The Atkin Fellowship for Arab-Israeli Dialogue, generously funded by the Atkin Foundation, is based in the International Centre for the Study of Radicalisation (ICSR) at the Department of War Studies, Kings College London. The Fellowship has one fundamental aim: to encourage and promote stability in the Middle East through a profound understanding of ‘the other’.
Since 2008, the Atkin Fellowship has given the next generation of leaders in the Middle East the opportunity to meet and study together at Kings College London, providing them with a vibrant but politically neutral environment, where they can share their ideas and experiences, whatever their political viewpoint. Each pair – always an Arab and an Israeli – has the unique experience of walking in the other’s shoes and learning the other’s narrative – a narrative they might never have heard, if not for their participation in the Fellowship.
The Atkin Fellowship brings together people of different professional backgrounds from Egypt, Israel, Jordan, Lebanon, the Palestinian Territories and Syria, in order to foster respect and trust on all sides of the conflict. Participants come from government, business, think tanks, academia and the media. All hold positions from which they can shape politics and public opinion in Israel and the Arab world.
It is vital that, once a political agreement is reached, there are people with connections throughout the region and with genuine relationships of trust already built. Reunion events are regularly held to consolidate friendships and give the Fellows the opportunity to meet and share updates and ideas about their work in the region.
This publication represents the culmination of seven years of academic research and investment in human capital by the Atkin Fellows in their search for a better future for their generation, their children and following generations in Israel and the Arab world.
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