Peacebridgetv Channel Project

Costa, you asked to talk about "The Impossible Brief" project. The project encourages proposals of "out of the box" ideas for bringing the peoples involved in the dispute closer. Peace@Creators, 5 October 2010 "Peace@Creators" works in this very field. Peace@Creators - A team of activists for coexistence, who gathered to study the circumstances of the regional dispute and possible solutions for ending it. I am trying to understand how you view our proposal to "The Impossible Brief". It is important to initiate a joint TV Channel for Israelis, Palestinians, Internationals and Arabs, with studios in Jerusalem, Beirut, Damascus, Ramallah... A kind of televised bridge. There was a famous event at the middle of the 1980s. A series of filmed meetings between Russians from the USSR and Americans. They practically attracted widespread media attention. The implementation requires development of a format for discussions, establishment of Studios, and creating such an atmosphere... so that people would not be afraid of coming to these studios... especially in Arab countries. People who have an opinion or politicians would come to these studios, make contact with Israelis, and talk through this broadcasting technology. If I understand you correctly, we can't make it a Political platform, or promote one point of view... - Sure. Saying, let's take it more as a system, let's allow all the voices to be heard ... In fact, this engagement is what can bring us to acknowledge one another and understand our points of view. In the end, it'd be inevitable that we'll need to make compromises. All the conflict rests on the fact that both sides are fixed in their positions - someone has to compromise on one thing and the other on another. The aim is to create a space for an agenda to strengthen the moderate voices. Active voices who work towards a new reality on the ground. So, what is it that needs to be done at an operative level? We all know that everything is there; there's equipment, there are studios, there are people - what's missing? There is no Production Group, which can lift this project because it is also a Political Project. That's how it is. There's a need to create a Platform, which will allow media professionals to connect. We're talking about a budget $10 Million per year, which includes the whole project. There is something which can be done better... This Channel can be aimed at a certain community, okay? and it can include commercials. So the channel would be economically viable and able to finance the project. On the other hand, we can be open to the "out of the box" strategy, so we don't need the $10M now. We need the $3M or even just $1M, in order to set it in motion. So that this project will eventually cover part of it's budget, or the whole of its budget through the extra income it can earn. The main factor is the endorsement of the project by the official authorities, I mean first of all the Arab countries like Lebanon for example. How can we, a) create a political precedence to allow such a project to happen? And, b) How can we create a secure atmosphere for thinkers and politicians to come without the fear for their lives? In this current situation, when something comes up to do with cooperation with Israel, I don't believe it has anything which can cause Palestinians, Syrians and Lebanese to be apprehensive about. There is a concern, that terror organizations may attempt to to sabotage the project, because it is a strategic threat to the the whole of their activity. Starting a media communication between Israel and thinkers, who agreed to talk with Israelis, is a strategic threat to all the extremist's activities, because it can bring about a common understanding. Something that wasn't possible so far, because there was no direct contact between the nations in conflict. Any direct contact thus far happened only between the leaders with a certain degree of media exposure. But today, through the internet, we are communicating with Palestinians, Syrians, Iranians... - Yes, but this is a private communication, it's not a public, or a systems, or a professional communication. This private communication is still very far from what needs to happen. ...This Channel needs to have an international title... I think, we need to find the location for the project first of all. That's what we're doing. This is the project's pilot. You talking about our proposition for "The Impossible Brief" competition? - We are implementing this project anyway. - Sure, but we're still looking at it as a challenge, we're about to suggest this proposition. Correct, so this is it. Publish the whole of this idea with a translation in Arabic, English and other languages... Right Now we present our Project... The first key essential is to have a discussion format, as we Produce - Studios... - A Central Production Group*, - Yes, and subjected to it also Production Groups on the ground; An atmosphere supportive of this project's activities; A governmental endorsement and an assured security for the participants. - If we want to make this project a pilot... - Yes We can go to Arab and Jewish communities to try and see how it goes, - Yes. - Or Palestinian and Israeli communities. It is best to do the pilot in cooperation with Ramallah Before we launch it throughout the Middle East, we need to try it on a smaller scale. This is an excellent idea. And we can contact an official Israeli organization. - Channel 2 (TV)... - No, I don't think Channel 2 will take this. - I want to tell you, that this is also a possibility that can be incorporated within a commercial channel ... There's no need to be linked with any commercial channel... If we're going to get support from Israel's President, Shimon Peres, we ... Yes, but you know, I was involve with quite a lot of projects. And Simon Peres' name came up almost in all of them. And it doesn't work. I've never seen it work. So my question is if we go to Peres we confine ourselves, okay, or we look for sources which can come from any direction, and not necessarily from a political entity or a symbolic entity such as... - Lets do something like this. For a pilot we don't need resources. We need legitimacy. An national and international legitimacy. We are already creating content. The second move is really to encourage the creation of a parallel Group on the Palestinian side. Yes, we can post an ad. Say that we are looking for a Production Group which will do similar things. We'll meet them, we'll explain to them what we're doing, see if it interests them ... We started with 2 or 3 people, they can also start with 2 or 3 people. So we'll do it. Shall we sum it up? Okay, this discussion is to get an initial material for a proposition. So, this is to take the Peace@Creators Project Project and try to send an invitation in Arabic and see if there is a Palestinian group interested in doing a similar thing. - Good. But I think that before collaborating on projects, we need to see a Palestinian capacity. A group, that can organize in a similar way to us in Ramallah, and when they become ready they could take on increasingly greater projects. - Good. Thank you very much. Thank you.