Training Workshop: Dialogue about the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict February 4, 2007

Jewish Dialogue Group: Training Workshop for Facilitators

Do you want to help people in Jewish communities to talk across political differences in more constructive ways about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other controversial issues? The Jewish Dialogue Group is excited to announce our first facilitation training in NYC!

This workshop will provide you with an experience of participating in dialogue, a theoretical framework for thinking about dialogue, step-by-step instructions for leading dialogue programs, a comprehensive 200-page guidebook, and an opportunity to practice.

The cost is $60 to $120, sliding scale. Scholarships are available, and no one will be turned away for lack of funds. Full details are below.

Please RSVP by Monday, January 22nd. Feel free to contact us with any questions. E-mail [email protected] or call 215-266-1218.

For more info, visit www.jewishdialogue.org

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>About the Jewish Dialogue Group<

The Jewish Dialogue Group is a non-partisan, grassroots organization that came together in fall 2001 to foster constructive dialogue within Jewish communities about the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and other controversial issues. Our board members and volunteers have many different political perspectives. As an organization, we don't take positions on any issues, but focus solely on promoting dialogue.

Since fall 2001, we have facilitated more than 120 dialogue programs in synagogues, schools, and other venues around the Philadelphia area, New York, and other parts of North America. These programs are designed to help Jewish people to:

* listen to and understand one other, across political differences
* work through their feelings
* examine difficult and confusing moral and intellectual questions
* deliberate about the choices they face
* seek common ground

Some of our programs are designed just for members of particular communities, like congregants in a single synagogue, while other are open to the public. We lead both both one-time sessions and programs that involve multiple meetings over a period of weeks or months.

We also train people as facilitators, create publications to help people conduct dialogue programs of their own, and consult with people who are engaged in dialogue work.
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>Who is this training designed for?<


This training is designed both for people who want to work with the Jewish Dialogue Group as volunteer facilitators and for people who want to lead dialogues on their own.
We welcome people with all backgrounds and all levels of experience. Whether you’ve never done anything like this before or you're a professional facilitator who simply wants to learn our specific approach, we think this training will be useful to you.
You do not need to be an expert on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict in order to be an effective facilitator. You just need to be comfortable helping people to talk across political differences about this complex, emotionally charged issue.
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>What is involved in facilitating dialogue sessions as part of the Jewish Dialogue Group?<

We define “dialogue” as a conversation in which people seek to understand each other better and reflect on their own ideas, feelings, questions, and dilemmas, but don’t try to convince one another or reach a compromise or solution.

In our programs, the facilitator sets up a structure that will help the participants to have a constructive conversation, then guides the participants through their conversation. Facilitators do not share their own ideas or feelings about the issues at hand, but focus solely on serving the group.
As a facilitator, you will:

* help the participants to establish a clear purpose for the conversation and suggest communication agreements (like ground rules)
* pose questions that will help them to learn about each other’s and their own perspectives
* suggest constructive ways that they can respond to each other
* keep track of time
* remind the participants about their agreements when necessary, and help them to maintain the spirit of dialogue, even when they disagree passionately

The recently published Jewish Dialogue Group/Public Conversations Project guidebook for facilitators provides step-by-step instructions and all of the other materials that are needed to carry out these tasks. You will receive a free copy as part of the training.
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>What kind of commitment is involved in training or serving as a volunteer facilitator?<

The introductory training workshop lasts about seven hours. After this workshop, we we will invite you to assist a more experienced facilitator in leading a dialogue session. Then we will ask you to come to a short follow-up workshop.
Facilitators always work in teams, and we generally pair new facilitators with more experienced facilitators. We will start you off with whatever amount of responsibility and whichever specific tasks make sense for you. Our facilitation teams meet before each dialogue session in order to plan to workshop, and they always debrief afterwards.
As a JDG facilitator, you can volunteer for as few or as many dialogues as you’d like. Some of our facilitators help to lead dialogues as often as once per week; others facilitate only once every several months. We welcome you to get involved no matter how frequently or infrequently you will be available.
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>What does the training cover?<

The training includes five components:

1. a sample dialogue session
2. exploration of the basic principles of dialogue and facilitation
3. step-by-step instructions for leading dialogues using the Public Conversations Project's "Community Dialogue" format (visit www.publicconversations.org for more info)
4. discussion about how to prepare emotionally to facilitate
5. time to practice leading components of a dialogue session

Official Website: http://jewishdialogue.org/events.htm