What if…. the old story- that Israelis and Palestinians can never get along, that they will always hate and mistrust each other, that violence is in their DNA, gets contradicted every summer in a small and secret Washington DC human laboratory? Its not at the NIH, and its not a CIA plot. Its not even Los Alamos! Its a bit of a secret, of course, and its fragile. Sometimes it blows up, but sometimes, sometimes, it works.
Who knew? And what difference could it make?
What if…. a small group of intrepid activists commit to a 7 week experiment every year, one that might prove the past to be irrelevant when they realize the one thing that unites them as young people is their future.
Like their elders, they can’t even agree on the past, but unlike their elders, they inherited it. They did not live it, and so, they don’t have to keep on reliving it. The future is a different country,, if that is what they choose to make it. For the first time, they are confronted with a choice they never thought they had.
What if…. these pioneers do it hard, struggle to hear each other and argue and cry and disagree, but yet, remain committed, remain at the table. Over time, they realize that there is something they are creating that does not blunt their differences but shows them glimpses of another way, hints of another possibility. What if this could become the new story? What if they as leaders return home to translate this new story into reality. That is what NSL is all about.
Are you a pioneer? Do you want to test yourself in a human experiment about difference? Do you want to explore the distant future up close, then NSL might be for you.
If you are passionate, ready to argue and to listen, eager to engage the other side, prepared to be shocked and made feel uncomfortable, convinced of course that you are always right but ready to admit you may be totally wrong, then NSL might be the summer of a lifetime, something not to be missed.
On the other hand, If you want a relaxed, polite and comfortable summer, meeting new friends and having fun, go to Miami. NSL is like a boot camp for change makers. You come thinking you will change the world, and return understanding that first, the world has to change you. And that is never easy.
If you are ready? Go here. http://www.newstoryleadership.org/how-to-apply/