1. Name of Project:   Going beyond “them” versus “us” 
2. Brief one-sentence description of project: To break through the stereotypes that we have of other people; their cultures, religions and traditions in order to make the world a more tolerant and less violent place to live.
3. Detailed Description:

   The idea for this project came originally from what we are watching everyday on TV and the conflicts that we read about in the newspapers from time to time. We see people saying “All Arabs are terrorists”; “All Muslims carry bombs ready to destroy anything”. We also watch others saying “Americans are the main enemy to Arabs and Muslims”; “Americans and Europeans want to invade the Arab World and take over the Arab Land”. And others saying “Chinese people are invading the world economically”; “Japanese are workaholic without feelings”, etc. etc.

   This project is designed to break through the ice of ignorance and misinformation from which xenophobia and bigotry arise. We will start by discussing the hot topics that concern all of us, as youth living on the same earth. Our aim is to have us communicate together, learn how to have a successful dialogue with the other, and discover how to accept each other even though there may be big differences between us.

   We are different because we are “from youth to youth”. There will be no boundaries to express ourselves. However, it is all about the way we express it. We are not aiming to make anyone change his/her race, culture, religion or point of view. But we are aiming at changing the way of perceiving and understanding the other.

   We believe that our idea is simple and at the same time extremely challenging. This is because it is about changing our minds from closure to OPENNESS, ACCEPTANCE and seeing “them” from different perspectives other than our own.

   Our methodology will focus on effective tools to have a successful dialogue. Also, we will create ways to measure our progress with these tools in the online forums and other means of communication.

   We can discuss many topics through these dialogues and reveal our NEW concepts in many creative ways. For example, we can write articles, compile them into books. We can create seminars and discussions so we can share what we learn with others in order to increase the chances for the world to be more tolerant and a less violent place to live.
4. Age/level of project participants: 18 – 26 years old (Which means an iEARN Alumni or anyone interested in the idea and isn’t an iEARN Alumni)
5. Timetable/schedule: 6 months, starting from October to March
6. Possible project/classroom activities: seminars and discussions about the dialogue principals. This project can be done within or outside of a classroom setting.
7. Expected outcomes/products: Recorded online dialogues, articles, book or any other material that demonstrates your work and your understanding of dialogue principals.
8. Project contribution to others and the planet: Better understanding of other people, their cultures and their religions in order to promote tolerance, peace and avoid violence and fear.
9. Project language(s): English
10. Content/Subject Area: Culture and Society
11. Names/email of initial participating groups:
12. Name of facilitator(s): Alaa Abd El-Rahman Mohamed (Egypt) and WanTing Su (Taiwan)
13. Email of facilitator(s): alaa_abdelrahman2005@yahoo.com  and wting.su@gmail.com
14. iEARN Forum where it will take place or is taking place: http://foro.iearn.org/.1eb9a521

Also, we will conduct several workshops and training sessions to the new iEARNers.