Accords Conference attracts media attention

COURTESY JUSTIN FLORENCE

When about 70 students convened at Yale for the Yale Accords Peace Conference on Thurs., Feb. 11, little did they expect that the whole world would be watching. But the conference, intended to simulate the Middle Eastern peacemaking process, received considerable press coverage--it even attacted the attention of Queen Noor of Jordan.

The amount of attention the event generated was impressive for a first time, student-run conference. It was covered by the Associated Press and the British Broadcasting Company and received airtime on both local FOX News and ABC News. This extensive exposure was aided by the efforts of Yale Accords planners, who drafted letters and sent a press release to local and national media.

The media attention the conference received was based both on its timing given the situation in the Middle East and the initiative taken by the students. "We were very lucky in the sense that right now there is a lag time in the Middle East peace process," conference director Yana Dobkin, BR '00, pointed out. "Israel is in the midst of elections, and real negotiations are not going on right now, so there is a lot of uncertainty. The fact that students showed interest and initiative really impressed the speakers, and they were willing to speak to us."

The conference was structured in two major ways: simulated negotiations and discussion panels. Delegates represented different Middle Eastern interests on issues such as the environment, economics, Jerusalem, and Palastinian statehood. They also heard from leading actors in the peace process, including U.S. Assistant Secretary of State Martin Indyk, Jordanian Ambassador to the United Nations Hasan Abu Nimah, former Israeli Foreign Minister Abba Eban, and leading Palestinian nationalist Rashid Khalidi. Panels allowed students to interact with academics, diplomats, and other players in the Middle East peace process.

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