| Posted: April 21 2005,11:17 |
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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
are a new, grass-roots organization, only in operation since late 2002.
So I can only report for these years. In the domain of action of peace
education, and in our constituency, which is chiefly the state of CT,
we have seen a growth of interest in peace education and peace studies.
Our constituency consists of educators, interested community members,
students and activists. Much of what we do is networking and there has
been an exponential rise in our mailing list. Interest in peace studies
on the college level is increasing as at least two local college has
begun such programs and another is reviving their somewhat defunct one.
We have seen an increase in the use of our resources since our
inception.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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While
there is deep interest, the cultural obstacles of our age prohibit some
more effective ways of working together to build peace in education.
People are busy and our lives are, at times, fragmented. What is needed
is more time for deep conversation, about the processes and skills
needed. We attempt to be a place where such conversation can occur and
there has been positive response to this.
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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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We
began our work in 2002 with the coordination of a day-long
interactive peace education festival in Hartford, with over 20
workshops, dialoguing, singing, drumming and dancing. We repeated the
day in 03. This brought community members, educators, artists, students
and activists together.
We sent out an email last September in honor of International Peace Day.
We
continue to sponsor and co-sponsor educational and artistic events
promoting the philosophy and skills and processes necessary for peace.
We believe education is a broad concept and occurs in all kinds of
settings.
We have a lending and research library of over 600
books, journals, newsletters and films on themes of peace, equity, and
environmental sustainability.
We publish a newsletter 2 times
a year, highlighting resources and links to other activities in peace
education. The director's column highlights salient issues in peace
education.
We hosted a film festival this year, featuring films with peace themes, fiction and non-fiction.
We
continue to provide workshops in the skills of building peace and
public talks and conversations on building cultures of peace.
We
have worked this year with a student intern from Central CT State
University, who has provided a day a week of her energy and creative
talent. She is learning first-hand about educating for peace by working
with our resource library and planning a community contra dance "Give
Peace a Dance" to be held in late April.
A moment at Peace Day, a day-long intergenerational conference we coordinated in 2002
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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? |
I
believe we need to build in ways we can have public and private
conversations across the lines that divide so many of us. Education
holds the key for building a more civil society, one in which the
values of caring and respect are paramount. It can't be done in large
bureaucracies. The UN must continue to be accountable to the "small
people", those at the grass-roots, many of whom are working very hard
for peace and justice, out of site and out of mind.
Let us try
hard to look for the things we, as humans, have in common with one
another before we find and identify the things that keep us apart.
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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
have our own network, which is expanding, that includes, as stated
above, educators, community members, parents, students, religious
groups and activists. We have established a network of academics
interested in and teaching peace studies in Connecticut. We are
connected with the New England Peace Studies Association, housed at the
Peace Abbey in Sherborne, MA.
In addition, we work closely with Curriculum of Hope project.
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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
will continue our sponsorships and hosting of events. We will continue
to get new resources for the library-books, films and journals, for
circulation. We answer to the needs of our constituents.
We are considering hosting/sponsoring some sort of activity for International Peace Day.
We
have sponsored a concert the last 3 years with Magical Strings,
whose melodius celtic sounds of hammered dulcimers and harps are truly
a spiritually transformative experience. Philip and Pam Boulding bring
their music into schools. We hope to help that happen next Spring in
the Hartford area, as they return from Seattle for their Spring tour.
It is my belief that music and the arts are integrative to building a
culture of peace.
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Postal address of organization
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56 Arbor Street, Hartford, CT 06106
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E-mail address of organization
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paxeducare@comcast.net
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Website address of organization
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www.paxeducare.org
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Culture of Peace Through Education
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Understanding, Tolerance and Solidarity
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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United States
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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International
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