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Organization: Peachcake
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: Jan. 22 2010,16:02 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 5822
Carefree, AZ
85377

E-mail address of organization/institution

peachcakeisawesome@yahoo.com

Website address of organization/institution


Telephone of organization/institution

(602) 708 2182

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
FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION
INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY

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

UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY

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

Though I would have to agree that we are purveyors and proponents of every one of the aforementioned categories in our own way, the one angle I would select that is most pertinent to our endeavors toward a culture of peace and worldwide betterment through peaceful means, would be creating understanding, tolerance, and solidarity. We do this among all those we encounter and involve. But I would then expound on that and say that not only do we do our best to advocate understanding, tolerance, and solidarity, but also promote empowerment and healing/wellness, for these are equally essential to our efforts as an organization.

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.

Though I would have to agree that we are purveyors and proponents of every one of the aforementioned categories in our own way, the one angle I would select that is most pertinent to our endeavors toward a culture of peace and worldwide betterment through peaceful means, would be creating understanding, tolerance, and solidarity. We do this among all those we encounter and involve. But I would then expound on that and say that not only do we do our best to advocate understanding, tolerance, and solidarity, but also promote empowerment and healing/wellness, for these are equally essential to our efforts as an organization.

One of the things that we avidly participate in is what we refer to as, The Positivity Movement; a movement devised by IPB members and band, Peachcake. This movement, centering around a credos and ideology very positively charged and focused, has enabled us to create fantastic artistic diplomacy and discourse with the world, as well as develop a community-based artistic collaborative on behalf of spreading and pervading our belief in uniting, understanding, and creating solidarity within our communities and this world. One of the projects in particular, Paint For Peace, a main focus for our collective group, is our community art collaborative building peace and solidarity through the arts, creative response, and personal expression. This creative initiative enables people to let their guard down, and come together in a unified effort of creative catharsis and momentum reinforcing and encouraging personal reflection and collective expressionism, identity, and the immersion in a communal experience. This centers around the belief that we are all in this together as a solid force and bounty of artistic joy.

The Paint For Peace conception was devised and in the planning stages beginning in late 2007. From there, it underwent various stages of evolution and revision, until it was commissioned to be a part of a local arts event put on in the city of Scottsdale, in Arizona. From there, the committee formed on behalf of its execution and seeing it come to fruition went through a series of pallets for the conceptualization for the event. Finally, in December of 2008, the first ever Paint For Peace event was born and became an instant success! Attracting over hundreds of local participants, and some from around the world, a bounty of event attendees and participants inundated the canopies, tables, easels, and cozy-comfy seating arrangements set-up for them to partake in creative catharsis and personal expressionism. Over 500 individual artworks were conjured, as well as over 80 yards of a community mural piece specifically constructed to bring together all individual participants in the glory of communal collaboration and collective creativity. This sparked a wave of positive response and appreciation both from the community and participants, and led to the warm embrace of Paint For Peace that would further inspire future events. From there, Paint For Peace has spoken to and evoked creativity from the people of Cleveland, OH at their annual Ingenuity Festival and again back on its home turf of Arizona, this time at Arizona State University in Tempe, when Paint For Peace was given a Grant by the university to hold an event in conjunction with World AIDS Day. Taking place on December 1st of 2009, this is the pinnacle of all Paint For Peace events to date. Being done in conjunction with support to World AIDS Day, Paint For Peace sought to uphold a unique message of peacefulness and an attitude of gratitude and empowerment to celebrate the lives lost, and those being lived with HIV/AIDS, and permeate this perspective throughout the event. It was not about combating the persecution and stigmas with the bane of divulging obscure facts and statistics, or through accusatory action of enforcing the belief that those who aren’t or don’t face the suffering don’t care enough. Rather, it was about focusing on how much life there is to live, or that has been lived, and how those who were or are considered victims should not be seen under such pretense…instead, celebrated for having lived and continuing to live life in an empowered light and fashion that can be a lesson, an example, an inspiration, a message, and a beacon of what is possible, and how meaningful and important our actions, our decisions, and our will to live and carry on, continue through, and persevere is. This is a testament to the power we all possess, irrespective of our condition, and our goal as being a part of this event was to convey that and stand by the conviction that we are all light and we are all enabled, no matter what we face or have faced, no matter what we must go through or have gone through, and it was imperative we articulate that through enabling the creative volition and soul that we believe, is possessed in and by all. The end result of having been a part of this event was that several of the hundreds of artworks collected on behalf of Paint For Peace, were donated and submitted to the International AIDS Memorial Quilt, and will be woven in to the quilt as well as the fibers of history for advocating positive change through creative means, volition, and imagination.

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?

I definitely feel we’ve made strong advancement and a great deal of progress in the way our personal efforts have materialized over the past couple years, and on behalf of acculturating the Culture of Peace and nonviolence paradigm. Paint For Peace and the Positivity Movement was a seed but only 2 years ago, a seed planted with a vision of spreading more seeds of peaceful activism, and planting them in every fallow corner the Earth will allow us to pervade with our presence of such peacefulness. And since, that seed starting out only being implanted in our head, has been extracted and actualized to come alive and spread joy, unity and solidarity, prosperity, and an uplifted perspective of life through peaceful means, personal responsibility and expressive gesture, to thousands of people throughout the United States alone. It’s important to note that for us it’s an ever-evolving, highly-adaptable concept and journey that is always in flux, and can be intertwined with many events and other organizations all throughout the world. We want to bring this everywhere and see it flourish, bloom, and nurture it so that it may come alive and blossom in every corner of the world, as well as the galaxy! Sure it’s a lofty goal, but I believe deep down there is a budding creative force in everyone waiting to be discovered and brought out (if not already), hungry for and craving the opportunity to see the light and thus the capability and earnestness of their expressive essence seize the day and night, and come alive!

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

I suppose the only obstacles faced are of two varying aspects: The first being the notion that what we’re doing in light of spreading a peaceful message via the medium of the arts is seen or interpreted as being gimmicky, thus perceived as devoid of a real substance or value. I feel this is in part, a bi-product of the cultural condition and conditioning we are living among in the US. By this, I mean that there is an undercurrent of belief that underscores and supports the notion of deferring to the negative and deflecting the necessity of personal action and responsibility to garner positive change. This can be best seen and exemplified in examples or excerpts of advertisements from the American media, which has a tendency to play up the follies and shortcomings of its people, obfuscating the ability to discern and respond in a more uplifted and empowered way.

The second being the difficulty of inspiring people to be more active and persistent in their expressive journey, and to embrace being outlandish or outgoing with their expression in hopes of obtaining a sense of peacefulness or serenity, because of inhibitions that tarnish, obstruct, or impede this process. Thus, bringing them to a point of comfort and feeling understood and accepted is imperative to breaking these walls, boundaries, or obstructions down. By doing this, we enable them to be as open-hearted and minded as they can be in light of the creative process and experiencing a form of inner-peace that may emerge as result of their will to be participatory. We believe inclusiveness and personal and collective empowerment are the key ingredients to finding ways to engage people and counteract any disparaging feeling of despair, fear, or inadequacy that may emerge in the face of letting one’s guard down to be at peace with their outer-expressionism.

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

Right now we are plotting our schedule of Paint For Peace and Positivity Movement events and opportunities to take place in 2010. We will likely be holding an event within the first quarter or half of the year, whether local national, or international. We plan to also parlay this into other events revolving around music such as concerts (non-profit/beneficiary and for profit), involving the IPB members, Peachcake (a band dedicated to spreading peace and Positivity throughout the world), and other acts and artists as well. All this will be done on behalf of sustaining and furthering the essence and notion of a peaceful and positive advancement of action through a unified effort of artistic, creative solidarity. Furthermore, we would love to have the support of A Culture for Peace, and would love to symbiotically support them in their pursuits as well. We can best do this by intertwining them or having us intertwined into any events we hold respectively and configuring a means of including Paint For Peace or Peachcake in to any events that may desire a unique and uplifting approach to spreading and creating peace throughout the world and substantiates the culture of peace! Also, Peachcake (a band that is a member of the IPB) is available to perform at any event(s) around the globe in 2010 which may be looking for or in need of music or entertainment. They have a very high-energy, vivacious show that is sure to liven up any atmosphere and bring an exuberance that will leave any crowd feeling youthful, elated and inspired into positive action.

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

Two words: Empowerment and inclusiveness. If we are to work towards a culture of peace, fulfilling such a notion, it is imperative that we welcome other organizations and groups, irrespective of how different, polar, or opposite their convictions or motivations and practices are, into our cause and enable them to open their eyes and understand the rationale envisioned, and importance for such a goal. The focus should not be what one is doing wrong, but what can be done right by all. We stand by and uphold a firm belief that accusatory or exclusionary discourse or action is not a way of achieving peace and unification in this world and particularly, in respect to working towards this goal. Instead, these types of egregious, exclusionary acts or choosing of this type of course will only cause upheaval and disenchantment, a dissonance which may reverberate in an unfortunate resound, possibly creating more contempt, and will end up driving away anyone who may be potentially interested in joining, supporting, or helping to further disperse and promote a Culture For Peace. The reason people show apprehension or oppose, aside from cantankerous disagreement or personal conviction, is because they hold a lack of understanding or openness in the will to see where something is coming from, and on top of that, feel they will be met with judgment, opposition by the very forces they are disagreeable with. We believe that by making all, even those we do not wholly agree with, align with, or see eye to eye with in their own activity and discourse, feel empowered and invited to join us in our pursuit toward a more peaceful world that all of us can coexist and live harmoniously among. Because we know, this isn’t just about us, and for the benefit of us and our own efforts, it is truly a heartened effort in the name of the safety, stability, and encouragement of all. Through empowerment, anything is possible, and we can to tear away from the shackles and imprisonment of resentment and discontent. Anything is possible and attainable so long as we live on with love and peace in our bones.
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Organization: Peachcake

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