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The Impact of Pacifica Institute's Intercultural Dialogue Trips |
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It is not so common for people to invite foreigners whom they have just met to spend the night in their homes. Yet there we were, in Turkey, spending the night with a wonderful family we scarcely knew and whose language we did not speak. The Middle East is famous for its hospitality, but this might mean lavish meals or generous receptions. But now we were being welcomed in the homes of people who shared only our middle class life style perhaps our interest in Ottoman history. Our group was only one of many, all sponsored by ordinary people, by Turks living. What was going on? Why we there and what were we learning? Beginning in 2004, at least five thousand Americans have gone on such trips to Turkey. Similar groups have gone from the UK and elsewhere in Europe, Australia, Africa, and Asia. Alumni of the trips have formed associations and written testimonials of their experiences. Most mention the warmth and generosity of the people they met, the fabulous food they ate, the famous historic sites they visited, and the institutions they visited: schools, a university, newspaper, television station, think tank, publishing house, charitable associations, or hospitals. Some participants had already participated in Gülen inspired events such as conferences or Ramadan dinners, or interfaith dialogues. Others became active upon their return while others returned to their daily activities having merely enjoyed the tour. Some may have wondered what motivated people they scarcely knew to sponsor them and treat them so well. I will interview trip organizers, sponsors, guides, and participants to construct a gendered history of the trips that will conclude with an evaluation of their goals and impacts. I will also compare the trips with other cultural exchange trips to different countries in the wider context of citizen diplomacy initiatives.
Nancy Gallagher is professor of Middle East History and chair of the Middle East Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. Her most recent book is Quakers in the Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: The Dilemmas of NGO Humanitarian Activism (American University in Press, 2007). She is co-editor of the Journal of Middle East Women’s Studies and past-president of the Association for Middle East Women’s Studies. With other faculty from the UCSB Center for Middle East Studies, she took groups of K-12 California teachers to Egypt and Jordan for summer study tours in 2003, 2004, and 2005. In 2008, she traveled to Afghanistan on a “Women Making Change” tour organized by Global Exchange. In 2009, she participated in a Sufi music evening at UCLA, the Anatolian Cultures and Food Festival in Costa Mesa, and a trip to Turkey sponsored by Pacifica Institute.
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