Proposed Template of Events

Events will kick off with a "Friendship Festival" organized in Arab country yet to be chosen, with the send-off of the Caravaneers as they begin their journey by air to the departure point in southern California. At the end of this media-intense celebration, after receiving the blessing of the host nation's leader, the Caravaneers will briefly visit other nations as they head to America. In these nations they would also receive the blessing of the leader.

The Caravan will be launched from San Francisco in gala fashion, preferably in the Fall to encourage the participation of children throughout the school year. We would declare this "World Day 2004" in celebration of building bridges to other cultures. (That way we end the Caravan on World Day 2005.) Organized together with well-known musicians and other celebrities who are sympathetic to our ideals, we would invite Arab and Muslim musicians and other cultural performers to share the scene with their Western counterparts.

Once on the trail, the Caravan will visit a multitude of towns and cities. (See map.) Generally speaking, the format of these visits will be as follows (each town visit would be hosted by a local organization, and last between 2 and 4 days):

• March from the outskirts into downtown in colorful parade-like fashion, stopping at City Hall to receive the keys to the city. NB: we would depend on local organizations such as Rotary to set-up much of the activities and sensitize the population about our arrival.
• Continuation to one of the local schools, where the exhibition trucks would be parked. After mixing with the students, we would have pre-organized meetings between the Caravaneers and small groups of students, following an assembly to welcome us.
• Visits to the exhibition trucks, for regional schoolchildren and also for dignitaries and others who want to learn more about modern-day Arab and Muslim nations.
• An important part of the outreach to children would be setting up teleconferences from the exhibition trucks, where they would speak live to counterparts in the Arab and Muslim world. These encounters could form the basis for local media broadcasts.
• As much as possible, we would sleep with pre-arranged host families. Our animals would be parked in pre-arranged enclosures, generally outside the city limits.
• One evening we will organize a town meeting to discuss pertinent questions, and on other evenings we could meet with religious organizations and other interested parties.
• Another major element of these visits would be encounters with the local media; we would organize media-friendly activities to attract their attention (e.g., a visit to the camels with children, or a presentation by one of the specialists in our group from inside an exhibition truck, for example.)
• We would conclude each visit by inviting local groups and clubs to join us in the ride out of town. This will be a very entertaining and colorful part of the visit.

NB: At a minimum of two points along the way, we would like to host a major regional concert under the stars, with big-name Western musicians who share the scene with well-known Arab or Muslim singers. This should probably take place on university campuses. At other points we will take advantage of American events that are already programmed, such as horse shows, fairs, or sporting events -- to show off the cultural flavor of the different regions we pass through.

And finally: the Caravan does not end when it arrives at New York! A feature-length documentary about the expedition will be distributed worldwide. Hopefully the caravan itself will visit other nations and other regions inside the United States…

Caravan Route