Tomorrow's Women

At Tomorrow’s Women, we believe that peace cannot be realized through force. We define peace not only as an absence of violence but also as the affirmative democratic and ongoing process of creating a culture in which all people’s rights are respected equally. We are training the next generation of female leaders and peacemakers in Palestine and Israel, by teaching young women how to lead in partnership with someone they previously viewed as their enemy. We are giving young women in many fields the tools to change the future for themselves and their people, demonstrating that peace in this seemingly intractable struggle is possible.

We acknowledge that we operate in a reality of occupation, in which the balance of power between two peoples is not equal. Individuals involved with our work hold many different ideas about political solutions but share a commitment to non-violence and the conviction that peace is possible.

We reject cynicism, hopelessness, victim mentality, and other self-defeating positions that serve as barriers to action. We have faith in the integrity and power of each individual and her potential to make change as well as the collective responsibility to work towards social justice and an end to the conflict.

Women’s perspectives, experience, and voices are currently under-represented in the peace process. Following resolution 1325 of the United Nations, we dedicate our work to women, believing that they will lead the change.

THEREFORE, in our organization, we will:

-Respect the dignity of every human being and the right of all to live in peace.
-Listen with compassion to all points of view.
-Empower our young women to lead.
-Strive for the courage to speak and act on behalf of peace, equality, and justice for all.

The cornerstones of our methodology are intensive dialogue and therapeutic art. The introduction to our work is learning to speak authentically and listen compassionately. The second step is developing tools for emotional resiliency in order to maintain work for peace as long as necessary. Advanced tools include opportunities to practice leadership and peacemaking in the real world, including with our organization, and always partnering an Israeli and a Palestinian.

DIALOGUE METHODOLOGY

 Authentic speaking: we don’t blame, we don’t stereotype, we speak using “I” and from our personal experience

 Compassionate listening: we actively and deeply listen, we are open to others’ point of view, while someone is speaking we are not thinking of our rebuttal

 We do not “debate” or “negotiate”; we share our most deeply held thoughts and feelings. We come from the heart first, not the head.

 We create a safe space. Everything is confidential and remains in the dialogue room. Others’ feelings are not judged.

 We practice sharing, even when it is very painful. Everyone’s voice is important.

 Healing comes from expressing our feelings in the circle with our “enemy” and seeing that everyone cares, regardless of whether they are Israeli or Palestinian.

 Dialogue exercises are designed to promote:

o Responsible and compassionate communication skills, i.e. how do I express in a way that is honest but which
will not prevent others from hearing
o The necessity of expressing one’s truth, no matter how painful
o The need to be non-judgmental, to put aside assumptions about the “other”
o Regulation of emotions, i.e. how to express rage or pain without alienating others or hurting ourselves
o Self-care and resiliency; how to hold on to hope despite a potential lifetime of setbacks
o Leading with the other side. Identifying common goals. Exploring what it means to partner with your “enemy”
o Friendship. We have more in common with one another than differences
o Self-empowerment; developing the skills needed to take effective action

 We emphasize that girls are not responsible for the past, for political problems, for their governments. We encourage them to speak about their personal experience and feelings - what they have seen and how they felt.

 Transformation begins in dialogue and continues outside of the formal process, for instance during social activities and “down time.” Once young women know each other it is impossible to stereotype or hate. As the Quaker peace activist Gene Knudsen Hoffman has written, “An enemy is a person whose story we have not heard.”

 Dialogue is a cornerstone of all our work. It provides the foundation for the activism and social justice work we encourage. We are fostering peacemakers who are articulate, empowered, compassionate, and self-aware women.

 Our dialogue process is constantly evolving along with our participants. Each member of the staff takes responsibility for contributing equally.

1. We have a highly experienced and committed team of women in New Mexico, Israel and Palestine who consider this work a calling.

2. Our board of directors has grown incrementally. Directors work at every level to understand the complexity of the conflict and support the organization, participants, and staff. Board giving constitutes approximately 15 percent of our total income.

3. Since 2003 we have organized 21 summer programs for 300+ young women in the United States.

4. Our year-long leadership training program in Israel/Palestine has greatly expanded. In the past three years, nearly 100% of camper graduates remain committed to this work.

5. We are the only organization in the field of grassroots peacemaking in Israel/Palestine that has continuously worked across borders with women.

We have grown and become more effective at every level -- programmatically, financially, structurally. For four consecutive years we have received a good management certificate for our operations in Israel.

We are proud of recent funding from USAID for our Women Building a Politics of Peace program, which trains young Israelis and Palestinians at early stages of careers in politics to be peacemakers. We are expanding our reach, for instance teaching our proven reconciliation techniques to 20 Arab and Jewish high school girls in the municipality of Matte Asher, Israel.

Many of our young women have remained committed to our work for more than a decade, which is extraordinary given the challenges of living in war and the changes that young people experience from their teens through their late twenties.

Working in the complexity of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict presents many challenges -- financial, logistical, emotional -- over which we have no control. Our aspirations -- to train young women to make peace between their people -- are very lofty. We may not see the results for decades.