peacecamp 2019

Meet László Hajba, Coordinator of the Hungarian delegation
Szent László High School, Budapest

Hello everybody! My name is Laci, I’m 30 years old and this is my 2nd PeaceCamp. Last year was a life-changing experience for me and I immediately decided that I HAVE TO come back this year as well!

In my professional life I’m an English language teacher and educational consultant, and also an openly gay teacher in my school in Budapest. I care deeply about equality, tolerance, freedom of speech and critical thinking, and I bring these issues to my lessons as well.

I’m a good listener and a very positive person and I try to inspire my student with my optimism. I live with my boyfriend in Budapest and I spend a few weeks every year working in England as well.

I’m also an avid gamer (board games, Xbox, Nintendo Switch), runner, biker, sci-fi fan (especially Doctor Who) and computer geek.

I’m looking forward to getting to know all of you in July.

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Meet Hanan Qassem, Coordinator of the Arab Israeli delegation from Nazareth, Israel
Hagalil High School in Nazareth

My name is Hanan Qassem, the Palestinian delegation coordinator. I was born in my home town Nazareth, Israel. I'm a teacher for History, at Galil high school.
My favorite hoppy is travelling to authentic destinations around the world.
Nowadays, I'm studying tourisms courses: Tour Leader (aboard Israel) & Guide (Inside Israel).
Mrs. Ghadeer Zoabi, the teacher that has participated in this Camp for the last two years, recommended me to participate this year, and I loved the idea, it sounds attractive to communicate with other people, cultures or civilizations and to take a part in sharing my thoughts and ideas. On the other hand, I am looking for an eye opening opportunity to encounter different perspectives and points of view. I hope it would be an amazing peacecamp for everyone and looking forward meeting you all.

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Meet Yarden Bernard Agrari, Coordinator of the Jewish-Israeli delegation
Carmel Zvulun High School/Kibbutz Yagur

Hello to all fellow Peace Campers.
My name is Yarden and this is my third peace camp heading the Jewish - Israeli delegation. I am just as excited to be part of this amazing experience as I was the first two times. I am an English, History and Judaic Studies teacher in Carmel Zvulun and am also the English Coordinator -- a man of many hats! I have been teaching for well over thirty years and have been in Carmel Zvulun for most of that time. I love my school and come to it with a song in my heart every day.
I was born in the United States but moved to Israel in the mid Seventies with my family when I was in high school . For many years I was a kibbutznik but today I live in Haifa, a city that prides itself on multiple communities which live side by side with mutual respect and tolerance. When I am not grading papers, tests or preparing lesson plans I work on my music. My passion is singing and I sing in a local choir. We take ourselves very seriously and one of my favorite times in peace camp is when the guitars come out and spontaneous singing starts up. I also love Science fiction and in the Star Wars - Star Trek conundrum, I am a Trekker through and though!
I love the Peace camp process, the dynamics between the various groups and individuals and how we all become one big family, young and old alike. Each camp is different as the people who make up the delegations are different. What comes out of this meeting of four groups, adults and teenagers has a lasting impact on every participant. For me it is a life changing event and always enriches me on a personal and professional level. I can't wait to see all of you there to see old acquaintances and to meet new friends of all ages!

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Meet Lia Böhmer, Coordinator of the Austrian delegation and
Workshop Talks4peace
Verein Wiener Jugendzentren, Vienna

Hello everyone, I’m Lia.
I am a 29 year old social worker/youth worker in Vienna, daughter of Evelyn and Ronny and I am going to be this year’s coordinator of the Austrian delegation, I’ll be doing the talks4peace workshops with you and much more! ;D

peacecamp is like my little sibling, as it has been part of our family for so many years.
I had the chance to be participant in the very first (and second, and third) peacecamp, have accompanied Austrian delegations in the past, have helped out the art4peace team(s) and have been the person for everything many times ...

Since I have grown up, I have become a social worker and have been working in a youth center for many years now. As I often have the feeling
that the current adults in charge got stuck living in the past and are not able to make a difference towards a more peaceful, joint future, I am convinced that only the young generation will be able to make a difference.
This is why I admire working with young people and wanted to come back to another unique peacecamp experience this year.

So let‘s expand our shared network4peace, let’s stop complaining and start taking action towards a more peaceful world. I am convinced that together we can make a difference! :)

See you all in summer

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Meet Gerald Muthsam, Filmer4peace

Hi, my name is Gerald Muthsam. I am living in the Northern part of Austria.
I am very happy to be at peacecamp again, this will already be my thirteenth peacecamp. At my first three peacecamps I led Outdoor- , Video- and Photo workshops. As in last years I will produce a video documentation.
I am looking forward to meeting you and am sure that it will be a wonderful experience again.
See you soon
Gerald

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Meet Helmut Gruber, Talks4peace

Menschen inspirieren und so gesellschaftliches Engagement fördern - das ist Helmuts Ziel. Erfahren in der Arbeit mit NGOs und in der Sozialarbeit ist er auch als Vorstandsmitglied schon lange im Verein Option 2.0 - Plattform zur Stärkung der Zivilgesellschaft - tätig. Mit PATRON4change schenkt er Changemakern die Möglichkeit, sich vollkommen ihrem Engagement verschreiben zu können.
Inspire people and thus promote social commitment - that is Helmut's goal. Experienced in working with NGOs and in social work, he is also active in the association Option 2.0 - platform for strengthening civil society. With PATRON4change, he gives Changemakers the opportunity to fully focus themselves on their commitment.

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Meet AnnPhie Fritz, Outdoor- &Art4peace

Hi, my name is AnnPhie, I am an actress and an author, a theatre instructor, feminist, comedy nerd, waitress and many other things. I'm looking forward to leading the artsy workshops and getting to know you and all the many things you are.

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Meet Lukas Hauptfeld, Outdoor- &Art4peace

Hi my dear Peacecampers!
My name is Lukas, I am 30 years old and this is going to be my 5th Peacecamp and I am already very excited!
I study to be a paediatrician (thinking about becoming a child and youth psychiatrist as well), I am a musician and I have worked in many cultural and musical projects.
Together with AnnPhie I will be leading the Art4Peace and Warmup4Peace sessions. While in the other Workshops there will be Projects an discussions, we will try and work together making music, acting and facing challenges as a group, all whilst making fools of ourselves as much as we can. I´m looking forward to meeting you all, getting to know you and seeing you work on your own solutions to small an big problems. And since AnnPhie tells everybody on day one anyways, just so you know: I´m gonna cry when we say goodbye at the airport :D
All the Best
Lukas
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Meet Noémi Miskucza, Additional staff member, Assistant4peace and psychologist4peace

My name is Noémi, i work as a psychologist in a primary school. I’ve participated in peacecamp twice, and I’m glad to be a repeater. My first peacecamp was in 2008, I was 14 years old at that time and it was one of the best experiences I’ve ever had in my life. It was a place where I met unique people, learnt a lot about how to accept and deal with the differences we have.
Last year I was a senior participant, an assistant, so I experienced the magic from the other side. Here people can share their thoughts, talk about really serious personal, cultural and political topics. They can show their creativity in various ways and for me last year it was amazing how many-sided and interesting the participants were. Peacecamp is the place where we have the freedom and opportunity to share whatever we want and this creates a very special atmosphere. I enjoy being among adolescents, hearing about their ideas and discussing the great questions of life with them.

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Meet Thomas Jung, Large group4peace
My name is Thomas Jung. I am a psychoanalyst and group analyst based in Vienna. I will conduct this year's large group and I am looking forward to this experience which is different every time a new group gets together.

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Meet Ronny Böhmer, Administrator4peace

Hi, my name is Ronny. I am Evelyn's husband, and while she is the mastermind behind the peacecamp project, I am rather the allrounder and troubleshooter taking care of all the organisational details entailed with such an event. I will be at the camp on and off, commuting between Vienna and Lackenhof. I was born in Argentina and am living in Vienna (with interruptions) since my childhood. I have two grown-up daughters and (so far) one grandson. I am looking forward to be with you all at peacecamp no. 17! See you there ...

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Meet Evelyn Böhmer-Laufer, your Host4peace

I started the peacecamp project in 2004 as a one-time-event and am now doing the 17th peacecamp together with my husband Ronny and our daughter Lia. Some tell me that I am too old to host peacecamps forever. Others say that I am childish because I cannot put up with a world so unpeacefully devided in nations, religions or groups unable to cooperate, generating animosities, hostility and violence between people and groups of people.

I believe in the young being more creative and able, one day, to do better than we, people of the old generation could do.

I believe in the power of creativity of the young and their possiblity to lay the ground for future changes in society.

I believe that we must teach and learn about our past in order to create a better present in which old mistakes are not repeated. I believe in a future governed by cooperation, compassion and mutual understanding between and within the nations.

See you soon, in Lackenhof, to make a change.
Let us all become Ambassadors of peace