Workshop with Veteran Speaker Anna Baltzer: Educating Your Community About Palestine!

Have you been to Palestine but never quite figured out how to use your experience to affect real change?
Or do you feel frustrated and ill-prepared when confronted with opposition and difficult questions?
Or do you feel ready to speak but don't know who will listen?

Please join us on Sunday, August 30 for a training on educating others about Palestine!
“When I first returned from Palestine, I had acquired a wealth of knowledge and experiences that I was desperate to share with others, but I didn’t know how to design and deliver a presentation, and I didn’t know who would listen.”(2005)- Anna Baltzer, now a Full-time Lecturer & Speaker-Trainer, having given more than 400 presentations about Palestine (with invitations multiplying after each event!)

Communities all over the United States are increasingly looking for people to speak about what is happening in Palestine, but there aren’t enough effective and known speakers to go around. People like Anna end up turning down most invitations! The American Association for Palestinian Equal Rights (AAPER), in partnership with award-winning presenter, Anna Baltzer, proposes to fill that gap by offering US citizens comprehensive training on how to speak to and educate their communities about the situation in Palestine. By empowering US citizens to share their knowledge and personal stories, we can create a national movement of citizen educators who, together, can educate their fellow Americans (either publicly or in private settings) and encourage them to take action in support of the rights and dignity of the Palestinian people.

Trainer: Anna Baltzer, www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com (bio below)

Suggestion: Review her DVD before the workshop if you haven't heard her speak.

Where: 203 Wisconsin Ave. Madison, WI 50703

Parking details: www.fumc.org When: Sunday, August 30

5:30 pm for potluck dinner 6:30-9:30 pm for the training (please arrive by 6pm in case we start early!)

Cost: Suggested donation of $10-$25 (nobody turned away for lack of funds)
Goals: To Provide Participants With... 1. Increased Confidence in Speaking About Palestine 2. An Outline for Their Presentation 3. Practice Responding to Common & Difficult Questions 4. An Action Plan for Finding Venues & Organizing Events 5. If Time Permits, a Written and Practiced Introduction Materials Provided: A Detailed Booklet Containing... 1. Tips on Presentation Structure & Delivery 2. Key Talking Points 3. Tough Questions & Respective Sample Answers 4. Sample Outreach & Organizing Supplies 5. CD of Sample Presentations, Photos, & Original Maps to Use

SPACE IS LIMITED - RSVP! If you are interested in attending the speakers training, please contact Joan Deming at (608) 241-9281 (home/office), (608) 235-1046 (cell), or by email at jdeming7@gmail.com. For more details about the training, contact Sarah Scruggs at AAPER by phone: (202) 683-8438 or by email at scruggs@aaper.org

Testimonials from Past Speaker Trainees:

Anna’s seminar was superb, measuring up to the high standards set by her own public speaking. The truth is that Anna has so many wonderful qualities to share that anyone who is interested in Israel-Palestine cannot help but benefit greatly from this opportunity. I cannot recommend Anna enough as a speaker, consultant or workshop facilitator. Participants will learn a lot of new information, have fun, and gain an elevated understanding of how to communicate their new knowledge to others with compassion and clarity.” —Rich Forer, author of upcoming book on Israel/Palestine: Breakthrough “The best thing I took away from Anna's inspiring speaker training workshop was confidence. She made me realize that I knew much more about Israel/Palestine than I gave myself credit for. I especially found useful the time we spent practicing answering the most common ‘hostile’ questions. About a month later I made my first presentation to a group of community college students. They were receptive and appreciative that I—along with my co-presenters—spoke from the heart. Now I want to develop other local speakers to present on this issue.”— Susan Shuurman, co-founder of the Coalition to Stop $30 Billion to Israel
"Anna is the consummate nonviolent warrior who is vibrant, passionate, courageous and totally committed to peace and justice in Israel/Palestine. Her film, "Life In Occupied Palestine," was one of the primary motivating factors for me to visit Palestine in 2008 and to discover the truth of the conflict for myself. Anna's transition from being a speaker herself to empowering others to tell their truth means that instead of having just a small group of passionate and courageous voices there could—and will—be hundreds more."— Will Covert, Board of Directors, Veterans for Peace - San Diego

Anna Baltzer is a Jewish-American Columbia graduate, former-Fulbright scholar, the granddaughter of Holocaust refugees, and an award-winning lecturer, author, and activist for Palestinian rights. As a volunteer with the International Women's Peace Service in the West Bank, Baltzer documented human rights abuses and supported Palestinian-led nonviolent resistance to the Occupation. Baltzer has appeared on television more than 400 times and lectured at more than 300 universities, schools, churches, mosques, and synagogues around the world with her acclaimed presentation, "Life in Occupied Palestine: Eyewitness Stories & Photos," and her full-color book: "Witness in Palestine: A Jewish American Woman in the Occupied Territories." Baltzer most recently returned from a trip through Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon, documenting Palestinian life in the diaspora. For information about Baltzer's book, DVD, speaking tours, and eye-witness reports, visit www.AnnaInTheMiddleEast.com