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Posted: Aug. 21 2006,08:23 by David from
INTERNATIONAL - Fundacion Cultura de Paz |
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World
Council of Churches - World Youth Program -
personal
Interview August 11, with corrections August
21
questionnaire:
1. a) If funds were available, what
youth activities related to a CoP would your organization like to
do?
We would urge local youth church and ecumenical movements
with whom we work to apply for support, and also seek support for
international solidarity among these movements.
There are
good examples from the Philippines. One is the youth
overcoming violence project in the Philippines in which young adults
under 30 are getting para-legal training on how to document and
protect against human rights violations.
Also there is a
national interfaith youth conference in the Philippines that brings
together youth from Christian, Muslim and indigenous religions to
overcome violence and build solidarity across their
communities.
There is also a camp in the Philippines that
brings together youth who have been victims or who have lost family
in the killings. It provides psycho-social trauma healing,
creative arts expression that allows them to share their experiences
and find comfort and solidarity, education on human rights, and
symbolic activities at the end of the camp to acknowledge the deaths
and share the burden. They plan to make a DVD on human rights
for youth on how to advocate for human rights that can be used at
the local level.
These activities are coordinated by the
youth section of the Philippines National Council of Churches, and
connected to the World Council of Churches's World Youth Program.
It is related to the global World Council Decade of Overcoming
Violence, which is one of the six priorities of the World Youth
Program (for more information see www.ecumenicalyouth.org).
Another priority, missing on the website is on interreligious
cooperation.
The fund you are proposing could help finance
these activities. The youth budget of the WCC is not large
enough so we could fund only 25% of their needs and we are having to
look elsewhere to interest other donors.
It's not only the
money. The very fact that international organizations will
help finance the local efforts gives them recognition and a sense of
the importance of their work. It also gives them strength by
linking their efforts to those of others elswhere in the
world.
Another good example is in Israel and Palestine where
for many years we have supported an ecumenical accompaniment program
(EAPPI). See www.eappi.org for details. The EAPPI is
unique among accompaniment programs, because it is ecumenical and
brings together Christians from different traditions. Many Western
European youth have taken part in this and then gone back to their
home countries to do advocacy. Now, more and more, we are
concentrating on bringing people from the South and building
South-South solidarity. For example, participants from South
Africa have brought with them the experience of overcoming apartheid
which has made a great impression.
We would like to
expand the South-South accompaniment by involving the All-African
Council of Churches, and not only in Israel and Palestine, but in
support of ongoing peace-building efforts elsewhere such as in the
Sudan where there are worshops on education, skills-training,
HIV-AIDS awareness and trauma healing.
The international
solidarity could be carried out on an even greater scale, for
example, between Africa and Asia, involving also the Christian
Conference of Asia, bringing together young leaders to help each
other.
b) What non-financial support does your organization
need for CoP activities?
The needs are not only
funding.
For example it would be good to provide
skill-building resources, whether on the Web or through resource
persons, showing how to start up a local peacebuilding project.
For example, examples could be provided of what has worked for
others.
We need to pick up on and recognize what youth are
already doing, to give them acknowledgement and encouragement.
For example, I was very impressed last spring at a UN meeting
in Geneva to see an installation piece that illustrated how youth as
young as 14-15 are doing peacebuilding at a local level in different
parts of the world. Too often the work of young people is not
taken seriously and we turn instead to older "experts" for
advice.
2. What changes in youth policies do you think
governments and the UN should make to promote a CoP?
Youth
need channels so that their voice is heard at government levels with
regard to the issues that confront them, especially violence.
Not only overt violence but the structural violence of
unemployment and lack of access to education. It should be
understood that when youth face unemployment and economic
insecurity, they become alienated and are more likely to take up
violence. Support for a culture of peace and non-violence can
be seen as the most effective prevention of
violence.
OPTIONAL QUESTIONS
3. To ensure the best
possible benefit of a UN Voluntary Fund for youth and CoP, how
should it be managed/administered?
Definitely young people
should be involved in its management. It should be
"youth-driven." Also there should be strong regional
representation so that the voices of all regions are
heard.
4. How can youth not yet involved in CoP activities be
reached and motivated?
Pick up on what young people are
already doing. Show others what they too can do. People
are alienated from big institutions and they need to see that they
can accomplish great things on a local level.
5. a) Which
other organizations do you know of, that work for a CoP?
b)
Would you be willing to contact them or may we contact them with the
questionnaire? Please specify.
6. My response to this
questionnaire is my personal opinion
Name of
organization: World Council of Churches - World Youth
Program
Address: Geneva, Switzerland
Contact Person: Natalie
Maxson, Secretary
E-mail: nma@wcc-coe.org
Telephone :
+41.22.791.6030
************************************
Sujet
: Re: Your interview
Date : 8/21/06 5:02:12 AM Eastern Daylight
Time
From: nma@wcc-coe.org
(Natalie Maxson)
To: mail@decade-culture-of-peace.org
**
High Priority **
Hi David,
I am so sorry I did not
respond to you sooner. We have 200 people coming into town this week
and I got really swamped preparing for that. Basically the interview
reflects our conversation. There are just a couple small changes I
would add to make the information more accurate.
1. ''These
activities are coordinated by the youth section of the Philippines
National Council of Churches, and related to the global World
Council Decade of Overcoming Violence, which is one of their five
priorities.''
This youth project through the NCCP is
connected with the WCC's World Youth Program. This is one part of my
work. It is the way we support local ecumenical projects. Under this
World Youth Program we have 6 priorities one of which is the WCC's
focus on Decade to Overcome Violence. For more info about World
Youth Program and its priorities: www.ecumenicalyouth.org . On the
web what is missing is that one of our priorities is on
Interreligious cooperation.
2. ''Another good example is in
Israel and Palestine where for many years we have supported an
ecumenical accompaniment program. Unlike other accompaniment
programs, which are good in their ownway, ours is able to involve
people through their churches, both in Israel and in Palestine.
It is focused on bringing people from other
countries.''
The program is called Ecumenical Accompaniment
Program in Palestine and Israel (EAPPI) and is started and run by
the WCC. For more info: www.eappi.org . What I was trying to say in
our interview is that the EAPPI is unique because it is ecumenical
and bringing together Christians from different traditions. There
are other Christian and secular peace groups in Palestine/Israel.
The WCC has a very big and diverse constituency through its member
churches--we need to tap into this by pursuing more south-south
exchange. The conversations I had about this are with the youth
secretaries of the All Africa Conference of Churches (which has a
particular focus on youth and peace-building in Sudan) and the
Christian Conference of Asia. Through the global ecumenical youth
networks we can increase the participation of youth in the EAPPI and
thereby strengthen the links between youth leaders working for
peace.
You mentioned on the phone that it is too late to
contact more people for the interview. If you ever need contacts
though I would be happy to assist you. I asked one of my colleagues
for Salpy's email. I think she is on holidays so I will wait for her
response.
Thanks for your persistence and patience, in
solidarity.
Natalie Maxson
Programme Executive
Youth
(Young Adults)
World Council of Churches, Geneva
Tel: +41 22
791 6030
Fax: +41 22 710 2353
e-mail: nma@wcc-coe.org
WEB: http://www.ecumenicalyouth.org/
WEB:
www.wcc-assembly.info/youth.html
*****************************
mail@decade-culture-of-peace.org
11/08/2006
04:39:31 PM
Natalie Maxson
Youth Secretary of World Council of
Churches
Dear Natalie,
Here is my notes from the
interview that you so kindly gave me this morning. It adds
great richness to our survey.
Please make whatever changes
are needed to make it truly your own voice.
Can you give me
permission to quote it verbatim in the report, so long as I say it
is your personal statement and not an official organizational
statement?
Also, I would appreciate the email addresses and
telephone numbers of a few others whom I could interview at a
regional level. And, yes, can you give me Salpy Eskidjian's
email address as I would like to say "hi" to her after many years of
not being in contact.
Thank you so much!
David
Adams
mail@decade-culture of peace.org |
