V-NePÓ

Virtual Negotiation Educational Program

Project Proposal

A. Purpose of Proposed Project:

V-NePÓ allows classrooms and people who are interested to learn through real time computer simulations involving real people the intricacies of international relations and conflict resolution. Thus enhancing participants capacity to negotiate their own real life conflicts and those that their community is involved with. This program is being used in the USA and we would translate and adapt it for our region.

B. Description:

V-NePÓ is a program that allows the user to negotiate a given conflict via the Internet opposite other users real time on a continuous basis or with intervals. The "negotiations" are channeled and monitored by the soft ware , with the goals of raising the level of understanding of the basis of conflict as well as developing conflict resolution skills. The goal of the simulation is to reach a mutual agreement.

The student negotiator will connect to the V-NePÓ site and will see a synopsis of different conflict situations such as international conflicts, historical conflicts, business or environment conflicts and so on. The focus will be on international conflicts, past and present with an emphasis on our region. Thus will we learn the art of negotiation through less sensitive issues but still through also through real case studies and learn how things worked out. The student will choose a topic and the computer will match him/her up with other players. For players within the school systems the issues can be defined or regulated by the teachers.

After a topic has been chosen the "negotiator" will be presented a detailed background of the issues, referral to other sources as well as any relevant multimedia information (maps, photos, film clips, etc.) The "negotiator" will also receive a detailed background on his/her side's traditional positions, it will include how he /she thinks the other side understands the issues and the view point of the international community and organizations like the world bank and UN.

During negotiations, three windows will open on each "negotiators" screen. One will have a range of possible responses to the other sides offer. When the "negotiator" marks and sends a response, the other "negotiator" receives it in the language of his choice (English, Hebrew, Russian, Arabic). The other window is a "chat" window allowing the sides to write each other freely or to converse.

There will be a third constantly updating window, which can either contain random events that may affect the negotiations (terror attack, bombing raid, natural catastrophe, etc.) or perhaps a ticker tape of actual news events as they happen, or a combination of both.

Within the framework of schools until the students learn the software they will negotiate within their classroom or school. Afterwards they can connect to outside schools or any school in the world that is connected.

C. Justification:

Israeli schools both Arab and Jewish and Palestinian schools have been approached regarding V-NepÓ and are very enthusiastic to become part of the project. The In Service Training Center for Israeli Teachers at Beit Yatziv has offered us the use of the center to train the Israeli counterparts.

There are many logistical obstacles that lie in the path of cross school meetings and much time is spent on travel and translations. V-NepÓ overcomes these obstacles in a very economic and user friendly way. The restrictions of time do not apply and the barriers of language diminished. V-NepÓ has the advantage of being readily adapted to the school curriculum and within this framework offers many side benefits as listed below. Besides all this because V-NepÓ is web based it may be taken up after school hours and the contacts may continue.

V-NepÓ software advantages are:

· Encourages the study of different topics that affect our world like international relations, human rights, environment and economics.

· Increasing the understanding about the interrelationship of these factors.

· Learning about other points of conflict in the world and their causes.

· Increases the use of English

· Creating links between Jewish and Arab Israeli schools and between them and Palestinian schools

· Learning about negotiation and arbitration and practicing these skills.

· These skills can be transferred to deal with issues of school violence.

· Learning in a fun way about past historic cases such as the Fashoda incident, the Cuban missile crisis, or the WWs

· Making connections with schools around the world