Category Archives: TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Adolescents in Cuba delve into the culture of peace

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Inter Press Service of Cuba (translation by CPNN)

Although for adolescents the pandemic has closed schools, canceled projects and distanced them from their friends, a Cuban initiative is encourageing the creation of new ways to have fun together.

The initiative uses the potential of culture to identify and protect adolescents from acts of discrimination, abuse or violence, both in the domestic sphere and in digital spaces, according to a summary of the project.


Foto from UNICEF Cuba

It is also an opportunity for young participants to develop creative skills and enjoy free time in new ways.

This is the first edition of the virtual workshop “Living adolescence in times of covid-19: promoting good practices from culture as a protective environment”, held from June 15 to 26, with 30 adolescents living in the Cuban capital.

The initiative is led by the Caribbean island office of the United Nations Children’s Program (UNICEF), as part of the new Cooperation Program (2020-2024), between UNICEF and the Government of Cuba.

A team of specialists from the a + adolescent spaces Center , the University of Havana and the Enrique José Varona University of Pedagogical Sciences also participated .

It is aligned with the principle that “all children should be protected from violence and exploitation”, focused on preventing violence and strengthening the protective environments of adolescence with a focus on rights and equity.

According to the organizers, this experience constitutes a pioneering and innovative way of learning in the country and paves the way for reaching adolescents through the responsible use of technologies.

Complex stage

Adolescence is a very complex stage of life, due to the multiple physical, psychological and emotional changes that are experienced, which generate fears, anxieties, doubts and uncertainties.

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(Click here for the original version in Spanish)

Question for discussion

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

Does Cuba promote a culture of peace?

As a consequence of the pandemic and the necessary physical and social distancing, this age group experiences more than others feelings such as loneliness and sadness, as they cannot share activities related to study, recreation and leisure with their peers, according to the specialists.

This can be especially heartbreaking for those who live in violent family environments or are more frequently exposed to the risks of digital scenarios, they warn.

“During this time I have seen my 13-year-old son, Adrián, at times anxious, irritable, not being able to go out to play with his friends and stay whole weeks at home,” said Yuriana Sáez, a resident of the city of Moa, in the eastern province of Holguín.

For her part, Tailenis Céspedes, a resident of Old Havana, stated that her 15-year-old daughter Adianet “has been fortunate to live with one of her cousins, which is why she is not so bored: otherwise, I imagine she would have been very depressed without someone her age to share with.

The experience

According to specialists added to the initiative, isolation reduces the chances of receiving professional advice and services from professionals.

For this reason, the workshop was implemented through the WhatsApp social network, an easy-to-use tool that is very popular with adolescents.

This allowed psychologists, sociologists, social communicators and artists to reach a group and encourage them to participate in processes that contribute to the promotion of their rights and the prevention of violence under the concept of culture as a protective environment.

At the same time, it provided them with tools to resolve doubts, socialize experiences and opinions, as well as obtain resources for better performance and self-protection in situations of discrimination, abuse or violence.

Due to limitations in connectivity, so far only 30 adolescents from the capital have participated in the experiment, but the objective is to benefit at least a hundred from different provinces of the country.

The aim is to facilitate the exchange with the teaching team, the study of support materials, the analysis of bibliographic and audiovisual materials and participation in debates.

Some of the participants acknowledge that they have increased their knowledge and tools to prevent domestic violence and violence on digital platforms.

The workshop has encouraged the use of various artistic expressions such as poetry, drawing, photography, song, and radio messages, among others.

Through these manifestations, the participants have reflected their views on the importance of culture to understand and transform attitudes, traditions, customs, behaviors and habits that hinder and negatively impact the normal development of childhood and adolescence.

It also increased their motivation to be part of a social movement that raises their voice, with the aim of ending all types of violence.

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

Palestine Must Live: An Online Petition

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A petition on AVAAZ: The World in Action

In 7 days, Israel’s Prime Minister is set to expand Israel into much of Palestine.

Palestine is recognised by the United Nations. But Israel’s government is simply taking it over, in violation of all international law.

Virtually everyone opposes this, but the question is whether anyone will do anything about it. Europe and others have the power to make Israel think twice, but they need to hear a massive demand for action from citizens first. Let’s give it to them!

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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?

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

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CPNN readers are encouraged to add their names to the following petition.

To Heads of State, Foreign Ministers, and Trade Ministers:

The treatment of the Palestinian people has become a stain on the conscience of the world. It is time for the world to stand up and act, to bring sanctions on key Israeli industries until Palestinians are granted full and equal civil rights. We appeal to you for moral leadership and action to save lives.

To sign the petition, go here.

(Thank you you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article)

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

France: Solidarity with the struggles of pacifists and anti-racists in the USA, following the murder of G. Floyd

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A post on June 1 from the facebook page of Roland Nivet, Mouvement de la Paix, France [Peace Movement]

Protests and demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota (USA) last week by police continued to intensify across the United States on Sunday and Monday to protest this horrific murder and the string of racist murders in the US.

President Donald Trump attributed the violence to “thugs” who, he said, “dishonored the memory of George Floyd. This comment, which preceded the announcement of repressive measures against various American organizations, drew criticism from Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic mayor of Atlanta.

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Readers’ comments are welcome. See the form below.
 

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According to Amnesty International of the USA, “the US police do not respect the right to peaceful protest. They are failing throughout the country to meet their obligations under international law to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest … This exacerbates a tense situation and endangers the lives of demonstrators. We call for an immediate end to all excessive use of force and for law enforcement officials to guarantee and protect the legal right to demonstrate. »

Our pacifist correspondents in the US believe that current events “should be interpreted as public mourning, from people shouting that the killing of black and brown people should no longer be tolerated. These uprisings across America reveal a thirst for democracy and the fact that young and old of various ethnicities recognize that this is a time when we must stand up against this history of inhumanity that has existed for too long and that discrimination, racism, and the killing of black and brown people must be stopped. For these activists, “Now is the time to change America! We are going to fight together with the awareness that our struggle is linked to struggles inside and outside the country, wherever there is injustice.

Mouvement de la Paix condemns this new racist murder and brings its total solidarity to the peace and anti-racist activists who are fighting a hard fight in the USA.

Mouvement de la Paix reaffirms its determination to continue its fight against racism and xenophobia in France. More than ever, the fight against racism, xenophobia and the rise of extreme right-wing extremism must unite all humanists throughout the world.

Europe, North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

“America’s Moment of Reckoning”: Cornel West Says Nationwide Uprising Is Sign of “Empire Imploding”

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An interview on June 1 by Democracy Now ( Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License)

As thousands from coast to coast took to the streets this weekend to protest the state-sanctioned killing of Black people, and the nation faces its largest public health crisis in generations and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, professor Cornel West calls the U.S. a “predatory capitalist civilization obsessed with money, money, money.” He also makes the connections between U.S. violence abroad and at home. “There is a connection between the seeds that you sow of violence externally and internally.”


Cornel West

(This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.)

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Dr. Cornel West, could you respond to what professor Yamahtta Taylor said? You agree that, of course, the murder of George Floyd was a lynching. You’ve also said that his murder and the demonstrations that have followed show that America is a failed social experiment. So could you respond to that and also the way that the state and police forces have responded to the protests, following George Floyd’s killing, with the National Guard called out in so many cities and states across the country?

CORNEL WEST: Well, there’s no doubt that this is America’s moment of reckoning. But we want to make the connection between the local and the global, because, you see, when you sow the seeds of greed — domestically, inequality; globally, imperial tentacles, 800 military units abroad, violence and AFRICOM in Africa, supporting various regimes, dictatorial ones in Asia and so forth — there is a connection between the seeds that you sow of violence externally and internally. Same is true in terms of the seed of hatred, of white supremacy, hating Black people, anti-Blackness hatred having its own dynamic within the context of a predatory capitalist civilization obsessed with money, money, money, domination of workers, marginalization of those who don’t fit — gay brothers, lesbian sisters, trans and so forth. So, it’s precisely this convergence that my dear sister Professor Taylor is talking about of the ways in which the American Empire, imploding, its foundations being shaken, with uprisings from below.

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Readers’ comments are welcome. See the form below.
 

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The catalyst was certainly Brother George Floyd’s public lynching, but the failures of the predatory capitalist economy to provide the satisfaction of the basic needs of food and healthcare and quality education, jobs with a decent wage, at the same time the collapse of your political class, the collapse of your professional class. Their legitimacy has been radically called into question, and that’s multiracial. It’s the neofascist dimension in Trump. It’s the neoliberal dimension in Biden and Obama and the Clintons and so forth. And it includes much of the media. It includes many of the professors in universities. The young people are saying, “You all have been hypocritical. You haven’t been concerned about our suffering, our misery. And we no longer believe in your legitimacy.” And it spills over into violent explosion.

And it’s here. I won’t go on, but, I mean, it’s here, where I think Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer and Rabbi Heschel and Edward Said, and especially Brother Martin and Malcolm, their legacies, I think, become more central, because they provide the kind of truth telling. They provide the connection between justice and compassion in their example, in their organizing. And that’s what is needed right now. Rebellion is not the same thing in any way as revolution. And what we need is a nonviolent revolutionary project of full-scale democratic sharing — power, wealth, resources, respect, organizing — and a fundamental transformation of this American Empire.

AMY GOODMAN: And your thoughts, Professor West, on the governor of Minnesota saying they’re looking into white supremacist connections to the looting and the burning of the city, and then President Trump tweeting that he’s going to try to put antifa, the anti-fascist activists, on the terror list — which he cannot do — and William Barr emphasizing this, saying he’s going after the far left to investigate?

CORNEL WEST: No, I mean, that’s ridiculous. You know, you remember, Sister Amy — and I love and respect you so — that antifa saved my life in Charlottesville. There’s no doubt about it, that they provided the security, you see. So the very notion that they become candidates for a terrorist organization, but the people who were trying to kill us — the Nazis, the Klan — they’re not candidates for terrorist organization status — but that’s what you’re going to get. You’re going to get a Trump-led neofascist backlash and clampdown on what is going on. We ought to be very clear about that. The neofascism has that kind of obsession with militaristic imposition in the face of any kind of disorder. And so we’ve got to be fortified for that.

But most importantly, I think we’ve got to make sure that we preserve our own moral, spiritual, quality, fundamental focus on truth and justice, and keep track of legalized looting, Wall Street greed; legalized murder, police; legalized murder abroad in Yemen, in Pakistan, in Africa with AFRICOM, and so forth. That’s where our focus has to be, because with all of this rebellious energy, it’s got to be channeled through organizations rooted in a quest for truth and justice.

North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Statement by Former US President George W. Bush

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A press release June 2 from the George W. Bush Presidential Center

Laura and I are anguished by the brutal suffocation of George Floyd and disturbed by the injustice and fear that suffocate our country. Yet we have resisted the urge to speak out, because this is not the time for us to lecture. It is time for us to listen. It is time for America to examine our tragic failures – and as we do, we will also see some of our redeeming strengths.

It remains a shocking failure that many African Americans, especially young African American men, are harassed and threatened in their own country. It is a strength when protesters, protected by responsible law enforcement, march for a better future. This tragedy — in a long series of similar tragedies — raises a long overdue question: How do we end systemic racism in our society? The only way to see ourselves in a true light is to listen to the voices of so many who are hurting and grieving. Those who set out to silence those voices do not understand the meaning of America — or how it becomes a better place.  

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Readers’ comments are welcome. See the form below.
 
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America’s greatest challenge has long been to unite people of very different backgrounds into a single nation of justice and opportunity. The doctrine and habits of racial superiority, which once nearly split our country, still threaten our Union. The answers to American problems are found by living up to American ideals — to the fundamental truth that all human beings are created equal and endowed by God with certain rights. We have often underestimated how radical that quest really is, and how our cherished principles challenge systems of intended or assumed injustice. The heroes of America — from Frederick Douglass, to Harriet Tubman, to Abraham Lincoln, to Martin Luther King, Jr. — are heroes of unity. Their calling has never been for the fainthearted. They often revealed the nation’s disturbing bigotry and exploitation — stains on our character sometimes difficult for the American majority to examine. We can only see the reality of America’s need by seeing it through the eyes of the threatened, oppressed, and disenfranchised. 



That is exactly where we now stand. Many doubt the justice of our country, and with good reason. Black people see the repeated violation of their rights without an urgent and adequate response from American institutions. We know that lasting justice will only come by peaceful means. Looting is not liberation, and destruction is not progress. But we also know that lasting peace in our communities requires truly equal justice. The rule of law ultimately depends on the fairness and legitimacy of the legal system. And achieving justice for all is the duty of all. 

This will require a consistent, courageous, and creative effort. We serve our neighbors best when we try to understand their experience. We love our neighbors as ourselves when we treat them as equals, in both protection and compassion. There is a better way — the way of empathy, and shared commitment, and bold action, and a peace rooted in justice. I am confident that together, Americans will choose the better way. 

North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

USA: An uprising is a collective gasp for life

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A facebook post by the Lee County NAACP

Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

We heard George Floyd cry “I can’t breathe” and “Momma, I love you” on the recording of his lynching in the streets of Minneapolis. The image of a white officer choking the life out of a Black man while fellow officers looked on is viscerally reminiscent of the lynching photographs that were used to terrorize African-Americans for decades in this nation.

We have also watched as crowds of people—black, white, and brown; gay, straight, and trans—have taken to those same streets to cry out against systemic racism. Protestors are right to decry such brutal and inhumane treatment as racism. Thank God people are in the streets, refusing to accept what has been seen as normal for far too long. What a shame it would be if this nation could watch a policeman murder another human being, then pose like a hunter with his prey while his colleagues looked on, and there not be protest, anguish, anger, outrage, and moral disruption.

All that is needed to understand why Black people are crying out is to ask what the response of our justice system would have been if a video had emerged of four black men doing that to a white man. We all know what racism looks like. But the lethal violence of racist officers is only one manifestation of the systemic racism that is choking the life out of American democracy.

The mentality that crushes a brother’s neck – as in the case of George Floyd in Minneapolis – or shoots a man jogging because of his skin color – as in the case of Ahmaud Arbery – is the same mentality that sends black and brown and poor and low-income workers of all colors into the lethal path of the COVID-19 pandemic without needed protections, health care and economic resources.

Whether it is police abuse of power or policy abuse of power, these deaths serve as a collective knee on the necks of people of color.

The people’s demand for love, truth, justice and fundamental human rights is a cry that will not be comforted until change fully comes. This demand is rooted in the mental, social and political trauma caused by seeing violent deaths year after year at the hands of far too many police departments and judicial systems with no one held accountable.

Please join us this week as we continue to speak truth to power and hold this nation accountable for its violence.

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

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EVENTS THIS WEEK

TODAY [June 1] – CULTURE DAY OF ACTION

We have no option but to organize, we have no option but to mobilize, we have no option but to register and educate people for a movement that votes. We cannot back down. Our lives depend on it.

Join us for a cultural day of action today, June 1st, to let others know that Somebody’s hurting our people… it’s gone on far too long… #WeWontBeSilent anymore! We rise together on June 20, 2020! #EverybodysGotARightToLive!

Check out our Culture Days of Action Digital Toolkit for virtual banners, songs, signs and social media posts to share.
Image

THURSDAY [June 4]– CALLING ALL FAITH LEADERS

Please join the final Prophetic Council call before the June 20, 2020 mobilization. On our call Rev. Barber, Rev. Liz, and Campaign leaders from across the nation will share updates and ground us spiritually for the struggle ahead.

We will meet over Zoom Thursday June 4th at 7:30pm EST/ 4:30pm PST.

Register for the call

THURSDAY – STUDENT FELLOWS DIGITAL TOWN HALL

On Thursday, June 4 at 9pm EST/ 6pm PST the Moral Fusion Student Fellows will host a Facebook Live event featuring students and recent graduates talking about the impact of campus closures, police violence, the economic crisis, and COVID19, and demonstrate the importance of organizing and mobilizing for June 20. Join us at FB.com/ANewPPC

If we take time to listen to this nation’s wounds, they tell us where to look for hope. The hope is in the mourning and the screams, which make us want to rush from this place. There is a sense in which, right now, we must refuse to be comforted too quickly. Only if these screams and tears and protests shake the very conscience of this nation—and until there is real political and judicial repentance—can we hope for a better society on the other side of this.

The very people who have been rejected, over and over again, are the ones who have shown us the possibility of a more perfect union. On June 20th, 2020, poor and low-income Americans of every race, creed, culture, and sexuality will come together for the Mass Poor People’s Assembly and Moral March on Washington Digital Gathering to lift up a new moral agenda in our public life that promises transformative change to heal the wounds of systemic racism.

Register to join us.

Forward together, not one step back!

Rev. Dr. William Barber and Rev. Dr. Liz Theoharis
Co-Chairs, Poor People’s Campaign: A National Call for Moral Revival

Follow the Poor People’s Campaign on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram!

Sent Via ActionNetwork.org.

(Thank you to Tikkun and Rabbi Michael Lerner for calling this post to our attention.)

North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

International Fellowship of Reonciliation: Open letter to the United Nations

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An open letter published by Pressenza (reprinted under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license)

His Excellency Mr. Antonio Guterres Secretary-General
United Nations Headquarters, New York City

Dear Mr. Secretary-General,

We are writing to you as International Fellowship of Reconciliation, a global movement seeking to transform, through nonviolence, the world away from endless cycles of violence towards justice, reconciliation, and lasting peace. As a concerned international NGO, accredited to the UN ECOSOC, we are writing to you to express our appreciation for your efforts dealing with the current health crisis in the world and to share some of our thoughts with you at this difficult time.

We join with you in recognizing “the fury of [COVID-19] illustrates the folly of war,” and we thank you for your leadership in calling for a global ceasefire as a first step to “end the sickness of war”. We are encouraged that your call has resonated with millions across the world, and gained endorsements from 70 Member States, with expressions of acceptance from parties to conflict, and non-state actors as well.

We call on all UN member States to support Your appeal, to the General Assembly and to the Security Council, and put it into practice.

The pandemic has revealed the single common vulnerability of humankind, which knows no border. We who are but one of the species on the planet earth must shun our urge for identity superiority or risk even more devastating pandemics. With this shattered illusion of separateness, humanity cannot tolerate war and violence anywhere, as it threatens health and peace for everyone everywhere. Countries are grappling internally with political, economic, racial, and social divides that exacerbate efforts to contain the virus, while inequity in the global community reveals the new depths of suffering in countries that already bear the brunt of the pain caused by climate change, hunger, economic sanctions and exploitation, and armed conflicts.

While the impact of COVID-19 on the countries where we have active members has varied, together, we affirm the urgency for a new and creative way forward that builds human security globally through health, economic justice and peace. We therefore appeal:

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Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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1. Prioritize the protection of poor and marginalized people. Economic inequality increases the impact of the pandemic and sets the stage for more devastation with the risk of even greater lethality. For instance, underinvestment in healthcare means many countries are unable to meet the simple challenge of providing personal protective equipment to those in need. Concentrated poverty means sheltering in isolation, and for women and children locked down with abusers, it promises new levels of violence, abuse, and death.

2. Protect civil liberties and human rights. Emergency legislation rushed through in many coun- tries may serve as cover for oppressive measures and the violation of human rights. Traditionally marginalized communities are forgotten or ignored, and vulnerable people are cut off from offi- cial support. We urge you, Mr. Secretary-General, to prioritize and support the work of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights Ms. Michelle Bachelet to adapt the global index for hu- man rights to ensure that it monitors abuses in a world now reshaped by COVID-19 legislation. We urge you to call on all member States for accountability.

3. Use the momentum of this global crisis to shift resources to meet human needs and create lasting peace. Weapons of war cannot defeat a virus, address climate change, nor solve any other world problem. As States pursue ‘business as usual’ military strategies to contain the virus and create security, the world wastes opportunities to coalesce around creative responses that match the grave nature of this crisis, like protecting the most vulnerable from harsh economic impacts and working in solidarity to ensure global health emergency preparedness. These are the kinds of creative responses that lead to lasting peace. We call for disarmament and a major reduction in military spending worldwide, starting with the abolition of all nuclear weapons. We call for the conversion of military industry to civilian production and for the end of exports of weapons to states at war or violating human rights. Humanity will thrive with equitable local community investment and the shift from funding warfare to funding healthcare and peace. We urge the United Nations to invest more capacity and financial support in nonviolent conflict transfor- mation, mediation and Unarmed Civilian Peacekeeping.

Now is the time to create a “new normal” built on a culture of peace and non-violence. We call for global bridge-building and cooperation, and global leadership encouraging increased global solidarity. The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals recognize the interconnected reality of our world. With branches, groups, and affiliates in more than 40 countries, IFOR offers its support to UN agencies in achieving these goals. By highlighting the centrality of peace to a world free from poverty and ine- qualities, the SDGs challenge the world to put into practice a new way of thinking. Addressing the issues named above ensures that nations can create roadmaps out of COVID-19 that leave no one behind.

We wish you well and further success in your work.

Charlotte Sjöström Becker, President of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation

[Editor’s note: The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) was founded in 1914 in response to the horrors of war in Europe. Today IFOR counts 71 branches, groups and affiliates in 48 countries on all continents.]

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

United Nations Alliance of Civilizations: Five Youth-Led Organizations Selected as Recipients of the Youth Solidarity Fund for 2019

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

Excerpts from the newsletter of United Nations Alliance of Civilizations

UNAOC has announced the latest recipients of the Youth Solidarity Fund (YSF) [ announced in 2019]. More than 600 proposals were received from over 70 countries in response to the call for applications. Five organizations based in Africa and Asia were then selected to receive seed funding of up to USD 25,000 for the purpose of implementing projects with innovative and effective approaches to intercultural dialogue and interfaith harmony. These five recipients join a group of 63 other youth-led organizations that have been funded by UNAOC since 2008.

In addition to seed funding, YSF recipients will also receive technical support to strengthen the implementation of their projects. UNAOC has partnered with Search for Common Ground to facilitate a capacity-building programme called Youth 360, involving online workshops and ongoing support from mentors. YSF recipients will have access to this support until the end of their project implementation period in November 2020.

The current edition of YSF is implemented through financial contributions from the Governments of Finland, Malta and the Republic of Azerbaijan.

Umoja Mashinani – Kenya

“Our project, Umoja Mashinani, can be loosely translated to mean Peace Ambassadors in the Grassroots. We aim to enhance the capacity of community radio journalists to promote messages on non-violence, religious respect and intercul- tural cohesion. With UNAOC, we hope to build a sustainable and impactful platform together, fostering a community of young people who work for peace.”

Bonface Ochieng Opany, 27 years old
Project Coordinator, Umoja Mashinani
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Amani Centre (Kenya)

Theatre for Peace – Sri Lanka

“Our project will bring young people with diverse backgrounds together to connect, create and transform. Through theater, we will facilitate a process of introspection to explore and challenge our own identities, beliefs, biases and perspectives. With the resources and the solidarity shared through UNAOC we will be stronger to stand up and challenge the polarization and separation in our society.”
Sivatharsini Raveendran, 28 years old Project Coordinator, Theatre for Peace – Connect.Create. Transform

For Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Centre for Communication Training (Sri Lanka)

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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?

How can just one or a few persons contribute to peace and justice?

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We Play for Peace – Lebanon

“We are launching ‘We Play for Peace!’ which is a project funded by UNAOC to create a safe space for youth from different religions, nationalities and backgrounds. Through sports, young people from the North Bekaa region of Lebanon will get the opportunity to set their differences aside and play together in peace. Youth will erase the memory of conflict and be a source of positive change for the future.”

Mehdi Houssein Yehya, 31 years old
Project Coordinator, We Play for Peace! Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Peace of Art (Lebanon)

Dismantling Stereotypes – Kingdom of Eswatini

“We are curating interfaith and intercultural conversations amongst young people of different religious and cultural backgrounds. With the grant from UNAOC, we aim to inculcate a culture of mutual understanding, respect and tolerance for these young people. Our goal is to place youth in the center of pre- venting any religious and cultural differences from breaking out into violence or developing into mechanisms for excluding other people.”

Sicelo Christopher Gama, 29 years old Project Coordinator,
Dismantling Religious and Cultural Stereotypes for Social Cohesion and Sustainable Peac
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Swaziland Intent Youth Organization (Kingdom of Eswatini)

Nurturing for Peace – Uganda

“We thank UNAOC for their support of our project that will engage youth from seven sects of Islam and Christianity to strengthen interfaith understanding and foster new friendships. The project aims to reduce support for religiously motivated recruitment and acts of violent extremism in Eastern Uganda. We are confident that our project will be a living symbol to the ideals of interfaith cooperation and friendship among faiths.”

Zulaika Nanfuka, 32 years old
Project Coordinator, Nurturing for Peace
Youth Solidarity Fund Recipient, Uganda Muslim Youth Development Forum (Uganda)

Africa, Mideast, South Asia, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations, , ,

The New World Citizen Laboratory, Yali Gabon and PAYNCoP Gabon join forces to raise awareness about Covid 19

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY . .

Sent to CPNN by Jerry Bibang

As part of the fight against the covid 19 pandemic, the New World Citizen Laboratory (LCNM), Yali Gabon and PAYNCoP Gabon platforms have joined forces to raise awareness among young people about the covid 19 pandemic using comic strips.



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Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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The initiative supports government efforts since the start of the corona virus pandemic in our country. From the first cases of the disease, the highest authorities have declared war on this invisible enemy. Through this action, these three organizations want to make their modest contribution to this war.

The project consists in making young people aware of the myths surrounding Covid 19. “We started from an observation: several false ideas, relating to the treatment or prevention of covid 19, are conveyed by certain people” explained Dora from LCNM . “These people regularly use social networks (facebook and watsap) to disseminate their messages,” added Marcel Ebenezer.

Among these misconceptions that we call myths, there is, among others, the fact that corona does not exist in hot countries, the rainy season will wash the virus, the virus is also transmitted by mosquitoes, there is no real case in Gabon, the government is lying to us etc.
 
For Cédrick Kenfack of Yali Gabon, “the propagation of this false information constitutes an obstacle to the response against this pandemic. Reason why we thought it useful to fight against this false information by using the comic strip as a means of communication ”

In addition to the fight against fake news, the project also gives an important place to barrier gestures and useful advice to avoid the disease. A section entitled “Guide to good practice” is devoted to this effect. Each tip is illustrated with characters and explanatory texts.

“The idea was also to pool our skills and resources for a common goal in a collective intelligence approach. This is why the project brought together several organizations. Each contributed according to their resources. One wrote the texts, the other coordinated and the design was done by another, “said Jerry Bibang, PAYNCoP Gabon Coordinator.

(click here for the original version in French)

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Peace Education and the Pandemic: Global Perspectives (video now available)

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from the Global Campaign for Peace Education

On April 13, 2020, the International Institute on Peace Education  and Global Campaign for Peace Education hosted a zoom webinar on “Peace Education and the Pandemic: Global Perspectives.”  More than 550 people from 72 different countries registered for the event, which was also live-streamed on Facebook. A dozen acclaimed peace educators from around the world shared unique perspectives on the systemic violence and injustices COVID-19 has revealed and how they are using peace education to respond to these and other critical issues. [Editor’s note: The dozen educators came from USA, Austria, Puerto Rico, South Africa, China, Nigeria, Philippines, Mexico, Colombia, Argentina and South Korea. A list with their bios, and topics can be found here].

Video of Webinar

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Question for this article:

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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The webinar explored two broad agendas.  First, it presented an opportunity to hear how peace educators around the world are responding in the moment. How are peace educators facilitating the much-needed learning required for self-care, resilience, and adaptation to a changing reality?  How are we adapting pedagogically to online learning spaces such as zoom (and what new social injustices have these rapid transitions revealed related to educational inequity)?  How are we keeping safe physical distance while maintaining social connections?  How are we navigating the trauma, anxiety, and fear caused by a pandemic that exposes our somatic vulnerability, as well as the vulnerability of our social, political and economic systems?

The webinar also presented an opportunity to collectively rethink urgent future agendas for peace education.  This global pandemic has brought into sharp focus many of the concerns, possibilities, and challenges that peace education has been pursuing for decades. Presenters shared critical perspectives and developed clear connections between COVID-19 and “other pandemics” including war, poverty, patriarchy, and nationalism.  All presenters explored the role of peace education in addressing these issues.  Most importantly, most addressed how peace education might prepare citizens with the knowledge, capacities, and skills to envision, design, a build preferred social, political, and economic systems.

Watch the video of the webinar here.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY