OneVoice - Programs: Imagine 2018

After decades of living with the conflict, Israelis and Palestinians have become accustomed to imagining and expecting the worst. The conflict - violence and occupation - is the status quo, and a fact of life that most have never lived without, making it difficult to imagine the tangible effects of a future two state solution.

What if Olmert and Abbas reached an agreement this year? What would the region look like in ten years? What would the lives of ordinary Palestinians look like, living for the first time in a viable, independent state, free from occupation? What would the lives of ordinary Israelis look like, living for the first time in a safe and secure Israel, at peace with its neighbors?

In early spring 2008, OneVoice launched imagine: 2018 to inspire and motivate the Israeli and Palestinian people, by asking youth to visualize what the region would look like in 10 years if a peace agreement were to be signed in 2008. The objective was to challenge people to regain hope and inspire their own communities to take action toward supporting their leaders through a negotiations process which will lead to the establishment of a viable, independent Palestinian state at peace with Israel.

imagine: 2018 Essay Contest. OneVoice Palestine worked with the Palestinian Ministry of Education, and OneVoice Israel worked with Israeli local school districts, youth movements, cinema chapters, and online forums to encourage students to submit short essays answering the following question: “What could 2018 look like if a two state agreement is signed by the end of 2008?” Over 2,500 submissions were received in all for both contests. The top 50 essays in Palestine and the top 50 in Israel were published in booklets, which were presented to the students, their families, and representatives from the Ministries of Education on each side.

2018: Director's Cut. The winning essays were also entered in the second phase of the contest, through which the top 10 visions - 5 Israel and 5 Palestinian - will be brought to life by foremost directors from Hollywood and from across the world, into 1-5 minute videos.

More on imagine 2018: www.imagine2018.org