The weekend of March 14, 2008, the JJC Jury met at the Broad Institute in Cambridge, MA to evaluate the submissions. They chose 4 winners and 7 honorable mentions.
The winners were given the opportunity to spend the Fall 2008 semester in residence at MIT as Jerusalem Visionary Fellows, with expenses paid, including travel, housing, and stipend. Because of fiscal constraints, no more than three individuals per winning entry were able to be hosted. On September 12, 2008, a luncheon was held to welcome the fellows and recognize the director’s awardees.
During this semester, the Fellows attended classes, including Diane Davis’ “Urban Development in Conflict Cities” and Anat Biletzki’s “Human Rights in Theory and Practice.” They meet once a week as a group to discuss their projects, implementation and related topics. Additionally, the fellows met with different experts and organizations working on and in Israel-Palestine, including the Anne Paq, PLO’s Negotiation Support Unit, the Israeli US embassy’s Economic Minister, the Jerusalem Planning Division head, and Lifesource.
Meanwhile, the Center for International Studies hosted the Jerusalem Seminar Series, five (5) lectures on various aspects of life in Jerusalem. The guest speakers spoke on topics ranging from the history to architecture to conflict resolution. Additionally, Jerusalem 2050 held an event in December with Anna Grichting on peace parks and reclamation of physical barriers in the urban built environment.
On December 12, 2008, the Visionary Fellows presented their work to a private audience of about 60 people, composed of academics, students, and friends of the project. The presentations were followed by a discussion and suggestions on next steps. The Fellows left on January 15, 2009, returning to their respective homes where they will continue developing their projects.
Please see the “Jerusalem Visionary Fellows Projects” tab in the menu for more information about the projects and the fellows experience at MIT.
