… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …
An article from Corrreo del Sur (translation by CPNN)
“We are moved by the hope that another world is possible, that spending one’s life serving others is worth it…” These emotional words were expressed by the president of the University Network of Conciliation and Mediation Centers and dean of the Faculty of Law, Political and Social Sciences of the Universidad San Francisco Xavier, Fátima Tardío, during the closing ceremony of the XVIII World Mediation Congress, co-organized by the Universidad de San Francisco Xavier de Chuquisaca in Sucre, Bolivia, the Universidad de Sonora (Mexico) and the Institute of Mediation of Mexico.
The congress took place for five days, between August 1 and 5 and brought together more than 2,000 people including exhibitors, workshop leaders, teachers and university students from different parts of the world. They came from countries such as Germany, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Spain, France, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru, Portugal and Uruguay.
Its success is due to the quality of the participating professionals and also to the efforts of the teams responsible for every detail of the organization: a battalion of University officials and generous volunteers. At the level of authorities, the Vice Chancellor Peter Campos and Dean Tardío were in charge, in addition to the Director of Social Interaction and University Extension, Narda Gonzáles, and the articulating link with the Mediation Institute of Mexico, César Rojas.
THE SEED, THE CONGRESSES
“From this event will come the seed of a new way of understanding education in Bolivia, that change is possible, that utopia is possible and that it is worth fighting for a dream,” emphasized the Dean, who had previously described as “very symbolic” the fact that Vice President David Choquehuanca and the President of the Supreme Court of Justice, Ricardo Torres, were present at the closing ceremony of the congress.
Walt Disney warned of the risk of dreaming by indicating that if one has dreams, they are likely to come true…
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Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace
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A few weeks ago, the conflictologist from Chuquisaca, César Rojas, was in charge of the conversation “Culture of peace, mediation and journalism”, organized by the National Association of the Press (ANP), and there he expressed his hope that Sucre could host more congresses such as the which was developed between the historic building of the Faculty of Law and the modern International Center for Conventions and Culture (CICC).
Following this route, on Friday, the Vice Chancellor of San Francisco Xavier, Peter Campos, announced the letter of intent for the 400 years that this institution will celebrate in 2024: “We want our city of Sucre to be the capital of international congresses”. He made an important announcement: in 2023, in the Bolivian capital, the “First World Congress of Restorative Justice” will be installed and in 2024, the Latin American Congress of Research for Peace (CLAIP).
ONE CHANGE, ONE COMMUNITY
Also in his farewell speech, the president of the Mediation Institute of Mexico, Jorge Pesqueira Leal, awarded with the degree of Doctor Honoris Causa by the San Francisco Xavier University, advocated “the desire to build a change for the good of our planet ”. He said: “We have been truly cruel to our home… it is inadmissible, but it is a reality, the social injustice that we live.”
“Let’s generate that much-needed change,” he invited the crowd, which once again packed the CICC auditorium.
María Auxiliadora Moreno Valenzuela, head of the University Rights Ombudsman of the University of Sonora, on behalf of María Rita Plancarte Martínez, University rector, highlighted the work, the meeting and the learning of the congress days. “Especially important are the new processes to disseminate mediation within the framework of the culture of peace (…), the creation of a large community of mediators, as well as promoters of mediation, to improve relationships in families, schools and workplaces; also in the universities, since these are the motor and impulse of the works related to mediation”.
She expressed her conviction that the results of the congress will result in “alliances and projects that serve to create in everyone’s consciousness the need to make our environments and spaces into friendly places with positive human relationships and healthier environments.” She called on everyone to contribute to “a more egalitarian world and, with it, a more humane one.”
The Sucre congress also served to consolidate the new Ibero-American Network of Conciliation and Extrajudicial Mediation Centers, made up of 17 countries, which was underlined by its ad hoc president, José Javier Tapia Gutiérrez.
ORGANIZERS
In San Francisco Xavier, the departments or units that worked on the organization of the XVIII World Mediation Congress were: Infrastructure (30 people), Academic Commission (5), Administrative and Logistics Commission (6), Systems Area (10 engineers), Accreditors and Registration (16), Social and Cultural Commission (4 in charge of 100 Protocol students), Choristers (30). Source: Narda Gonzales, director of Social Interaction and University Extension (USFX).