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.

France: “Desertons”: young engineers call for refusing “destructive jobs”

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Reporterre (translation by CPNN)

During a speech delivered at the AgroParisTech graduation ceremony on May 10, eight students said they refused to perform “destructive jobs” and called on their comrades to join the ecological struggles and to work with their hands.

The large bright screen announced the end-of-year speech of a young graduate. But at the podium, they arrived as eight instead of one. In turn, they described the role that their training and their profession play in the ecological and social disaster and called on their colleagues to “take another path”.


A frame from the from video of their speeches
(click on the image to watch the video)

The 2022 graduates are now meeting for the last time after three or four years at AgroParisTech. Many of us do not want to pretend to be proud and deserving of obtaining this diploma at the end of a training which globally pushes to participate in the social and ecological devastations in progress.

We do not see ourselves as “the talents of a sustainable planet”.

We do not see ecological and social devastation as “issues” or “challenges” to which we should find solutions as engineers.

We do not believe that we need “all agricultures”. Rather, we see that agribusiness is waging a war on the living and on the peasantry everywhere on Earth.

We do not see science and technology as neutral and apolitical.

We believe that technological innovation or start-ups will save nothing but capitalism.

We do not believe in “sustainable development”, nor in “green growth”, nor in “ecological transition”, an expression which implies that society can become sustainable without getting rid of the dominant social order. .

AgroParisTech trains hundreds of students every year to work for the industry in various ways: tampering with plants in the lab for multinationals that reinforce the enslavement of farmers; designing prepared meals and then chemotherapy to treat the diseases caused; inventing good conscience labels to allow managers to believe themselves heroic by eating better than others; developing “green energies” which make it possible to accelerate the digitization of society while polluting and exploiting on the other side of the world; producing CSR [corporate social responsibility] reports that are all the longer and more delirious because the crimes they hide are scandalous; or even counting frogs and butterflies so that concrete workers can make them disappear legally.

“We speak to those who doubt”

These jobs are destructive, and to choose them is to harm… by serving the interests of the few.

Yet these are the opportunities that were presented to us throughout our studies at AgroParisTech. On the other hand, we have never been told about graduates who consider that these professions are more part of the problems than of the solutions and who have chosen to desert.

We speak to those who doubt. Whether this doubt is daily — or fleeting.

To you, who accepted a job because “you need a first experience”.

To you, whose loved ones work to perpetuate the system, and who feel the weight of their gaze on your professional choices.

To you, who, seated behind a desk, look out the window dreaming of space and freedom.

To you who take the TGV every weekend in search of a well-being never found.

To you who feel uneasiness rising without being able to name it, who often find that this world is crazy, who want to do something but don’t really know what, or who hoped to “change things from the inside” and don’t believe it already.

We wanted to let you know that you’re not the only ones who think there’s something wrong. Because there really is something wrong.

(article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original article in French

Question for this article:

Despite the vested interests of companies and governments, Can we make progress toward sustainable development?

Are we seeing the dawn of a global youth movement?

(Article continued from the left column)

We too have doubted, and sometimes we still doubt.

And we refuse to serve this system, we have decided to look for other ways, to build our own paths.

How did it start?

We met people who were struggling, and we followed them on their battlefields. They made us see the other side of the projects that we could have carried out as engineers. I think of Christina and Emmanuel who see the concrete flowing on their land on the Saclay plateau. I think of this dry hole, a derisory compensation for a pond full of newts. Or to Nico who sees from his tower block the popular gardens of his childhood razed for the construction of an eco-district.

Here and there, we have met people who are experimenting with other ways of life, who are reclaiming knowledge and know-how so as to no longer depend on the monopolies of polluting industries.

People who understand their territory to live from it without exhausting it. Who actively fight harmful projects. Who practice a popular, decolonial and feminist ecology on a daily basis. Who find the time to live well and take care of each other. All these encounters have inspired us to imagine our own paths.

… I have been living for two years at the zad of Notre-Dame-des-Landes where I do collective and subsistence farming, among other things.

… I am in the process of setting up in beekeeping in the Dauphiné.

… I joined the Les Uprisings of the Earth movement to fight against the grabbing of agricultural land and its concrete everywhere in France.

… I live in the mountains, I have a seasonal job and I start drawing.

… We settle in a collective in the Tarn on a Terre de Liens farm with a peasant baker, brewers and arboriculturists.

… I am committed against nuclear power near Bure.

… I train today to settle tomorrow and work with my hands.

We consider these ways of living to be more than necessary and we know that they will make us stronger and happier.

Worried about stepping aside because it wouldn’t “do well” on your resume?

To distance yourself from your family and your network?

To deprive you of the recognition that a career as an agricultural engineer would bring you?

But what life do we want? A cynical boss? A salary that allows you to fly? A thirty-year loan for a pavilion? Not even five weeks a year to breathe in an “unusual lodge”? An electric SUV, a Fairphone and a Biocoop loyalty card?

And then a burnout at 40?

“Let’s not wait for the 12ᵉ IPCC report”

Let’s not waste our time. But above all, let’s not lose this energy that is boiling somewhere in us.

Let’s not give up when we are stuck with financial obligations.

Let’s not wait for our kids to ask us for money to go shopping in the Metaverse because we ran out of time to make them dream of something else.

Let’s not wait to be incapable of anything other than a pseudo-reconversion in the same job, but repainted in green.

Let’s not wait for the 12th IPCC report, which will demonstrate that states and multinationals have never done anything but make the problems worse, and which will place its last hopes in popular uprisings and revolts.

You can fork now.

Start training as a farmer-baker. Leave for a few months of woofing. Participate in a construction site on a zad or elsewhere. Engage with those in need. Get involved in a self-managed bike workshop or join a weekend of struggle with the Earth Uprisings.

It can start like this.

It’s up to you to find your ways to take another path.

Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Position of World’s Governments on Ukraine Considered Insane Pacifism in U.S.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

A blog by David Swanson, World BEYOND War

The stance taken on Ukraine by many of the governments of the world is outside acceptable debate in the United States.

The Secretary General of the United Nations António Guterres has proposed a ceasefire, urged a negotiated settlement, and met with the President of Russia despite opposition in the West to doing so. Pope Francis has urged a ceasefire and negotiations, declared that no war can be justified, and encouraged workers to block weapons shipments. China’s Ambassador to the United Nations Zhang Jun has urged nations’ governments to pursue a ceasefire and offered China’s assistance.

The President of Italy Sergio Mattarella, speaking to the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe, has urged pursuit of a ceasefire and negotiated settlement. Italian Prime Minister Mario Draghi and Foreign Minister Luigi Di Maio have even proposed a draft agreement. India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi has urged a ceasefire and peace talks. The President of France Emanuel Macron has proposed a ceasefire, negotiations, and the creation of new non-military alliances.

Brazil’s ambassador to the United Nations Ronaldo Costa Filho has urged an immediate ceasefire. The President of Germany Frank-Walter Steinmeier and Chancellor Olaf Scholz have urged a ceasefire and negotiations. Chair of the African Union President of Senegal Macky Sall has called for a ceasefire. South Africa’s ambassador to the United Nations Jerry Matjila and Deputy President David Mabuza have called for a ceasefire and negotiations.

(Continued in right column)

Questions related to this article:
 
Can the peace movement help stop the war in the Ukraine?

Free flow of information, How is it important for a culture of peace?

(Continued from left column)

On its face, or if we were talking about any war other than Ukraine, this might all seem sensible, even inevitable. A war must eventually be ended, either through negotiation or by putting an end to us all via nuclear apocalypse. The belief by both sides that ending it later will be better is almost always catastrophically wrong. The unwillingness to end wars is driven largely by hatred, resentment, and the corrupt influences that create wars in the first place. So, a negotiated settlement must come, and the sooner the better. A ceasefire, of course, need not wait for a resolution of all issues, only for a credible commitment to negotiate by all sides.

But we are talking about Ukraine here, and U.S. media has persuaded much of the U.S. public that nothing short of the destruction or elimination of the Russian government is morally worthy of consideration, even if it risks nuclear holocaust for the planet.

This might be an occasion to consider how the United States differs from the rest of the world on other matters military. The U.S. spends vastly more money on militarism than any other government, about as much as the next 10 nations put together, 8 of those 10 being U.S. weapons customers pressured by the U.S. to spend more.

Below those top 11 military spenders, do you know how many nations it takes to add up to the same level of spending as the U.S. engages in? It’s a trick question. You can add up the spending of the next 142 countries and not come anywhere close.

U.S. weapons exports are more than those of the next five countries.
The U.S. holds well over 90% of the world’s foreign military bases, that is bases that are in someone else’s country. The U.S. is the only country with nuclear weapons in someone else’s country; it has nukes in Turkey, Italy, Belgium, Netherlands, and Germany — and is now putting them in the UK.

It’s possible that, in fact, the world’s governments have been taken over by deranged Putin-loving pacifistic lunatics. But it’s a fact that U.S. culture has been saturated for decades in pro-war infotainment, and that the world’s biggest booster of militarism is the U.S. government. It’s possible that this had had some effect on the ability of the U.S. public to consider sensible alternatives to war.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, North America

Culture of Peace Foundation: We join the Global Days of Action to Reduce Military Expenditure and to demand a budget for peace

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY .

An article from Fundación Cultura de Paz

The Culture of Peace Foundation has joined the call of the Global Days of Action for the Reduction of Military Spending (GDAMS) that calls for a budget for peace policies. As noted in the appeal, that You can read here, “The $1.98 trillion spent on armies in 2020 did not provide us with true security, rather bloated budgets for weapons and war left us mired in a cycle of violence. It is time for us to come together and call on governments around the world to cut military spending and instead invest in common and human security. It is time to give peace a budget.”


We are seeing today, with the military invasion of Ukraine, that both political leaders and the media “continue to push solutions focused on military power projection and deterrence” and seem to advocate increasing already bloated military budgets. But it is clear that militarism has not brought us more security.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article.)

Question related to this article:

Does military spending lead to economic decline and collapse?

(Article continued from left column)

As noted in the appeal, “The collective military spending of NATO members, which is 18 times that of Russia, did not prevent President Putin from invading Ukraine. Even so, its Member States have reaffirmed their commitment to spend 2% of their GDP on military spending in response to Russia’s war of aggression. By now it should be obvious that some countries trying to outspend others on weapons of all sizes is not an adequate defense and security strategy. It hasn’t worked in the past and it never will.”

On the other hand, the member organizations point out, “the global commitment to militarization also destroys trust and undermines cooperation efforts between countries.” Governments must invest in cooperation and multilateralism, “putting more options on the table than the threat of war and annihilation.” We suffer from many threats, such as the climate crisis or growing social inequality, in the face of which hardly any funds are allocated to face them compared to military spending, so that “the collective action necessary to face the global emergencies of our time remains in the background”.

Military spending does not guarantee our security “and prevents the global collaboration that is essential for human well-being.” For this reason, the adhering organizations call on “civil society and the media to press for large reductions in military spending, instead of the increases announced in many countries.”

“We demand that governments reduce their military spending and instead allocate funds to common and human security, investing in the true needs of people and the planet to build a just and sustainable peace.

If we want to give peace a chance, we have to give it a budget.”

DISARMAMENT & SECURITY, Europe

Ibarra, Ecuador: Culture of peace, the way towards a good coexistence

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article in Diario El Norte (translation by CPNN)

Ibarra. “For us, a culture of peace is to see from another point of view how we can solve problems,” said Jesús León, a young man who dreams of living in a safer parish and city; and a culture of peace may be the key.

Jesús is part of The Warriors collective, a group made up of adolescents and young people between 14 and 22 years of age. The great challenge of this group of young people is, through a true culture of peace, to change the image of the Guayaquil de Alpachaca parish, one of the most populous sectors of the capital of Imbabura.


Months ago, several of these adolescents and young people participated in training and workshops supported by international organizations and carried out by the Social Group Ecuadorian Fund Populorum Progressio.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How important is community development for a culture of peace?

(Article continued from left column)

The youth prepared themselves on various themes. For example: in cultural issues and community journalism. Omar Becerra is an expert in this type of area and has worked in various provinces of Ecuador. In an interview with Diario EL NORTE he explained: “In the past the culture of peace was seen as only values ​​and ethics. But we believe it should also include cultural actions, organization and civil participation as well”.

For this reason, Jesús and his companions have participated in meetings that have been held in his parish to discuss the issue of safety and good coexistence.

They have also participated in youth agendas.

León also explained that they hold meetings to define in which neighborhoods of the Alpachaca parish they will later work. These sectors include: Vista al Lago, Mirador de Alpachaca, Miravalle, Primero de Enero and Santa Teresita.

Jesús León also took the opportunity to call on institutions and NGOs to provide them with help and to continue strengthening the issue of a culture of peace.

Adolescents and young people from Alpachaca and from other Ibarra parishes have participated in several fairs that have been held in different sectors of the city.

For example, Yadira Ulcuango, who plans to be a peacemaker, lives in the La Dolorosa parish of El Priorato. Ella ulcuango explained that she is part of this project, she has made them see life differently and to solve problems and resolve conflicts.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Mexico: UAEM and PJEM will coordinate activities in the “Week of Access to the Culture of Peace”

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from Diario Portal (translation by CPNN)

Cybersecurity, Builders of Peace, Digital Culture and Emotional Reengineering, are some of the topics addressed in the “Week of Access to the Culture of Peace” that takes place from May 16 to 20, organized by the Judiciary of the State of Mexico and the Autonomous University of the Mexico (UAEMéx).

(Click here for the Spanish original. . )

Questions for this article:

Can festivals help create peace at the community level?

The meeting brings together specialists from the Cloister of Sor Juana, the Autonomous University of San Luis Potosí, the EJEM Judicial Research Center, the Electoral Judicial School, the UAEMéx and the Anahuac University.

Among the activities are two Film-Debates with the Films: Hotel Rwanda and Little Voices; the book “A transitional justice for Mexico. Experiences and realities”; a 5km or 2.5km Walk for Peace, at the Alberto “Chivo”; Córdoba, from University City; and the prizes of the First Culture of Peace Poster Contest.

The week includes the Inauguration of the “Memory and Tolerance Tunnel”, Exhibition of the Museum of Memory and Tolerance; the Monologue “The culture of peace in the words of a superhero”; the Workshop for teachers of the Upper Secondary Level “What do I do with the emotions of my students?”.

A dialogue table and five conferences, among them, “Builders of Peace” will be given by Paolo Pagliai, Director of the College of Human Rights and Peace Management, and Law of the University of the Cloister of Sor Juana.

The inauguration by Judge Ricardo Sodi Cuellar, head of the Judicial Power of the State of Mexico and Doctor Carlos Barrera Díaz, Rector of the UAEMéx, is on Monday, May 16, in the Aula Magna “Lic. Adolfo López Mateos” of the Historical Building of the Rectory and the closing on Friday 20 in the Aula Magna “Mgdo. Lic. Gustavo A. Barrera Graf” of the Judicial School of the State of Mexico.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Querétero, México; What is the culture of peace?

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An editorial by Rodrigo Mancera in the Tribuna de Querétero (translation by CPNN)

With the aim of promoting a series of values, attitudes and behaviors that reject violence and prevent conflicts, the Culture of Peace aims to learn and teach to engage in dialogue, reflection and consensus, as well as to solve problems through respect for human rights. It is not the absence of violence, but a refocus that guarantees learning from conflict and the positive development of people and their communities.

Approved by the United Nations Organization (UN) on October 6, 1999, in the document Declaration and Program of Action on a Culture of Peace, the General Assembly emphasizes the Charter of the United Nations, the constitution of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. It recognizes that peace is not only the absence of conflict, but also a process aimed at a solution.

Made up of nine articles, it includes a Program of Action with Objectives, strategies and main agents and a consolidation of the measures to be adopted by all peace agents, relevant at the national, regional and international levels, in which measures are discussed to promote a Culture of Peace mainly through education. It calls on all (individuals, groups, associations, educational communities, companies and institutions) to bring to their daily activities a consistent commitment based on respect for all lives, solidarity, generosity, understanding, environmental preservation and rejection of violence.

According to the Manifesto for a culture of peace and non-violence of the year 2000, this movement seeks a fairer, more supportive, freer, dignified and harmonious world, as well as prosperity for all. It urges countries to maintain a world free of wars, without conflicts and corruption. Its four axes include rejecting violence, practicing active non-violence and rejecting physical, sexual, psychological, economic and social violence in all its aspects, particularly towards the weakest, such as children and adolescents.

The Manifesto calls for generosity through actions, sharing time and material and psychological resources with the people who most need it and giving them the privilege of having an opportunity; Contribute to the development of the community, promoting the full participation of women and respect for democratic principles, in order to create together new forms of solidarity; And preserve the planet, by promoting responsible consumption and taking into account the importance of life and the balance of the natural resources of the planet on which we live.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the original article in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How can we promote a human rights, peace based education?

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

(Article continued from left column)

By October 2006, the movement for a culture of peace had more than 700 organizations, which participated in a report on the advances in this culture in 2005. As well as the culture of non-violent resistance, it became a form of protest related to civil disobedience that advocates the achievement of political, social and cultural change without the need to use violence as a political weapon. Symbolic protests and acts of non-cooperation in the political and economic areas are used in this practice.

Currently, the culture of peace is formed in a long-term process of action based on moral and ethical principles of personal recognition in the relationship of people with people. It continues the search to sow the values ​​of peace in the minds of human beings.

As Elsa Rojas Bonilla, a teacher in Social Sciences in Colombia, points out, educating for a culture of peace and citizenship education is a challenge for the community. Its different components are a way to transform the society to allow human beings to find solutions that allow conflicts to be faced without violence, with the necessary strength to reach solutions in a convulsed society so thateveryone is a winner,

In her article “The culture of peace and its importance in the process of citizen training”, Rojas Bonilla points out that the objective is to search for a new type of citizen, capable of relating to other people, respecting the rules of coexistence, knowing their rights, fulfilling their duties, and inserting themselves constructively in the new society. The pedagogical processes that allow the creation of a culture of peace must promote the process of appropriation of knowledge related to the territory, culture, the economic and social context and historical memory, with the purpose of reconstructing the social fabric, promoting general prosperity and guarantee the effectiveness of the principles, rights and duties.

In the Mexican context, although the culture of peace has few investigations and lacks applications to a great extent, there are organizations that seek the same goal as that previously stated by the UN. Mexico suffers from an internal war between the authorities and organized crime, the processes and acts of corruption, as well as statements with hate speech by both local and state leaders as well as the head of the executive, which makes the country a candidate for the process and the necessary practice of the culture of peace and non-violence.

In fact, speeches like “I want to address you, criminal; I don’t care where you are or where you’re hiding” by Mauricio Kuri, Governor of the State of Querétaro, and the various threats made by President Andrés Manuel López Obrador himself against the opposition and the national press, these cases, among others, create a context that discourages peace in our country. As the UN manifesto reminds us, one of the challenges is to transform the perspective, traditions and imposed cultures that were created based on violence, racism and corruption, because : “only in societies that live in equity, freedom, equality and solidarity, can there be peace”.

Click here to see how these principles are put into action for education at the Autonomous University of Querétaro.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Ecuador: Hip-hop and urban art are reaffirmed as a ‘culture of peace’ at a festival in Garza Roja

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from El Universo (translation by CPNN)

Given that the hip-hop movement and its cultural values ​​are growing in Ecuador, thanks to the various initiatives of artists, managers, communicators and activists, this Saturday, May 21, the first meeting of local urban art and culture will be held, called Hip-hop to the Garza.


The event is rooted in the Hip-Hop Peace Declaration, which Temple of Hip Hop, Ribbons International, UNESCO and 300 pioneering hip hop culture activists signed in May 2001. The declaration recognizes the movement as a culture of peace, personal development and international prosperity at the service of communities. The movement fights against the realities of inequity and social inequality in society and governments. It is celebrated annually in the month of May.

(continued in right column)

(Click here for the original Spanish version of this article.)

Question for this article:

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?

(continued from left column)

This year the initiative is a development of the groups Música en Casa, Casa Impro, Wide Mixer and the Garza Roja Cultural Foundation.

“Most of the urban areas in Guayaquil are engaged in the urban culture of hip hop. We want to show that urban culture not only encompasses singers, graffiti artists, but also many people who make other types of art, and that is why this event is important so that all these actors can also get to know each other and that the public can identify with them”, explains Sara Arana, the Rap Lawyer and spokesperson for the meeting.

“We don’t need to sing rap or dress in a stereotyped way, we live urban art every day”.

The festival is projected as an outdoor urban experience with the four elements of hip hop: the MC (master of ceremonies), the DJ (beats), break dance and graffiti. It includes comedy, poetry, circus arts, cultural endeavors and freestyle, with special guests such as Junox Mc, A2H+, De Jota El Máximo Exponente, Las Ratas, Juliana Solís, Lucky Luciano, Dj Mandy, La Abogada del Rap. Graffiti artists like Kamikaze Mc, from Quito and representing female power, Hans Knopf from Guayaquil and more than 20 artists on stage.

It is a family event and suitable for all audiences, and will take place in the facilities of the Garza Roja Cultural Park (km 37 via Daule – Nobol), from 4:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. Admission is free, with prior registration.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Brazil: The culture of peace and non-violence is the theme of the III Graffiti Festival

. EDUCATION FOR PEACE . .

An article from Dourado News (translation by CPNN)

From April 25 to June 12, 2022, UFGD (Federal University of Grande Dourados) will receive applications from artists interested in participating in the third edition of the Graffiti Festival, which will have the theme “The culture of peace and non-violence”, part of Goal 4.7 (Sustainable Development Goals – ODS 16) of the United Nations (UN) 2030 agenda. Objective 16 includes the pillars for the promotion of a culture of peace such as: disarmament, human rights, solidarity, respect, tolerance, the right to be and belong, sustainable development, gender equality and democratic participation.


From the 2017 edition: painted graffiti on the walls of Unit 1 – Credit: Divulgação

The University will select five artistic interventions with this theme, two in the national category and three in the regional category, with prizes of R$ 5 thousand and R$ 3.3 thousand, respectively. For each selected intervention, a space of 10 meters in length by 1.94 meters in height will be allocated. In return, the award-winning artists will offer a free workshop to the community.

(click here for the article in Portuguese.).)

Question related to this article:

Do the arts create a basis for a culture of peace?

(continued from left column)

The graffiti will be carried out on the walls of UFGD, from August 24th to 27th, during the III Graffiti Festival event. The workshops will be held at a place, day, time and public service defined by the artist and by the Culture Coordination.

The application form is available at: https://forms.gle/hz2ntCV6oSziPb5J8. Among the documents that candidates must attach in the form are: project containing identification, conceptual text and techniques to be used; sketch in digital format, in color A4 size, of the “artistic intervention” project; resume; artistic portfolio; proposal of the workshop to be given and; Declaration of Assignment of Copyright and Patrimonial Rights. To enter, you must be over 18 years of age. UFGD servers are prevented from submitting proposals.

According to the schedule, after the application and candidate selection phase, the preliminary result will be released on July 5th and the final result on July 22nd, with deadlines for appeal at each stage.

Regarding the costs of participation, UFGD will not be responsible for the transportation, accommodation and food of the selected artist/group. Nor will it be responsible for the materials used for the interventions and workshops, the expenses being the responsibility of the winners.

The announcement of the III Graffiti Festival of UFGD can be accessed at: https://editais.ufgd.edu.br/processo/420/PROEX.

Additional information can be obtained from the Culture Coordination of the Dean of Extension and Culture (COC/PROEX) by e-mail at cultura@ufgd.edu.br.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Brazil’s Lula proposes creating Latin American currency to ‘be freed of US dollar’ dependency

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article by Benjamin Norton in Multipolarista

Brazil’s left-wing leader Lula da Silva has proposed creating a pan-Latin American currency, in order to “be freed of the dollar.”

A founder of Brazil’s Workers’ Party, Lula served as president for two terms, from 2003 to 2011. He is now the leading candidate as Brazil’s October 2022 presidential elections approach.

If he returns to the presidency, “We are going to create a currency in Latin America, because we can’t keep depending on the dollar,” Lula said in a speech at a rally on May 2.

He revealed that the currency would be called the Sur, which means “South” in Spanish.

Lula explained that countries in Latin America could still keep their sovereign domestic currency, but they could use the Sur to do bilateral trade with each other, instead of having to exchange for US dollars.

The Sur could also help to contain inflation in the region, Lula argued.

Lula said the goal of the currency would be to deepen Latin American integration and strengthen the region’s economic sovereignty, weakening its dependence on the United States.

Under Brazil’s current government, led by far-right leader Jair Bolsonaro, the South American giant has subordinated itself to Washington, while viciously attacking the left-wing governments in the region.

Bolsonaro’s Brazil has refused to recognize the legitimacy of the leftist Chavista government in its neighbor Venezuela, and has even supported violent cross-border terrorist attacks against it.

If he returns to the presidency, Lula pledged that Brazil “will strengthen its relations with Latin America.”

Lula has also vowed to revive the BRICS system, integrating Brazil, Russia, India, China, and South Africa in an independent economic architecture to challenge Western financial hegemony.

In 2020, Lula published a call “For a Multipolar World.” He explained his goal is “the creation of a multipolar world, free from unilateral hegemony and from sterile bipolar confrontation,” that “would permit a true re-founding of the multilateral order, based on principles of real multilateralism, in which international cooperation can truly flourish.”

(article continued in right column)

(Click here for the Spanish version)

Questions related to this article:
 
Can Latin America free itself from US domination?

(article continued from left column)

Hugo Chávez’s attempt to create a pan-Latin America currency, the Sucre

Lula’s proposal for the Sur is certainly not the first time progressive politicians in Latin America have tried to create a common currency. This has long been a dream of left-wing leaders in the region.

Venezuela’s revolutionary former president Hugo Chávez developed an international currency as part of the Bolivarian Alliance (ALBA), an economic coalition of left-wing governments in Latin America and the Caribbean.

This currency was called the Sucre, and was adopted in 2009 by Venezuela, Nicaragua, Cuba, Bolivia, and Ecuador.

Sucre was an acronym for “Unified System for Regional Compensation,” but also a reference to Antonio José de Sucre, who helped lead the South American independence struggle against Spanish colonialism, alongside Simón Bolívar.

Ecuador’s government, under leftist President Rafael Correa, who has a Ph.D. in economics, was the main adopter of the Sucre.

At its peak in 2012, the Sucre was used for more than $1 billion in bilateral annual trade in the region.

But the currency fell out of use by 2016, following Chávez’s death in 2013, a massive drop in commodity prices in 2014, the imposition of US sanctions on Venezuela in 2015, and violent coup attempts against Chávez’s successor Nicolás Maduro.

Ecuador’s subsequent right-wing President Lenín Moreno, with US backing, later removed his country from the ALBA, dealing a huge blow to the Sucre and dreams of regional integration.

Lula leads polls for Brazil’s 2022 elections, following US-backed judicial coup

Brazil’s presidential elections will be held in October 2022.

Polls consistently show Lula leading over far-right candidate Jair Bolsonaro, Brazil’s sitting president.

Bolsonaro only came to power in the 2018 elections due to a soft coup d’etat backed by the United States.

Lula had been significantly ahead in the polls in the lead-up to the 2018 vote, but Brazil’s judicial system imprisoned him on false charges, handing the victory to Bolsonaro.

The US Justice Department helped support this campaign of what Lula calls legal warfare, or lawfare, to prevent him from returning to the presidency.

The US government also backed the 2016 political coup against Brazil’s democratically President Dilma Rousseff, also a member of Lula’s left-wing Workers’ Party.

The UN Human Rights Committee found this April that the prosecution of Lula was politically motivated and violated his rights.

“The investigation and prosecution of former President Lula da Silva violated his right to be tried by an impartial tribunal, his right to privacy and his political rights,” the UN legal experts determined.

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

UNAOC Announces Call for Applications for the 2022 Edition of its Fellowship Programme

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An announcement from the United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

The United Nations Alliance of Civilizations (UNAOC) is pleased to launch the Call for Applications for the 2022 edition of its Fellowship Programme. The Call is open to participants between 25 to 35 years old, from the Middle East, North Africa, Europe and North America, with a strong interest in intercultural exchanges and intercultural cooperation to challenge and deconstruct hate speech and stereotypes.

The theme of the Fellowship 2022 is “Countering discrimination and racism: the nexus to building pluralistic and diverse societies”. The choice of the theme stems from UNAOC’s core mandate of tackling racism and discrimination and finding ways to addressing root causes of polarization within and between societies.

The context of the current global challenges is more complex than ever before. Recent years have witnessed the rise of discrimination against various groups and hate crimes targeting vulnerable populations, further exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic which revealed that no society is spared. Growing intolerance, xenophobia, discrimination, and hate speech pose an enormous threat to international peace and security. Peace is the central promise of the Charter of the United Nations and one of the principal global public goods the United Nations was established to deliver (Our Common Agenda, The report of the Secretary-General). Thus, investing in prevention and peacebuilding is paramount to building pluralistic and diverse societies.

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Question related to this article:
 
Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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Discrimination and racism take many forms and impact all aspects of life. All of these can hinder the efforts of the international community to meet the Sustainable Development Goals by 2030. The 2022 Fellowship Programme is designed to provide an excellent platform to build bridges across cultures, borders and beliefs and thus contribute towards achieving the Agenda 2030.

Intercultural dialogue represents an important tool to prevent conflict and build social cohesion, peace and stability. As a mainstay of UNAOC’s work, intercultural dialogue will remain a central focus of the Fellowship agenda with visits and activities aiming at providing participants with crucial comprehension tools to help them understand the plurality and the complexity of their surroundings, and to get an extensive grasp of their host country’s culture, politics, society, religion, media and more.

To be selected, candidates must be able to present professional achievements related to the theme. The Call will lead to the selection of a group of 8 young leaders from Europe, North-America (EUNA) and a group of 8 young leaders from the Middle East and North-Africa (MENA) who will travel together to selected countries in both regions for two weeks.

The goal of the Fellowship is to challenge perceptions and deconstruct stereotypes by providing participants with first hand exposure to cultural diversity. In every country they visit, UNAOC Fellows will interact with a wide range of local stakeholders. Together, they will explore opportunities for intercultural collaboration and exchange ideas and good practices on building pluralistic and diverse societies as a foundation for sustainable peace.

Candidates have until Sunday, 5 June 2022, 11:59 PM EDT to apply.

APPLY AS A EUNA CANDIDATE

APPLY AS A MENA CANDIDATE

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY