Goals Of Peace
This project's parent organization is Soccer for Peace
It operates in Israel
It uses Football (Soccer)
Entered the Sport for Conflict Resolution Award
More about Goals Of Peace
"Goals of Peace" unites children from conflicted regions in Israel and the Palestinian Authority through their shared love of soccer. The children are attracted to join the program because of the sports aspect: learning, practicing, and playing soccer. It is through these non-threatening, fun activities that they pick up essential skills such as teamwork, discipline, and patience and begin to see one another – their teammates from "the other side" – as friends instead of enemies. This transition from enemies to teammates is accompanied by dialogue activities that enable the children to discuss the conflict in a controlled setting, as well as enrichment activities (eg. visits to a mosque and synagogue) that provide participants with a glimpse of the "other side's" world.
Not only does the medium of sport bring participants together, but it enables interaction between their parents and communities. Parents who come to tournaments to cheer for their children are inevitably cheering for "the other side" as well, since the children play on mixed teams. Furthermore, our enrichment activities often include parents and siblings (eg. joint barbecues). Thus, through soccer we are able to create contact between people who would otherwise never have the opportunity to interact positively.