Current Projects

Building the Future leadership training for young Iraqis

These programmes provide opportunities for Iraqi young professionals and their hosts to learn from each other’s experiences and challenges, and to develop strategies and skills to support the work of reconstruction in Iraq.

The visits have been carried out in partnership with KF Iraq, a charity which promotes education, health and civil society in Iraq.

Download the report of the 2010 Building the Future programme

Download the report of the 2008 Building the Future programme

 
Supporting young people in Gaza

For three years BAX has sponsored a group of young professional Palestinians to attend training at the International conference centre of Initiatives of Change (IofC) at Caux, Switzerland. Each year they were unable to leave their country to take up this invitation because of the Israeli and Egyptian blockade on the borders of Gaza. 

BAX is working on practical ways to provide other means of support to young people and youth leaders in Gaza. These include training via videoconferencing. 

Opening dialogue and building the network

A number of projects are carried out to build the BAX network and support previous BAX participants in their bridge-building work.

We are currently exploring ways of communicating with friends in areas difficult to access via videoconferencing and social media.

Sometimes BAX supporters give their time to promote particular projects. One committee member devoted a day a week for nine months to support BAX work, including the production of the brochure An Alternative Vision: 30 Years of British-Arab Exchanges.

Another former BAX delegate, also volunteering one day a week, organised a monthly working group. Out of this grew the idea of British-Arab StudentLink events, to engage Arab and British students in the UK in dialogue. These consisted of a series of discussions on themes such as Coming To Terms With History, and Experiences of Identity.  On one occasion the Palestinian General Delegate to the UK was invited to speak at the School of Oriental and African Studies on the subject Bridging the Gap Between East and West: what role can students play?

A meeting of BAX participants is under consideration for 2012 or 2013.