Posted: April 26 2005,05:00 |
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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? |
1) PROGRESS
For a profound Culture of Peace and Non Violence the International
Children’s Peace Council, section Italy “Association ICPC ITALIA”
considers very important:
a) the International Conference on
“SOUL EDUCATION” held in Findhorn, Scottland in October 2000 with
all the meetings that followed including the last one in Budapest,
Hungary, October 2004 <trianglesineducation@virgin.net>.
b) the
constitution of the “YOUNG GENERAL ASSEMBLY”
<http://young-GA.org> . The 1st YGA was held in 2000 in Pomona,
USA <peaceways@igc.org> secretariat. N.B. In 2004 ICPC ITALIA sent two Italian delegates to the 4th YGA in Romania.
c) at
local level increasing interest in education for sustainable
development and the spreading of Fair Trade shops. UNICEF Italy
has increased peace oriented projects adressing local
school children.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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2) OBSTACLES (situation in Italy)
a) teachers:
teaching is getting more and more difficult; lack of time as teachers
are fully engaged in official school programme, amministration
formalities, psicological difficulties of the children etc. Almost no dialogue with the childrens and students in the classrooms.
b) youth: very little interest towards learning being absorbed in mass media influence.
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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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3) ACTIONS
a) During 2003 the ICPC’s first book has been created in cooperation between adults and youth. Title: WHO AM I? Vademecum to help teenagers and young people to build a new future 239 pages, left side Italian, right side English; 365 questions to be answered in self-analysis. Published in December 2003. For the introduction and first chapters visit <icpc.it/2book.htm> ICPC ITALIA on request can send the whole English version (Acrobat Reader) as an e-mail attachment.
Over
200 books have been sent to the ICPC Italy’s contacts worldwide. The
translation into Russian is already available, by merit of a Russian
teacher, on <www.rawe.ru>.
N.B. One copy is in the hands of the Director of the Teacher Section UNESCO, Ms. Ibtissam Al-Bassam ED/AO <i.al-bassam@unseco.org>
b) ICPC
Italy’s Self-peace-education Project “Eight Steps towards Peace” (ESP),
inspired by Robert Muller’s Core Curriculum (title of the book: “New
Genesis”, Doubleday, March 1984) was launched in 1990. Since 2000
this project is spreading more and more. It has been applied in many
classes in Kindergarten, primary and secondary schools, in different
regions of Italy (mainly in Northern Italy but also Rome, Ligury). It
has always produced greater harmony in the classroom.Teachers are
invited to go through the whole process by themselves before they bring
it to the children.
Through Internet many adults in Italy and
other countries went through the eight steps process and appreciated
its effects. Here is one example of the eight steps:
I HAVE THE POWER TO TRY TO DO ALWAYS MY BEST
TO CREATE PEACE INSIDE ME AND AROUND ME IMPROVING EVERY RELATION IN MY DAILY ACTIVITY FIELD
GUIDELINE N° 4
I
ask myself: “Have I looked sincerely at my attitudes towards all human
beings? Has my new awareness of us being all “souls” and “citizens of
the Planet” helped me to open up towards the “others” and therefore
send thoughts of understanding and will for good to everybody? In which
situations have I succeeded and where can I still improve?” ICPC shall
be happy to receive whatever you like to share with the companions on
this journey.
Now the circle gets smaller: I take a look at the
qualities of my relations with all the individuals I get into daily
contact with through my work, studies or service (excluding family
members):
** What characteristics of my
personality and what specific talents positively influence life and
activities where I work?
** Which are my defaults in my relationships with others and how deeply am I ready to transform them? Do I succeed in:
- accepting the other’s defaults without
judging, trying to understand;
- treating
them as I would like to be treated;
-
listening patiently to others, paying real attention to them;
- being open to others’ ideas although
stating firmly my convictions;
-
co-operating with all the others, in a group, respecting
everybody’s creativity.
** What values, qualities, capacities do I recognise in others ?
** What particular relation do I want to improve during this month?
- each day, in a quiet moment, I shall
visualize this person seated in front of me;
-
I shall visualize the steps I want to undertake to improve this
relation;
- Next I shall try to put it
into action;
- I shall be patient
towards myself but I’ll continue until I succeed;
- In doing so I’ll set a good example for all those
who work and live with me Every day I commit myself to listen
carefully to all signs life offers me in order to make my relations at
work more creative and co-operative. I will therefore support, through
my thoughts, words and actions, the creation of a world of Peace. * * * * * * *
Visit: <www.solidea.org/ospiti/icpc/autoeducaz_e.htm>
For more information we also transmit the report of a teacher:
PEACE EDUCATION PROJECT The
ICPC projects, materials and ideas are deeply appreciated and used at
the school “Figlie del Sacro Cuore” in Bergamo, in the North of Italy.
This school includes a nursery, primary and secondary school (ages
3-14) and has a specific “Peace Education Project” covering all classes
both in primary and in secondary school. The ICPC
Self-Peace-Education project “Eight Steps towards Peace” (ESP) is
actually the basis/skeleton for all primary school classes peace
education project. In fact the topics included in ESP have been divided as follows: - Grade 1 – discovering ourselves (our body, our mind, our emotions); - Grade 2 – relating ourselves to others close to us (our family, our classmates); - Grade 3 – human rights; - Grades 4-5 – relating to others far from us (all human beings, our planet, the universe). The
various topics are dealt with by all of the teachers working in each
team as a cross-curricular activity throughout the five years of
primary school. The focus is always that of starting to find peace and
understanding of reality within ourselves in order to improve the
outside world. The complete ESP has also been used in some classes
during the same school year (all 8 petals in eight months) in so
considered “difficult classes” and in an optional workshop in grade 2. The
sentence at the centre of the Symbol: “I have the power to do my best
to create a world of Peace inside and around me” is also used by some
teachers as a “magic formula”, repeated three times at the beginning of
each lesson, especially with young children in grades 2-3. Most of
the teachers also adopt other suggestions by ICPC: first of all that of
having one minute of silence at the beginning of each lesson (both in
primary and in secondary school) Two teachers in the school whom
regularly practice meditation also work on a soul-contact with students
(with “difficult students” in particular), with parents and colleagues. Finally,
the ICPC Promise “As a child of the Universe I promise ….” has been
used both in the form of the original promise for the first day of the
new year (together with the candle) and also in the form of a blessing
as a school gift for children’s First Communion.
April 2005 Fiona Mancuso English teacher at primary and secondary school classes.
c) Since
many years, on invitation of Robert Muller, ICPC Italy is celebrating
UN’s International Day of Peace in various ways, in ICPC’s core group,
in schoolclasses etc. and even in public performances of
schoolchildren. Over the last years ICPC ITALIA has sent report to
“We the Peoples Initiative” <http://wethepeoples.org> <http://www.pathwaystopeace.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? |
6) ADVICE
Concentration on us all becoming and being responsible CITIZENS OF PLANET EARTH
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
7) PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS
Pathways to Peace (see 3) c) Pax Cultura (actual president in charge of our association is a founding member of Pax Cultura) Peace Child International U.K. PeaceWays - Young General Assembly (see 1) b) Triangles in Education (see 1) a)
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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)? |
9) PLANS
Work on the concept of WORLD CITIZENS a) ICPC ITALIA is planning to organize the 7th YGA in 2006 in Northern Italy. ICPC Italy is the only YGA’s associated member of Western Europe so far. The main work will be on YGA’s PROJECT NUMBER 6 (year 2000).
Extract: Project Rationale: By reading what students have to say about education, the United Nations, decision-making educators, and policy makers will get ideas about how to improve education so students con learn more effectively and be better prepared for present day life.
Project Goal: Make the views of children about what works and what does’nt work in education available to educational policy makers all over the world.
Solution: Create a book by having a global essay contest and send it to ministers of education and other appropriate individuals anywhere in the world.
b) ICPC’s book “Who am I?”: examine possibilities to reach as many young people as possible; hopefully find who offers free service for translation of the book (see 3) a) into French, Mandarine/Cinese and Portughese to have the official five UN languages covered; examine possibility of co-coperation with UNESCO for this purpose.
c) Introduce the Robert Muller’s School System:
- in Italy, through ICPC, linking ESP with Robert Muller’s School System;
- through the YGA delegates being present in the 7th YGA in 2006 in Italy. They will bring this system to their countries to find their ways to make it known and have it applied as much as possible.
International Children’s Peace Council ASSOCIATION ICPC ITALIA
April 2005
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Postal address of organization
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ICPC c/o B.Beretta Via Boeri 11, 20141 Milan
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E-mail address of organization
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icpcitalia@hotmail.com
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Website address of organization
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www.icpc.it
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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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5) GEOGRAPHICAL PRIORITY
Different parts of Italy, mainly Northern Italy Many international contacts
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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