The Third Annual OTI Week at UC Irvine is upon us.  Please come to the week long events.  Come everyday!  The event is open to the community forum on Tuesday night regarding the intervention in Iran.

OTI Week at UCI  Flyer

IRVINE, California — Today the Olive Tree Initiative, headquartered at the University of California at Irvine (UCI), will re-introduce itself to the UCI campus through a week of campus events focused on addressing the Middle East Conflict and now, Turkey-Armenia relations as well.

The Olive Tree Initiative has led six trips to the Middle East, primarily in Israel, the West Bank and Jordan, exposing students, community and faculty to diverse points of view on the Middle East Conflict; now, the program shifts to applying the OTI philosophy to Turkey and Armenia.  The weeklong student-led events (April 30^th until May 4^th) will culminate with a “welcome back” ceremony for students returning to UC Irvine from the first OTI Turkey-Armenia trip.  The “welcome back” ceremony will occur on May 8^th from 7:30pm until 9pm in the UCI Student Center, Emerald Bay B room.

“The current relationship between Armenia and Turkey and all of the historical, political and social factors cannot be adequately understood unless you actually go to these places and speak with the major players involved…. As a member of the Armenian Diaspora, [because of this trip] I am in a much better position to begin working towards a solution,” said one of the returning students.

“By engaging in direct conversations with speakers, I developed a better understanding of causes and consequences of the tensions between Turkey and Armenia.  I gained a better awareness of the ways that each side is working toward greater reconciliation and resolution,” added another OTI trip participant.

“OTI is evolving.  We are now looking at trips outside of the Middle East in order to give students, community members and faculty a direct experience with different conflicts around the world.  The Turkey-Armenia trip which took place from March 24th until April 3rd was the first OTI trip outside of the Middle East,” said Daniel Wehrenfennig, Olive Tree Initiative’s Executive Director.  “We hope to apply the OTI philosophy and conflict resolution model to different conflict zones in the near future.”

The Olive Tree Initiative began at UC Irvine in 2007 with the objective of exposing students, community and faculty to the Middle East Conflict without media bias by traveling to the region to meet politicians, religious leaders, nongovernmental leaders, academics and other thought leaders.

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For more information on the weeklong events, the “welcome back” ceremony and/or the OTI philosophy model, visit www.olivetreeinitiative.org.

OTI students recently returned from their diplomatic mission to the Middle East where they engaged politicians, chief negotiators, victims, community leaders, religious authorities, activists and many more people who make up the social fabric of this region.

On their trip, the official delegation of student diplomats (and University of California Faculty/Upper Administration) engaged the top politicians and economic leaders in governments to understand the conflict in a nuanced and complex manner, engaging more than 80 speakers over the course of their mission. Even more impressive: OTI specifically recruited only the most elite and qualified UC scholars, with emphasis placed on bringing roughly a third pro-Israel leaning students, a third pro-Palestinian leaning students, and third of other demographics for the diplomatic delegation to the Middle East. Despite having different and often opposing views, the members traveled together with the same goal of developing the necesary knowledge to improve the situation.  The US Department of State has awarded them a special award for Top Diplomacy in Higher Education, and The California State Senate has enacted a Resolution commending them for their efforts.

The Olive Tree Initiative delegation travels as one of the most well respected US groups to the region itself. Press sources and top leaders from the US Government, Israeli Government, Jordanian Government/Royal Family, and PA commend our group as our ardent supporters each year.  Some of the really incredible people they engaged:

Ambassador Dennis Ross – White House Special Advisor (mastermind of all US peace initiatives in region)

Mark Regev – Israeli Prime Minister Press Secretary  (The face/voice of Israel’s policies)

Munib Masri - Former member of the Palestinian Legislative Council, Leading Businessman, Former Jordanian Cabinet Member, Three-time Prime Minister Candidate

Col. Danny Tirza – Architect of the Separation Barrier, Israel Chief Command – Regional Strategic Planning

Gilad Sher – Former Israeli Chief of Staff and Chief Negotiator

Yossi Beilin – Former Israeli Negotiator, Former Government Minister

Nabil Shaath – Palestinian Chief Negotiator, Former Acting PA Prime Minister, Former Foreign Minister of PA

His Royal Highness Prince Hassan –  Most involved political member of the Jordan Royal Family; Uncle of King Abdullah II.

His Excellency Senator Akel Biltaji – Leading Senate Member in Jordan; Foreign Relations Committee

Ghaith al-Omari – Former foreign minister of PA, Head Negotiator; American Task Force in Palestine Director

MK Einat Wolf- Israeli Knesset Member- Independent, Knesset Foreign Relations Committee

The list goes on for over 80 figures, including some of the most powerful economic leaders not only in the region, but in the world.  In addition, the group attempts to get a cohesive, holistic, and balanced picture by meeting with top NGO’s, religious leaders, and average citizens affected by the conflict day to day.

Come learn what is actually going on in the region from students who engaged all the sides.  These students are now your Los Angeles Community’s resource to gain hands-on knowledge.  We look forward to seeing you at the event!