ENGAGING SCHOOLS IN THE

PEACE PROCESS

DISCUSSION FLOW • Assumptions / Premises• The “peace process”: expanding our frontiers of meaning (the

Tracks)• Why be involved in the peace process? Why

teach peace?… “in loco parentis”• Education for transformation: (the ABC of violence; notions of

peace)• Toward the enabling and ennobling classroom: Educating for

democratic competence• Drawing from inherent capacities for peacefulness• Positioning ourselves toward the peace process

• Homogenizing our cultures

1. We are children of our time 2. Our thinking tendencies …

• Distrust and blame• Forget faith and spirit

3. Our peace educ. efforts not new

• Poverty in a vacuum• People as statistics

• Frameworks: all-encompassing, sufficiently common and “sharable”, • Skills- and process-based education

• Studies of ourselves and our cultures reduced to the level of technique

Lederach, 1995Lederach, 1995

GRP-MILF GPH - NDF

GRP-MNLF

GPH - CNN

GPH - MILF

TRACK I DIPLOMACY

• Official governmental diplomacy

•“A technique of state action whereby communications from one government go directly to the decision-making apparatus of another".

•Conducted by official representatives of a state or state-like authority and involves interaction with other state or state-like authorities: heads of state, state depart-ment or ministry of foreign affairs officials, and other governmental departments and ministries

Track I I

Diplomacy

Track 1½ Diplomacy

Track III

Diplomacy

• citizen diplomacy•multi-track diplomacy• supplemental diplomacy•pre-negotiation•consultation•interactive conflict

resolution •back-channel diplomacy•facilitated joint

brainstorming •coexistence work

Track I I Diplomacy

INFORMAL INTERMEDIARIES / NON-GOVERNMENTAL ACTORS:

•Religious institutions•Academics•Former government officials•Non-governmental organizations, •Humanitarian organizations•Think tanks, among others.

• Involves unofficial actors (former government officials, or religious or social organizations such as the Church or the Quakers) who intervene in unofficial interactions between official government representatives to promote a peaceful resolution of conflict.

•Direct mediation or conciliation by unofficial third parties •"Consultation" and facilitation of interactive problem-solving by unofficial facilitators.•Facilitation of problem solving or confidence-building by official third-party actors among private citizens in influential sectors.

TRACK 1½ DIPLOMACY

TRACK III DIPLOMACY

•Unofficial third parties work with people from all walks of life and sectors of their society to find ways to promote peace in settings of violent conflict.

•Aimed at building or rebuilding broken relationships across the lines of division among ordinary citizens in communities, in a range of sectors.

•The premise of track three diplomacy: “Peace can and must be built from the bottom up as well as from the top down.”

Why be involved in the peace process?

Culture as a contact point, a field of contest in which all ideas, behaviors, values and power structures are legitimized / discarded, “foregrounded” / “backgrounded”/ pushed to the margins, within the culture that successfully draws the people’s allegiance or confuses them. - Atty. Michael Mastura

The ABC Triangle of Violence

The ABC Triangle of Violence

BEHAVIOR: Hatred for the enemy, direct physical

violence, killing, torture, intimidation, insults, etc.

ATTITUDES: Feelings/ Values Sources: Hatred, fear, mistrust, racism, bigotry,

sexism, intolerance

CONTEXT + System + Struc Structural/ institutional

violence, discrimination (e.g. in education, employ-

ment, health care, etc.), globalization of economy, denial of rights

and liberties, segregation (e.g., apartheid)

ACTIONACTION•Control the behaviorControl the behavior•Violence reduction Violence reduction to promote to promote

negative peacenegative peace

ACTIONACTION•Work to change Work to change

attitude and contextattitude and context•Violence reduction Violence reduction to promote to promote

positive peacepositive peace

PEACENEGATIVE PEACEAbsence of direct/

physical violence (both macro

and micro)

POSITIVE PEACEPresence of conditions of well-

being and just relationships: social, economic, political,

ecological

Direct Violencee.g., war, torture, abuse of children and women

STRUCTURAL VIOLENCEe.g., poverty, hunger

SOCIO-CULTURAL VIOLENCEe.g., racism, sexism, religious

intolerance

ECOLOGICAL VIOLENCEe.g., pollution,

overconsumptionVIOLENCE

• not just about the imposition of "solutions," but about the creation of

OPPORTUNITIES

the creation of SPACES (political, economic, social spaces) in which indigenous actors can identify, develop, and use all that are necessary to build a peaceful, prosperous and just society

ATTITUDES / VALUES• Self –respect• Respect for Others• Respect for Life / Nonviolence• Compassion• Ecological Concern• Cooperation• Openness & Tolerance• Social Responsibility• Positive Vision

KNOWLEDGE• Holistic Concept of Peace• Conflict & Violence -causes• Some Peaceful Alternatives• Disarmament• Nonviolent Conflict Resolution• Human Rights• Gender Fairness• Human Solidarity• Democratization• Dev’t Based on Justice• Sustainable Development

SKILLS• Reflection• Critical Thinking & Analysis• Decision Making• Imagination• Communication• Conflict Resolution• Group Building

Schema of Knowledge, Skills and Attitudes/Values

•Global Concern

DIALOGUE

•Diversity as a learning resource;

•Diversity as a place for compassion and appreciation;

•Diversity as a point of enrichment and celebration

•Dissent as an opportunity for the exercise of reason

•Dissent as a venue for the search for truth.

•Dissent as a self-corrective mirror

Spiritual Roots

Scientific Roots

Public policies

Social

Institutions

Spiritual Institutions

Political Institutions

Economic Institutions

Educational Institutions

Training Institutions

Security Institutions

Research Institutions

Communications media

Cultural Resources

Capabilities for Peacefulness

Social Institutions•Educational Institutions: The possibility of basing an entire university upon the multifaith spirit of non-violence in service to human needs. (Barefoot College in India, Deemed University combining disci-plinary studies with community applications (pol sci & village decision-making, physics & radio repair, biology & well-cleaning, Shanti Sena (peace corps),

•Training Institutions: Institutions that provide non-violence training for social change, conflict zone intervention, social defense, etc., including Aikido (Peace Brigades, Intl., Transcend , Nonviolence Intl.)

• Research Institutions: Institutions that carry out research on nonviolent struggles for democracy, security, and justice; researches to support nonviolent social change; promotion of worldwide sharing of discoveries in research, education, and action

•Problem-solving Institutions: Institutions dedicated to solving problems on nonviolence principles (ex., Amnesty International (vs. human rights violations & abolition of death penalty, Greenpeace International (defense of the environment & abolition of nuclear weapons), Medicins sans Frontieres (humanitarian medical care for victims of violence),.

•Cultural Resources: Creations of art and intellect that uplift the human spirit and inspire advances toward realization of a nonviolent society; synergizing creativity for peaceful social transformation in the audio-visual, performing, and literary arts

• Communications Media: Books and media that educate for nonviolent social change, or that evoke non-violent thinking on various social issues

ALTERNATIVES FOR PEACE•Academic departments•University peace corps•Universities•Political parties•Public service depts•Common security institutions•Civil society institutions•Spiritual councils•Problem-solving consortia•Training institutions•Leadership study and revitalization centers

•Centers for creativity in the arts•Research and policy analysis institutes•Media of communication•Memorials•Zones of peace•Economic enterprise•Centers for non-violence

STATIC UNSTABLE DYNAMIC3. Negotiation 4. Advocacy and

Education for Sustainable Peace

1. Education

Latent

2. Confrontation

WarEducator, Researcher, Advocate

Conciliator, Convenor, DecouplerUnifier, Enskiller, Trainer, Envisioner

Mediator, Guarantor, Facilitator, Moderator

Reconciler, Enhancer, Rehabilitator, Developer

Peacekeeper, Observer, Monitor, Enforcer

WHERE DO WE STAND?Our Roles in the Progression of Conflict

• Changing Attitudes about the "Other"• Opening Channels of Communication• Improving Quality of Communication• Relationship and Trust Building • Changing Perceptions of the Conflict• Exploring New Options for Negotiation• Changing Conflict Dynamic: Strengthening Voices of Moderation• Developing Social Networks: An Infrastructure for Peace

Some Suggested Entry Points