Peacebuilding: ‘This experience has changed me profoundly’

Two years ago Project Rozana launched a landmark program to train Israeli and Palestinian nurses to become health diplomats in the cause of peace.

The program recognises that nurses are influential and respected community members and that bringing them together from opposite sides of the conflict could have a powerful trickle down effect.

Last month some of those nurses from either side of the divide met for the first time, at a workshop in Switzerland. It was a life changing experience and one that offers hope beyond the 20 nurses who participated.

An Israeli nurse who participated in the workshop said it was the first time she had met Palestinians from the West Bank. "Spending six days together in a shared environment created a unique space for connection. The setting encouraged us to open up, even about topics that might typically feel too heavy or taboo. It wasn’t always easy, but it was transformative," she said.