One of America’s most prestigious educational institutions is hoping to succeed where countless politicians and diplomats have failed, i.e. promote coexistence and peace between Palestinians and Israelis in the holy city of Al-Quds.
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s School of Architecture and Planning is inviting entries from individuals and groups from any world country for the “Just Jerusalem Competition”.
The urban design competition aims to promote peace and cooperation and combat the “hopelessness people feel after no major peace initiative has been realised, and violence and conflict have intensified.” It also seeks to look at the conflict in a new perspective, that of daily livability at the level of the city, not as part of a nation-state in conflict.
The competition is sponsored by the Institute’s Jerusalem 2050 project, which has brought together scholars, activists, business leaders and youth in an effort to make the holy city a “just, humanist and sustainable city by 2050.”
The deadline for submissions is December 31 and a winner will be announced in March 2008. The nine-member jury groups international figures from a variety of fields, including the former deputy mayor of Jerusalem and the former UN high commissioner for refugees. Winners in the five separate categories will each receive a $50,000 MIT fellowships and an opportunity to work with scholars on the implementation of their ideas.