Interview with Executive Director, Dado

What is your name and where are you from?
VLADIMIR MESARIC (mesahrich), nickname DADO (dahdoh); ZAGREB, CROATIA

How do you spend your time?
Working for OB Croatia and helping with the travel agency I founded; Besides, I’m trying to be outdoors as much as possible. Rock climbing and high altitude mountaineering are my favorite free time activities.

What was your first ever experience with OB?
In spring 2006 OB Romania instructors came over to Croatia and conducted the first 10 days TOT (Training for Trainers) for OB Croatia staff. But I had some information about Outward Bound for some time, before 2006.

Please tell us a favorite story from an OB expedition.
There are many. Maybe this one: We work with “tough” kids who, at the beginning of the program, reject everything we teach. Two girls decided to leave the program in wilderness on a second day. We let them go; they returned half an hour later realizing that they really do not know where to go because the were “in the middle of nowhere”. At the end of the program they asked “When can we join the next course?”

What were your motivation for opening OB Croatia?
It is an opportunity and challenge to apply all my outdoor, professional and life experience to set up a high quality organization with the main objective of experiential outdoor education.

What do you envision as the most long-term goals of OB Croatia’s programs?
To participate in the educational system; to became leader in outdoor education among NGOs; to participate in governmental and private social care system; to play significant role in educating Croatian future leaders.

How are OB Croatia and OB Peacebuilding related?
First contact between OB Croatia and OB Peacebuilding was established when founder Beth Anglin Knox was in Zagreb in Spring 2007 on her way to Rwanda. She conducted a short soft skills training for our staff. During her stay in Croatia she talked about OB Peacebuilding beginnings. As Croatia suffered from ethnic violence in the recent past, the idea and need of peacebuilding are close to us. Later we met Beth in New Zealand at the staff symposium in 2007; there she told us about the progress of OB Peacebuilding. It seems that our OB centers started about the same time, in 2006/2007. When we heard about the possibility to work together this year, we were really excited.

What excites you about OB Peacebuilding?
Results! We saw here two groups of young people from different sides of a high fence become friends: that fact inspired me and my colleagues. We hope we can use the experience of OB Peacebuilding here in Croatia.

What does peace mean to you?
Stability, ability for ordinary people to live without fear, and dignity with the prospect for a better future.

Palestinian and Israeli Emerging Leaders in Croatia

For many of the twelve Israeli and Palestinian business leaders, the highlight of the ten-day expedition in May 2011 was the 3am hike to the top of the Velebit mountain range.

From the top, the leaders – the newest members of OB Peacebuilding’s Palestinian-Israeli Emerging Leaders Program- watched the sunrise over the Adriatic Sea, hugging and congratulating each other for making it to the top. The hike was one of many memories of the expedition that will inspire the efforts of these traditional enemies to work together throughout the next year and years to come.

This group of carefully selected business leaders represents the third cadre of the Palestinian-Israeli Emerging Leaders Program, a shared experiential learning and leadership development initiative that seeks to build trust among and increase the leadership skills of the participants. The experience begins with a ten-day wilderness catalyst expedition and continues throughout the year with workshops in the region and two retreats. A joint effort of Outward Bound Peacebuilding and Search for Common Ground Jerusalem, the program empowers emerging leaders aged 25-45 from different sectors and backgrounds to launch initiatives that improve their local communities and reach across the Israeli-Palestinian divide.

Wild boars, nightly newscasts, and a heavy diet of sardines were other highlights of the 2011 Croatia expedition. Facilitated by OB Peacebuilding’s own Nettie Pardue, Director of Programs, and hosted by the Outward Bound Croatia team represented by executive director Vladimir Mesaric (Dado) and program manager and instructor Orsat Kratofil, the program is a successful example of the collaboration Outward Bound Peacebuilding seeks to initiate with Outward Bound Schools and Centers around the world.

Chien Lee – Biography

Mr. Lee is a non-executive director of Hysan Development Company Limited, Swire Pacific Limited and Television Broadcasts Limited in Hong Kong.

Mr. Lee has been Chairman of Outward Bound Hong Kong and Vice Chairman of Outward Bound International and is currently Chairman of both the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding and Outward Bound China. He is a Trustee Emeritus of Stanford University and was on the Board of its Alumni Association and on the Advisory Board of its Graduate School of Business. Currently he serves on the Advisory Board of its Freeman Spogli Institute for International Studies, its School of Education and its School of Engineering.

Mr. Lee is also a Board Member of The Chinese University of Hong Kong, St. Paul’s Co-educational College, The Asia Society (Hong Kong Center) in Hong Kong , Phillips Academy, Andover,  and The Asia Foundation in the U.S.

We officially began recruitment for our Emerging Business Leaders Program, our 3rd cadre from Palestine and Israeli.

Follow this link for more details: http://www.sfcg.org/programmes/jerusalem/Emerging_Business_Leaders_Program_Overview20…11.pdf

Application deadline is early March. Please feel free to forward the application to qualified applicants.

Director of Programs Nettie Pardue traveled to Costa Rica to visit with our Central American partners at Outward Bound Costa Rica and to visit the University Peace. “It is wonderful to visit with our partner schools around the world to leverage experience and best practices and a new trick or two. Outward Bound Costa Rica has a gorgeous base and they are doing great things.” Nettie spent time with a group of participants paddling on the Orsosi River and visited a potential course area on the Nicoya peninsula. We are looking at developing an 8-day program showcasing our work in experiential peacebuilding. Stay tuned.

We welcomed two new interns to our team from NYU to celebrate the New Year. We are glad you are here, Katie and Molly!

Katie Walter is a graduate student at New York University with a concentration in Peacemaking and Peacebuilding and a regional focus in both the Middle East and West Africa. She joins Outward Bound Peacebuilding after a career as a marketing professional. Katie holds degrees in Economics and Business and Communication Studies from Westmont College, Santa Barbara, California as well as a Masters in Marketing Management from EDHEC Business School, Nice, France. Katie hopes to build on her experience at Outward Bound Peacebuilding and continue work in the field of peacebuilding and development, working to develop peace capacities in divided communities. She will spend the summer in Liberia at the Kofi Annan Institute for Conflict Transformation.

Molly Fearn holds Bachelors of Arts degrees in International Business and Finance from the University of Hawaii at Manoa. She is currently pursuing her Masters of Science in Global Affairs at New York University, with a focus on peacebuilding and sustainable development in Latin America’s Andean Region.  Prior to moving to New York City, Molly discovered her passion for sustainable development while living and working in Lima, Peru. She envisions applying her experience at Outward Bound Peacebuilding and her education to future work ensuring peaceful and sustainable development in Latin America. Her other passions include the outdoors, long-board surfing, and Peruvian food.

If you are interested in an internship with the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding, please email info@outwardboundpeace.org. We are now accepting applications for the summer and fall 2011.

We are forecasting an exciting and full 2011 for Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding. We have ambitious goals for our small and highly effective staff. We continue to build on the success of our Middle East programs by designing new programs, building new partnerships throughout the world, and expanding into new program areas. We are excited to bring our mission to greater numbers of people in 2011.

Outward Bound Peacebuilding uses experiential outdoor learning to challenge emerging leaders in divided societies to work together to build peace.

At Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding, our staff and supporters are adventurers too! In January, Executive Director Ana Patel left cold and snowy NYC for the Florida Keys where she participated in an Outward Bound Staff sailing training in Florida Keys, hosted by the OB USA Sea Program. Ana had great things to say about the training and she especially enjoyed the evening debrief circle that was used, “Feet in the cockpit.”

The Board of Directors of the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding (“OBCP”) is extremely pleased to announce that Ms. Ana Patel will assume the position of Executive Director of OBCP on February 1,2010.

Mr. Chien Lee, Chairman of OBCP, notes, “We are very excited to have Ana join us as Executive Director. We believe her deep experience in the peacebuilding field, her work with the United Nations, her extensive management experience, and her personal experience with Outward Bound give her a unique ability to foster a constructive bridge between the peacebuilding world and Outward Bound. We are all looking forward to exciting developments under Ana’s leadership.” Ms. Patel comments, “I strongly believe that the Outward Bound approach can make a positive contribution to peacemaking and peacebuilding in divided societies. Peacebuilding is a logical expression of Kurt Hahn’s vision and the ethic of service that is central to Outward Bound. I am thrilled to be joining the Outward Bound community, and relish the opportunity to further develop and extend Outward Bound programming in peacebuilding contexts.”

Outward Bound Peacebuilding Programs

Outward Bound’s Peacebuilding programs apply the principles and methodology of experiential education to the work of conflict mitigation and reconciliation. By applying a proven technique and pedagogy employed by Outward Bound to develop outstanding leaders and teams for over 60 years and in more than 35 countries around the world, Outward Bound Peacebuilding programs bring together individuals of diverse ethnic, religious, and political backgrounds from regions of conflict to forge positive relationships, build trust and understanding, and address the causes of instability and conflict with respect and empathy in a safe, structured environment. The successful transference of the Outward Bound experience to the participants’ everyday world is integral to the Peacebuilding programs’ success. It is addressed by providing a long-term context for relationship-building to occur over time with the support of a local partner and within a framework that encourages and allows meaningful cross-conflict cooperation to develop and yield positive results.

Project Updates

Middle East
Planning for the Outward Bound/Search for Common Ground Social Entrepreneurs Program is moving forward with the recruitment in 2008 and the program launch in early 2009. The Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding and Search for Common Ground are continuing to work closely on the development and plans for evaluation of this program.

Rwanda
The Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding continues with its 2008 consultation with Outward Bound Rwanda and the quarterly seed grants.  Outward Bound Rwanda has received a grant to acquire land for its basecamp on the shores of Lake Muhazi and is in the final stages of negotiation to purchase the land. Outward Bound Rwanda has also recently been offered a capacity-building grant to facilitate its development as it prepares to work alongside the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding and another Outward Bound school to deliver programs to several Rwandan populations in 2009. A volunteer instructor from Outward Bound New Zealand will arrive in Rwanda in August 2008 and stay through December to assist OB Rwanda. Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding consultant Julie Burns will also be in Rwanda from August 2008 through January to work directly with OB Rwanda.

Sri Lanka
The Sri Lanka Journalist Leadership Program, serving the diverse staff and students of the Sri Lanka Press Institute (SLPI) College of Journalism, will take place in October, 2008. Preceding the program, the Outward Bound Center for Peacebuilding is providing a specialized peacebuilding training and exchange of best practices to the Outward Bound Sri Lanka instructors who will deliver the Journalist Leadership Program to the 75 SLPI participants. A baseline evaluation as well as a post-program evaluation and one and two year follow up assessments are planned.