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Dialogue in Understanding Through Youth (DUTY) Program

Participating Countries: United States, Poland, and Israel

The Dialogue in Understanding Through Youth (DUTY) program was developed in response to expressions of interest from the Polish and Jewish communities of Baltimore for a framework to bring together youth, ages 15-17, from both communities as well as youth from Poland and Israel. Students in Poland were selected from Lodz, the sister city of the Baltimore Polish community. Students in Israel were selected from Ashkelon, the Baltimore Jewish community's sister-city in Israel. The goal of the program is to provide opportunities for high school students to share their respective historical and cultural heritages through dialogue, educational travel and training. The program consists of three components:

Preparation
Twelve Polish students and twelve Jewish students participated in two preparatory meetings of one day each, as well as a three-day seminar prior to their travel to Israel and Poland. These meetings focused on bridging cultural gaps as students gained knowledge of their own community history, the history of Poland and Israel as well as more recent events that have affected social, political and economic developments in the respective countries. In addition, a common website, www.dutyonline.org, served as a tool with which the three groups were able to learn about each other prior to their first meeting in Warsaw. The students were assigned readings and then held online discussions that helped them to recognize commonalities in their teen culture and religions while at the same time also celebrate differences.

Educational Travel
The DUTY journey took the students to significant locations in Poland and Israel. The sites, ancient and modern, provided the essential setting for explorations and conversations.

Poland
The trip to Poland integrated elements of ancient and modern history, as well as points of interest to both Christians and Jews. Eight youth from Poland and eight youth from Israel joined the Baltimore group during this segment of the program. The highlight of the trip to Poland was a visit to Gdansk where the entire group joined a small Jewish community on Friday night for a traditional evening service and meal. Similarly, the students attended Holy Mass on Sunday morning. Both services sparked questions, conversation and debate about each religion. Following Gdansk, the group traveled to Warsaw and Krakow and visited the Auschwitz and Birkenau concentration camps.

Israel
Travel in Israel included Christian, Jewish and Muslim sites as well as meetings with Israeli Arabs to discuss issues surrounding peaceful coexistence. They also learned about Islam and discussed Arab-Jewish relations as they toured Arab neighborhoods, visited holy mosques, and enjoyed traditional Middle Eastern foods.

Feedback
When asked what she gained most from her experience, a student replied, "You get to learn so much about different cultures and your background, and you learn to be more accepting of others." A few weeks after her return to Baltimore, one student wrote, "I keep in touch with all the Israelis and Poles, and I have made plans and seen most of the Baltimore participants. I made many friends that I will hopefully keep forever."

Follow-Up
Each group will take part in a post-trip seminar upon their return to their respective communities. The seminar will consist of debriefing session and workshops to help the participants process their experience. Each community will also assign its participants a special project or presentation to share their insights and experiences with others.

This program is implemented by the Jewish Agency for Israel, in conjunction with the Baltimore Jewish Council and the Polish Heritage Association of Maryland.

More information: http://usinfo.state.gov/xarchives/display.html?p=washfile-english&y=2007&m=January&x=20070104151456AKllennoCcM0.6256678

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