Rawan Tahboub

Virtual Exchange as a Mechanism for Digital Education in Reconciliation Process - Transdisciplinary Research

Personal information:

Rawan (Mohammad Haydar) Midhat Tahboub

Fürstengraben 6, 07743 Jena

Room 306

Telephone:+49 3641 9-42776

Rawan.Tahboub@uni-jena.de

Research interests related to Diaspora:

Interaction and communication of diasporic communities
Translocal networks and contact structures
Economic, social and political requirements

Provisional working title of the doctoral project: Virtual Exchange as a Mechanism for Digital Education in Reconciliation Process - Transdisciplinary Research

Abstract:

The Palestinian society faces entrenched internal divisions that have proven devastating, despite numerous local and international reconciliation attempts. These traditional, top-down approaches to reconciliation often sideline the active role of youth and civil society actors. This research, in particular, explores the efficacy of using Virtual Exchange (VE) as a medium for dialogue and a mechanism for digital peace education in conflict-affected areas.

The project, titled "Virtual Interactive Reconciliation for Transforming Unity in Palestine- VIRTU-PEACE," challenges conventional political frameworks by adopting a bottom-up, youth-centered Community-Based Participatory Approach (CBPA). It proposes a novel theoretical framework for Virtual Exchange for Reconciliation (VER) that synthesizes five key bodies of work: Immanuel Kant's Perpetual Peace, Hannah Arendt's Public and Private spheres, Jürgen Habermas's Communicative Action and the Public Sphere, John Paul Lederach's Relational Approach to conflict transformation, and Yochai Benkler's Networked Public Sphere. This framework integrates philosophical ideals with practical methodologies and technological infrastructure to foster a pluralistic Palestinian civil society.

The methodology involves a multi-stage, mixed-method evaluation with five cycles of VE. The cycles include weekly facilitated sessions focused on topics like identity and the role of youth in civil society, weekly reflections, and final projects (Civic Action Projects) where participants develop initiatives for inclusion. Data will be collected through surveys, interviews, and weekly reflections. This research aims to create a replicable prototype that can be adapted for other conflict-affected contexts.

Keywords:

Virtual Exchange, Social Cohesion, Peace Education, Reconciliation

Duration:

10/2021 – 10/2028

Funding:

Erasmus+ Virtual Exchange

Project Website

Cooperation partner:

Hebron University, Sharing Perspectives Foundation, and Soliya