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MOSAIC - The training kit for Euro-Mediterranean youth work

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9 Peace and conflict<br />

Figure 9.<br />

Imagine all the people<br />

Living life in peace<br />

You may say I’m a dreamer<br />

But I’m not the only one …<br />

John Lennon, “Imagine” lyrics, Imagine, 1971<br />

9.1 Introduction<br />

Why are the ways of dealing with conflict and building peace relevant to <strong>Euro</strong>-<br />

<strong>Mediterranean</strong> <strong>youth</strong> <strong>work</strong>? First of all, because cultural, political and religious conflicts<br />

may arise anywhere, and the <strong>Euro</strong>-<strong>Mediterranean</strong> area is no exception. Quite the<br />

opposite, conflicts seem to be what first comes to mind when the <strong>Mediterranean</strong><br />

space is evoked: the Arab/Palestinian-Israeli conflict; the conflict in Cyprus between<br />

the Turkish and Greek populations; the wars in the Balkans, or in Iraq and Lebanon;<br />

conflicts over the share of natural resources such as water and oil; conflicts in Russia<br />

with separatist groups – and these are only some of the better-known ones. <strong>The</strong>se<br />

conflicts in<strong>for</strong>m and influence the quality of <strong>Euro</strong>-<strong>Mediterranean</strong> <strong>youth</strong> projects –<br />

even whether they happen at all. <strong>The</strong>re<strong>for</strong>e, <strong>youth</strong> <strong>work</strong>ers may need conflict management<br />

tools to deal with conflicts appropriately in their <strong>work</strong>.<br />

<strong>The</strong>mes

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