About Us

Bridgebuilders is a peace and reconciliation project for young Israelis, Palestinians and Norwegians. The motivation behind the project is based on a wish to involve youth in the Middle East and Norway in peace and reconciliation work.

The project is initiated by The Norwegian Church Ministry to Israel (NCMI) and The Evangelical Lutheran Free Church of Norway (ELFCN), and set into life in cooperation with the partnering Middle Eastern organizations Musalaha, The Palestinian Bible Society (PBS) and Caspari Center.

After experiencing the success of the pilot project Bridgebuilders 06/07, we want to organize another peace and reconciliation conference for Israeli, Palestinian and Norwegian young adults. This will be an encounter across cultural boundaries, where the setting and content will stimulate reflection and conversation about identity, prejudices and conflict resolution. Bridgebuilders 09/10 is an exchange program consisting of two main parts. The first part is taking place in Norway in the summer 2009, and the second part in the Middle East at Easter/Passover 2010.

Our wish is that a foundation will be laid for further involvement and bridge building among youths in the respective countries and home environments. It is our belief, and our intention that the insights and experiences gained through Bridgebuilders will have a ripple effect and serve the cause of peace and reconciliation in the Middle East and Norway.