ACT holds the first founding meeting of the Mediators and Peacebuilders Network in Palestine with the support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs

Ramallah, October 2025 – On Saturday 11 October 2025, ACT for Conflict Resolution held the first founding meeting of the Mediators and Peacebuilders Network in Palestine, as part of its “Mediation as a Tool for Peacebuilding” project and with the support of the Swiss Federal Department of Foreign Affairs.

This track aims to strengthen the capacities of socially active young people to settle conflicts in peaceful and constructive ways, and to build a sustainable coordination platform bringing together local initiatives working in the field of mediation and dialogue.

The meeting opened with a presentation of the network’s vision and mission, before moving on to discuss the rules governing its work and the mechanisms for joining and for coordination among members. Participants also examined the roles of local mediators in early intervention, in building trust, and in activating referrals between community bodies and partner institutions.

The meeting included a discussion of new community initiatives put forward by activists with the aim of addressing humanitarian and social crises in the Palestinian context, in which those present discussed ways of applying mediation and mobilising institutional support in order to reach sustainable solutions.

As part of broadening the wider discussion, the session hosted specialist speakers who addressed post-war scenarios and future political options within the framework of the two-state solution, stressing the central role of civil society and local mediators in creating safe spaces for dialogue and reducing tensions.

The meeting concluded with an agreement to hold the network’s second session the following month, in order to complete the discussion of the reference documents and work plans, and to form specialised working groups to follow up on priority interventions across the various Palestinian governorates.