 10px 10px; float: right; width: 318px; height: 228px;" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/WomenPeace_ElzaMaalouf-751019.jpg" border="0" height="239" width="319" /></a></p><p><em>"<strong>Emergence of Arab Women in the Age of Fragmentation"</strong></em> In this international conference many Nobel Peace Laureates spoke about active peacemaking. Our presentation was attended by women from various backgrounds and cultures: Leaders from the Muslim communities in the US, from Africa, from different countries in the Middle East and peacemakers from all over the world. Dr. Hind <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_10">Jarah</span>, president of Texas Muslim Women Foundation, gave us the most touching feedback saying "Thank you. You spoke about us with dignity and a rare clarity that was missed in this conference. Most speakers tiptoed around the subject of Islam and the Arab world, but did not address it." She added that that Spiral Dynamics integral gave a framework that respects the sensitivities in cultures while addressing the deeper issues beneath the surface beyond the "us and them" polarization. While many American women were well informed about Islam and the Arab world, and agreed that the issues the Middle East and the West are facing are not about religion, or ethnicity; some in the audience asked basic questions about why Muslim and Arab women wear the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_11">hijab</span>. My answer to them was that " we come in all shapes and dress in all kinds of <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_12">garments</span>. What matters is our value-systems and what we can offer to our culture and to the world." And I had to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_13">repeat</span> what a friend from the United Arab Emirates told me to convey to the West, saying "This is not a <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_14">hijab</span> over our Brain, it is just what we wear. We are educators, business women, doctors and mothers trying our best to provide a better world for our children." </p><p>July 17-23rd <strong>London: Meetings with Leaders from the Arab Community in London</strong> where I presented the application of the <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_15">SDi</span> framework in Palestine and in Kuwait. They were all fascinated by this 'fresh approach' and wanted to know more about the theory and its application. More meetings and a fundraiser for our projects in <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_16">the</span> Middle East are scheduled for October as well as a presentation at <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_17">SOAS</span> (School of Oriental and African Studies).<br /></p><p><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Syria_Elza-Maalouf_KassemKhalil-724219.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px 10px 10px 0px; float: left;" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Syria_Elza-Maalouf_KassemKhalil-723676.jpg" border="0" /></a>July 23-27<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_18">th</span> <strong><span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_19">Bosra</span>-Syria : a Partnership with the EU on a project in <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_20">Bosra</span>-Syria.</strong> The EU is sponsoring sustainability and development projects of many municipalities in Syria. The representative of the Municipalities of Rome and <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_21">Belgium</span> asked me to co-lead with them training and town meetings to further their projects with their Syrian partners in the city of <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_22">Bosra</span>. <em><span style="color: rgb(102, 51, 255);">A more detailed account of the project and an assessment of the value-systems in Syria will be posted soon on the MeshWORKS in Syria page.</span></em></p><br /><br /><br /><p>July 28<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_23">th</span> <strong>Kuwait: Integral Leadership and Application of Spiral Dynamics integral in Business</strong>.</p><br /><br /><p>July 29<span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_24">th</span> <strong>London: Meeting with Young Arab Leaders</strong> to plan and fund a 10 day <span class="blsp-spelling-error" id="SPELLING_ERROR_25">SDi</span> and Natural Design training for young leaders from Kuwait, Jordan, Iraq, Syria, Palestine and Lebanon.</p><p><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">Sign up to our Newsletter to <span class="blsp-spelling-corrected" id="SPELLING_ERROR_26">receive</span> updates.</span></p></div></div></div></span>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-34646454223708832192007-07-03T09:50:00.001-07:002008-01-05T21:51:19.013-08:00United Nations Presentation Met With Great Success...<strong><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 153);">Dr Beck Designs A United Nations Global Action Plan for Human Emergence & Elza Maalouf presents a Model for Palestine 21<br /><br /></span></strong><a onblur="try {parent.deselectBloggerImageGracefully();} catch(e) {}" href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/UN2-745707.jpg"><img style="margin: 0pt 10px 10px 0pt; float: left; cursor: pointer; width: 200px;" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/UN2-745707.jpg" alt="" border="0" /></a>On June 21st, 2007, Dr. Beck and I spoke at the Values-Caucus at the United Nations to a standing room only conference hall. Representatives of various Arab, African and Western missions, NGOs and UN agencies employees, nodded their heads in agreement with the emphasis that we put on the deeper reasons for conflict and poverty, and the deeper value-systems codes that produce such “us” vs. “them” polarities. Rather than the surface manifestation of clash between religions, ethnicity, races and nationalities, we showed how the integral framework examines the deeper cultural forces and tracks dynamic perceptual processes that detect deep underlying mindsets and motives.<span class="fullpost"><br /><br />Dr. Beck revealed--for the first time--his integral design strategy to support the UN’s Global work, offering a Five Fold Strategy that can systematically further the UN’s role in the emergence of cultures and nations in the world. With more than 30 years of scientific research and field testing his framework on all five continents to deflate conflicts and support development, Dr. Beck uncovered, what he calls, the master code that has the complexity to manage in a polylateral environment. The UN being one of the major bodies in the world, now, that needs to further its involvement in culturally complex environments to become a strong catalyst for change. Dr. Beck explained in his presentation that “the Master code has to accommodate bands, clans, tribes, empires, nations-cultures, enterprises, geo-tribes, and a host of other value-systems and memetic priorities. Likewise, it simply must mesh in the new knowledge on change and transformation that is seriously lacking in all other developmental models.”<br /><div align="left"><br />A brief outline of The Five Fold Strategy for the United Nations Global Emergence Plan: </div><p align="right"><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/UN-blog2-786833.jpg"><img style="" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/UN-blog2-786831.jpg" border="0" /></a><em></em></p><p align="right"><em>Strategy 1-</em> Uncover the models and processes for Global emergence through steps, stages, waves and sequence of development<br /><em>Strategy 2-</em>Create the measuring monitoring research technology to detect the global vMemetic contours and early warning signs of danger<br /><em>Strategy 3-</em> Construct scaffolding of solutions that address the needs, wants and aspirations of people in different vMemetic zones<br /><em>Strategy 4-</em> Onto this vast amount of data, overlay an understanding of the dynamics of change in its many dimensions<br /><em>Strategy 5-</em> Design a macro-strategy for introducing superordinate goals into leadership structures and decision-making domains around the planet<br /></p><p align="left">After Dr. Beck presented his comprehensive, large-scale design, we proceeded to show how we are practically applying this design to the Israeli/Palestinian conflict. For the last 2 years we have been working with Palestinians especially, to construct a scaffolding of solutions that are tailored to the various value-systems in Palestinian culture. We are working with leaders from different sectors of Palestinian society, especially young men and women who have demonstrated a great ability to lead change. We are designing the vision for Fatah 21, or 21st century Fatah, with leaders from the Third Generation of Fatah. A vision that will not only unite Fatah around shared values and goals, but also unite the Palestinian people around the most important superordinate goal- a successful Palestinian State. From Fatah 21 to Palestine 21 ... <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Don-Elza-Pales-UN-744428.jpg"><img style="" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Don-Elza-Pales-UN-744420.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><br />Frances Edwards, a board member of the Values-Caucus at the UN, who coordinated this presentation with United Nations personnel, is now following up with many ambassadors, missions and NGOs who showed interest in the approach, including the Syrian ambassador and the Netherlands, Kuwaiti and Peruvian missions. Frances' unwavering support and active involvement with our work is a testimony to the UN's openness to fresh approaches towards resolving world problems. The Values-Caucus at the UN, established in 1994 and under the leadership of Carl Murell, introduced to all bodies of the UN the distinctive need for stratified solutions based on value-systems in cultures, instead of the one-solution fits all models.<br /><br />The next steps for our work with the United Nations will include major trainings on the Spiral Dynamics integral model and application as well as presentations to different boards, commissions, and councils on specific solution-design to enable confluence and emergence.</span> </p>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-69680343383149561762007-06-20T08:24:00.000-07:002008-02-10T15:33:34.057-08:00Guest Blog: By Maysa Gayyusi-Palestine Integral Committee-Ramallah<script>is_readmore=false;</script><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/UNRWA-095-06-764734.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/UNRWA-095-06-764691.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><div><div><span style="font-size:130%;color:#000099;"><strong> <span style="font-family:verdana;"> “I am burning inside and Gaza is burning outside”</span></strong></span></div><br /><div>Ula, my friend in Gaza, is now a terrified mother of three, hiding at her parent’s house and hovering over her children to protect them from harm. When I talked to her two days ago, her voice was trembling from shock and disbelief of what was happening in her hometown. With things going out of hand in Gaza, she found no one around to complain to, so she called me to share her despair and an almost primal fear for her kid’s life. For the first time since I have known Ula, she sounded hysterical and confused. “Maysa, I really don’t know what to do or where to go… When I cry I raise my eyes to the sky, it’s the only place where I can look and see no death or blood.” She said sobbingly on the phone. “ brothers are killing their brothers, Muslims are killing Muslims...in the name of what??”<br /><br />As a Palestinian I am feeling angry and appalled by what is happening in Gaza. This fighting and so-called “coup d’etat” is a self-inflicted set back to our Palestinian cause. Regardless of any strategic trap or conspiracy staged by any superpower or regional power. We took the bait...<br /><br />“My children are no longer the same” continued Ula, “My seven year old asked me, Mommy, are you Fatah or Hamas. I turned my face to hide the tears. I am raising my children to become good Palestinians, engineers, entrepreneurs, physicist…and the aggression is raising them to become fighters and hostile.” She continued saying “Maysa, I am confused, my husband is unemployed. And we have a family to support. they are going to cut the supplies of fuel and water. It is going to be the end of the world for me and my children”<br /><br />A sense of helplessness came over me as I was listening to her words, and my heart was bleeding. Sitting in Jerusalem I really was not able to even comfort her terrified emotions. I just listened.<br />Yesterday, Ula and her family were forced out of their house and had to flee to her parents’ house in the midst of fighting. This was not an option for them due to the fact that her house is near the president’s compound. “we were forced by a gun to my husband’s head to leave the house; I never imagined that one day I will be kicked out of my house by another Palestinian.”.<br /><br />Before she hang up the phone she whispered to me “Maysa, I am burning inside and Gaza is Burning outside”<br /><br /><em>Maysa Gayyusi<br />UNRWA Advisor and a Freelance writer for Palestine Times. </em><br /></div><div><em>to contact Maysa: </em><a href="mailto:M.GAYYUSI@unrwa.org"><em>M.GAYYUSI@unrwa.org</em></a><em> </em></div></div></div>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com728tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-14222112515540508732007-06-14T11:33:00.000-07:002007-06-17T09:04:16.830-07:00Fatah 21: A Crucial Plan at A Crucial Momement<div align="left"><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Nafiz_DrBeck_Fatah-700371.jpg"><img style="margin: 0px auto 10px; display: block; width: 334px; height: 241px; text-align: center;" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Nafiz_DrBeck_Fatah-700366.jpg" border="0" height="250" width="340" /></a><span style="color: rgb(102, 0, 204);font-family:verdana;" > Integral Plan to help Fatah lead the Palestinians towards a SuperOrdinate Vision ...With president Abbas dissolving the Unity Government today.</span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;"></span><br /><span style="font-family:verdana;">...The Arab and International Community want to see Fatah lead the Palestinians towards a lasting peace</span><br /><br />Never before has Fatah needed a comprehensive plan to effectively lead the Palestinians than NOW. Today President Mahmoud Abbas, used the power granted to the president under the Palestinian constitution, to dissolve the government of Hamas Prime Minister Haniyeh and annouced Emergency Laws in the PNA Territories. President Abbas consulted with his Fatah Executive Committee yesterday and made this tipping point decision today.<br /><br />"Fatah 21"<br /><br />Since May 14th , Dr Beck and I have been working together with Fatah executive Committee members on a Integrally designed plan for the much needed transformation of Fatah Movement. Dr Beck said that they cannot afford to only pursue reform plans in the movement at this point-it has to Transform. the culture is fragmented with different loyalties and a lack of common goal and shared values. The Vision of Fatah 21, is a vision for Palestine and Palestinians not just for the members of Fatah.<br /><br />We will introduce the Fatah 21 project at the UN on June 21st.<br /><br /><span style="color: rgb(51, 51, 255);">(click for more info on the <a href="http://www.humanemergencemiddleeast.org/united-nations-spiral-dynamics-presentation.php">United Nations presentation</a>)</span><br /></div>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com10tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-29928200270236930742007-06-13T23:39:00.000-07:002007-06-14T00:05:14.540-07:00No Politics, No Religion…Only Computers!<span style="color:#333399;"><strong>...<em>Innovation Networking</em> Group in Palestine a la</strong> <em>Apple</em></span><strong><span style="color:#000099;"><span style="color:#333399;"> style, led by a CHE-ME leading member in the West Bank</span>.</span> </strong><strong><br /><br /></strong><strong></strong><div align="left"><em><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span></em></div><div align="left"><em><span style="color:#3333ff;"></span></em></div><div align="left"><em><span style="color:#3333ff;">“You can never change things by fighting the existing reality. </span></em><em><span style="color:#3333ff;">To change something, build a new model that <a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Nafiz-pic-797005.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; WIDTH: 243px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 300px" height="305" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Nafiz-pic-796991.jpg" width="250" border="0" /></a>makes the existing model obsolete.”<br />~ R. Buckminster Fuller </span></em><em><span style="color:#3333ff;"><br /></div></span></em><div align="left">A slogan launched by 90 Palestinian Young men and women led by their mentor Nafiz Rifai on June 10, 2007 in the West Bank. Nafiz, the co-founder of the Build Palestine Initiative and an active member of the CHE-Middle East, led the group of young Palestinian through an unfolding process of self-discovery, and together “we revealed the goals and aspirations of these fearless Palestinians” he said.<br /><br />These 90 college graduates and students were discussing the lack of opportunities in the Palestinian Territories and the hundred and one reason to feel depressed and down. Nafiz tried to help them to focus on seeing an opportunity in the current situation to elevate the mindsets to a place were the focus is on strategic thinking, and where they can hold a vision of hope and happiness.<br /><br />One of the young men listened carefully and took Nafiz aside and said “when you live in a place were all doors are closed; you are not allowed to fall in love, have a job, dream of a better future, and someone comes in and tells you about a Better place in heaven where you can be happy…which one do you choose?” Nafiz, being the wise leader he is, validated the young man’s feelings and shifted the focus on “what could be done.” The room became an “Innovation Networking room” where each attendee came up with two or three ideas for technology training and job insourcing for Palestine.<br /><br />Innovation Networking at <em>Apple’s</em> remote offices helped launch the iPod and many of the innovative software used by apple computers. This Palestinian Innovation Networking group of young people can have a tipping point effect when they initiate the work of their “Computers Only” campaign.<br /><br />They asked us to help design the project and apply the principles of Integral Natural Design pioneered by Dr Beck in South Africa. They suggested the following ideas:<br /><br />To prepare themselves for Global jobs and make it attractive for international companies to outsource their skills<br />To ask Microsoft and Dell for equipment and training workshops from these company’s experts<br />To set up a Technology center in the West Bank that promises to teach every high school student much needed computer skills<br />To help the whole society focus on 21st century skills and shy away from empty political talk and from manipulating the purity of religion to attack others<br /><br />The 90 bright men and women promised to become 1000 Palestinian at the launching of the project and 5000 technology-driven Palestinians a year after that. They will contribute $1 each a month to support their younger compatriots to acquire computer skills. They are planning on turning this project into a 100% Palestinian financed project a year after the launching.<br /><br />A meeting that happened around the 40th anniversary of the Nakba, a sad day for Palestine, promises to launch a campaign that will turn a sad memory into a technological phoenix rising. </div>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-62519542486262318612007-06-07T22:56:00.000-07:002007-06-08T00:01:45.902-07:00Meeting With Palestinian Ministers and Dignitaries<div><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Barghouti_DonBeck_ElzaMaalouf-790904.jpg"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; WIDTH: 319px; CURSOR: hand; HEIGHT: 240px; TEXT-ALIGN: center" height="263" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Barghouti_DonBeck_ElzaMaalouf-790879.jpg" width="329" border="0" /></a> Working on the transition from Apartheid in South Africa, Dr Beck's integral design strategy for the peaceful transformation of SA involved decision makers in the country, especially Nelson Mandela and De Clerk as well as the business community and South Africans from all walks of life who believed in a comprehensive solution to that deep rooted problem.</div><br /><div>Our work in Palestine presents a similar comprehensive approach that is having the approval of decision makers in the government as well as Palestinian community and business leaders.</div><br /><div>In a meeting with <strong>Information Minister</strong> Moustafa Barghouti , the Minister shared with us the struggles that his ministry is facing trying to keep the Palestinian struggle on the forefront of the world events with a budget of $40,000/year which is equal to a one hour budget for any media outlet in the US. Despite the scarcity of funds, Dr. Barghouti is a resilient and optimistic person who is presenting the message of the Unity Government to the world with such competence, command and passion. He was very interested in Dr Beck's proposal and asked us to help attract international media experts/volunteers to support the ministry's task.<br /><br /></div><div><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Don_Minister-Hamas_Elza-743991.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: left; MARGIN: 0px 10px 10px 0px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Don_Minister-Hamas_Elza-743987.jpg" border="0" /></a>Our meeting with the <strong>Planning Minister</strong>, Prof. Sameer Abu Eisheh, covered the use of GIS systems already used by the Ministry to support the new technology of Vital Signs Monitors(VSM). The VSM technology is based on Dr Beck's theory and designed to track the critical indicators in cultures. Consider an operations-type room, with floor to ceiling video screens, where the critical indicators are displayed and overlaid on top of each other. Such a Monitor can search for the deepest trends, major value-systems conflicts in the making, serious sink-holes in development projects, and the general health and well-being of the culture. This technology was pioneered by Dr Beck's partners, the Arlington Institute, in Singapor sponsored by the Singapor government. Dr Beck and I will be working with the Ministry on a proposal to design the project and implement it in the West Bank. </div><br /><div></div><a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Hussain-El-sheikh-Don_Elza-783216.jpg"><img style="FLOAT: right; MARGIN: 0px 0px 10px 10px; CURSOR: hand" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/Hussain-El-sheikh-Don_Elza-783212.jpg" border="0" /></a><br /><div><strong>Mr Hussain El-Sheikh</strong> who was appointed recently by President Abbas as the head of the Leadership Committee for the districts asked us to devise a plan that will support a transformational aspirations of this committee. Nafiz Rifaee and Abdel Majeed Suwati who have been working with us for more than 2 years, will introduce the conceptual model to the Leadership Committee. They are already working with young leaders in Al-Khalil, Bethlehem and Ramallah on Integral projects. We will link to their new website soon.</div><br /><div></div><div></div>Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-246240260139215154.post-29634861528905661262007-05-29T17:30:00.000-07:002007-10-02T12:20:46.679-07:00Opportunity to Sponsor: Hi-Tech Training at Bethlehem University<a href="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/MunirTraining-BU-762435.JPG"><img style="DISPLAY: block; MARGIN: 0px auto 10px; CURSOR: hand; TEXT-ALIGN: center" alt="" src="http://humanemergencemiddleeast.org/build-palestine-blog/uploaded_images/MunirTraining-BU-762424.JPG" border="0" /></a> Munir Bannoura, a Palestinian-American senior Engineer at Freescale Semiconductor Inc., (Formely part of Motorola), offered a 3 day training seminar to students who are about to graduate in computer science. "The students, young men and women were eager to learn the latest advances in hi-tech and they demonstrated knowledge and capability during these 3 days," said Munir.<br /><br />This training is part of a larger project that Munir is coordinating with Bethlehem University.<br /><br />Through his company Munir has offered Bethlehem University a set of evaluation kits based on Freescale's microcontrollers to provide professors the ability to develop hands-on lab experiments and teach students the cutting edge technology.<br /><br />Munir and I met with the president of Bethlehem University, Father Daniel Casey, to discuss the potential of creating a Masters degree program in engineering, specifically dealing with semiconductor technology to prepare engineers that can be hired by foreign companies who are looking to outsource such jobs. Father Casey, being someone who understands the need for 21st century advances in Palestine, gave his unwavering support to the program and asked Munir to start the process with the Dean of the College of Computer Sciences.<br /><br />This project is an integral part of the Build Palestine Initiative. It represents the kind of efforts that are conducive to building capacities in Palestinians to equip them to handle the challenges of the 21st century markets.<br /><br /><strong><span style="color:#6666cc;">However, building capacities is not enough without providing young men and women with the appropriate jobs that will allow them to excell, as well as to make a decent living and increase their chances to be a vital part of the decision making process for the future of Palestine</span>.<br /></strong><br />For sponsors who are interested in sponsoring the Masters Degree program or the business activities associated with this project, we will be posting details about it on our sponsorship page.Elza S. Maaloufhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/16381858166161064251noreply@blogger.com1