Village members Shireen Najjar and Dorit Shippin were in Italy in January as guests of the Italian Friends Association. Over the course of the week-long visit, the two held public meetings in seven different cities as well as meeting with the mayors of four of those places. In addition, they met with students in Milan, and they were interviewed by journalists, including a television interview that will be broadcast on Italian national channel RAI 3 in March.
According the Giulia Ceccutti, director of the Italian Friends Association, the visit was an opportunity to renew existing ties and forge new connections. For example, one of the public meetings was organized through the Federation of Evangelical Churches in Italy. In fact, each meeting took place through different networks of local and national organizations, and these connections, in turn provide new outlets for outreach and support for the educational institutions.
While in Milan, Shireen and Dorit visited the GARIWO Garden of the Righteous, a sister garden to the Garden of Rescuers in WASNS. This visit not only strengthens ties to the Italy-based GARIWO organization but provides inspiration for the upgrade to the visitor experience in the Rescuer’s Garden. Other ties that were reinforced through the visit were those of WASNS sister cities Novellara and Fiorano Modenese, as well as the ties with an organization near Naples that has supported the School for Peace. The head of this organization made the trip from Naples to Milan to meet with the village representatives.
Giulia reported that interest in the village and its educational institutions was very high. “Tours like this require a lot of work, but we’re sure they are a great opportunity to enlarge public and connections,” she said.
