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Organization: National Peace Academy
The following information may be cited or quoted as long as the source is accurately mentioned and the words are not taken out of context.
Posted: April 22 2010,18:01 If you wrote this report, you will find a button here that you may click
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Postal address of organization/institution

P.O. Box 382
San Mateo, California 94401

E-mail address of organization/institution

info@nationalpeaceacademy.us

Website address of organization/institution

http://www.nationalpeaceacademy.us

Telephone of organization/institution

+1-650-376-3767 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting              +1-650-376-3767      end_of_the_skype_highlighting

PRIORITIES: All of the organization's domains of culture of peace activity

EDUCATION FOR PEACE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN RIGHTS
WOMEN'S EQUALITY
DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY
INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY

TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity

EDUCATION FOR PEACE

PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace?

Inamori International Center for Ethics and Excellence at Case Western Reserve University
Weatherhead School of Management at Case Western Reserve University
Peace Resource Center at Wilmington College
Wilmington College
Global Issues Resource Center at Cuyahoga Community College
Wick Poetry Center at Kent State University
Center for Nonviolence and Democratic Education in the Judith Herb College of Education at the University of Toledo
Biosophical Institute
Omega Point Institute
Foundation for Global Community
Metta Center for Nonviolence
M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
Rasur Foundation International (Academy for Peace in Costa Rica)
Jewish-Palestinian Living Room Dialogue Groups
The Peace Alliance Education Institute
Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace
African Alliance for Peace
Peace and Justice Studies Association

ACTIONS: What activities have been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010 report.

ROOTS AND OVERVIEW

The idea of a National Peace Academy in the United States dates back to our Founding Fathers and has been called for many times over the years by members of the US Congress and of civil society. Indeed, its roots go deep, to the 12th century Great Law of Peace of the Iroquois Confederacy. Today, in these challenging times of systems and structures breaking down, the National Peace Academy takes its place among those emerging initiatives that will help create an infrastructure for peace, sustainability, well-being, and cooperation.

The National Peace Academy supports, advances, and nurtures cultures of peace by facilitating learning toward development of peace systems – local to global – and development of the full spectrum of the peacebuilder – inner and outer, personal and professional. The programs of the National Peace Academy comprise and address four interdependent, synthesizing, and catalytic cornerstones of peace learning and action: peace education, peace research, peace practice, and peace policy.

The National Peace Academy is a principle-based, learning institution that strives to embody and reflect the principles and processes of peace. Our philosophy and programs are shaped by the definition of peace contained in the Earth Charter: “...peace is the wholeness created by right relationships with oneself, other persons, other cultures, other life, Earth, and the larger whole of which all are a part.”

The National Peace Academy complements, adds value to, and works synergistically and collaboratively through and with existing and emerging institutions and programs – at all levels of civil society, business, and government.  Its goal is to nurture a culture of peace, nationally and globally.

2008-2009: VISION AND DESIGN

In April 2008, a Vision Meeting to establish a National Peace Academy was held at Case Western Reserve University in Cleveland, Ohio, convened by a private sector consortium of Biosophical Institute, Case Western Reserve University, and Peace Partnership International. Guided by the Appreciative Inquiry process, an international group of over 30 people from business, civil society, and government came together to envision the broad parameters of a National Peace Academy and lay the groundwork for the Design and Development Phases to follow, especially the Global Stakeholder Design Summit.

The National Peace Academy Global Stakeholder Design Summit was then held in March 2009 at Case Western Reserve University. Over 170 academicians, business leaders, government officials, field practitioners, and community leaders from around the nation and 10 other countries gathered to design and establish a National Peace Academy in the United States. The participants represented a broad spectrum of national and international perspectives and experiences, ranging from community- and faith-based organizations; to domestic, school, gang, and ethnic violence prevention; to journalism and the media; to economic and business practices; to human rights and social justice; to peace and conflict resolution education; to community and international peacebuilding.

The Stakeholder Design Summit was a quantum leap forward, a beginning that brought myriad stakeholders to the table in order to explore a dimension of peacebuilding that would build upon existing successes and integrate them within an emerging paradigm of practical peace.  The activities and energy of the Summit were a celebration and acknowledgment of all who work for peace, whether specifically within the field or through other personal or professional endeavors. The recognition that we are all peacebuilders and that an academy is necessary truly sets the stage for value added work to be done through, with, and building upon existing institutions, theories, and practice.

The idea that peace is transformative, more than an absence of war, and an innate, integral part of humanity is our essential perspective. It is now up to all of us, working together, to challenge our world and our human nature itself as we demonstrate through effective and practical programs that we can indeed move ourselves out of a framework of violence and into a framework of peace.

A report of the summit is available at http://www.nationalpeaceacademy.us/index.p....emid=25

2009-2010: ESTABLISHMENT, GROWTH, AND PROGRAMS

Following the Global Stakeholder Design Summit, a National Peace Academy core team formed and worked to coordinate, manage, consolidate, and fundraise to support the growth of the National Peace Academy to full operational realization.

In 2010, the National Peace Academy is opening a headquarters office on the campus of Case Western Reserve University and offering our first programs. Some of them include:

THE INTERNATIONAL INSTITUTE ON PEACE EDUCATION.  In its 28th year and now housed at the National Peace Academy, the IIPE is a “learning community” in which the organizers and participants work together to nurture an inclusive, highly interactive learning environment toward practicing a culture of peace. It is a multicultural and cooperative, intensive experience in which participants interact through plenaries, workshops, reflection groups, and informal activities to learn from and with each other about substantive peace issues and interactive teaching approaches. The IIPE is also an opportunity for networking and community building among those who educate and work for a culture of peace in the host region and around the world.

The 2010 Institute takes place July 11-17 in Cartagena, Colombia, with the theme of “Learning to Read the World from Multiple Perspectives: Peace Education toward Diversity & Inclusion.” The Institute is being co-organized by the National Peace Academy and Fundación Escuelas de Paz in partnership with the Spanish Agency for International Cooperation and Development (AECID), the Colombian National Ministry of Education, and a consortium of organizations invested in furthering peace education in Colombia.

For more about the IIPE, see http://www.i-i-p-e.org/.

THE PEACEBUILDING PEACELEARNING INTENSIVE. To be held August 1-7 at Wilmington College in Ohio, the week-long Peacebuilding Peacelearning Intensive (PPI) is designed for individuals and organizations who hope to launch new peacebuilding and change initiatives or enhance existing efforts. Participants will be coached in the design and development of a strategic peacebuilding plan that they will take back to and implement in their community or initiate in an organization they already work with. The plan will be assessed and evaluated by instructors and peers, and the National Peace Academy will provide ongoing guidance for project development after completion of the Intensive.

The PPI is intended to advance the development of the full spectrum of knowledge, skills, and capacities of the peacebuilder – inner and outer, personal and professional. In doing so it will provide a holistic introduction to the theory and practice of peacebuilding and will engage participants in cooperative learning experiences designed to empower citizens to critically inquire into what needs and conditions are necessary for assuring a sense of security personally and socially; to envision, plan, and strategize for the establishment of a just and sustainable social, political, and environmental order that assures each and every citizen is safe, secure, and able to live with dignity; and to facilitate the individual and communal learning required to make such transformations possible.

For more about the PPI, see http://www.nationalpeaceacademy.us/index.p....mid=55.

NATIONAL DIALOGUE DINNERS, ongoing throughout the year, are intended to foster thinking and conversation on critical issues related to peace, justice, community well-being, and change. We hope these dialogues will encourage participants to critically inquire into the possibilities and obstacles of living in “right relationships” with themselves and others that might lead toward new visions and actions for establishing peaceful, just, healthy, and sustainable communities in the United States and around the world.  

A key aspect of these dinners is to collect the important exchange of ideas that the gatherings generate into a national report that we will publish on the National Peace Academy website.

For more about the National Dialogue Dinners, see http://www.nationalpeaceacademy.us/index.p....mid=43.

THE PEACEBUILDING PEACELEARNING CERTIFICATE PROGRAM, to be launched in Fall 2010, is comprised of a series of short, intensive courses designed to provide a holistic and comprehensive introduction to peacebuilding and peacelearning theory and practice. In addition to a comprehensive overview, participants will pursue additional courses to achieve depth in knowledge and skills based upon their personal and professional needs and interests.

The courses are offered in partnership with universities, NGOs, and community organizations around the country. This is an important aspect of our value added approach.  Working with institutions around the country recognizes and takes advantage of the existing expertise that resides within them. The intention is also to nurture a national network of collaborating institutions – creating a truly national certificate, magnifying local efforts, and creating increased national impact.

The courses of the Certificate Program are organized around the National Peace Academy Program Framework.  Each course will provide depth in theory and practice in at least one of the four spheres of peace that need to be nurtured toward the full development of the peacebuilder: the personal, the social, the political, and the ecological. Courses will be offered in intensive one- or two-weekend formats.

PROGRESS: Has your organization seen progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of action and in your constituency during the second half of the Decade?

There has been great progress toward a culture of peace. While it has largely continued to soar under the radar of the traditional media, it is increasingly entering the public consciousness and practice. Some examples:

The Peace and Justice Studies Association catalogs 450 undergraduate and graduate peace studies programs and research centers at 390 institutions globally, 133 of them outside the U.S. in 40 countries.

In communities all over the world, thousands of programs are proving cost-effective in addressing the root causes of violence. These include programs in restorative justice, mediation, conflict resolution education, peace education, bullying and gang prevention, social justice, and so on.

The Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace is a community of government officials and civil society activists from over 40 countries on six continents calling for cabinet-level and other government and civil society infrastructures to establish and support a culture of peace in their nations.  Three countries already have ministries of peace: Solomon Islands, Nepal, and Costa Rica.

OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?

Maybe "obstacles" is not the right word. The National Peace Academy and other organizations and people around the world are all working for cultural change, a veritable shift in worldview, and there will always be resistance to change. That resistance is integral to the process, the inevitable inertia that must be overcome to get movement and build momentum to go from one place to another.

PLANS: What new engagements are planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to promote a culture of peace and nonviolence?

Our vision encompasses peace education, nonviolent conflict resolution, dialogue, and basic skills in the art and practice of right relationship as part of the very fabric of our society. In 2011 and beyond, the National Peace Academy will:

•  Develop peacebuilding as a professional career choice.
•  Infuse the peace perspective into the curriculum of all disciplines, from accountants to zookeepers, and all levels of education, from early childhood through high school and beyond.
•  Research positive peace in the world and how to measure it.
•  Develop and analyze government and business policies and practices to support a culture and practice of peace.
•  Support the development of peace systems – social, economic, and political infrastructures that reflect and support a culture of peace, of right relationship with self, others, and the world around us.
•  Take its place in a worldwide network of peace academies.
•  Support safe, healthy, and sustainable communities.

GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??

As the Earth Charter says, peace is about right relationships at all levels -- with self, with others, with other cultures, with all life, with Earth, and with the all that we are part of. Government, civil society, and business all need to work together to co-create and put into place the changes in personal attitudes, beliefs, and behaviors as well as the and economic, political, social, and other institutional changes inherent in shifting from a culture of violence to a culture of peace. Some countries are putting into place government and civil society infrastructures at local, regional, and national levels to support nonviolent conflict resolution, conflict transformation, and peacebuilding for right relationships. More of this is needed to support and strengthen the shift.
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Organization: National Peace Academy

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