All posts by CPNN Coordinator

About CPNN Coordinator

Dr David Adams is the coordinator of the Culture of Peace News Network. He retired in 2001 from UNESCO where he was the Director of the Unit for the International Year for the Culture of Peace, proclaimed for the Year 2000 by the United Nations General Assembly.

Media outlets of developing countries call for louder voice of Global South

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Xinhua English news service

Representatives from developing countries at the fifth World Media Summit being held in the Chinese cities of Guangzhou and Kunming have made a strong call for a louder voice of the Global South.


Delegates attend the opening ceremony of the 5th World Media Summit (WMS) in Guangzhou, capital of south China’s Guangdong Province, Dec. 3, 2023.(Xinhua/Deng Hua)

In an era of increasing global interconnectedness, a louder voice from the Global South has become more imperative than ever before, and the media also shoulder the responsibility for promoting global common development through exchanges and cooperation, they said.

President of Prensa Latina News Agency, Luis Enrique Gonzalez Acosta, said he takes this summit as an opportunity to collaborate with other media outlets in providing objective and responsible reports that can amplify the voices of developing countries and jointly address the challenges facing the Global South.

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Question related to this article:
 
How can media from the Global South break the media hegemony
of the Global North?

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“We must not be afraid to position ourselves as the voice of the Global South,” said Iqbal Surve, chairman of South Africa’s Independent Media. “Our narrative, our communication, our stories must be about the possibility of global growth and development.”

Media’s role extends beyond conveying facts, Surve said, adding that it should catalyze social-economic change and development.

“If we have one task only as a social responsibility, that task is to ensure that media must be a change agent in the world today, to promote a common humanity and a shared future and shared prosperity,” he added.

South-South cooperation among media is crucial in ensuring that the voices of developing countries are heard worldwide, said experts present at the summit. It plays a significant role in fostering diverse and inclusive narrative perspectives on a global scale, they said.

Creating a grand shared narrative that would promote common prosperity is imperative, said Seife Deribe Endale, CEO of Ethiopian News Agency.

“We are now in the critical juncture to create an inclusive media ecosystem through the lens of alternative narratives like that of the BRICS,” he said, adding that the true and success stories of Ethiopia and the whole of Africa need to be heard worldwide.

South-South communication is of great importance, said Maria Bernarda Llorente, president of Telam, Argentina’s official news agency. Communication between developing countries is fundamental to building relations, she added.

To foster more dialogues among nations and cultivate a culture of peace and understanding within the international system, it is crucial and urgent to formulate a shared agenda in response to global threats, she said.

Roger Agana, managing director of News Ghana, said the world needs to know a real Africa and a real China. “As African media, we do have a story to tell,” he said.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global

Nuclear Abolitionists Occupy New York

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article by Robert Dodge from Common Dreams (reprinted according to provisions of Creative Commons)

This past week New York City was invaded by nuclear abolitionists from around the world coming together as part of civil society, scientific, and affected communities, to support, strengthen, and move forward with the universalization of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, TPNW, as the United Nations convened the Second Meeting of States Parties to the Treaty . They gathered to celebrate what has been achieved and with hope and conviction for the complete elimination of these weapons to achieve a future free from the threat of their use.

closer to nuclear war  than any time since the atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki 78 years ago. This risk is heightened by the current war in Ukraine, where Russia has threatened the use of nuclear weapons, the ongoing nuclear weapons research by North Korea, the buildup of China’s arsenal and the current war and humanitarian crisis in Israel/Palestine, where there have been suggestions of using nuclear weapons against Palestinians. The risk of nuclear war by intent, miscalculation, or accident coupled with the growing concern over cyber-terrorism and AI is growing.

The new arms race is driven in large part by the United States’ modernization of its entire arsenal in the coming decades at an estimated cost of between $1.5 and $1.7 trillion. The false illusion of deterrence theory has been the largest driver of the new arms race, resulting in every other nation following suit at modernizing and/or enlarging their new arsenals to not be outdone. This reality was acknowledged by this week’s meeting of state’s parties that correctly identifies deterrence as a significant security problem.

Trillion dollar question

The Treaty on the Probation of Nuclear Weapons arose out of the realization of the humanitarian consequences of even limited nuclear war, and the fact that all of life and everything we care about is at risk from a large scale nuclear war. A limited nuclear war using less than 3% of the global arsenals in a distant region could result in nuclear famine  killing over 2 billion people in the years that follow. The International Committee of the Red Cross notes that there is NO adequate humanitarian or medical response to nuclear war. Understanding this, the global majority represented and supported by civil society, has come together, refusing to be held hostage or bullied by the nine nuclear nations.

The entire cycle of nuclear weapons from mining, manufacture, testing, storage, and potential use impacts communities every day. Their very existence threatens communities around the world. As stated by the author Arundhati Roy, “It is such a supreme folly to believe that nuclear weapons are deadly only if they’re used. The fact that they exist at all, their presence in our lives, will wreak more havoc than we can begin to fathom. Nuclear weapons pervade our thinking. Control our behavior. Administer our societies. Inform our dreams. They bury themselves like meat hooks deep in the base of our brains. They are purveyors of madness. They are the ultimate colonizer. Whiter than any white man that ever lived. The very heart of whiteness.”

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Question related to this article:
 
Can we abolish all nuclear weapons?

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While the United States and other members of the P5 appear to be ignorant of, or oblivious to, these humanitarian consequences by giving lip service to them or simply ignoring them, there is a growing chorus in each of these nations supporting the Treaty.

While the United States and other members of the P5 appear to be ignorant of, or oblivious to, these humanitarian consequences by giving lip service to them or simply ignoring them, there is a growing chorus in each of these nations supporting the Treaty. In the U.S. this comes from the grassroots level and from a growing number of local elected officials who recognize that nuclear weapons are a local issue. A letter was presented to Biden from over 230 local elected officials  asking his administration to send an observer to the meeting. This largest U.S. intersectional movement to abolish nuclear weapons is “Back from the Brink” and has been endorsed by 471 organizations, 334 municipal and state officials, seven state legislative bodies and 76 cities and counties across the United States.

Back from the Brink works in coalition for a world free of nuclear weapons and advocates for common sense nuclear weapons policies to secure a safer, more just future. It calls on the United States to lead a global effort to prevent nuclear war by:

*Actively pursuing a verifiable agreement among nuclear-armed states to eliminate their nuclear arsenals

*Renouncing the option of using nuclear weapons first

*Ending the sole, unchecked authority of any U.S. President to launch a nuclear attack

*Taking U.S. nuclear weapons off hair-trigger alert

*Cancelling the plan to replace the entire U.S. nuclear arsenal with enhanced weapons

Supporting this effort in the United States Congress is H. Res. 77  introduced by Representatives Jim McGovern of Massachusetts and Earl Blumenauer of Oregon that embraces the goals and provisions of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons and Back from the Brink’s comprehensive policy prescriptions for reducing nuclear risks and preventing nuclear war. Currently there are 42 members of congress cosponsoring. Every member of Congress must be asked to take a stand and make their views of this greatest existential threat known.

Forty years after Carl Sagan and other scientists first described the concept of nuclear winter following a large scale nuclear war, the world is moving together for the total elimination of these weapons.

94 nations participated in this week’s Meeting of States Parties. The Treaty currently has 93 signatories and 69 States Parties whose nations have ratified the Treaty. In the closing declaration of the meeting the nations stated:

“We are resolutely committed to the universalization and effective implementation of the Treaty… We will work relentlessly to achieve a world free of nuclear weapons for the sake of current and future generations. We undertake and recommit to ensure that nuclear weapons are never again used, tested or threatened to be used, under any circumstances, and will not rest until they are completely eliminated.”

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, global, United Nations,

Rebuilding the social fabric and the culture of peace in Mexico

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from National Autonomous University of Mexico

Rebuilding the social fabric and the culture of peace in Mexico necessarily requires respect for human rights and legality, as well as reducing inequality and controlling types of violence, agreed experts gathered at the UNAM.

When closing the work of the Permanent Seminar on Social Sciences (SEPERCIS) 2023 “Reflections of the contemporary world, the reconstruction of the social fabric and the culture of peace”, the General Secretary of the National University, Patricia Dávila Aranda, reported that members of the 14 academic career committees participated, along with representatives of civil society organizations. “This was wise, because they broadened their views and had a more inclusive vision.”

“I am sure that each and everyone learned and heard something that will allow them to move forward on this important issue. Without a doubt, paths were built for the future, because that is why we meet, discuss and hold these types of seminars,” she pointed out.

She hoped that in subsequent meetings more voices from society would be integrated because “there is room for all of us at the University. The more groups and different ways of thinking we are related to in academic work, the more we will learn and the better we can build.”

Dávila Aranda explained that during the 18 sessions methodologies were analyzed, experiences of community and territorial interventions were shared, and theoretical approaches were addressed to provide elements for the understanding and relevance of the reconstruction of the social fabric and the culture of peace.

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(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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She highlighted that the social sciences have a range of training and specialists in different topics, and at this event they analyzed them from a multidisciplinary perspective, in order to improve social interactions, mental health, human rights, care, resilience and mediation, among other topics.

Enduring values

“In various definitions, peace is understood as a situation without armed struggle, in harmony, without confrontations or conflicts. We relate it to a concept of war, but it is not limited to that, rather it means the opposite of all types of violence,” emphasized the former head of the University Human Rights Program, Luis Raúl González Pérez.

“Peace refers to well-being, inner tranquility, having basic needs such as food, security and correct development covered. It is talked about based on justice, which generates positive and lasting values capable of integrating people, politically and socially, that respond satisfactorily to human needs.”

“That is, inalienable guarantees must be the guiding axis for the construction of societies that live in peace,” said the former president of the National Human Rights Commission.

“However, the 2023 National Public Security Victimization Survey of the National Institute of Statistics and Geography indicates that 60.5 percent of the population over 18 years of age consider insecurity to be one of the most important problems that burdens us,” he said.

“In 2022, 27.4 percent of people in Mexican households had at least one of their members as a victim of crime. In addition, 21.1 million people were victims of some crime,” he noted.

On this occasion, the president of the Human Rights Commission of Mexico City, Nashieli Ramírez Hernández, pointed out that in the country there is a breakdown in the social fabric that we must rebuild, based on a reality where violence and conflict prevail.

“It is essential,” he added,”to build strategies with the objective of achieving a culture of peace; For this it is necessary to enter into the discussion around this concept which is approached from the dichotomy of peace and war. We must move beyond that logic to observe it as a real strategy that can be applied in scenarios like the current one. We must recover the concepts of restorative justice that are based on dialogue.”

Among the strategies to achieve it and rebuild the social fabric, Ramírez Hernández mentioned the transformation of narratives, participation, communication, reinforced protection for priority attention groups and reworking of restorative justice mechanisms.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

United Nations: West votes against democracy, human rights, cultural diversity; promotes mercenaries, sanctions

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

An article from Geopolitical Economy

Western governments frequently claim that their foreign and domestic policies are motivated by “human rights” and “democracy”. They often even lecture their adversaries for purportedly failing to respect these concerns.

But on the international stage, Western capitals have shown their commitments to be merely rhetorical, as they have consistently voted against these noble causes and refused to support measures that would tangibly protect them, in flagrant violation of the will of the vast majority of the international community.

These stark double standards were on display on November 7 in the meeting of the United Nations General Assembly’s Third Committee, which is devoted to social, humanitarian, and cultural issues.

In this three-hour session, the West opposed draft resolutions that called for promoting democracy, human rights, and cultural diversity, while simultaneously supporting the use of mercenaries and the application of unilateral coercive measures, commonly known as sanctions.

The extended West voted against the rest of the world on these issues. Its positions were virtually uniform as a bloc, led by the United States, including Europe, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea, and Japan.

In fact, the chair of the General Assembly’s Third Committee is Austria’s representative to the United Nations, Alexander Marschik, and even he could not help but laugh in the session at the constant protestations of the US representative, who dominated the debate, speaking out against nearly every resolution to explain why the world should join with Washington in voting against it. (Marschik could not contain his laughter despite the fact that his own country, Austria, voted along with the US on each resolution.)

Geopolitical Economy Report has created maps that illustrate the clear political divide between the West and the rest.

(Editor’s note: We are sometimes asked what is meant by the “American Empire.” In response, these maps are a good definition.)

Sanctions

In the November 7 session, nations debated a draft that condemned unilateral coercive measures, or sanctions, for violating the human rights of civilians in targeted countries.

The resolution passed with 128 votes in favor and 54 against, and no abstentions.


Promoting “a democratic and equitable international order”

The General Assembly’s Third Committee likewise considered a measure that called for the “promotion of a democratic and equitable international order”.

The resolution passed with 123 votes in favor and 54 against, plus 7 abstentions (from Armenia, Chile, Costa Rica, Liberia, Mexico, Peru, Uruguay).


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(Click here for a version in French.)

Question(s) related to this article:

What is the United Nations doing for a culture of peace?

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Respecting “human rights and cultural diversity”

Another resolution sought to promote “human rights and cultural diversity”.

The measure passed with 130 votes in favor and 54 against, and no abstentions.



Promoting “equitable geographical distribution” in human rights treaty bodies

The Third Committee deliberated a draft that called for the “promotion of equitable geographical distribution in the membership of the human rights treaty bodies”.

The resolution passed with 128 votes in favor and 52 against, and no abstentions.


Mercenaries

Another measure condemned the “use of mercenaries as a means of violating human rights and impeding the exercise of the right of peoples to self-determination”.

The resolution passed with 126 votes in favor and 52 against, plus 6 abstentions (from Kiribati, Liberia, Palau, Mexico, Tonga and Switzerland).


The United Nations published a full video of the Third Committee’s session on November 7, in the 48th plenary meeting of the General Assembly’s 78th session.

(Thank you to the Transcend Media Service for calling our attention to this article.)

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, global, United Nations,

Mexico: Global forum at the Centro Universitario del Sur promotes the culture of peace

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from the Universidad de Guadelajara

The VI Global Culture of Peace Forum took place in the Oral Trial Room of the Centro Universitario del Sur (CUSur), under the motto “Actions for Peace.” The event aims to analyze the advances of the culture of peace with a citizen focus, through education, development and transformation at the national and international level, in order to achieve the objectives of peace, justice and security. It is organized by the University Rights Ombudsman of the University of Guadalajara (UdeG).

Dr. José Guadalupe Salazar Estrada, Rector of CUSur, addressed a few words to those present, pointing out that the university center follows guidelines established by the University of Guadalajara (UdeG) through the Council of Rectors and the General University Council. This is done to guarantee the use and respect of University Rights and Human Rights.

“The University of Guadalajara, as an institution of academic excellence and with social responsibility, has undertaken a series of measures that support the training of highly qualified human resources to support and operate the implementation of the culture of peace […] As part of the Institutional Development Plan, the doctoral program in Human Rights was created,” mentioned Dr. Salazar Estrada.

Likewise, he highlighted that the university center monitors violations of university regulations, the protocol for the prevention, care, punishment and eradication of gender violence, and issues of human rights, regulated as well by the Ombudsman’s Office. These elements are consolidated as a responsibility to contribute to the Culture of Peace, promoting respect for all people and the defense of human rights.

Professor Hiram Valdez Chávez, founding President of the First National Congress of Culture of Peace (COMNAPAZ) Mexico, explained that this forum is of great importance in the country, being an international platform for participation by citizens, international organizations and civil associations of Human Rights, Culture of Peace and Human Development.

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(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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“This forum is undoubtedly a great challenge, especially to design and carry out year after year in strengthening international peace and educational models that involve the professionalization of actors involved in the culture of peace,” explained Valdez Chávez.

Dr. Norman Bardavid Nissin, President of the Global Citizen Organization for the Culture of Peace, explained that peace is a state of being in unity, observed from three dimensions: individual, social and environmental. At the same time, he highlighted that the citizen forum was born with the intention of generating a global organization that could linki to national peace commissions that have followed the example of Mexico.

Dr. Dante Jaime Haro Reyes, Defender of University Rights at the UdeG, commented that the responsibility of each human being is to turn into reality the values, attitudes, and behaviors that promote the culture of peace. This is achieved by acting within the family, local citizen, regional and national framework.

Finally, Dr. Andrés Valdez Zepeda, Academic Secretary of CUSur, recited a poem he authored titled “Peace is the way.”

As part of the activities of the VI Global Forum on the Culture of Peace, the master conference “Peace Studies in Latin America” was held in the Adolfo Aguilar Zínser Auditorium, given by Dr. Fernando Montiel, Director of the Galtung Institute, headquarters in Mexico and Representative of Johan Galtung in Latin America. He highlighted that peace research and the pacifist movement are two different things but they are connected.

He referred to the first generation of peace activism, understood as opposition to war and open violence, that is, the search for peace from a moral perspective by condemning violence in ethical and moral terms.

In this context, Dr. Fernando Montiel questioned whether Mexico is in a state of peace or war. He highlighted that, according to the basic definitions of Public International Law, war is equal to any armed conflict that causes more than a thousand deaths per year. A few years ago, the State Department maintained that nearly 300,000 people have lost their lives in Mexico for reasons related to organized crime.

“Mexico is a country at war by any metric. Why isn’t this recognized? Because Mexico has an internal conflict, not a war. The numbers say that a fierce humanitarian tragedy is occurring, no matter if it is a war against drug trafficking in particular or an internal armed conflict […]  The truth is that the suffering is there regardless of the labels, said Fernando Montiel.

Finally, he commented that the development of peace studies is part of the pacifist movement, since they are academic research disciplines existing in university faculties whose objective is to find the way in which peace can be achieved. For this reason, he explained that in 1959 the first Peace Research Center in the world was founded in Norway, the famous Peace Research Institute of Oslo (PRIO). Five years later, in 1964, the first journal specialized in peace research, the Journal of Peace Research, was established, becoming the formal beginning of peace studies as a publicly recognized academic discipline.

Subsequently, the panel “Construction of Citizenship and Promotion of the Culture of Peace” was held, as well as the international tables “Education, Consciousness and Peace”, Public Policies of Peace, Security, Justice and Peace. In addition, comprehensive peace-building workshops were taught in different classrooms at the university center.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Arkansas Martin Luther King Jr. Commission hosting nonviolence youth summit at Hall STEAM Magnet High School

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

Excerpts from text of video at Yahoo News

In honor of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.’s message of unity, service and nonviolence, the Arkansas Martin Luther King, Jr. Commission is hosting their 2023 Nonviolence Youth Summit: Building a Culture of Peace.

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Question for this article
 
What’s the message to us today from Martin Luther King, Jr.?

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Dorothea Wilson joins us live from Hall High School in Little Rock to help us learn more about today’s summit about building a culture of peace: “Commission officials say they’re going to be discussing topics like non-violence, anti-bullying and financial literacy.”

Principal Carlton McGee tells us that this event is very important not only to our students here at Hall, but the community of Little Rock as a whole. “Because here at Hall we foster a culture of non-violence in our students and that is the same goals that the summit sets out to achieve.”

Program director Diana Shelton tells us this year ten such summits have been organized. “We go across the state of Arkansas with these programs, encouraging and empowering our youth to be change agents for their community and to make our world a better place.”

“The workshops include alumni who are super excited to come back and give back to their school. and so, we have the community as partners.”

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, North America

Brazil: Ministry of Education advances the debate on restorative justice

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from the Ministry of Education in Brazil

On Tuesday, November 28th, the 2nd Restorative Justice Dialogue in Schools was organized by the Ministry of Education (MEC) through the Secretariat of Continuing Education, Youth and Adult Literacy, Diversity and Inclusion (Secadi). The initiative is in partnership with the National Council of Justice (CNJ) and aims to promote a culture of peace and non-violence in schools. The broadcast is available on the MEC YouTube Channel.

This second meeting featured the participation of judge Egberto de Almeida Penido and judge Roberto Portugal Bacellar. The debate was moderated by Yann Evanovick Furtado, general coordinator of Educational Policies for Youth, at Secadi.

According to  judge Roberto Portugal Bacellar, having a new look at the issue of authority makes it possible to work in a cooperative, integrative manner and with a systemic vision. “The idea of restorative justice is that we can analyze a conflict with a complex, systemic view, instead of seeing it as a fragmented episode. We analyze it not as a portrait, but as a film, where we can try to learn about each person’s story,” he explained. According to the judge, restorative justice is participatory and a conflict must be treated together by all who are involved, including students, teachers, principals and even the community.

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(Click here for the original article in Portuguese)

Discussion question

Restorative justice, What does it look like in practice?

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According to judge Egberto de Almeida Penido, restorative justice in schools is an initiative to deal not only with violence, but with the construction of an environment of fair coexistence. “When we talk about restorative justice, we are talking about the value of justice, which is a very expensive value, too precious to be in the hands of jurists alone. It concerns each and every one, the way we respond to what affects us”, he stated. According to him, schools that have adhered to restorative practices have seen a drop in the rate of violence.

Dialogues – The Restorative Justice in Schools cycle of dialogues is part of the Technical Cooperation Agreement for the implementation of the “Restorative Justice in Schools” project, signed by the MEC and the CNJ on November 14th. The debates are a preparation for the implementation of restorative practices in the school environment in 2024. The objective is to promote a culture of peace and non-violence in schools, using practices that involve dialogue, accountability and repairing the damage caused by conflicts.

Agreement – The Technical Cooperation Agreement for the implementation of the “Restorative Justice in Schools” project has the objective of contributing resources so that schools can create environments that facilitate the confrontation of internal violence. It is based on qualified listening and restoration and strengthening of relationships that permeate the school environment. These actions require the commitment of the entire school community (leaders, teachers, students, parents) and society, as well as through the training of professionals and students who have an interface with the education network.

The project also includes: partnership between the courts; the participation of magistrates and civil servants; institutional partners; and the education system and its schools. The dissemination of the basic notions about the various possibilities and functionalities of restorative justice is the responsibility of the CNJ’s Restorative Justice Steering Committee.

The Technical Cooperation Agreement requires the Ministry of Education and the National Council of Justice must promote articulation, management, awareness-raising and training actions in order to achieve restorative justice in the educational system.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Mexico: Multipliers of Peace impact more than 19 thousand young people from Guanajuato

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Canal 13

During 2023, 19,241 people in the state of Guanajuato have been impacted through the JuventudEsGTO Peace Multipliers program, which aims to train enthusiastic and committed young people to learn to drive. their socio-emotional behavior and can voluntarily carry out peace actions to benefit their environments.

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(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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“We have determined as one of our most important strategies in JuventudEsGTO, which is the Peace Multipliers program, through which we seek to humanize youth, understanding that not only the development of young people involves economic, educational, but also a personal issue that allows us to self-manage, administer and know how to use our emotions” said Toño Navarro, general director of JuventudEsGTO.

This program, which uses the “Humanízate” methodology, consists of various activities that involve the participation of the youth community, such as discussions, training sessions, conferences, macro games and virtual meetings.

To this end, so far this year, this program has visited more than 40 educational institutions, from the different subsystems, as well as public spaces in all the municipalities of the state to reach a greater number of people.

In this strategy, young people between 17 and 30 years old can participate who intend to generate a positive change in their life and environment, building a culture of peace.

The JuventudEsGTO Peace Multipliers program is an opportunity for young people from Guanajuato to train as social leaders, learn to manage their emotions and contribute to generating a culture of peace in their communities.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Medellín, Colombia, with the most peaceful days in the last 40 years

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from Cambio Colombia

Four years after its creation, the Medellín Non-Violence Secretariat makes spaces for reparation between victims, perpetrators and citizens. As a result, Medellin has achieved the calmest days in the city since the 1980s.


Photo: Mayor’s Office of Medellín.

The capital of Antioquia is experiencing the most peaceful days of the last 40 years. As an example, during the protests of the social outbreak in the country, Medellín was the only place that did not report deaths or missing people.

This was possible thanks to the creation of the Non-Violence Secretariat in 2020, which at that time worked hand in hand with marchers and public forces to preserve order and respect for human rights.

Likewise, the launch of the Secretariat by the District Administration has turned Medellín into a Latin American example for reparation and care for victims, ex-combatants and people deprived of their liberty. Furthermore, thanks to the work of this department with the public force, the city has recorded a reduction of more than 40% in homicides.

The contribution to total peace

Already at the beginning of its activities in September 2020, the Non-Violence Secretariat began to show results. In 2022, thanks to the entity, the Mayor’s Office of Medellín managed to make victims, peace signatories, boys, girls, adolescents and young people the main protagonists of peace building and creators of common spaces, which was previously thought unlikely.

This was achieved through attention to the victims of the armed conflict, and with opportunities and training for peace signatories; with prevention of the involvement of adolescents and young people in organized crime, with the Partners Program; and with training in a culture of peace for boys and girls; also with the implementation of actions with a sense of reparation between victims, community and those responsible.

“The Non-Violence Secretariat is delivering for society and the community organizations with which we interact every day. This work is reflected in the advances in the structuring of the Public Peace Policy for Medellín that has been done in a participatory manner. Also, there is an increase in coverage and in the participation of different populations in various processes,” according to the Secretary of Non-Violence, Cristian Aguirre.

In addition, the implementation strategy of the Peace Agreement was developed, based on the signing of the Agreement with the Special Justice for Peace (JEP) and the recognition of the peace agenda with a restorative approach built by the Collective Memories Process and Territorial Peace in Manrique.

Promotion of employment and entrepreneurship

An economic autonomy strategy was consolidated through employment training processes, composed of eleven courses that impacted approximately 220 people in developing skills and competencies for the populations that are part of the agency’s programs.

Also, support was provided for employability, which has allowed 963 people to get into the job market, 838 of them have been victims of the armed conflict, that is, about 87% of the beneficiaries are victims.

141 enterprises were impacted with the program to strengthen the productive units of victims, with $199 million. And, finally, there is the “Made in Peace” strategy that has been part of 12 city fairs and has generated sales of $228 million in events such as the Flower Fair, the Book Festival, the Month for Peace, the Days of Non-Violence, and Football for Life and Peace.

Accompaniment to victims of the conflict

Among the milestones achieved with the victims of the conflict is the resumption of the search for people reported missing in La Escombrera (commune 13), which could be carried out after seven years of having been suspended.

This work, coordinated with the Search Unit for Persons Reported Missing, the Special Jurisdiction for Peace (JEP) and victims’ organizations, involved a budget of more than $468 million. Another milestone is the delivery of basic income to 7,777 victims of the armed conflict, settled in the city.

In relation to reincorporation and reintegration into social and economic life, the Non-Violence Secretariat has accompanied 610 ex-combatants to enable their access to the offer of employability and entrepreneurship.

In addition, during 2022, productive projects were strengthened and awareness workshops were held with the business sector to promote inclusion and non-stigmatization. In addition, the route of economic reintegration of the signatories of the Peace Agreement was supported and disseminated from the line of action “Community productive development” with professional and technical support for 34 productive units.

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish.)

Question related to this article:

How can we develop the institutional framework for a culture of peace?

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

(Article continued from left column)

To transform territories and enable peaceful forms of conflict resolution, 4,695 boys, girls, adolescents and young people were trained in peacebuilding by the Schools of Non-Violence, which worked from art, culture and territorial peace based on processes of memory, truth, restorative justice and humanization of conflicts.

“Within our strategies against organized crime and common crime, at the head of the Prosecutor’s Office, the crime of instrumentalization of minors is being charged to those leaders and members of all these criminal organizations who are using or using minors for their misdeeds. . Thus, all the ringleaders have charges in this crime,” said the Secretary of Security and Coexistence, José Gerardo Acevedo.

Through the Partners strategy, 1,443 adolescents and young people were reached with training processes in life skills, construction of territorial peace and strengthening of their life projects. With this, 135 young people were linked to educational, entrepreneurship and employability activities.

In addition, the District developed a tool to analyze the status of the children and adolescents, at the beginning and at the end of their participation in the project, which made it possible to know their impact and generate knowledge about the prevention of instrumentalization or recruitment by illegal armed actors in the city.

In the Youth Public Health and Youth Habitat programs, with more than 1,000 young beneficiaries, the agenda was aligned with key issues for the peace of the country, such as the solution to the drug problem, peace agreements and post-agreements, and the Agreement from Escazú, among others.

And through the Conscious Consumption strategy, a commitment was made to the decriminalization of substance users, and with the Seres del Agua and Medellín en la Cabeza projects, reflection was made on the protection of the environment and those who safeguard it.

Schools of Non-Violence

Another of the secretary’s strategies was the creation of the Schools of Non-Violence through which a process is developed that seeks to transform the lives of boys, girls, young people and adolescents by training them through art and culture to build peace in their territories, in addition to showing them forms of resistance and humanization of conflicts in the face of violence.

The main allies to be able to bring this offer to different communes and townships of Medellín are the social organizations that in each territory work to remember, seek the truth, and be symbols of resilience and resistance against violence with art and culture to transform realities. .

Ana María Hoyos, 24 years old, is a trainer of the Schools of Non-Violence and is part of the Robledo Venga Parchemos Corporation, an organization that has been developing processes for the construction of peace and memory through art for a long time. . Among the processes carried out in the corporation is the incubator of aerial acrobatics in fabrics, in which Ana is one of the promoters through theater and circus processes, and with which they are also linked to the Schools of Non-Violence , relating these artistic activities to the processing and humanization of conflicts for the construction of peace.

“In 2015 we were established as a corporation and this was born from the gathering in the territory of young artists who met in other spaces in the city and due to the very complex and violent dynamics of the territory they did not meet in the same neighborhood. They saw in the Robledo Venga Parchemos Corporation the possibility of being recognized and validated from other perspectives; and so they found a new way of inhabiting public space by filling it with art,” says Ana María.

In the Corporation they started with cultural spaces and from this two events emerged that are the most representative. The first most emblematic event of all was an Artistic and Cultural Lunada, which revolves around sitting in a park to share a chocolate, to make music, that is, to make a cultural take, which little by little evolved and became a cultural march through the neighborhood.

Ana María tells how her proposal has evolved. “Little by little ‘La Lunada’ was transformed until it reached the open-air theater in La Batea park, which is where it is currently performed. This was before a place of consumption and fights, and ‘La Lunada’ came to redefine this space to fill it.

The second event was the Circo al Puente, which was born from the intention of holding an artistic exhibition of the aerial acrobatics. ‘”This process began on the Bridge between Robledo Aures and Villa Sofía, which was previously an invisible border and we turned it into a space where we could practice aerial acrobatics. Thus we began to transform another space that had been violent, to fill it with art and redefine it,” said Ana María.

The Robledo Venga Parchemos Corporation projects itself and shares its knowledge in the territory with the boys, girls, adolescents and young people who are part of its group. It has transformed the neighborhood, giving new meaning to the territories and appropriating public space to fill it with culture.

This process has been strengthened by the Schools of Non-Violence, since they have not only been linked as a school, but they themselves are constantly in training to continue acquiring various knowledge and taking it to their training. Diploma courses and collaborators are some of these spaces to remember, share knowledge and experiences.

The Non-Violence policy of the District Mayor’s Office continues to work hand in hand with the social organizations that have committed to the processes of peace construction, resignification of the territories, building memory and searching for the truth, to continue impacting and transforming processes through art and culture and in this way be closer and closer to that peaceful future of Medellín.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Update on UN response to Israeli destruction of Palestine

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION . .

Synopsis of data as of November 29 from the United Nations Relief and Works Agency

Situation in Gaza

As of 29 November, nearly 1.1 million internally displaced persons (IDPs) were sheltering in 156 UNRWA installations across all five governorates of the Gaza Strip, including in the North and Gaza City.  The average number of IDPs in UNRWA shelters is 9,500, more than four times their capacity. Around 1.8 million people (or over 80 per cent of the population) have been displaced across the Gaza Strip since 7 October.

(Editor’s note: The definition contained in Article II of the UN Convention describes genocide as a crime committed with the intent to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, in whole or in part.)


Palestinians moving within the Gaza Strip during the humanitarian pause, 27 November 2023. © 2023 UNRWA Photo by Ashraf Amra

In the Gaza Strip, on 27 and 28 November, 160 bodies were recovered from the rubble, according to the Government Media Office (GMO) in Gaza. The office reported that, since the start of hostilities, more than 15,000 Palestinians have been killed in Gaza, including about 6,150 children and 4,000 women.

As of 29 November, 111 UNRWA colleagues have been killed since the beginning of the war

As of 29 November, UNRWA was able to verify that 104 incidents have occurred at 82 UNRWA premises since the beginning of the war. Thirty installations were hit directly and 52 sustained collateral damage. In addition, UNRWA received reports of the military use of its facilities on at least five occasions

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Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

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Since the beginning of the conflict, at least 218 internally displaced people sheltering in UNRWA schools have reportedly been killed and at least 894 have been injured.

Situation in West Bank

In the West Bank, According to OCHA, since 7 October, 238 Palestinians, including 63 children, have been killed by the Israeli Forces in the West Bank. In addition, eight people, including one child, have been killed by Israeli settlers. 

Medical and psychological emergency in Gaza

On 29 November, nine (out of 22) UNRWA health centres were still operational in the Middle and Southern areas, recording 10,312 patients visits, including Palestine Refugees and non-refugees.

UNRWA teams, including 196 social workers in the shelters, provided psychosocial first aid and other specialized protection services to IDPs. Since 7 October, 81,102 people (over 60 per cent of whom are females) have been reached. UNRWA school counsellors in collaboration with other organizations reached around 375,000 children with recreational activities.

Lack of food, drinking water and sanitation in Gaza

UNRWA distribution of flour outside of shelters continued on 29 November in the southern governorates. A total of 30,222 families have been reached so far.

UNRWA continues to operate eight water wells pumping about 9,000 cubic metres to provide potable and domestic water supply. Potable water trucking operations to the shelters in Rafah and Khan Younis areas continue.

Provision of potable water through tankers of Coast Municipalities Water Utility started to have the shelters provided with potable water in Rafah.

Solid waste collection from the camps, emergency shelters and transfer to landfills continues in the Middle, Khan Younis and Rafah areas. About 45 loadings were transferred to temporary dumping sites on 29 November.  There is an urgent need for additional sanitation trucks and vehicles.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Mideast, United Nations,