| Posted: Jan. 08 2005,07:17 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
We
have seen progress since 2000 which is reflected in the number of new
activities and organisations involved. Of particular importance we
consider the involvement of organisations which do not traditional work
on this issue, for example, students associations and clubs in
secondary schools and universities and religious organisations.
To
Jan. 2005 we have 232 active members in Africa, 102 in other parts of
the world and 252 associated members (who are either older than 30 and
only want to receive our Newsletter and periodic updates)
We
have not developed indicators, we are trying to keep track of the
number and type of actions in our Projects Bank. We have also started
in 2004 a research project to develop criteria to identify best
practices in youth peace work.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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The main obstacles we have faced and are facing are:
1. Lack of coordination among all institutions and actors involved.
2. Leadership of the Decade is not determined enough. More
efforts need to be made by UNESCO. Although we understand limitations in resources.
3.
Difficulties in partnership building. We have not learnt to work
together. We need to develop a sense of common project, building up on
everyone´s strengths and not fearing competition.
4. Lack of resources. We had difficulties fundraising for our Campaign.
5.
Lack of planning and measurable goals. How will we know if we have
advanced a culture of peace? Despite the difficulty in Social Sciences
to develop indicators, and that we cannot measure so easily changes in
attitudes, we could develop some "graspable" changes in institutions,
laws, curriculums, funds to be allocated to training, peace
libraries, research.
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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As
we are a network of youth organisations, we started the "Peace It
Together" Campaign. The campaign is action-based and encourages the
sharing of knowledge, skills and experiences to promote active
non-violence as an effective approach in building a Culture of Peace.
The
campaign builds on the commitment and potential of youth. It empowers
them to create partnerships and to work with organisations, the UN, the
Media and governments to develop actions in the context of the
2001-2010 International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence
for the Children of the World.
Activities of the campaign have included
1)
the development of a toolkit in English, French and Spanish with
practical ideas on how to plan campaign activities and training
workshops, backgroung on what a Culture of Peace is and an on-line
Resource Centre
Get IT Started On how to start a project on advocacy and/or peace education in the context of the
Get IT Started With On how to develop alternatives to violence in fruitful partnerships
Go For IT On how to plan, evaluate, and fundraise for a project.
Say IT On how to plan events and publicise your activities.
Get To Know IT Background information on Peace, Key actors in Peacebuilding, a Glossary and other useful information.
2)
On-line training seminars, youth gatherings, training sessions and
international conferences 3) development of a webpage where young
people can discuss, get informed and submit their projects into a
Project Bank. 4) a Monthly Newsletter.
The idea is to collect
as many youth peace actions as possible in support of the Decade. This
would contribute to the motivation of young people with the message: we
are many people working for a Culture of Peace! and would give
visibility to actions already developed by young people and help
develop their potential as change makers.
To Jan. 2005 we have
232 active members in Africa, 102 in other parts of the world and 252
associated members (who are either older than 30 and only want to
receive our Newsletter and periodic updates)
* Brief list of Activities 2000 -2004
Inspired
by the success of its regional work in Eastern Europe, UNOY extended
its work to empower local capacities for peace of committed youth in
Africa.
In 2001, the UNOY African Youth for a Culture of Peace
Training Conference in South Africa,held from 30 June – 7 July 2001,
gathered 90 young activists (aged 17-30) from all regions of Africa. As
a result of this Conference, the African Network of Young Peacebuilders
was created setting working groups and starting the organisation of
regional and national activities.
In 2002, the African Young
Peace Builders Training seminar took place in Cotonou, Benin (November
9-16), as well as the National training conference on a Culture of
Peace, Networking and NGO/Project management in Freetown, Sierra Leone
(December 14-21) and a number of other projects, carried out at the
local level.
UNOY organises the annual African Students
Conferences at the Institute of Social Studies, The Hague, The
Netherlands. The last of these conferences versed on Building Peace in
Africa: NePAD and the Challenges for Peace (20 September, 2003) and
Youth Building Peace in Africa, Inclusion, Empowerment and Action
(October 2nd, 2004)
In 2004, we have organised an on-line
training course "Youth Transforming Conflict" with The Network
University and a West Africa training seminar in Freetown, Sierra Leone
where 40 young peacebuilders participated. (April 2004)
For more information and full reports: visit www.unoy.org
or contact us: info@unoy.org
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
As
the UNESCO charter states: since wars start in the minds of men, it is
in the minds of men that the defense for peace must be constructed. We
would like to add to that: therefore, it is especially in the minds of
the young we must plant the seeds of peace to grow into a culture of
peace and non-violence.
Therefore the creativity, ideals and
actions of young people should be respected, empowered and supported at
all levels. We especially recommend that the UNESCO's national
chapters, but also national and local governments and funding agents
support the young people committed to build a culture of peace.
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
--We
are a network of youth organisations, so our mission is to link up
initiatives, facilitating the information flow, contributing with
training and resources when possible to empower youth local capacities
for peace. We seek to promote horizontal self-help networks and
partnerships.
In specific projects we have partnered with:
The
Network University - University of Amsterdam - University of Utrecht -
Institute of Social Studies - The African Committee (The Netherlands),
Oxfam International Youth Parliament (Australia), Youth Network of
Peacebuilding (Spain)
Hague Appeal for Peace (US).
Other Networks: Students Forum 2000, Educating Cities, Life-Link Friendship Schools, La Red Joven.
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
We
plan to continue with our Campaign until 2010. We would be very much
interested in seeing a youth representative at a Decade evaluation
meeting for him/her to present what young people have done and to hear
their opinion, since they will be responsible for carrying on the
actions.
We will keep collecting actions in our Project Bank,
developing materials and gathering young people to meet, discuss, get
trained and plan.
We started fundraising for a Global Youth
Conference to be held again in the Peace Palace in The Hague for a
mid-way evaluation but fundraising has been extremely difficult.
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Postal address of organization
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UNOY Peacebuilders
Javastraat 58
2585 AR The Hague
Netherlands
Tel: +31.70.3647799
Fax: +31.70.3622633
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E-mail address of organization
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coordinator@unoy.org
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Website address of organization
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www.unoy.org
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Education for a Culture of Peace
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Understanding, tolerance, solidarity
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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International
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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Africa
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