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Grant and Fellowship ProgramGrant Highlight: Jerusalem StoriesCross-cultural dialogue is essential for peacebuilding. Finding innovative approaches to such exchange is at the heart of an initiative called Jerusalem Stories, for which USIP was a primary grantor. This multifaceted effort was designed to harness the power of personal stories and portrait photos to convey a personal perspective on the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. It presents the experiences of a broad variety of Jerusalem residents, focusing on the experience of the “other.” The project consists of many elements, including:
![]() Samir al Jundi, one of the people profiled in the Jerusalem Stories photo exhibit, is a storekeeper in Jerusalem’s Old City. (Photo courtesy Lloyd Wolf) Jerusalem-based writer, storyteller and conflict resolution practitioner Carol Grosman, the project’s originator, in collaboration with photographer Lloyd Wolf, aims to showcase Jerusalem Stories in Israel, the West Bank, Gaza, and the United States. In a recent visit to USIP in Washington, Grosman stressed that Jerusalem Stories creates a tool for “humanizing, raising awareness and communicating many valid relationships of the city.” A unique feature of the project is that Palestinian and Israeli actors tell each other’s stories during the dialogues. Grosman says this feature allows for a humanized engagement with the stories. “The personal story creates an opportunity to step into the shoes of the other and imagine their world,” she observed. USIP’s Role USIP helped to operationalize the project by funding a pilot media program. Steve Riskin, Senior Grant Program Officer and USIP Middle East specialist noted, “Early on, the Institute recognized the creative and groundbreaking use of media in Grosman’s approach. Jerusalem Stories attempts to grapple with and improve, in a thoughtful and sensitive way, relations among communities in this richly diverse, but deeply divided and contested city. It is an approach that will be applicable for and have resonance in other contentious settings.” “USIP played an essential role in deciding that this is an idea that should have a chance to be tested,” said Grosman. This initial support catalyzed additional donor funding. Moreover, the Institute’s emphasis on measurement, lessons learned, and best practices provided a framework to evaluate the project’s success. The framework integrated a number of variables, among them:
Overall, the evaluation recommended that the project continue to grow and develop. |
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