The Haifa Centre for Dialogue and Conflict Management works to strengthen communities and improve the quality of life for all of Haifa’s residents by providing dispute resolution services and by helping residents and institutions build their capacities of resilience. The Centre provides professional dispute resolution services and builds local capacity for coping with conflicts in a non-violent and constructive manner. It strives to create in Haifa a culture of dialogue that celebrates the city’s diversity and gives a voice to its marginalised communities. By strengthening the citizens’ ability to negotiate differences and resolve conflicts collaboratively, the Centre is making a significant contribution to building localised participatory democracy and diminishing the effects of racism and discrimination.
The Centre’s conflict mitigation programmes directly impact hundreds of people, reaching underprivileged populations, including new immigrants and Arabs. Among the activities are the following:
- Training of Arab civil leadership as volunteer mediators;
- Empowering public involvement in planning, implementing and social activities.
The evaluation of the action is done by neighbourhood community workers who follow up on the implementation of the skills developed by the local leadership regarding problem-solving within the respective neighbourhoods.
The action is implemented in co-operation with the community department and City Secretary’s Office of Haifa Municipality, involving other departments (according to theme and need) and facilitated by experts in the fields of intercultural work and facilitation, mediation and leadership training, urban planning and civic (neighbourhood) leadership.
