Tag Archives: Latin America

Brazil: Ministry of Education advances the debate on restorative justice

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from the Ministry of Education in Brazil

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

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

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

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(Click here for the original article in Portuguese)

Discussion question

Restorative justice, What does it look like in practice?

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

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

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

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

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

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

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

… EDUCATION FOR PEACE …

An article from Canal 13

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

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(click here for the original version in Spanish).

Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

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

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

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

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

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

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

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

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from Cambio Colombia

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


Photo: Mayor’s Office of Medellín.

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

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

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

The contribution to total peace

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

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

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

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

Promotion of employment and entrepreneurship

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

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

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

Accompaniment to victims of the conflict

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

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

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

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

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(Click here for the original article in Spanish.)

Question related to this article:

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

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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

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

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

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

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

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

Schools of Non-Violence

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Colombia: Cinema, historical memory and culture of peace

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An article from Seminario Voz

From November 24 to December 8, the Peace Cinema Festival will take place, with the screening of more than 30 cinematographic pieces, including feature films and short films, that give an account of the New Colombia that has arisen after the signing of the Peace Agreement, an event that just turned seven years old


Organizing team of the Peace Cinema Festival. Photo courtesy

The festival gathers audiovisual works, documentaries, fictions, animations, including short films and films that contain the voice and image of the fight for peace and the construction of historical memory from various latitudes of the country and the world.

Through alternative, community and popular cinema, in its first version, the Peace Film Festival brings together social, cultural organizations, creators, directors, cultural and social leaders, producers of the audiovisual and popular communities of the world and the country, who shoot films for peace. Through cinema and audiovisuals, with their faces and hands, farmers, workers, rural communities and organizations from sidewalks and neighborhoods, tell their stories of memory, peace, resistance and transformation.

Stories about people

The festival brings together a selection of more than 30 cinematographic works that give an account of the new Colombia that has arisen after the signing of the Peace Agreement with the FARC-EP, as well as the cultural context for a new narrative of the conflict and peace. It presents the roots and seeds from popular and alternative cinema for the construction of memory, the search for reconciliation and non-repetition, as well as presenting the historical causes and demands that have given way to the construction of peace.

In this first installment of the Peace Film Festival, between November 24 and December 8, cinema raises its voice for historical memory and the culture of peace, through spaces of training, dissemination and circulation that seek to strengthen the storytelling of communities of their own stories. Its epicenter is in Bogotá, in different iconic cultural and social spaces, born from historical social struggles and demands for peace and social justice.

Jessica Santacruz, organizer of the Peace Cinema Festival, describes how this project was born from the need for a space that brings together cinematographic pieces that tell about peace from the territories and from their own worldviews: “We want to make films to imagine a better country. “It is necessary to recognize the struggles of the people and to promote the structural transformations that the country requires.”

Tell the other side of the coin

The programming of the festival includes public training spaces, forums, workshops, dialogues and projections around memory and peace. Cinema shows the hope and transformations that peace allows, as well as its challenges. It is a trench in the struggle for peace in Colombia.

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

Question for this article:

Film festivals that promote a culture of peace, Do you know of others?

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

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Jennifer Castañeda and Natalia Monroy are co-directors of “16 de Mayo,” a short documentary film that narrates the events that occurred in 1984 at the National University of Colombia. It is based on the testimony of Elizabeth Díaz and Luis Higuera, who talk about the eviction by State agencies of the resident students, an event that fractured the Colombian student movement and the country’s education system. This film is projected within the framework of the audiovisual creation laboratory with which the festival began.

The directors highlighted that “these spaces for meeting and dissemination are vital for the audiovisual production of historical memory of the conflict. They enable us to work on projects that transcend social networks. Every time we project our films in scenarios like these, we receive different perspectives of the public that make us reflect on different moments in history.”

“Being filmmakers is not an easy job, but we look for a way for history to come to light. In our case, by working collectively, we recognize each person’s expertise, respecting artistic freedom and channel it into fruitful work,” say the directors.

For their part, William Ospina, director of “La Promesa,” and its producer Sara Chacón, speak about the stigmatization produced by a sector of the country that wants to perpetuate the war and which makes it difficult to tell the other side of the story.

Another star film in the selection is “Colombia In My Arms” (2020) by Finnish directors Jenni Kivistö & Jussi Rastas, which has won an international award and will be released in theaters in the country for the first time. This and other films of 24 frames per second, tell stories of emotions, joys and dramas, the magic that only cinema has to take us to the past, wake us up in the present and ground us in the future.

Action!

A film debate “Women, Cinema and Palestinian Resistance” was held, also within the framework of the Peace Film Festival and the 25th International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women. The debate included Isabel Rikkers, a member of the collective, along with Tadamun Antimili, who spoke about the importance of creating more spaces for pedagogy and activism to make the genocide against the people of Palestine visible. “There is a denial of the conflict, like what has happened in Colombia. We cannot allow half the people to hate the other half,” said Rikkers.

In this way the festival tells a story that can only be done by popular hands, hands of communities that tell their own history, owners of their own memory and transformers for the new Colombia and another possible world.

Five, four, three, two, one, action! For the culture of peace and historical memory! Action for another possible country that is filmed with a camera in hand, day by day, with images that smell and taste of dignity, neighborhoods, countryside and revolution for peace.

The Peace Cinema Festival is projected as one of the most representative cultural stages of the Seventh Art for Peace. Through popular alternative cinema it strengthens the collective cause of festivals throughout the Colombian territory that are committed to life, to the defense of human rights and social justice.

This project is also possible, thanks to the support of the Cultural Transformations for Peace process, the Casa Cultural Alternativa, the Partido Comunes and the Centro de Memoria, Paz y Reconciliación.

EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Feasibility Proposal for the Creation of a Ministry of Peace for Colombia

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from the Global Campaign for Peace Education

By the Latin American and the Caribbean Chapter of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace

Fulfilling its objective of supporting the development of Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace in the world, the Latin American and the Caribbean Chapter of the Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace (GAMIP LAC) delivered the Proposal for the feasibility of the creation of a Ministry of Peace in Colombia. Presented at the Congress of the Republic in a Public Hearing on Thursday, November 9th in the Luis Guillermo Velez Hall with the presence of all political parties, House of Representatives and Senators – as well as members of the Executive Branch of the Nation and delegations from civil society, the document is now published (At this moment, the publication is only available in Spanish). It is the first time in the international history of the construction of Ministries of Peace that a Non-Governmental Organization has taken this initiative.

Read the Feasibility Proposal (in Spanish)

Executive Summary of the Feasibility Proposal for the Creation of a Ministry of Peace in Colombia

This analysis for a Ministry of Peace proposal in the Republic of Colombia is authored by a Colombian and international team of experts in the field of peacebuilding. The group respectfully presents to Congress the key lessons learned from a legislative study on the feasibility of establishing a Ministry of Peace (MPC) in Colombia, based on similar experiences in other countries. The aim is to support the vision of the Republic of Colombia in striving to build, consolidate, and maintain sustainable peace for future generations.

The methodology involved studying, analyzing, and outlining lessons learned potentially beneficial for the creation of a MINISTRY OF PEACE in Colombia, as stated in the FINAL REPORT OF THE TRUTH COMMISSION – CEV during its public presentation to the elected President of the Republic, Gustavo Petro, and the country on June 28, 2022. The team included a select group of Colombian and international advisory consultants, academics, and leaders from International Organizations with extensive knowledge, experience, and training in peacebuilding theory and conflict resolution implementation. They hail from Colombia, Mexico, Chile, Argentina, and Canada. Their areas of expertise include Education for Peace, Citizenship and Democracy; Political Science; Economics; Human Rights Practice; Defense; International Cooperation; Communications; Sociology; Constitutional Law; and Professionalism for Peace.

The resulting document is based on international research and focuses on Colombia’s declared needs to establish a Ministry of Peace, as well as the Recommendation cited from the Final Report of the Truth Commission – CEV. This proposal considered as fundamental elements of analysis and background:

The history of Ministries of Peace (MOPs) in the international community and supporting UN resolutions of which Colombia is a signatory (especially UN resolution 53/243 on the Action Program for a Culture of Peace).

The recommendations of the Truth Commission (June 2022), including the Colombian government’s political will to build Peace (particularly the enunciation of the concept of “Total Peace” by the current government); Colombia’s existing long-standing efforts towards peacebuilding and existing practices in this field that have demonstrated efficiency in their development and application in some territories.

The current research in the country on the sufficient and urgent conditions to achieve peace and advance an MPC, such as: the readiness and willingness of the majority of the parties involved in the armed conflict and widespread violence to seek peace as a priority; collective awareness of the need for healing, reconciliation, and addressing traumas and other social issues; the political will to invoke change and solutions with a reasonable chance of success for peaceful coexistence; and the intention for all involved parties to work together, with perspectives of progressing towards peace, reconciliation, and human security in all its aspects.

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(Click here for the announcment in Spanish.)

Question related to this article:

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

What is happening in Colombia, Is peace possible?

(Article continued from left column)

Key Lessons Learned to Consider in the Planning and Implementation of the Following Proposal

Develop:

° Capacities and authorities with sufficient funding for leadership and sustainability to address national peace issues and act as an effective catalyst to amplify ministerial, departmental, municipal, and civil society initiatives;

° Sustainable capacities for future generations at national, state, and municipal levels;

° Capacities to drive and coordinate the consolidation of peace as an organizing principle of society;

° Coherent outcomes with the creation of a positive peace culture that fosters well-being and harmony, and capacities to constructively address conflicts or violence;

° Capacities to build and strengthen a national architecture of peace, peace education, and peace practices.

Pay due attention to:

° The sustainability of this proposal with sensitivity to UN resolutions and building a culture of peace;

° Avoiding the trap of a single-focus approach – Ministries of Peace (MdP) that have focused on specific conflict outcomes risk being marginalized or dissolved once the single-focus mandate is deemed achieved or primary goals reach manageable levels (e.g., the case of Nepal). Instead, a broad peace consolidation mandate should be built on sustainable foundations to address issues affecting peace, such as peace education, gender, racism, violence, crime, human rights, poverty, environmental concerns, and biases;

° Encouraging broad participation, inclusion, ownership, and accountability by strengthening and accommodating existing peace-related functions already assigned to other Colombian ministries and institutions, including at the departmental and municipal levels, as well as in civil society;

° Considering existing peace services, such as ministerial peace managers and Total Peace initiatives to establish peace promoters;

° Prioritizing and integrating peace education at all levels of Colombian educational curricula;

° Building an inclusive Colombian peace architecture involving citizen peace practices, community-level capacities, and peace professionals, as well as qualified peace professionals at all levels;

° Instituting strong monitoring, research, and advisory functions on peace at the highest levels of government;

° Prioritizing and addressing national needs for peace consolidation, considering existing Peace Agreements, the Havana Peace Agreement (November 2016), and the Truth Commission Report (June 2022), maintaining good governance, and addressing social needs such as human rights, violence prevention, gender equality, land-related issues, and environmental considerations;

° Building strong relationships with state security providers, police, and army. Developing with them principles, methods, and strategies of peace education, peace skills and practices, and a culture that prioritizes “peaceful means” of professional intervention.

Leveraging Existing Strategic Ministerial Tools, such as:

A National Peace Development Plan within the National Development Plan, to reinforce the commitment and responsibility of peace officers and peace committees at ministerial, departmental, and city levels, as well as peace development plans, peace tables or committees at ministerial, departmental, and city levels, and by civil society;

A National Peace Program, which includes (1) service provision and operations to address priorities in peace education, ethics, gender equality, reconciliation, health, environment, justice, racism, extremism, and human rights; (2) a framework for effective, inclusive, and participatory communication, support, and reporting: (a) to the President, Congress, and Ministries for advisory, oversight, research, and peace operations functions, as well as for education, outreach, and international and UN coordination; (b) to all Ministries through established peace officers, peace committees, and Ministerial Peace Development Plans to reinforce their individual contributions within the national strategic context; (c) to departments, communities, cities, NGOs, and citizens to support, establish, catalyze, and formalize peace networks in society, federal commissions, NGOs, peace groups, and universities.

Path Forward

We believe that the timing and conditions are extremely favorable for establishing a Ministry of Peace that can make a real difference for all Colombians. The political will of Congress and the President is commendable and sets an example for the international community that Colombia can be proud of.

We understand that the journey through Congress, up to the approval of a Ministry of Peace, its mandate, and eventual implementation, will be complex, a legislative and political learning experience with which we are willing to collaborate, support, and strengthen if considered necessary and useful for the process.

We request your review, opinions, and contributions to improve this report and proposal.

If you have any comments or proposals, please refer to comunicaciones@gamipalc.org

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America

Mexico: XIX World Congress and XXIII National Mediation Congress 2023

. EDUCATION FOR PEACE ..

An article from Noticias de Queretaro

The Nineteenth World Congress and the Twenty-Third National Mediation Congress 2023 closed with great success. It took place from November 6 to 10 in the Municipality of Querétaro with participants from more than 10 countries, and with activities, analysis, study and dissemination of mediation issues, as well as the culture of peace for the benefit of the people of Queretaro.

Under the motto “A Life for Peace and Concord”, 83 academic activities were carried out, including 31 presentations, 18 conferences, eight book presentations, 11 successful projects, eight dialectical analysis forums and philosophical dialogues, and 27 workshops.

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Questions for this article:

Is there progress towards a culture of peace in Mexico?

Mediation as a tool for nonviolence and culture of peace

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Specialists from different parts of Mexico and other countries including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Paraguay, Bolivia, Dominican Republic, Portugal, and Spain combined efforts to carry out the project for the implementation and dissemination of mediation and the culture of peace.

This international event sparked the interest of participants from 20 states in the Mexico, including Jalisco, Yucatán, Aguascalientes, San Luis Potosí, Guanajuato, Tamaulipas, Baja California, Chiapas, Mexico City, State of Mexico, Sonora, Sinaloa, Nuevo León, Puebla, Guerrero, Chihuahua, Aguascalientes and Quintana Roo. They met at the Educational and Cultural Center of the State of Querétaro, “Manuel Gómez Morín”, the Arts Center of the State of Querétaro.

It is worth highlighting the great participation and interest in all activities, both by specialists and by attendees. Attendees included students and schools at the high school and professional level of Mexico and more than 1,300 congressmen during the five days of the event which closed with important conclusions that will be translated into actions and public policies that will promote the peace and harmony that citizens need.

(Click here for the Spanish original of this article)

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, EDUCATION FOR PEACE, Latin America

Mercosur without Racism: Brazil will propose a campaign at a meeting of ministers from the bloc

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Government of Brazil

The Ministry of Culture (MinC), in the exercise of Pro Tempore presidency of Mercosul Cultural, will propose the campaign “Mercosul without Racism, with Diversity and Inclusion”, to create common strategies to combat prejudice in the countries that make up the economic bloc. The action will be presented on November 9th, in Belém, Pará, during the meeting of Mercosur Ministers of Culture. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am, in the Oval Room of the Government Palace of the State of Pará. 

The expectation is that, with approval of the campaign by the participants, the bloc’s ministers and authorities will sign the joint declaration of adherence to the agenda, expressing the commitment of all Mercosur member countries to adopt actions that guarantee the promotion of ethnic-racial equality in their territories, in an intersectoral and continuous manner.
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Led by Minister Margareth Menezes, the meeting will be attended by the Minister of Culture of Argentina, Tristán Bauer, the Minister of Culture and Heritage of Ecuador, Maria Elena Machuca, the Executive Secretary of the National Secretariat of Culture of Paraguay, Adriana Ortiz, the Vice Minister of Heritage, Memories and Cultural Governance of Colombia, Adriana Molano and the director of the Office of International Cooperation of Peru, Wilyam Abelardo Lúcar Aliaga. The Minister of Cultures, Decolonization and Depatriarchalization of Bolivia, Sabina Orellana Cruz, the National Director of Culture of Uruguay, Mariana Wainstein, and the representative of the Chilean Embassy in Brazil, Alejandro Guzmán, will be present by video.

During the 54th Meeting of Ministers of Culture of Mercosur, which took place in June this year, in Buenos Aires, minister Margareth Menezes received the Pro Tempore Presidency of Mercosur Cultural. At the time, the head of the Ministry of Culture had already announced that one of the main actions of Brazil’s mandate would be Mercosur without Racism.

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(Click here for the original Portuguese version of this article)

Question(s) related to this article:

Are we making progress against racism?

Latin America, has it taken the lead in the struggle for a culture of peace?

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Officially, the Campaign is an invitation to the governments of Mercosur member countries, as well as organizations and society. “A Democratic State is only possible by guaranteeing equal rights, social equality, ethnic-racial equality and freedom for all people. At this meeting, we will reaffirm our commitment to adopting social development policies for discriminated and vulnerable populations in the countries. These guarantees are fundamental to improving the region’s economic development conditions”, highlights the minister.

The Secretary of Citizenship and Cultural Diversity in the Ministry of Culture, Márcia Rollemberg, reinforces the need for Mercosur countries to adopt measures that will guarantee the population’s equal rights. She states that the Mercosur Without Racism Campaign aims to recognize the contribution of indigenous and Afro-descendant populations to the social formation and cultural identity of member countries.

“Racism encourages the maintenance of a social structure of great inequalities in access and opportunities, in which skin color and other bodily characteristics establish boundaries and limitations in access to social and cultural rights”, he highlights. “The goal is for countries to value and promote diversity, anti-racist education and good living, strengthening the culture of peace and interculturality in our region”, concludes secretary Márcia Rollemberg.

Mercosur Cultural works in an expanded manner, with the participation of member states Argentina, Brazil, Paraguay, Uruguay and Venezuela (despite the suspension of the latter since August 2017), as well as associated states such as Chile, Colombia, Ecuador and Peru. Bolivia also participates as an associated state and is in the accession process. This collaboration has strengthened public cultural policies in the region, providing a valuable exchange of information and experiences from successful cultural programs and projects.

Declaration

The Declaration, which will be presented by Brazil, highlights the importance of adopting and enhancing specific cultural policies for the black population, indigenous peoples and traditional peoples and communities, in confronting inequalities and combating racism. The measures adopted will strengthen cooperation at national, regional and international levels to ensure the full exercise of the economic, social, cultural, civil and political rights of people who are discriminated against.

The text points out that racism consists of a derogatory and discriminatory attitude based on the race, color, descent, national or ethnic origin of a person or group. The consequence is racial inequality as a structural problem to be faced throughout the region. It also argues that racial discrimination encourages the maintenance of a social structure based on inequalities in access and opportunities, and affects both economic inequalities and influences social, cultural and political dynamics. 

HUMAN RIGHTS, Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

2 October: 3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence officially launched in the Spanish Congress of Deputies

. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION .

An article from Pressenza

The 3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence was officially presented at the Congress of Deputies of Spain in Madrid on 2 October, International Day of Nonviolence, in the magnificent Ernest Lluch hall.


Presentation of the 3rd World March for Peace and Nonviolence. Congress of Deputies. 2 oct 2023 (Image by Pepi Muñoz and Juan Carlos Marín)

The event had a total attendance of about 100 people (most of them in person and others online), including some members of parliament and several representatives of related groups. María Victoria Caro Bernal, honorary president of the Association of Rhetoric and Eloquence of the Ateneo de Madrid, director of the International Festival of Poetry and Art Grito de mujer, who acted as master of ceremony, first read the communiqué sent by Federico Mayor Zaragoza, president of the Culture of Peace Function and former director of UNESCO, who had not been able to attend in person: “The time for confrontation, for force, is over… it is now time to act in favour of the peoples, we must stop being impassive spectators and become active citizens…”.

Rafael de la Rubia, promoter of the previous World Marches for Peace and Nonviolence and founder of the humanist association World Without Wars and Without Violence, reviewed the previous marches and commented on the main lines and the main circuit of the 3rd WM which will begin in a year’s time on the same date in Costa Rica. He emphasised the feat and the ethical value of developing a project of this magnitude without funding or sponsors of any kind.

Martine Sicard of MSG France then intervened to comment on how delicate it was going to be to specify the Africa route because of the current instability in several areas of the continent, but that we could count on the best of its people and its cultures to enhance initiatives already underway; this was completed with a video sent by N’diaga Diallo from Senegal.

It was then connected live to the Legislative Assembly in San José, Costa Rica, where Giovanny Blanco of World without Wars and without Violence and coordinator of the 3rd WM in Costa Rica, was presenting the March in front of an enthusiastic and committed audience to ensure its start from the University for Peace, a UN dependent university where there are students of 100 nationalities. They will walk more than 22 km to the Plaza de la Abolición del Ejercito in San José.

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

Questions related to this article:

How effective are mass protest marches?

Carlos Umaña, co-president of IPPNW, the International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War, recalled the importance that the March can have in continuing to raise awareness of the danger of nuclear weapons, alluding to the current position of the atomic clock, and invited people to watch Pressenza’s documentary, The Beginning of the End of Nuclear Weapons, to encourage a paradigm shift regarding their use.

Marco Inglessis from Energia per i diritti umani intervened live from Rome-Italy, shared some projects already underway in Europe, in particular Italy, Spain, Portugal, Czech Republic, Greece, Slovenia, France and Austria, among others, as well as the campaign Mediterranean, sea of peace, and highlighted the importance of educational work and the participation of the new generations.

Lizett Vásquez from Mexico, commented on the Mesoamerican and North American route. She pointed out that it would pass through different countries: Nicaragua, El Salvador, Honduras, Guatemala, Mexico and the USA, where activities had already taken place in previous marches. The aim is also to arrange an interview at the United Nations at the highest possible level.

Cecilia Flores from Chile gave a sketch of what could be the route of the March in its South American part and the important spiritual role that the Parks of Study and Reflection in the area could contribute to it. In general, it would enter through Argentina-Brazil and the two possible Atlantic and non-violent corridors are still to be defined, going up to Panama to finish on 5 January in Costa Rica.

The video of the intervention of Madathil Pradeepan from India was broadcast, claiming Gandhi’s legacy as a responsibility it to make his legacy his own once again and to involve the whole of Asia in this next march. The Asian route that will finally take place remains to be defined. New Zealand, Australia, Japan, South Korea, the Philippines, Bangladesh, Nepal, and India are the places through which previous marches have passed.

Jesús Arguedas, as spokesperson for MSGySV Spain, recalled that it was from Madrid that the first and second Marches were conceived and committed himself to promoting various initiatives at the Spanish level in both cultural and educational ambits, inviting everyone to make their own contribution.

Next, Rafael Egido Perez, sociologist, councillor for the Spanish Socialist Workers’ Party (PSOE) and secretary of the association Cuidadores de personas called for respect for human rights, in particular those of the elderly, migrants and women.

At the end of the event, spokespersons from various groups were invited to briefly present their field of action and their commitment to causes such as the defence of women, migrants and the environment, all of which will, of course, have a place in the March. And there were also several poetic interventions in homage to Gandhi, since 2 October has been designated as the International Day of Nonviolence precisely because it is the anniversary of his birth.

You can watch the whole event on the Congress TV channel

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe, global, ,

Latin America and the Caribbean: International Day of Peace

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION .

A survey by CPNN

The following 85 actions in 17 Latin American countries include those listed in Google during the weeks of September 17-28 this year under the key words “International day of peace”, “Dia Internacional da Paz” and “Día Internacional de la Paz”

About 50 actions are listed in One Day One Choir and Montessori schools singing for peace, but except for 4 actions listed here because they were new this year, there is no indication which events took place this year and which took place only in previous years.


The children of Santa Rita, Brazil

Here are excerpts from the articles.

ARGENTINA

BUENOS AIRES: The Montessori School, Sunrise Jardín Oficial Trilingüe joined Montessori schools all over the world to sing for peace on the International Day of Peace to light a candle for peace, for love, for life!

BELLVILLE: This Thursday is the International Day of Peace and the Casa del Niño began with the celebrations. . . Young people from Mexico, Colombia and Brazil, who were joined by the host entity to 4th, 6th and 7th year students, together with their vice principal Elisa Gassman and different teachers, shared a breakfast and then games. In addition, foreign visitors gave souvenirs and tasted with the children some typical foods from their countries, as well as typical dances from the countries they represented.

CORDOBA: REDIPAZ and the Open Chair Right to Peace and Coexistence in Diversity of the Provincial University of Córdoba, invite you to join the events and activities that we will organize within the framework of the UPC Peace Month. Every September 21, the International Day of Peace is celebrated , which is why, from the Provincial University of Córdoba, we will develop a series of events aimed at promoting the culture of peace. On Monday , September 25, from 4 p.m. we will hold the meeting of “Young Builders of Coexistence” in the Sala Mayor of the Ciudad de las Artes Theater. The meeting seeks to generate a space for the exchange of experiences by young people, related to the construction of peaceful, inclusive, democratic, safe and resilient coexistence. The event will be broadcast live on the YouTube channel of the Provincial University of Córdoba .

ESQUEL: September 21 is the International Day of Peace, a date established in 1981 by the United Nations General Assembly. This morning an event was held in front of the Esquel peace post. Present were the mayor of Esquel, Sergio Ongarato, the president of the Deliberative Council of Esquel, Gerardo Filippini, councilor Rubén Álvarez, representatives of Rotaratc, National Gendarmerie, Regiment 3, Communities of Esquel, the president of Rotary, Cecilia López Castaño, and the president of the HZE Cooperator, María Cecilia Guitart.

MENDOZA: The City raised the Flag of Peace on the municipal esplanade. The event was held within the framework of the International Day of Peace. The president of the Honorable Deliberative Council, Horacio Migliozzi, was present at this event, along with the Secretaries of Government, Rodrigo Olmedo, of Tourism and Culture, Felipe Rinaldo and other municipal authorities. Also, members of the Mil Milenios de Paz Foundation and guests from the foundation and the municipality participated in this event.

PUERTO GENERAL SAN MARTÍN: The Niño Jesús School together with the Municipality of Puerto General San Martín, organized this morning the event for the International Day of Peace with an emotional meeting in Plaza San Martín, to reaffirm once again the commitment to work together in fraternity and solidarity building a peace that guarantees justice, leaving aside differences, to work on them and make them tools that lead to growth and strengthening of people. The event was attended by the president of the Municipal Council, Juan Manuel De Grandis, the director of the Niño Jesús School, Susana Petrocelli, the secretary of Education, Culture and Sports, Sebastián Lezcano, the illustrious citizen, Elsa Patterer, representatives of educational establishments, teachers and students, and neighbors in general. Father Gerardo Iachini expressed some allusive words in front of everyone present.

PUERTO MADRYN: Within the framework of the International Day of Peace that is commemorated every September 21, this Friday morning, authorities from the Foundation Mil Milenios de Paz met with the head of the Puerto Madryn Addiction Prevention Directorate , Claudia Ricciotti , and members of the School of Social Psychology “Building Alternatives”, in order to begin projecting the different actions that will be carried out during the current month. The agenda will include soccer teams framed in the municipal “Football Night” program, and recreational and exchange activities with those present, “in order to re-educate about the importance of good treatment, non-violence, peaceful coexistence and solidarity.” , which will allow us to project a better Madryn every day,” the Foundation highlighted.

PUERTO MADRYN – SCHOOL 84: The creation of a mural began to make visible the different actions we carry out each year in commemoration of the International Day of Peace. This year it takes place at school No. 84 “Manuel Belgrano” in the city of Puerto Madryn. It will be the closing of a joint program that we will integrate during this week with directors, teachers, assistants and 6th grade students from school No. 84, and Social Psychologists from the Construyendo Alternativas School, with the aim of educating the importance of good treatment, solidarity, empathy, equality, and love as fundamental points to be able to “build a better world together.”

SAN JUAN: On September 21, International Peace Day, a release of origami doves and messages of peace will be held as a way to raise awareness about the need for human beings to live in harmony. We will work together with schools and the general public to make doves out of recycled paper using the origami technique. These doves will be exhibited in different sectors of the museum along with messages referring to the importance of peace for each person. The community is invited to participate in this activity and exchange a message for a dove or vice versa.

SAN NICOLAS: The Ambassador of Peace designated by the Mil Milenios de Paz Foundation, Graciela Esquilino, and the president of the San Nicolás War Veterans Center, MGV Luis Feldmann, invite the community to participate in the second event for the International Day of Peace, to be held on Thursday, September 21.

SANTA FE: Colegio de Abogados. The International Day of Peace and the day of the Santafesino Prejudicial Mediator. We invite you to participate in the activity by registering in the following form: Organized by: Mediation Center – Institute of Conflict Resolution Means – Training Institution No. 25

SUNCHALES: Within the framework of the celebration of the International Day of Peace, which is commemorated every September 21 throughout the world, an activity alluding to the theme will be carried out from the Space for Interreligious Dialogue next to the House of Pax Culture. You are especially invited to participate in this initiative that aims to be a moment to share a time of reflection together, understanding that all people have a role to play in the promotion and construction of Peace. The event will last an estimated 45 minutes and will feature at the closing with the boys’ and girls’ choir from the Crearte Cultural Space in Sunchales.

USHUAIA: The Secretary of Culture and Education, Belén Molina, and the Secretary of Parliamentary Relations Omar Becerra, participated in the event for the International Day of Peace that took place in the Plaza Campana de la Paz, together with representatives of the Mil Milenios de Paz Foundation, Armed Forces and Security and neighbors.

VILLA MARIA: The Internationalization Secretariat of the National University of Villa María, the English Language Faculty of the Academic Pedagogical Institute of Human Sciences of the National University of Villa María (UNVM) and the Speakeasy Bookstore invite you to participate in the “Pequeñas great actions for peace between peoples”, leaving a message in English or Spanish of affection and optimism for adults and older adults, young people and children from all over the world.

BOLIVIA

EL ALTO: El Alto, September 1, 2023.- The institutions part of the EIRENE program reaffirmed this Friday their commitment to work for peaceful coexistence, and launched the “Build peace. Give love” with Sumankaña, a vizcacha that promotes good treatment. The campaign was presented within the framework of the celebration activities for the “International Day of Peace”, which is commemorated on September 21. The institutions that are part of the EIRENE program, in the city of El Alto, are the Civil Service for Peace, CCC Chaqui, Focapaci, OMAK, Sepamos and Pueblo Diferente, which work through spaces for dialogue and violence prevention actions, promoting the culture of peace in the population of El Alto and other municipalities of the department of La Paz. Among the activities will be an art festival for peace, the symposiums “Communication for Peace”, “Mediation and conciliation”, “Peaceful and harmonious coexistence” and the XIV Festival Fair for the International Day of Peace.

BRAZIL

SENADO: This Thursday (21/9), the International Day of Peace is celebrated. In celebration of the date, the Embassy of Peace brought together authorities from different sectors of society in the Petrônio Portela auditorium, in the Senate, with the aim of promoting dialogues on peace. The event was led by actress, presenter and peace ambassador, Maria Paula Fidalgo. The moment was attended by humanitarian leaders, authorities, artists, medal-winning Paralympic athletes, activists and monks, who gave moving speeches. A Hiroshima survivor was also present. . . . The moment also included a performance organized by instrumentalist Isabel Nabuco, together with the band PestaLovers, from the Associação Pestalozzi de Brasília.

BLUMENAU: The International Day of Peace is celebrated every year by students from the Family Secretariat (Pró-Família), with some action. This year, it was circular dancing. The collective dance is performed with the aim of integrating groups and strengthening values ​​of empathy, understanding and belonging. And that’s what the students felt. “It was really good, I loved it, I felt a lot of unity,” said Luiza Roth, 70 years old, a student at Pró-Família. Her colleague, Vanil Terres, 82, agreed: “I felt a lot of peace, love in my heart.”

CAMPINAS: Tree Day and International Peace Day, both celebrated on September 21, are the object of the special program that will be developed this Thursday morning, at the Joaquim Egídio Environmental Station, with the participation of community residents, students from the Francisco Barreto Leme State School, the Mata Ciliar Association, and members of the Municipal Council of the Culture of Peace of Campinas (Compaz). The program goes from 9 a.m. to 12 p.m. with live music, sowing, planting, walking and various environmental education activities. The opening of the event will be made by the secretary of SVDS, Rogério Menezes. “The act of tree planting, on Tree Day, is a reflection on the importance of forests, the importance of urban afforestation and the dependence on individual and society actions to achieve a result. So, it’s acting locally and thinking globally,” says Menezes.

CAMPO GRANDE: Councilor Ronilço Guerreiro is the new Ambassador of Peace in Brazil. He received the title in today’s ordinary session at the Campo Grande City Council and the certificate was delivered by the universal ambassador for peace, Delasnieve Miranda Daspet de Souza, who used the Tribune of the Casa de Leis to speak about the International Day of Peace, which is celebrated today.

CAMPO LIMPO: This Thursday (21), the Unified Education Centers (CEUs) promote a series of actions to celebrate the International Day of Peace established by the United Nations. The actions take place in seven CEUs in the DRE Campo Limpo region, south of São Paulo, and include activities with student groups, peace walks, cultural presentations, lectures and conversation circles.

CARAVANA DA PAZ: The Brazil Peace Caravan was created by a group of people who aim to build a better world guided by a Culture of Peace Participate by sending a video answering what is Peace for you and what is fundamental for our Planet to achieve Peace? Our invitation is for you, and people in your network or institution who are interested, to record a short video answering the question: What is Peace for you and what is fundamental for Planet Earth to achieve Peace?We will use these videos in the caravan media and at the end of our meeting. Our intention is to generate a great collective vibration so that Peace is a path of regeneration for the entire Planet Earth

CASCAVEL: On International Day of Peace, a special message. All municipal departments, Transitar and the Public Ministry form a social protection network to carry out awareness-raising and combating violence actions. Today, with balloons, banners and leaflets, they spoke to drivers in front of the main church. Traffic violence is one of the areas of concern. And drivers recognize that more calm is needed on the streets and roads.

FRANCISCO BELTRÃO: Chanting “A Paz”, by the band Roupa Nova”, the students of Colégio Glória unveiled, yesterday afternoon, the 21st, a mantle of peace. With 72 m², the material was made by all the institution’s students – from kindergarten to high school – and is displayed on the facade, facing Rua Tenente Camargo, in Francisco Beltrão. The initiative is part of an action in honor of the International Day of Peace, celebrated this Thursday. “We are a school associated with the Pea Unesco Network, so every year we promote a culture of peace inside and outside the school. Each one made their own scrap, representing what they want to convey in this cream and we put it together, transforming it into a cloak”, explained the coordinator of primary education at Colégio Glória, Edileide Kielba.

GUARULHOS: This Thursday (21), International Day of Peace, the City Hall is promoting the third edition of Guarulhos de Mãos Dadas pela Paz in the main tent of Bosque Maia, from 8am to 11am. At 8:30 am, those present will be able to explore the harmony of peace through the circular dance workshop, promoted by the Guarulhos focalizers. At 10am, an emblematic action will be carried out by the artist and also participant in the circular dances, Renate Sewing Hammer, who proposes a collective work, a unique human mandala, made with knitted threads, symbolizing the union of the community in the search for peace.

IGARASSU : Maos Promovendo A Paz. · Today, 21/09, for Peace Day, I have been to the Sacred Heart of Jesus convent in Igarassu, which runs a school with 106 girls and boys. So I have taken 120 Hearts that will be given away at lunch.

JUAZEIRO: In order to reflect on the culture of peace, schools in the municipal education network of Juazeiro, carried out on the morning of this Wednesday (06), the traditional walk commemorating the International Day of Peace, celebrated in the month of September. The action is also part of the municipality’s calendar of pedagogical activities related to September 7th, and receives full support from Juazeiro City Hall, through the Department of Education and Youth (Seduc). In total, six municipal schools participated in the walk, bringing together students, families, managers, the school community and the local community.

LAJEADO: Pacto Lajeado pela Paz organizes, on this date, Peace Day, a moment to celebrate the project’s actions and share new ideas and philosophies through lectures in the Ceat Auditorium.

MANAUS: This morning, students from the Municipal Education Network carried out the first walk for Peace, in Manaus. The action took place in commemoration of the International Day of Peace, celebrated this Thursday 21/09. The journey was taken by approximately 1,200 students from the Gilberto Rodrigues dos Santos Municipal School, located in Viver Melhor 2, in the north of the city.

MATO GROSSO DO SUL: The OAB/MS Culture Commission celebrated the International Day of Peace on the 21st, with the “Primavera da Paz” event, which included the participation of the Lyric Singing group Cant’Arte. The event was organized by the President of the Commission Deslanieve Daspet, who is also an Ambassador and Peace Activist. The night of celebration ended with the performance of the Coro Lírico Cantarte, currently made up of 25 members including choristers and soloists, made up of singing students and classical music lovers.

MINAS GERAIS: In such confusing times in the four corners of the world, reflecting on peace is a most urgent task. With this in mind, the Minas Gerais State Public Library hosts the exhibition “Peace in all languages”, presented by the Brahma Kumaris organization. The opening will take place at 10 am this Thursday, September 21st, the date on which International Day of Peace is celebrated. The exhibition will be on display at the Cultural Passarela, in the Professor Francisco Iglesias Annex building, until October 27th.

MUZAMBINHO: On September 21st, designated by the UN as International Day of Peace, school students and society as a whole will join together for a Silent Walk for Peace. The Event should last an hour and a half, with gatherings starting at 7:30 am, in front of City Hall. The walk goes to Cruzeiro da Matriz, returning to Muzambódromo for a moment of celebration, art and reflections for Peace.

OURINHOS: Senac Ourinhos will hold a free event, this Thursday, 21/9, in celebration of the International Day of Peace. , A Servant Leader will be presented by actor João Signorelli, starting at 4pm, at Concha Acústica Sérgio Nunes, located in Rua Treze de Maio, Vila Perino. With text based on original speeches and writings by spiritual leader Mahatma Gandhi, the play will address reflections on leadership, non-violence and ethical and philosophical principles applied to human relationships. The activity is organized by the Senac Ourinhos Culture of Peace Committee and has the support of the Municipal Secretariat for Economic Development, Labor and Tourism of Ourinhos.

PICOS: On the eve of the International Day of Peace, the Monsenhor Hipólito Institute (IMH) held a lecture on the morning of this Wednesday, September 20th, with the theme “Peace, Everyone’s Commitment”, aimed at high school students. The event had as speaker Lieutenant Colonel Felipe, commander of the 4th BPM of Picos, who had the collaboration of the 2nd Sergeant, Sahila. The program began with a moment of reflection and prayer, followed by a lecture given by the lieutenant colonel. During the lecture, the commander addressed the importance of the relationship between the Military Police and peace, highlighting the need to promote the culture of peace in different contexts, from family life to interactions in society in general.

PORTO ALEGRE: Peace breaks down the walls of separation. It gives us the happiest moments of our lives. It is equal to equity, respect for people’s rights, justice, empathy. Help everyone who needs it. It’s a world where everyone respects each other. And the union brings peace. These are some of the ideals expressed in the Mantle of Peace produced by the students of Colégio Santa Inês, in Porto Alegre – now linked to the Project of the Network of Associated Schools of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco). Throughout the month, all the classes of the school participated. The final adjustments were made on Thursday (21), the date on which the International Day of Peace is celebrated, in an activity in which students were able to reflect on the result, in addition to singing and dancing with live music.

RIO DE JANEIRO, CURITIBA, SALVADOR AND SÃO PAULO-MAOS PARA PAZ: From September 21 to 27, the organization Maos para Paz holds the 1st International Congress of Education for Peace and Nonviolence. Registration is free for all online lectures. The event brings together a wide range of participants, including organizations, public and private institutions, academics, educators, therapists, activists and students from various countries. In addition, its objective is to discuss strategies to combat hatred, xenophobia and violence, especially generated by the discourse of the ideology of fear. The Congress is a hybrid event, combining virtual lectures and face-to-face workshops in four Brazilian cities: Salvador, Rio de Janeiro, Curitiba and São Paulo. During the 22nd and 23rd, there will be six online sessions, with national and international speakers sharing their work and experiences, stimulating debates and reflections on various types of conflicts and how education can play a key role in reconciliation and problem solving.

SALVADOR: On the 21st, International Day of Peace the opening will take place at 7pm, in person, in Salvador, and online, with performances by the artistic groups Quabales and Sumermo Music – and the singer Tito Bahiense, all from Bahia. An interreligious act will also be held in honor of Mother Bernardete (Maria Bernardete Pacifico, ialorixá, activist and quilombola leader, born in 1951 and murdered on August 17th) and all the people killed due to their color, race, religion and gender . On Sunday, the 24th, the Walk of maos para Paz will be held, also in honor of Mother Bernardete and against Violence, starting at 9am, starting at Farol da Barra.

SAO JOSE DOS CAMPOS: A whole day to celebrate peace! This was the theme developed during the month of September in all units of Fundhas (Fundação Hélio Augusto de Souza) and which culminated in an event on Thursday (21), International Day of Peace.
The main celebration took place at the headquarters of the institution, with and execution of the National Anthem and the raising of flags.
One of the highlights was a large panel with drawings of the children of the Industrial Park unit.
Those served at the South Innovation Center developed activities with the Portuguese teacher, such as a Tangram (folds that assemble words within the theme), made the origami and an acrostic (poetic composition in which a letter of each verse forms, vertically, another word).
In the Alto da Ponte unit, the students created posters and wrote notes in order to transmit peace.
The action for Peace in the Putim Unit began with the reception of those served with music A Paz. Then there was an exhibition of the legend of Tsuru in the courtyard. The action ended with tree planting. In the Center unit, the children held an art exhibition to celebrate the International Day of Peace.

SAN LUIS: Next Thursday, September 21, the Upaon-Açu School, famous for its Montessori educational approach, will celebrate World Peace Day in a remarkable way, with the symbolic delivery of the Mantle of Peace to Unesco. The Mantle of Peace, a handmade piece full of symbolism and messages produced by the school community, will be delivered during a special ceremony that will bring together students, teachers and families.

SANTA RITA: “Love is the force of peace.” This phrase echoed at the Hospital Metropolitano Dom José Maria Pires, through the songs of more than 50 children and their caregivers, who walked from Associação Casa dos Sonhos, to the hospital complex, in order to pay homage to the workers and users, for through a moment of reflection and prayers. The initiative is part of a series of actions by the Association in reference to the International Day of Peace, celebrated on September 21st.

SAO PAULO: As a PEA/UNESCO associated school, Colégio Benjamin Constant joined the “O Manto da Paz” project, which symbolizes the union of all nations under the same ideal: the search for peace, tolerance and respect. The Mantle was made collaboratively. Students from Kindergarten to High School participated actively and interestedly. This project represents UNESCO’s belief that, through cooperation and mutual understanding, we can build a more peaceful and harmonious world and also serve as a beacon of hope, reminding us that despite our differences, we are all the parts of a single human family.

SAO VICENTE: Celebrated on Thursday (21), the International Day of Peace was celebrated in several schools of the municipal network of São Vicente. The initiative of the Center for Culture of Peace and Nonviolence, of the Secretariat of Education (Seduc), proposed a collective embrace involving students and professionals who work in schools and kindergartens. The idea was to dedicate 15 minutes to an activity related to the date, aiming to unite all employees and members of the school community in a welcoming moment, in addition to inspiring those involved in Education to combat intolerance, violence and disrespect. With a lot of creativity, the students participated in actions with music, games, dance, drawings, among others, ending the dynamics always with a hug.

TOCATINS: The state schools of Tocantins that are participants in the Associated Schools Program of the United Nations Educational, Science and Technology Organization (Unesco) will carry out, this Saturday, 23rd, from 8 am to 12 pm, actions aimed at International Day of Peace. Among the activities planned by the schools, we highlight the creation of the Mantle and the Flag of Peace, which will serve as symbols of the school community’s commitment to promoting peace and harmony; lectures and cultural presentations with the active participation of the school community and local community.

VIDEIRA: The International Day of Peace is celebrated on September 21st, with the aim of spreading peace, the Colégio Salvatoriano Imaculada Conceição held an action in favor of peace on Monday, the 18th, an international project that combines art and literacy called “Pinwheels for Peace”. At this event, weather vanes with messages of peace were planted in the area in front of our school, material produced by the students themselves mediated by their teachers.

CHILE

PARRAL: The State Center for Alternative Mechanisms for the Resolution of Disputes in Criminal Matters (CEMASC) held a talk with students from the Miguel Hidalgo Experimental Normal School, in Parral, to commemorate the International Day of Peace. CEMASC reaffirms its commitment to fostering a culture of peace in society, promoting peaceful societies and facilitating access to the administration of justice through mediation and conciliation.

Question for this article

What has happened this year (2023) for the International Day of Peace?



Manaus, Brazil

(Survey continued from left column)

COLOMBIA

CHAPARRAL: This September 21, the Sustaining Peace project was launched. The meeting brought together representatives of international cooperation, national government, local authorities, and local farmers, youth, women, indigenous people, Afro people and leaders of Tolima, who, from this initiative, will continue working for the collective desire to consolidate peace in the territory. Within the framework of the celebration of the International Day of Peace, the launch event took place in the municipality of Chaparral, Tolima, which with music, dance, and spirituality opened its doors to the implementation of the project. Sustaining Peace seeks to strengthen the territorial leadership that survives in these municipalities, so today’s activities had the active participation of some of the representatives of the communities of Ataco, Planadas, Chaparral and Rioblanco.

MEDELLIN: On the occasion of the International Day of Peace, Medellín also celebrated the Month for Peace, which was celebrated between August and September, where social organizations, collectives and victims developed an entire territorial and citizen agenda with key programming on the importance of union and the gathering of knowledge in favor of local pacification, supported by the Secretariat of Non-Violence and the House of Memory Museum. . . . With forums, conversations, sit-ins, cultural, artistic and academic activities, the administration has supported scenarios of peaceful resistance created by citizens, which have favored the exchange of experiences and knowledge of the communities that defend life. . . . the Secretariat of Non-Violence led the conversation in the Month for Peace: Women in the construction of territorial peace with the Women’s Peaceful Route, a conversation on Peace as a fundamental right. In addition, the event Cometas por la paz territorial was supported to commemorate with the community the importance of the tutelary hill Cuchillón la Loma Hermosa, since nature, too, is a living actor impacted in the conflict, which requires restorative actions of memory and truth.

POPAYAN: On September 21, the Municipal Council of Peace, Reconciliation and Coexistence of Popayán was installed, recognizing 21 people from the different social sectors of the civil population, who assume and make up this consultative and advisory body. It is made up of members and representatives of the academy, social organizations, Afro-Colombian communities, protectors and defenders of the rights of children, girls and adolescents; artistic, cultural, LGBTI collectives and business sectors. In addition, the International Day of Peace was commemorated.

COSTA RICA

CARTAGO: The Cartago Concert Band invites you to its “Special Concert for the International Day of Peace”. Date: September 22, 2023, 6:30 pm, Municipal Amphitheater of Cartago. Cost: free

GARABITO: With the aim of celebrating the International Day of Peace , the Civic Center for Peace in Garabito (CCP) , dresses up and celebrates this Thursday, September 21 , a day full of artistic presentations that have been generated as a result of the learning of the participants of processes and workshops that are taught at their facilities. This cultural celebration will have its programming from 9 am to 2 pm , admission is free

UNIVERSIDAD ESTATAL A DISTANCIA: International Day of Peace. Activities: Collaborative games, Peace Infographic Exhibition, Infographic contest award, Conference with Nobel Peace Laureate Dr. Oscar Arias Sánchez: “Through education, a culture of peace is possible”

UNIVERSITY OF COSTA RICA: September 21: International Day of Peace. A Student Initiatives project helps create a culture of peace in the children of La Carpio. The fifth grade boys and girls of La Carpio develop various recreational activities to learn to form a true culture of peace in their community. . . . The work of this university group in La Carpio began with a diagnosis of what the group of children thought about violence, which gave material to know how to intervene in the realities that many of these people lived. Once this preliminary step was completed, they began to develop the methodology to work with the infants, so that they have fun while developing a critical mentality; all from a horizontal treatment with the students who are in the fifth grade of La Carpio. . . . But this whole project of Student Initiatives would not have been possible if before the Bien de Mujer Foundation had not dared to found Casa Ilori in La Carpio. This instance began to operate in this town for 15 years through mathematics and Spanish reinforcement centers for the students of the school.

CUBA

HAVANA: The Day for the International Day of Peace begins this September 12 at the Manuel Fajardo Medical Faculty of the University of Cuba with a video tribute to Commander Juan Almeida Bosque who bequeathed us music and revolution, in the voice of his son Juan Guillermo Almeida with his song “Mi querido Viejo”. . .. . In the voice of Taimí Dianet López Cruz, the “World March for Peace and Nonviolence” was heard and at the closing with the outstanding participation of students, workers and directors of the entity, the FEU and the FEEM with the Ernesto Che Guevara Honorary Chair, they presented the call “For a culture of peace, non-violence and sustainable development.”

HOLGUIN: The Plaza Camilo Cienfuegos cultural complex, in the municipality of Holguín, hosted the celebrations for the International Day of Peace in the northeastern territory. Political-cultural activities and dialogues around the anniversary were developed by the Cuban Institute of Friendship with the Peoples (ICAP) with the participation of students from the Máximo Gómez Báez, Luis Peña Martínez, Augusto César Sandino and Carlos Manuel de Céspedes educational centers.

ICAP: The headquarters of the Cuban Institute of Friendship with Peoples (ICAP) hosted today, the celebration of the International Day of Peace, which this year calls for the recognition of the individual and collective responsibility to promote peace.
As part of the day, the brochures Open Letter to President Joe Biden and Open Letter to the leaders of the European Union, from the Venezuelan professor and researcher, Carlos Méndez Tovar, were presented. . . . He interactively explained to a group of students from the capital’s pre-university Saúl Delgado, the importance of knowing our history and checking the veracity of the news, especially the information circulating on social networks. The meeting was attended by members of the Russian diplomatic corps, the Palestinian ambassador in Havana, Akram Samhan, and members of the network of collaborators and peace activists.

DOMINICAN REPUBLIC

LA ALTAGRACIA PROVINCE: In a commemorative event for the International Day of Peace , the authorities of the province of La Altagracia met to reflect on the importance of peace in the current context, after the situation that surrounds the country with the Haitian nation. At the event, Senator Virgilio Cedano explained that the Dominican Republic, historically, since 1844, the year in which independence was declared, is a country of peace. He highlighted that the Dominican Republic has never attacked any foreign country and that the internal conflicts that have occurred, as a State, as a nation, have been resolved here . . . The provincial governor Martina Pepén Santana stated that the occasion invites us to continue cultivating the values, which are so necessary in the nation. . . . For his part, the representative of the evangelical churches in the province, Pastor Ruddy Hidalgo, argued that there is a peace that comes to human beings as a result of a sustained policy thinking about values ​​and principles; thinking about the freedom of the human being in what it means to live together.

ECUADOR

LOJA: The Judiciary Council, within the framework of the commemoration of the International Day of Peace that is celebrated every September 21, since 2020, has institutionalized September as the Month of Peace, and one of the main activities it carried out The institution is the “Caravan for Peace”, an activity that left a significant mark in the Vilcabamba parish, on Saturday, September 9, 2023, through an “Open House”. This event brought together producers and entrepreneurs from the surrounding parishes, including Malacatos, Vilcabamba, San Pedro de Vilcabamba, Quinara and Yangana, the event became an epicenter of activities that celebrated cultural diversity and promoted the importance of peace in society. , attendees had the opportunity to enjoy a varied display of the region’s cultural wealth through various traditional dances and artistic performances that delighted the public, transmitting a clear message of unity and a culture of peace.

QUITO: As part of the program that promotes a Culture of Peace, the Secretariat of Education, Recreation and Sports, together with the Pan American Round Table, hold reflection days with municipal high school students. The sessions were held in the municipal educational institutions: Quitumbe, Sebastián de Benalcázar, Eugenio Espejo, Rafael Alvarado, Antonio José de Sucre, Calderón and Fernández Madrid. The goal is to reach 20 municipal educational establishments.

QUITO: The students of the Nueve de Octubre Municipal Educational Unit participated in a day of reflection, in a symbolic event for the International Day of Peace, organized by the Ministry of Education, Recreation and Sports together with the Members of the Pan American Round Table, within the framework of the Program to Promote and Foster the Culture of Peace. . . . Students received buttons with the mission of promoting a culture of peace, not only among their classmates, but in other spaces of daily coexistence.

HAITI

PORT-AU-PRINCE: Young people of both sexes from precarious neighborhoods described in theatrical performances the multifaceted violence in Haiti on the occasion of the commemoration of the International Day of Peace in Port-au-Prince. au-Prince on September 21, 2023. Despite everything, they raised awareness among young people to act to promote lasting peace in Haiti. Other young people promoted this peace in songs, slams and discussions. “The culture of peace is a necessity for a stable, just and committed Haiti on the road to economic and social progress,” said the Minister of Youth, Sports and Civic Action, Raymonde Rival. The Minister invited young people to continue to get involved in various citizen initiatives in favor of peace. . . . Plus de 150 jeunes ont participé à cette commémoration.

UN MISSION: This year, the United Nations Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) emphasizes the creativity of the ideas inherent to the International Day of Peace by organizing with the Haiti Jazz Foundation a concert open to all, on Saturday, September 27 at Place Boyer, in the metropolitan area of ​​Port-au-Prince. According to a press release from the UN mission, Haitian musicians and artists BeethovaObas, James Germain, Misty Jean and Rutshelle Guillaume and the Congolese LokuaKanza who lives and works in France, star of world music, defender of peace and women’s rights , will together sing peace.

MEXICO

CANCUN: For the International Day of Peace, which is celebrated on September 21 around the world, the first edition of the 5 kilometer race “All for Peace” will be held in Cancun. This athletic event will take place on Saturday, September 23, with a scheduled start at 6:30 p.m. on the Malecón Tajamar and a quota of one thousand runners.

CHIAPAS: Olinka School; Within the framework of the International Day of Peace, it is a pleasure to invite you to an exciting children’s meeting focused on exploring and promoting the Culture of Peace and the Prevention of Violence in its 2023 edition. . . . Participating students must carry out the following activities during the first 4 weeks of the start of the 2023-2024 school cycle and these must be sent to the link that will be provided after registration.

CHETUMAL: More than 1,000 thousand high school students marched in the Parade for Peace this afternoon on Héroes Avenue, in the center of the state capital. With the presence of school authorities, educational center authorities and more than a thousand students, they commemorated the International Day of Peace with a parade to demand a culture of peace in the state, specifically in the city.

GUADALAJARA: The Casa Yinu Montessori joined Montessori schools all over the world to sing for peace on the International Day of Peace to light a candle for peace, for love, for life!

GUANAJUATO: San Francisco del Rincón, September 21, 2023. Before more than two thousand young people who witnessed, within the framework of the International Day of Peace, municipal instances of youth care from across the state of Guanajuato signed the Youth Peace Alliance that will promote actions in favor of peace, led by JuventudEsGTO. In addition, the projects “Newspaper for Peace” and “Comics for Peace” were presented, created by young members of the Multipliers of Peace program. . . . The “Newspaper for Peace” and “Comics for Peace” are two projects that promote the practice of values, the application of which generates a healthy coexistence in society and the formation of good citizens.

HUEJUTLA DE REYES: Within the framework of the celebration of the International Day of Peace, personnel from the State Center for Alternative Justice of the Judicial Branch of Hidalgo in the municipality, together with other invited institutions, carried out various activities in the facilities of the Municipal Kiosk of this city. In addition to personnel from the State Center for Alternative Justice of the Judiciary in Hidalgo in Huejutla, personnel from CAMI, INPI, Lawyers, Human Rights, among others, also gathered there.

MÉRIDA: In commemoration of the International Day of Peace, the Secretariat of Education of the Government of the State of Yucatán (Segey), through the Coordination for the Prevention of Violence in Basic Education ( CPREVI) held a day of activities to raise awareness about the importance of having healthy school spaces that promote good actions among children and youth. For the development of the day called “Peace to the Voice”, which took place at the Gonzalo Navarro Báez Secondary School, there was support from various areas of Segey, who together developed dynamics with the participation of more than 300 students. . . . As part of the activities, the students from the morning and afternoon shift participated, who through dance and body expression performed a dance demonstration titled “The face of peace through break dancing.”

MEXICO CITY: Within the framework of the International Day of Peace, which is celebrated on September 21 of each year, the head of the Secretariat of Government of Mexico City (SECGOB), Ricardo Ruiz Suárez, led the installation of a “Yes” module to Disarmament, Yes to Peace”, in the Chapel of the Conception, located in Plaza Tlaxcoaque, Cuauhtémoc Mayor’s Office. From this emblematic site of the Historic Center, the Secretary of Government explained that peace must be built every day through dialogue and teaching, with the aim of avoiding a “culture of war and violence.” . . . During the first hours of operation of this disarmament module, a 16-caliber shotgun and a 22-caliber revolver were delivered for destruction, for which 10,400 pesos were delivered. Since January 2019, “Yes to Disarmament, Yes to Peace” has removed more than 8 thousand firearms, nearly a thousand grenades, as well as more than a million cartridges from homes.

PUEBLA: The present government of Sergio Salomón, through the Ministry of Education, invites students of basic education (preschool, primary and secondary), as well as high school, to commemorate the “International Day of Peace” (September 21) . . . Through exercises that strengthen the ideals of the New Mexican School (NEM), which aims to create peaceful, safe and healthy school environments, students must carry out activities during the month of September such as: murals, music for peace, poetry contest , digital awareness campaign, letter for peace, yoga and meditation, ecological cleaning, collaborative art, photography contest, among others.

QUERETERO: The president of the Education and Culture Commission and member of the Legislative Group of the National Action Party in the LX State Legislature, Ana Paola López Birlain, inaugurated the Peace Festival ” Paz Fest”, which will be held on September 21, 22 and 23 of the current year, where there will be the participation of civil society organizations, schools and associations of professionals, universities and public institutions, among others.

QUINTANA ROO: International Day of Peace, a utopia: students of José Maria Morelos, Mayan Intercultural University of Quintana Roo (Uimqroo) concerned about world peace due to the current violence. The university students held an event (a peace wall) at the campus facilities to commemorate the International Day of Peace.

TECHNOLOGICAL UNIVERSITY OF JALISCO: The Technological University of Jalisco commemorated the International Day of Peace on September 21, wearing the white badge to emphasize that the university community carries out actions in favor of peace, through respect, equity, equality and inclusion. We are all parts of this community and together we take action in order to commit to promoting and maintaining peace.

VERACRUZ: The First Meeting “Thinking interdisciplinary about peace” of the National Network for Peace, of the National Association of Universities and Institutions of Higher Education : Jaqueline Jongitud Zamora, Secretary of Institutional Development of the University of Veracruz (UV), inaugurated the event in the Blue Hall of the Humanities Unit, and in her message highlighted that the UV seeks to advance the agenda of global interest through the Plan for Culture of Peace and Nonviolence 2023-2031, a document that will surely be enriched from the results of this first meeting that takes place from September 7 to 9 within the framework of the International Day of Peace.

UNITED WORLD SCHOOLS: On September 21, the International Day of Peace is celebrated. For this reason, the movement has adopted that day as “UWC Day”, a day to reflect and strengthen the ideals of peace in favor of a better world. This year “UWC Day” focuses on “Forging a sustainable future” . At a time when the effects of the climate crisis are being felt every day, particularly in the most vulnerable communities around the world, and when floods, fires, droughts, and loss of biodiversity are increasingly more frequent, we must all act to stop environmental deterioration. Thus, we hope that this topic gives us all the opportunity to take a step back to dream and, why not, re-imagine a better world in which human beings live sustainably.

YUCATAN: Women’s clothing items made by Yucatecan hands were presented on a catwalk in New York, United States within the framework of the International Day of Peace, organized by the United Nations Organization (UN). These “Mazehual” brand garments are manufactured in the “Hacienda Montecristo” (HMC) maquiladora in this Yucatecan municipality. About the exhibition, Roger Alcocer Cetina, manager of the maquiladora, shared on his social networks: “After analyzing the work carried out in our maquiladora, we were invited to present a clothing collection on the catwalk held in the city of New York, within the framework of the celebration of the International Day of Peace”. He indicated that 150 artisans work in the maquiladora who, in addition to dresses, handcraft leather bags for women, among other products that they export to several foreign countries.

PANAMA

DON BOSCO: This Thursday, September 21, which commemorates the international day of peace in many countries, Panama, under the coordination of Doctor Guerra, has planned countless activities that include a Mass at the Don Bosco Church in Calidonia, visits to educational centers for celebrate with the children, visit the peace monument in the town of Don Bosco and conferences and decorations at the University of Panama (6:pm). . . . Dr. Emelda Guerra is Supervisor of the Youth and Adult Program of the Ministry of Education and is also a member for Panama of the Organization of America for Educational Excellence and Peace since 2008.

MINISTRY: The Minister of Culture, (MiCultura) Giselle González Villarrué, representing the national government, participated together with the French ambassador in Panama, HE Aude De Amorim, in the cultural events and the planting of an olive tree that symbolizes fraternity, Peace , renewal and is also capable of withstanding adverse conditions. This activity, which was organized in the Plaza de Francia, is part of the celebration of different initiatives to be carried out on September 21 in order to strengthen the ideals of peace between nations and peoples, as a celebration that is celebrated in each country world level; . . . The special guests were the boys and girls from the United States of America, Simón Bolívar, Manuel José Hurtado and Republic of Mexico schools who were able to participate with songs and oratory dedicated to Peace. In his speech, González Villarrué highlighted that, “we must commit to teaching and putting into practice the value of tolerance and mutual respect to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.” He added that “more must be invested in a culture for peace, which will build a just and inclusive world that embraces diversity and inclusion.”

PARAGUAY

NATIONAL CONGRESS: The office of Congressman Freddy Franco (PLRA-Central) is engaged in the organization of an “International Leadership Conference in commemoration of the International Day of Peace”, an event to be held next Friday, September 20, at 7 a.m. :00 to 12:00 hours. The activity, to be carried out in the Bicameral Chamber of the National Congress, has the support of the Federation for Universal Peace-Paraguay Chapter, which is part of a global network of organizations that seek to build a world of peace.

PERU

CHIMBOTE: Engineer Luis Gamarra Alor, mayor of the province of Santa, led the emotional Sunday raising ceremony and the massive walk in Chimbote, in commemoration of the International Day of Peace. Accompanied by municipal authorities, councilors, officials and employees of the Provincial Municipality of Santa, the tour was carried out along Pardo Avenue to the front of the provincial commune, where they joined the residents of the towns in the flag-raising ceremony. This walk was established as a preamble to the International Day of Peace, designated by the United Nations in 1981, and celebrated every September 21. During the event, the inhabitants of Chimbote wore white t-shirts and released balloons of the same color, symbolizing the desire for peace.

LIMA: The International Day of Peace was celebrated at Markham College on September 22.

PUERTO RICO

PONCE: The CEscuela Flor de Loto Montessori joined Montessori schools all over the world to sing for peace on the International Day of Peace to light a candle for peace, for love, for life!

VEGA ALTA: The Antonio Paoli school joined Montessori schools all over the world to sing for peace on the International Day of Peace to light a candle for peace, for love, for life!

URUGUAY

PARLIAMENT: This afternoon in the Acuña de Figueroa Room, in the José Artigas building, the meeting “ The challenge of establishing Peace in a Globalized World” was held , within the framework of September 21 declared by the United Nations as the International Day of Peace. In this instance, the following spoke: the President of the Foundation for Peace, Raúl Rey; the President of Youth and Students for Peace, Valeria Pellejero; the Secretary General of ALADI, Dr. Sergio Abreu; the Anthropologist and President of the 21st Century Oriental Ladies Association, Mag. Virginia Rial; the President of the District Public Image Committee of Rotary Uruguay, Cono Rossi; the President of the Women’s Federation for World Peace, Marisa Machado. In the second instance they stated: the founder of the ATABAQUE Group, Mae Susana Andrade de Oxun; for the Baha”I Community of Uruguay, Sima Baher; Ahmadia Muslim Community Missionary, Yousaf Khan; the President of the Costa Stake, Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, Adolfo Ferrari and the President of the Federation of Families for World Peace, Kazuhiro Tsusaka.

VENEZUELA

CEPAZ: We are very happy to be able to share that on September 21, 2023 we will begin the seventh edition of the 12 Actions for Peace. We want to invite you from the Justice and Peace Center (Cepaz) to be part of this collective activism, which last year managed to add hundreds of people taking actions and 124 organizations promoting the campaign. On this occasion we want to make visible the pillars of the women’s peace and security agenda (Resolution 1325) and the work of women and organizations that support other women affected by the complex humanitarian emergency.

PRESIDENT: The president of Venezuela, Nicolás Maduro, remembered today the International Day of Peace and affirmed that it is built from respect, recognition and coexistence. That is the path of the Bolivarian Republic and “we will always insist on building a world without hatred or violence, where human solidarity and social justice prevail,” the head of state wrote on his X account, formerly Twitter.

FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION, Latin America, Uncategorized

Brazil mulls deforestation patterns as Lula government launches new action plan

. . SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT . .

An article from Forest News

Brazil’s policy makers are turning to scientists to help pinpoint deforestation trends in the Amazon region over the past decade that have contributed to greenhouse gas emissions, shrinking ecosystem services and biodiversity loss.


Mato Grosso landscape, Brazil. Photo: Icaro Cooke Vieira/CIFOR

On 4 May 2023, a virtual forum jointly sponsored by the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force and the Center for International Forestry Research and World Agroforestry (CIFOR-ICRAF) assembled science and policy experts to provide input for the new phase of the new country’s Action Plan for the Prevention and Control of Deforestation in the Legal Amazon (PPCDAm), launched in June under the administration of President Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.

Preparation of the plan’s fifth phase – which will cover the period from 2023 to 2027 – has involved 13 government ministries, as well as other agencies, academics and civil society groups. Earlier phases of the plan guided government action from 2004 to 2020.

Brazil – which has the largest forested area in Latin America and is the region’s biggest emitter of greenhouse gases – managed to reduce forest loss by 83 percent from 2004 to 2012 after decades of increased deforestation. However, this trend has reversed in the past decade under different federal administrations.

In 2020, deforestation in Brazil soared to a 12-year high, widely attributed to the federal government’s weakening environmental enforcement and calls for more development in the Amazon.

“Deforestation has doubled since 2012,” said Raoni Rajão, who presented the PPCDAm on behalf of the Department for Deforestation and Fire Control Policy of Brazil’s Ministry of Environment. “We need to understand what happened between 2012 and 2020.”

Researchers have studied what has and hasn’t worked in Brazil and other forest-rich countries for decades. What remains clear is that action against deforestation must happen at multiple levels, from global to national to subnational to municipal.

As a result, basing policy decisions on scientific research has become a priority for state environment secretaries, said Carlos Aragon, Brazil country director for the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force, which is a subnational collaboration of 43 states and provinces working to protect tropical forests, reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, and promote realistic pathways to forest-maintaining rural development.

As part of its decade-long, 22-country Global Comparative Study of REDD+, CIFOR-ICRAF has been targeting deforestation at subnational levels, such as states and districts in Brazil.

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Question for this article:

How can we ensure that science contributes to peace and sustainable development?

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“The purpose of the dialogue at today’s event was to help identify different policy interventions for addressing deforestation dynamics in Brazil,” said Richard Van der Hoff, Brazil country coordinator for the study.

The Brazilian government’s analysis, carried out in preparation for the PPCDAm, points to some major changes in deforestation dynamics that planners must consider, according to Rajão.

Nearly two decades ago, when the first phase of the plan was implemented, deforestation mainly occurred in an arc in the southern Amazon region, where forest was being cleared for industrial agriculture. With policies in place to help preserve forest on farmland, deforestation in recent years has been linked to infrastructure, with hot spots occurring around hydroelectric dams and along highways.

The 2004 plan also targeted large-scale deforestation, significantly reducing it in the following years. Since 2019, however, deforestation of large areas has been occurring again with impunity, Rajão said.

Deforestation has also been occurring in recent years in protected areas, Indigenous territories and settlements more than it did during the period of greater control, he said.

Besides clearing of forests, there has been an uptick in the degradation of standing forests because of fires set on farmland that escape into the understory.

“Fire is playing a greater and greater role in the deforestation process,” Rajão said. “People use fire so intensively and for such long periods of time that it destroys the forest structure.”

The Brazilian government’s analysis of shifting patterns of deforestation is similar to a methodology that CIFOR-ICRAF researchers are developing to classify deforestation patterns according to a series of archetypes, in order to determine which policies work or do not work in different situations, CIFOR-ICRAF researcher Julia Naime said.

The archetypes range from areas of past deforestation – classified as inactive, consolidated or fragmented – to hot spots or “rampant” frontiers, and “looming” frontiers, where there is a risk of future deforestation.

These archetypes are meant to help planners think strategically about deforestation patterns in a landscape, she said.

“We need to align infrastructure with environmental and climate goals,” Rajão added. “Otherwise, we will have activities that are completely disconnected.”

The goal is to stop illegal deforestation by punishing infringements, and to reduce the legal clearing of forests by promoting sustainable use, he said. Law enforcement fines and the confiscation of illegal items have doubled compared with last year, he added.

The science and policy dialogue in May was the third in a series sponsored by CIFOR-ICRAF and the Governors’ Climate and Forests Task Force. Sessions scheduled for later this year will focus on future deforestation scenarios and the final results of the Global Comparative Study.

For more information on this topic:
Pham Thu Thuy at t.pham@cifor-icraf.org
Richard Van der Hoff at richard.vanderhoff@inteligenciaterritorial.org

This work was carried out as part of the Center for International Forestry Research’s Global Comparative Study on REDD+ (www.cifor.org/gcs). The funding partners that have supported this research include the Norwegian Agency for Development Cooperation (Norad), the International Climate Initiative (IKI) of the German Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation and Nuclear Safety (BMU), and the CGIAR Research Program on Forests, Trees and Agroforestry (CRP-FTA) with financial support from CGIAR Fund Donors.

Latin America, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT