Overview of Initiative

Members share their insights with others, turning ripples into waves. The Forums also initiate change through action-oriented projects. PAN leaders get help from the Network’s methodology and moderator training, best practices compilation, and Action Forum facilitation and ongoing management. Members benefit from PAN’s overall structure and its education, event programming, and networking. The Network is committed to providing frequent global conference calls and offering meeting-in-meeting opportunities at almost every large YPOI event. As PAN grows and succeeds across YPO and WPO, it inevitably has a positive impact on cultural, business, and political climates in turbulent spots around the world.

Forums

American-Arab Action (AAA) Forum

Members of this Forum are YPOers and WPOers from the U.S., Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, the UAE and Saudi Arabia. AAA Forum is striving to make a real contribution to bridging the gap between the U.S. and the Arab world. We have sponsored several projects, including a meeting of religious leaders from all the major faiths in the U.S. and Arab countries in January 2006 in London, and an internship exchange program bringing promising young leaders from the Middle East to business internships in the U.S. Jewish Arab Muslim American (JAMA) Forum Members in this Forum are Jewish, Muslim, and Arab-Christian YPOers and WPOers living in the United States and Canada. With a focus on making a difference through action, JAMA creates programs and hosts events which facilitate better understanding on the most pressing issues, including the ongoing Israeli/Palestinian conflict and issues impacting these communities in the U.S.

JEMS Action Forum of Jewish and Muslim Women

PAN has created Action Forums for women to build bridges in conflict areas. The first group was formed by a committed group of London-based Jewish and Muslim women calling themselves the “JEMS of London.” The group met five times in 2005 and 2006 to explore issues of minorities and the impact on themselves, their families and their communities. A similar group in New York has met for two years and is still going strong. They focus on taking specific actions, leveraging the knowledge and connections of the group to build a better world.

Israel-Palestine Forum for Business Leaders and their Spouses

This Action Forum builds bridges between business leaders and their families in Israel and Palestine. Together, they pursue common economic opportunity as a driver of lasting peace while leveraging the unique intimacy of YPO and WPO members. PAN convenes meetings of the Israel and Palestine Chapters and their families, thus building relationships and promoting trust and understanding on a deeper personal level.

Middle East Forum

The Middle East Forum is a group of Israelis and Arabs that first met in London in August 2002. This Forum was the first PAN Action Forum. It operates under Forum rules, working with a facilitator to assist in fostering open dialogue and increasing understanding among YPOers and WPOers either living in or with direct ties to the Middle East conflict.

Indo-Pak Forum

This group catalyzed a major breakthrough in relations between countries. The Indo-Pak Forum sponsored a trip to Pakistan hosted by the Pakistan Chapter for YPOers from India. That trip, championed by Amin Hashwani (Pakistan) and Maitreya Doshi (Bombay), brought 133 of India’s top business leaders to Pakistan for three days, and included time with President Musharraf at the presidential palace. All but two of these Indian YPOers had never visited Pakistan before, and given the restrictions on travel between the countries, had to walk across the border in order to enter the country. During the group’s visit with President Musharraf, he announced his decision to open air travel between the countries.

Why We Are Doing It

We believe that the Peace Action Network can make a unique difference in areas of conflict by bringing together business leaders on both sides into Action Forums. PAN combines everything that’s special about Forum with the entrepreneurial skills of YPO/WPO members and YPO’s global network of business leaders. This allows PAN Action Forums to give members unique insights and understandings that they, in turn, share with their spheres of influence: their families, companies, industries, and elected officials. This ‘bottom-up’ change, initiated by business leaders, can change the world.

How We Measure Success

We measure success by:

• An Action Forum’s ability to develop understanding between members on opposite sides of conflicts
• Insights the group develops and how effectively its members transfer these insights to others in their spheres of influence
• Impact of specific initiatives undertaken by the various Action Forums

Plan for the Future Peace Action Network plans to continue catalyzing and assisting Action Forums to get results, by providing a methodology and moderator training, facilitating Action Forums and managing follow through, and by bringing people together for leverage.