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Promoting peace education in Jerusalem: a pilot residential seminar

Two weeks in Jerusalem, planned for February 2027, for twenty international participants: the first stage of a wider project, based at the Institute, to promote peace education in a place that stands for the armed conflicts of today’s world.

on the Aegean sea
on the Aegean seaPhoto: pdl

Provisional: the dates, the teachers and the programme may still change, and will be confirmed on this page.

At a glance

  • Directors: Prof. Maurizio Ambrosini; Fr David Neuhaus, S.J.; Fr Pino Di Luccio, S.J.
  • Length and dates: two weeks, planned for February 2027 (to be confirmed).
  • For: 20 international participants, in particular students and doctoral candidates in the social and educational sciences, members of NGOs working in the field, and men and women religious.
  • Board and lodging: provided by the Pontifical Biblical Institute, Jerusalem.
  • Languages: English (and Italian where useful).
  • Teachers: preferably rooted in the local context, with earlier experience of working with the Institute or other educational institutions of the region.
  • Enquiries: through the page Apply / enquire.

Contents

  • Introduction: the promotion of peace in the light of the Bible
  • The roots and present dynamics of the Israeli–Palestinian conflict
  • The origins, forms and trends of armed conflict in today’s world
  • Policies of disarmament and of reconciliation between the parties
  • Experiences and models of mediation and peacemaking in situations of conflict
  • The role of the religions, and interreligious and intercultural dialogue as an instrument of peace
  • Welcoming, protecting and integrating refugees from war
  • The sociology of hope and the promotion of peace
  • Peace education: texts, programmes, experiences
  • Meetings with witnesses of overcoming conflict and of peace education
  • Visits to initiatives in the region

The project

The seminar is the pilot of a project to promote peace education in Jerusalem, a city holy to the three monotheistic religions and for decades at the centre of a conflict. The project builds on the long experience of the Biblical Institute, which widens its aims to bringing the message of peace of the Scriptures to bear on the complex reality of today; the Pontifical Gregorian University can contribute its teachers in the relevant fields, such as interreligious dialogue. The project also seeks to work with other institutions of higher education in the region, particularly those connected with the Catholic Church.