Encounters Track The first encounters group met between September 2004 and August 2007, and consisted of Jewish and Muslim school principals and people in key functionary positions in Jerusalem. During this period, the group held 24 monthly meetings in Jerusalem, a two-day seminar at Yad Hashmona, a 5-day seminar in Seville, Spain, and a 4-day seminar held in Istanbul. In March 2006, the first teachers' encounter group was convened, consisting of 35 Jewish and Muslim teachers. These teachers were recommended to the program by their principals, who themselves were graduates of the program. The expansion of the program to teachers was with the intention of enhancing the influence of the program on the participants' communities. The teachers monthly meetings program concluded in June 2008, including also a two-day seminar and a 5-day seminar in Seville, Spain.  List of participating schools   Achieving the program's goals, of changing prejudices and eliminating group stereotypes, familiarization with the Other, creating inter-personal ties, and cooperation between the schools from the different sectors, all depend on the processes undergone by the teachers and principals, in whose charge the education of the next generation is placed. The Multi-Dimensional Model There exist various models of programs for dialogue between different group identities, each with its own aims and goals, target population, particular format and mode of action geared to achieve expected end-products.  Mosaica's Jerusalem Inter-Religious Educational Leadership Program found most suitable for its purposes the format of monthly meetings, each session several hours long, in addition to a week-long, intense seminar abroad. These meetings were based on the integrative-multi-dimensional model, developed over the program's pilot phase, during which the conclusion was reached that the program participants were eager to step outside the “safe” boundaries of the narrow focus upon the study, analysis, and interpretation of religious texts, instead opting for complex, challenging and multi-dimensional dialogue, which related to additional aspects of Jewish-Muslim relations in the Middle East. The multi-dimensional model refers to the encounter between groups as a dialogue process between religious, cultural, historical, ethnic, national, political, professional and other identities, which requires the use of a variety of languages and methods suited to these identities. In order to enable the program participants to maximize the potential of inter-religious dialogue and to raise the chances of attaining the program's goals, the multi-dimensional model includes the following languages: 1. The religious language – which provides the sides with a common basis due to its consisting of ethical and moral characteristics and behavioral codes. 2. The national/political language, which refers to the conflict-related historical narrative and to current political and other events 3. The cultural language – which emphasizes both unique and common cultural aspects of the different sides. 4. The professional language – which emphasizes the commonalities between the participants – both sides are teachers dealing with similar issues concerning educating future generations on peace, while confronting continual conflict and harsh events faced by the students and communities to which each side belongs. 5. The language of gender – based on similar phenomena in different cultures and religions 6. The psychological language – based on group-dynamics processes, and intra- and inter-psychological processes. Click here for the detailed Multi-Dimensional Model.   The monthly meetings, both those of the principals and those of the teachers, dealt with a variety of subjects from a religious-cultural-historical-national perspective, including: ○ Religious Festivals (Jewish New Year Holidays, Ramadan) ○ The role of the media and journalists in the conflict ○ Territorial rights ○ Collective narrative (1948, 1967) ○ The Law of Return ○ Refugees and the Right of Return ○ Jerusalem ○ Psychological effects of the conflict on children ○ Furthering knowledge about religions and familiarization with them ○ Education on Holy Scriptures and the changing times ○ Sanctity of Place – in space, time and religious experience ○ Conflict in national/religious context and its management ○ Educational Leadership – the ability to make a difference ○ The creation of stereotypes and the ability to change them – changing stereotypes among teenagers ○ The attitude towards sinners ○ Education and coercion With the end of the pilot phase in June 2008, the Mosaica Center will continue the program in a one-year format with new schools from Jerusalem. Parallel to the teachers' encounters track, the school track was launched in January 2008, as a long-term and continuous project initiated by the schools participating in the Jerusalem Program.