Category Archives: EDUCATION FOR PEACE

Costello students take part in UK Peace Jam

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from the Costello School

Twelve Year 10 Costello students attended a pioneering conference at Winchester University exploring human rights for indigenous people. They welcomed a special guest, Nobel Peace Laureate Rigoberta Menchú Tum from Guatemala. In 1992, Rigoberta Menchú Tum was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in recognition of efforts to improve the rights of the Mayan of Guatemala and native people everywhere. She was the first indigenous person to receive the award. During the 30 years of dictatorship, war and violence that followed the 1954 military takeover 200,000 Guatemalans were murdered. Rigoberta helped her father organise resistance, and, despite losing both her parents, two brothers, a sister-in-law and three nieces and nephews to the violence, persevered with the search for a peaceful way to resist military oppression.

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The two-day conference held at The University of Winchester, and organised by Peace Jam UK, welcomed around 250 delegates including secondary school students from all over the UK.

Throughout the weekend, the Peace Jam conference discussed Nobel Peace Prize winners and various themes including identity, difference, power, privilege, peace and non-violence in an increasingly complicated world.

Early on in the conference the audience were invited to ask Rigoberta questions and Joe Duerden made a real impression when he asked Rigoberta “As the next generation of humans, how can we tell our world leaders to treat our world with peace rather than violence?

Students were also given the opportunity to present their local community projects to an audience, as part of the One Billion Acts of Peace movement – a fundamental element of the academic Peace Jam programme. Some of the students learnt about a scheme called “Roll out the Barrels”,

In Africa and developing countries around the world, women and children carry their own weight in water, in dirty jerry cans and containers, not just from a local pump (a few hundred yards away) but sometimes over 6 miles or even further, just to survive – “Roll out the barrels” provides a simple solution!

Other students visited Hyde Gate Residential home and spent time talking to residents and taking part in activities with them whilst others went onto the streets of Winchester to talk to young people about the Street Reach Community Project.

The Conference had a huge impact on all the students and they are setting up a Costello Peace Jam group in the summer term with the aim to launch our own contribution to the Billion Acts of Peace campaign! For as Rigoberta told the students, “We all have energies and if we combine these energies we can make a difference!

All of the Costello students would like to say a HUGE thank you to the Basingstoke and Deane Rotary Club who so kindly sponsored their trip and without whom this opportunity may not have been possible!

Question for this article:

Romania: Systemic Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation & Post-War Recovery and Reconciliation

. EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An email received by CPNN from PATRIR

The Advanced Certificate Program in Systemic Peacebuilding, Conflict Transformation & Post-War Recovery and Reconciliation (PCTR) will be held in Cluj-Napoca, Romania 20-24 June 2016. The program is accredited by COTIPSO [Certificate of Training in United Nations Peace Support Operations].

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“I will not hesitate to unreservedly recommend this programme for all actors in the peacebuilding field. I dare say that without it you stand the risk of missing the mark, with it your chance of success in your endeavours are quite significantly enhanced!”

— Paul Ebikwo, African Union/United Nations Mission in Darfur (UNAMID), Sudan

By bringing together experienced practitioners and policymakers from governments, the United Nations, regional authorities (EU, AU, OAS, ASEAN), and national and international organisations and agencies, PCTR fosters a unique opportunity to interchange experience and practical learning with those working in conflict situations worldwide. Internationally noted as one of the best-evaluated programmes in the field, PCTR is unique in thoroughly addressing all three phases of violence and war – the before, during and after periods – grounded in rigorous professional training and practical operational experiences.

PCTR is a five-day intensive programme which provides experts, practitioners and policymakers with a forum for reflection and targeted, relevant professional development goals within a dynamic and stimulating environment. Given the issues it addresses, the programme is relevant for those working in political, gender, security, human rights, development, and humanitarian fields, as well as donors and diplomats specialising in areas affected or threatened by war, armed conflict or in post-war situations. PCTR draws upon a network of global experience, systematically weaving together key operational and policy lessons identified as good practices. The direct, needs-based skills and knowledge-intensive approach of the PCTR is suitable for senior and executive level field staff, and those in leadership roles in governments and organisations. It has also proved pertinent for those employed as staff and field practitioners within national and international aid and development organisations. The programme’s focus on practical experiences and skills that can be utilised in the field, and its emphasis on modules in systemic peacebuilding, and assurance that prevention works; also, its attention to conflict intelligence, peace consolidation and applied peacebuilding methodologies have received strong feedback from participants during the programme and for years to come.

Question for this article:

Where is peace education taking place?

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View our full course outline for a comprehensive overview of this exciting and innovative programme.

HOW TO REGISTER: 

You may apply online or download an Application form.

After submitting an application, IPDTC will contact you within ten working days regarding an admission decision.

Course places are limited, so apply today!

Participant Contributions:

Full contribution for OECD Participants: €845

Full contribution for non-OECD Participants: €595

Discount Category I (-10%): Early Payment [by 16 May 2016] or Multiple Participants (3+ staff members from any Department, Agency or Organisation)

Discount Category II (-15%): Category I options paired together (Both Early Payment and Multiple Participants)

Deadline for Applications:

9 May 2016 for applicants who REQUIRE A ROMANIAN VISA, and
30 May 2016 for applicants who DO NOT REQUIRE a Romanian visa

Nonviolent Peace Force Nominated for 2016 Nobel Peace Prize

. EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

A press release from the American Friends Service Committee

Nonviolent Peaceforce, an unarmed, paid civilian protection force which fosters dialogue among parties in conflict and provides a protective presence for threatened civilians, has been nominated for the 2016 Nobel Peace Prize by the American Friends Service Committee (AFSC).

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“Unarmed civilian protection is a method for direct protection of civilians and violence reduction that has grown in practice and recognition. In the last few years, it has especially proven its effectiveness to protect women and girls,” according to a UN report of October 2015 cited in its nominating letter by AFSC, a Quaker organization working for peace and justice across the U.S. and around the world.

“Awarding the Nobel Peace Prize to Nonviolent Peaceforce would highlight and strengthen their work and the work of other similar organizations, at a time when worldwide tensions seem to be at a boiling point, and their work is vital and relevant,” AFSC wrote.

“We are honored to be nominated. We are especially honored to have this nomination come from the American Friends Services Committee. This is a tribute to our courageous civilian peacekeepers who are at the frontline of violent conflicts around the world,” said Mel Duncan, co-founder, and Doris Mariani, CEO of Nonviolent Peaceforce.

Founded in 2002, Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) fielded its first intervention team one year later, in Sri Lanka. With headquarters in Brussels and an office in Minneapolis MN, NP field teams are presently deployed in the Philippines, in South Sudan, Myanmar, and the Middle East. Their field staff include veterans of conflict zones, experienced peacekeepers, and those new to the field.

Aware of the danger of neocolonial models of intervention, Nonviolent Peaceforce only serves in areas where they have been invited, and they conduct extensive and thorough interviews and research with all parties to a conflict before they decide whether or not to deploy teams to a conflict area.

NP is also clear that their goal is “to arrive to leave,” not intending to establish long-term presence, but seeking to address the conflict that caused their invitation, see it through to resolution, and then withdraw.

As part of its work, NP has reunited child soldiers with their families and helped create weapons-free zones in conflict areas. NP mitigates gender violence through their Women’s Security Teams, “which have dramatically lessened the number of rapes that South Sudanese women experience while gathering water or firewood for their families. In the past year, (NP) provided over 1,000 accompaniments for vulnerable people, primarily women and children, throughout South Sudan,” the AFSC wrote.

In 1947, AFSC and the British Friends Service Council accepted the Nobel Peace Prize on behalf of “Quakers everywhere.” Peace Prize laureates have the privilege to nominate candidates for this honor. The AFSC Nobel Nominating Committee includes a representative of Quaker Peace and Social Witness, the AFSC’s counterpart in Great Britain. For more on the nomination criteria, visit http://quakernobel.org/

(Thank you to Janet Hudgins, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

Question for this article:

Where to Study Peace Education: A Global Directory

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An announcement by the Global Campaign for Peace Education

All around the world there is a growing demand for peace education, yet few know of the learning opportunities that exist for gaining knowledge, developing capacities, and building the fundamental pedagogical skills for teaching peace. In support of this need, the Global Campaign for Peace Education, in partnership with the International Institute on Peace Education and the Peace Education Initiative at The University of Toledo has developed “Where to Study Peace Education: A Global Directory.”

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This online catalog provides an easy to search inventory of formal and non-formal programs, courses, workshops and recurring conferences in peace education from around the world.
Peace studies programs are abundant in the US and abroad, however, few of these programs focus on educational theory or practice. Therefore, our directory is unique in its focus on programs, courses and trainings specific to research and the study of peace education, and the preparation of formal and non-formal educators to teach for peace. Current listings are oriented towards adult learners or educators, not programs offered directly to students in schools.

Listings in the directory fall into two broad categories:

1) The study of education (systems, philosophy, pedagogy) and its role in building peace

2) Teacher and learning facilitator training and preparation in peace education (theory, methodology, pedagogy)

The Directory thus far includes programs, courses and trainings focused on the study of the philosophy of education, critical pedagogy, democratic education / citizenship education, emergency education, social justice education, restorative practices, conflict resolution education (and peer mediation), educational development studies, human rights education and learning, and education for gender equity / equality and women’s empowerment.

Visit – Where to study Peace Education: A Global Directory

We need your help to grow the directory!

We know there are many more programs out there. If you are running a program, teaching a course, or are currently a student studying peace education, or have the necessary information about such a program, please take a few moments to complete our online submission form. We are interested in gathering details about current formal (university based), informal (conferences, non-university based trainings) and non-formal (independent, citizen-based) programs of study and ongoing trainings and workshops. Programs submitted should go beyond the content of peace and conflict studies courses and should emphasize pedagogy or practice, teaching theory, educational policy, or research related to peace education.

Question for this article:

Africa: Through Peace Education, Youth Can Become Vanguards of Peace in the Great Lakes

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article by Ntumba Luaba, KBC TV

Over the past five decades, the youth have played a central role in the numerous violent conflicts that have afflicted the African Great Lakes Region. Young people have most conspicuously been active participants in the hundreds of armed groups that have traversed the region since independence in the 1960s, operating across sovereign borders with an unsettling ease and leaving great devastation in their wake. The UN estimates that over six million civilians have lost their lives since the 1990s alone, and that the civil wars, genocides and cross-border conflicts in the region have produced the world’s highest number of fatalities since the Second World War.

great-lakes
Photo of Ntumba Luaba from Radio Okapi

The existence of deeply entrenched stereotypes based on ethnicity or nationality has been a key impediment for the prospects of peace in the region. These stereotypes, marinated over the decades, have long been internalised by local communities and have regrettably been handed down to successive generations, breeding hatred and placing the region’s youth in a vulnerable position for manipulation into violent conflict. As a result, many of armed groups recruit youth into their ranks through manipulation and the promise of economic reward. Cases of outright coercion of the youth have also been documented.

Numerous efforts have been undertaken over time and at different levels in an attempt to ameliorate this state of affairs, but significant change has not yet been achieved. It is understandable that much of these efforts place priority on post-conflict reconstruction. The result has been that most interventions have overlooked the fact that the process of effectively countering hatred requires us to begin by planting the seed of peace. Building sustainable peace is a long-term process which, considering the cross-border nature of the region’s conflicts, demands that we perceptualize our peacebuilding efforts from both the local and regional levels. For any peacebuilding effort to stand a chance of success in the Great Lakes region, it must also target the emancipation of the youth from the ethnic or nationalistic encumbrances that make them easy targets for recruitment or mobilization into conflict action.

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Question for this article:

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

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A research study carried out in 2014 by the NGO Interpeace and six partner organizations in Rwanda, Burundi and the eastern part of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) found that the people in the region generally agreed that ethnic hatred is a fundamental problem in the Great Lakes region. The research also found that people across the three bordering countries endorsed peace education as a priority intervention that would both strengthen existing peacebuilding efforts and more importantly help in the prevention of conflict among future generations. The findings of this research resonate closely with the mandate of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR) to promote a comprehensive approach to peace and stability in the region, a mandate that includes empowering the region’s youth to become agents of peace.

The ICGLR and Interpeace are partners in the promotion of peace in the Great Lakes region. In December 2015, the two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding, creating a powerful synergy in which the ICGLR brings its clout as an intergovernmental body tasked to facilitate the promotion of peace and stability in the Great Lakes region, and Interpeace contributes its unique experience and capacity to bridge between high level actors at the national and international levels, Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and local populations at the grassroots level.

We have a strong conviction that peace education offers the promise of nurturing a new generation of youth into vanguards of peace in the Great Lakes Region. It is on this premise that the ICGLR and Interpeace will bring together key stakeholders from the region to a Peace Education Summit in Nairobi on 3 – 4 March 2016. The summit will focus on the promotion of a harmonized understanding of formal peace education in the region. The Nairobi Summit is by no means a singular engagement. It is rather a pilot initiative that could hopefully be expanded across all ICGLR member states because peace education is an invaluable investment for the future peace, security and prosperity of all member states, as well as the entire African continent.

Building peace is a collective effort in which every citizen and every stakeholder in the Great Lakes region has a role to play. We therefore call upon all key actors, particularly our member states, CSOs, other regional organizations and donor partners to embrace the idea of peace education as a preventive measure, to help us plant this seed for lasting peace in the region.

Professor Ntumba Luaba is the Executive Secretary of the International Conference on the Great Lakes Region (ICGLR), an Intergovernmental Organization established on the initiative of the African Union and the UN as a regional mechanism for peace, security, stability and development. ICGLR’s 12 core member states are Angola, Burundi, the Central African Republic (CAR), the Republic of the Congo, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Kenya, Rwanda, South Sudan, Sudan, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia. It additionally has seven co-opted member states, namely Botswana, Ethiopia, Egypt, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia and Zimbabwe.

(Thank you to the Global Campaign for Peace Education for distributing this article.)

Documentary Review: “Where to Invade Next” by Michael Moore

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

A film review by Ulkar Alakbarova

Each country has its own issues. Some have more, some have less. But one country has more internal issues than any other country in the world – The United States of America. In Michael Moore’s WHERE TO INVADE NEXT, you will discover some interesting facts that will make you wonder as to how is it possible that the greatest country on Earth can’t make its own people achieve the dream life they should have had a long time ago?

Moore
(click on photo to enlarge)

The idea of Moore’s documentary film is to invade a particular country that has something that the Americans don’t have. Moore begins his first trip with Italy, where he meets a charming middle class Italian couple, who tell us their lifestyle. From them, you will find out that every Italian is entitled to 8 paid weeks of vacation, two hours of lunch break, 15 days of vacation for newly married for their honeymoon, and 5 months of fully paid maternity leave. Moore strongly emphasizes here how important it is for Americans to implement this idea in the U.S. where, by law, every American is entitled to have only ‘0’ paid statuary vacations.

The second country the filmmaker invades is France, where he shows the importance of educating children to eat healthy food. While he takes us to a rural, and if I can say, not to a rich city at all, the food children are given in the school is equal to 5 stars’ restaurant in the North America. Instead, Moore shows the meal American students eat in the school: defrosted pizza and strange meal that looks like it had been kept in the fridge for ages. Moore’s third country being invaded is Finland, which offers the best education in the world, while Slovenia offers free University education. Saying that, it certainly looks like the richest country in the world is way behind those who have the annual budget a hundred times less than the United States.

WHERE TO INVADE NEXT is a great example of what a single country must do in order to make the life of its own people less stressful. Moore’s aim here is not to insult or embarrass his fellow Americans, but rather, make them to admit the gaps they have, and the urgency to fill it as soon as possible. It compares the prison system of Norway against the U.S., where no longer the rule being invented by the founders of the Great Nation: “no cruel or unusual punishment” is being followed.

In the end, this film can make you laugh, while, it`s uncomfortable truth may some viewer`s feelings. it touches quite a serious subject matter that somebody must look into. It reveals the negative side of American society that could not learn from past lessons. However, the filmmaker still looks optimistic, hoping that the ideas he claimed from foreign countries will help his country to restore its name before its citizens. Saying that, this film may be about America, but in the meantime, it’s about every country in the world that must face the issues they have, and fix it, if they want our next generation to have a prosperous future. But before it happens, allow yourself to be invaded by Moore`s brilliant film, that must be seen by everyone.

Question(s) related to this article:

Center for Peace Building and Reconciliation in Sri Lanka, to receive the Niwano Peace Prize

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

A press release from the Niwano Peace Foundation

While a relatively small island of twenty-two million people, Sri Lanka is a diverse country, home to multiple religions, ethnic groups, and languages. The country has suffered decades of violence and a civil war, which was ended only in 2009. Making things worse, Sri Lanka was hit by the deadly Indian Ocean tsunami of 2004. The end of the war brought new hope for sustainable peace, but the challenges to its achievement remain large.

niwano
Photo from project Defusing tensions and promoting peace in Sri Lanka by the Center for Peace Building and Reconciliation

The Centre for Peace Building and Reconciliation was founded in 2002 by Dishani Jayaweera and Jayantha Seneviratne, who are also life partners and Sinhala Buddhists by birth. The CPBR is a non-profit organization promoting peacebuilding, peace-making and non-violent conflict transformation. It supports personal and societal transformation within and between ethnic, religious, linguistic and regional communities in Sri Lanka, working at all the grassroots, local and national levels. To achieve goals of national reconciliation, the CPBR focuses those considered to hold the greatest influence and promise for transformation: religious leaders, women, and young people.

The presentation ceremony will take place in Tokyo, Japan, on Thursday, May 12th, at 10:30 a.m. In addition to an award certificate, the CPBR’s representative will receive a medal and twenty million yen.

To avoid undue emphasis on any particular religion or region, every year the Peace Foundation solicits nominations from people of recognized intellectual and religious stature around the world. In the nomination process, some 600 people and organizations, representing 125 countries and many religions, are asked to propose candidates. Nominations are rigorously screened by the Niwano Peace Prize International Selection Committee, which was set up in May of 2003 on the occasion of the 20th Anniversary of the Niwano Peace Prize. The Committee presently consists of ten religious leaders from various parts of the world, all of whom are involved in movements for peace and inter-religious cooperation. Here are some comments by members of the Committee on the selection of the CPBR for this year’s award:

– I support this organization because there is evidence in its work that positive results are achieved under trying and challenging circumstances. I am inspired and encouraged by the fact that it is locally led, and that its approach to peace building combines the energy and creativity of the youth, with the invaluable wisdom of clergy and the elders. (Ms. Nomfundo Walaza)

– I’ve been aware of the long war in Sri Lanka that ended in 2009. Despite that sadly conflicts have flared up from time to time because of the lack of reconciliation work between the religious communities. CPBR works to build trust and social ties that is key to reconciliation and peace engaging youth and religious leaders. Two Sinhala Buddhists set up the Center with compassion for humanity based on their Buddhist beliefs. (Shaykh Ibrahim Mogra)

Netherlands: The Peaceable School

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

Excerpts from the Manual for the Peaceable School, submitted to CPNN by John Zant

This programme, The Peaceable School, was designed in 1999 for use in Dutch primary schools to improve the social and emotional climate in school and classroom, by teaching pupils and teachers how to resolve conflicts constructively and by promoting pupil participation and community- building. The Peaceable School is widely spread in The Netherlands: by 2007, approximately 300 primary schools have implemented the programme (a yearly increase of approximately 50 schools). . .

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The Peaceable School has become a programme that strives to make school and class into a democratic community in which everyone feels responsible and involved, with the resolution of conflicts as its starting point. This programme teaches pupils, teachers and parents skills for resolving conflicts, other than by (physical or verbal) violence.

The programme includes a series of lessons for all age groups (including activities for children in Pre-school), intensive training for teachers, classroom observation and coaching and workshops for parents (see section 4). Besides training in conflict-resolution skills, all those involved learn to live with each other in a positive way by setting high standards of behaviour towards each other.

Increasing the responsibility of the pupils for their class and the school is key to this: the school as a community. Pupils learn to be responsible for the resolution of problems in the class and at school. Peer mediation is the most obvious result.

In this programme, peer mediation does not stand alone, but is part of an extensive curriculum. Through the weekly lessons, the pupils gradually work towards a climate in which the resolution of conflicts, other than by violence, becomes normal. Only when all the pupils know what mediation is and have practised it, does the school train a number of them specially as mediators.

Research results of surveys of similar programmes in the U.S. are encouraging. Evaluation research shows a significant reduction of incidents, suspensions, insults, punishments, etc. in all the schools that have implemented conflict resolution and peer mediation (Metis Associates, Inc., The Resolving conflict creatively programme: 1988-1989. Summary of significant findings. New York, 1990). Nearly all the schools report improvement in the general school climate. A large survey of 15 schools in New York, in which 5000 7 to 11-year-old pupils were followed, shows a significant decline in aggressive behaviour and a significant rise in achievement in reading and arithmetic by pupils who had followed more than 25 lessons from the curriculum (Aber J.L., Brown J., and C.C. Henrich, Teaching Conflict Resolution: an effective school-based approach to violence prevention. The National Center for Children in Poverty. New York, 1999).

After two years, nearly all the schools working with The Peaceable School in The Netherlands report a considerable change in the culture. Simple measurements (with thermometers, check-lists, observation) show progress in the actual and sensed feeling of security in almost all the schools.

Question for this article:

Spain: DemosPaz, a new Institute of UAM and the Foundation Culture of Peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

A blog by Montserrat Ponsa (translated by CPNN)

On Friday 19 February 2016, I was honored to attend one of those unforgettable events that make history. At 10.30 h in the morning, the Rector of the UAM [Universidad Autónoma de Madrid] José María Sanz Martínez and the President of Fundación Cultura de Paz Federico Mayor Zaragoza signed an agreement to establish the Joint Institute for Human Rights, Democracy, Culture of Peace and Nonviolence between the UAM and the Culture of Peace Foundation. It will be known as DemosPaz.

mayor inauguration
video of inauguration

The audience was impressive as it was attended by the deans and professors of different faculties, Social Council, friends and colleagues from the world of human rights and peace.

At the podium in addition to the Rector and Federico Mayor were the Dean of the Faculty of Law Yolanda Valdeolivas, the Dean of the Faculty of Science José María Carrascosa, and the dean of Philosophy and Lettersw, José María Cascón.

Their speeches touched us by their emotion. It was not a mere formal act. It was a unanimous decision involving all members of the Rectorate, the Governing Council and the Social Council.

The function of the University, said Yolanda Valdeolivas, is the promotion of knowledge and life styles to be sustainable. Hence the need to work with society, given that peace is more than the absence of war. It is a question of values and attitudes gained through dialogue. Both the UAM and the Culture of Peace Foundation share the rigorous methodology that has always been promoted by Federico Mayor Zaragoza. This agreement with the UAM will enable us to enlarge this and to share it with others.

The Dean of Philosophy Jose Maria Cascón said all the faculties of the university wish to be involved. This brings to an end the neoliberalism and ultra liberalism from the days of Margaret Thatcher and Ronald Reagan, a capitalism that is difficult to reconcile with peace. He criticized the discussions taking place these days in Brussels among those who run the world, calling it shameful. They continue to blame the poor. Our enthusiasm, coincides with the basic principle of this new Institute, to combat the neo-liberal ideology. Hence, the Joint Institute for Human Rights, Democracy, Culture of Peace and Nonviolence, and the ambition and enthusiasm of our Rector, our Deans, and Federico Mayor Zaragoza.

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(click here for the Spanish version)

Question for this article:

What is the relation between peace and education?

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The Dean of Science José María Carrascosa, said it was an honor to participate in this event, and to share the energy of Dr. Federico Mayor Zaragoza, with whom I had the pleasure of working at the Center for Molecular Biology Severo Ochoa. He was pleased that the UAM is supporting this new field of multidisciplinary research. Science has contributed much to life, but the lack of control of some advances has enabled death and atomic destruction, hence the need to achieve our goal which is peace.

Federico Mayor Zaragoza spoke emotionally, saying he was happy and grateful to the UAM, one of the most important centers of the world, for its clear mission: to change from the culture of force and imposition, teaching how to think, to create a philosophy of life, to be free and educated. They undertake intergenerational responsibility on a daily basis with the clear premise that all human lives are equal. He emphasized that we must all share and change from confrontation to discussion. Economics must be subordinated to social justice to ensure a decent life for everyone, a life free from fear. He welcomed the opportunity to work together for the triumph of human rights, especially for those who have not yet known these rights.

Closing the ceremony the Rector José Maria Sanz, thanked Mr Mayor for the confidence he has shown in the UAM: offering us the opportunity for innovation so that, in this 21st Century, research can generates knowledge that transfer to society values that are different from those of the past. His proposal gives us the opportunity to enter this frontier of knowledge, training, and debate. It will allow us to incorporate new areas into UAM, as well as in the society in general. We must focus on interdisciplinary culture in all areas of knowledge, to end inequality, poverty and violence. The UAM will be the engine to offer and go for the opposition values, that build the society of well-being for all without discrimination. The DemosPaz Institute should not only be for UAM but national and international in scope.

The audience was moved by the words we heard. No doubt there will be a beaufiful future for this initiative. No doubt it will achieve great things!

Goma, Nord Kivu, Congo: Third edition of the Amani Music Festival

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Radio Okapi (translation by CPNN)

The third edition of the Festival of Music and Dance “Amani” concluded on Sunday 14th February in Goma (North Kivu). Under the theme “Dancing to change, sing for peace”, the festival promotes a culture of peace and reconciliation among the people of a country beset by armed conflict for over two decades.

Goma
An extract of the performance by Werra Son

The festival featured artists from the Congo and the subregion of the Great Lakes including Noel Ngiama Makanda a.k.a. Werra Son.

The Senegalese artist-musician Ismae Lô highlighted the conclusion of the festival with his favorite songs including “Africas” and “Dibi Dibi Rek”.

He expressed his desire to return again to the Amani Festival and to continue, with other artists, the work of promoting peace not only in eastern Congo but throughout the Great Lakes region.

(Click here for a French version of this article)

 

Question related to this article:

What place does music have in the peace movement?

As of now, there are 36 CPNN articles on this theme, which shows the great extent to which music is the universal language of peace! These include the first and second editions of the Amani festival at Goma.