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Posted: Aug. 06 2006,05:15 by David from INTERNATIONAL - Fundacion Cultura de Paz
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The
following interview was conducted on August 1 with Satomi Mori,
ex-President of the UNESCO Club of International Christian University
in Japan
1. a) If funds were available, what youth activities related to a CoP would you like to do as an individual?
I
am interested in teaching about the culture of peace, so I'd like
resources for that: books and teaching materials in english and
Japanese.
I'd like support for travel to meet and interview
people, learn about their experiences and their practices for a culture
of peace.
And support for things like photocopies to do this kind of work.
b) If funds were available, what youth activities related to a CoP would your organization like to do?
We
would do workshops or symposia on the culture of peace, and we would
need travel money to bring people, including from other countries.
Also,
funds for advertisement to other youth, and funds to make a report, as
well as costs such as telephoning, internet and faxes.
We need help to do networking, especially by Internet.
As
a follow-up to a workshop we would need support to continue the process
with the participants, to carry out projects that might be designed
during the workshops. if we learn, we also want to put it into
practice through projects and voluntary work, for example
2. a) What changes in youth policies do you think the government/leadership in your country should make to promote a CoP?
In
Japan, the word "peace" is seen as political or religious, especially
when we tried to work with the Board of Education. We need
support to let people know that "culture of peace" is not the same as
the old concepts of peace. The government should listen to youth
and what we mean by culture of peace.
We don't know what the
government does for culture of peace. If I put culture of peace
into google in Japan, I can't find any government statement.
There are materials from the National Federation of UNESCO
Associations of Japan, but not from the government.
b) What CoP youth activities/initiatives do you think the UN should do?
The
UN seems far away, and it is difficult for youth to know what it is
doing. There need to be contact offices where we can meet and ask
questions and learn and so we can work with the UN. Especially we
would like informatioin about environmental and educational programs.
We don't have any way to get these materials, and when we try we
get lost in the bureaucracy.
OPTIONAL QUESTIONS
3. Do you
have any suggestions or recommendations for improving youth
participation in CoP activities on any levels (UN, government, civil
society)?
Schools should be open to the culture of peace.
There are statements about peace in the curricula, but it's not
enough. Right now we just study wars, like World War II, but we
need to expand the image and idea of peace to daily life concerns, more
than just the absence of war. That's my personal opinion.
4. What could be done to improve/ensure transparency and flow of information in promoting the CoP?
We need to know more about what the United Nations is doing, like I said before.
5. To ensure the best possible benefit of a UN Voluntary Fund for youth and CoP, how should it be managed/administered?
There needs to be clear criteria how to choose which projects to support and which organizations to give funds to.
6. How can youth not yet involved in CoP activities be reached and motivated?
7. a) Which other organizations do you know of, that work for a CoP?
YDP,
Youth for Development and Peace. This is a network of Japanese
youth organizations, and our UNESCO Club was a member.
b) Would you be willing to contact them or may we contact them with the questionnaire? Please specify.
I
will contact them, but there may be a problem because they would prefer
to work in Japanese. Please give me the questionnaire in Japanese
to send to them.
8. My response to this questionnaire is my personal opinion
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