Building Schools of and for Peace: A Call to Action

1. Building Schools of and for PeaceCEAP National Convention22 September 2011 Loreta N. Castro Center for Peace Education Miriam College

2. Presentation Outline • Why Build Schools of and for Peace? • The Situation in our Country and Beyond • The Call of our Catholic Faith • “To Reach Peace, Teach Peace” • What is Peace? A Culture of Peace? • Building Schools of and for Peace through Peace Education • The “Whole School Approach” as a Goal (incl. a Restorative Discipline Policy)

3. I. Why Build Schools of and for Peace? A. The Situation in our country and beyond • Armed Conflicts • Now mainly between gov’t & non-state armed actors • Costs of violent conflicts: human. material & environmental • - 250,000 people die each year from armed conflicts (AI) • - Philippines facts: Estimate of 190,000 people have died from armed conflicts; • 26 people die daily from murder and homicide (PNP); • Ranks 10th – in number of gun homicide rates worldwide; • In the 2010 Global Peace Index, among the least peaceful countries , rank of 130 out of 149 countries .

4. Other forms of violence • Structural -Globally, 925 million people are hungry (1 of 7 people, FAO, 2010) -Philippines: 32.9% of the population are considered poor (1 of 3) • Socio-cultural -People are killed or hurt because they differ from the rest in terms of ethnicity, religion, sex, ideology, among others. • Ecological -Overconsumption, pollution

5. B. The Call of our Catholic Faith (Note: Peace is a value that we share with other Faiths.) • “Blessed are the Peacemakers, for they shall be called the children of God” (Matthew 5:9) • “We are called to be peacemakers. Not by some movement of the moment , but by our Lord Jesus” (US Catholic Bishops’ Pastoral Letter, 1983) • “Seek Peace, Pursue It” (Phil. Catholic Bishops Pastoral Letter, 1990), etc.

6. C. “To Reach Peace, Teach Peace” (Pope John Paul II, 1979 ) • The attainment of peace is the summing-up and crowning of all our aspirations. • Education for peace can benefit from everyday examples : -individuals & families who… by accepting and respecting each other, gain their own inner peace and radiate it; -the peoples, often poor , who have resisted the deceptive seductions of rapid progress obtained by violence… • Listen & understand, respect others, gentleness is strength,. • It is the practice of peace that leads to peace.

7. For discussion in dyads: What ideas do you associate with “peace”?

8. II. What is Peace? • Not only the absence of war and physical violence • But also the presence of conditions of well-being and just relationships among humans and between humans and Mother Earth Consensus: Absence of violence and the presence of justice “May kapayapaan kung walangnagugutom at walangnaaapi.”

9. LEVELS OF PEACE Harmony with the Sacred Source Peace between Humans and the Earth and Beyond Global Peace Harmony with Nature Intergroup/Social Peace Harmony with Others Interpersonal Peace Personal Peace Self-respect Inner resources: Love, hope Harmony with the self Respect for other persons Justice, tolerance, cooperation Respect for other groups within country, etc. Respect for other countries, etc Respect for the environment Sustainable living, Simple lifestyles

10. What is a Culture of Peace? • Beliefs, values, behaviors, and ways of life that reflect respect for human dignity, reject violence in all its forms, prevent violent conflicts by tackling their root causes and recognize the importance of cooperation, dialogue and acceptance of diversity. (UNESCO) -UNESCO Manifesto 2000

11. III. Building Schools of and for Peace through Peace Education • Peace Education is education that cultivates awareness, concern and behaviors that lead to peaceful conditions/structures and relationships. • Peace Education is also called transformative education because it seeks changes – in people’s mindsets, attitudes, values, and behaviors that, in the first place, have either created or exacerbated violent conflicts.

12. GOALS: • Build Awareness 1. Situations/Forms of violence 2. Roots of conflict and violence 3. Alternatives to violence • Build concern 1. Empathy and compassion 2. Positive vision of the future 3. Social responsibility (Use ideas and lives of peace and justice advocates) • Encourage action 1. Personal change-own mindset, attitudes, behavior/lifestyle 2. Social action and advocacy

13. What are the key peace education themes? Oneness of the human family 1. - Expand our social identification from narrow to global, all humans are “brothers and sisters” - All have a common home, planet Earth, and a common future Human worth and dignity 2. • Respect for human rights and fundamental freedoms • including gender equality • Fulfillment of basic human needs • Participation in decision-making -

14. 3. Nonviolence - Valuing human life and developing skills of nonviolent conflict resolution - Using positive techniques of nonviolence 4. Tolerance - Respect for diversity vs. racism, ethnocentrism, sexism, religious intolerance - Rejection of a sense of superiority and other prejudices

15. 5. Economic Equity/Justice - Support for a moreequitable distribution of wealth and resources 6. Environmental Care/Sustainable Development - Taking into account the future generations when using the earth’s resources. (Reduce, Re-use, Recycle, Repair, Refuse) 7. Shared Values of Major World Religions that relate to Peace - Love, compassion, nonviolence, forgiveness -The Golden rule

16. Buzz session: Of the mentioned peace education themes, which one would you consider the most needed in our country? Why did you choose that particular theme?

18. Peace Education’s “Mantra” TO THE EDUCATOR: Touch the mind. Touch the heart. Encourage the will to action. TO ALL, incl. the learners: Know peace. Value peace. Act for peace.

19. Take, for example, the mindset that war cannot be avoided because it is in our human nature or biological make-up to go to war. • This is a myth that needs to be challenged. Otherwise, this belief can be used to justify the use of war as a legitimate means to resolve intergroup disputes/conflicts.

20. It is scientifically incorrect to say that human genes and instinct make us violent. Humans have the potential to act violently, but whether we do or not is shaped by how we were raised/socialized. Hence, it is a social construct, not a biological one. (By an International Committee of Scholars, endorsed by UNESCO)

21. NO TO WAR! NO TO WAR! “The increasing destructiveness of war has revealed the cause of abolishing war to be more of a practical necessity than a utopian idea… The institution of war is a product of human imagination and the human imagination can replace it.” -Betty Reardon

22. In the cited example, we: “Know Peace” – when we understand that it is a myth to say that war is unavoidable; when we understand the costs of war and the alternatives to war such as preventive diplomacy, negotiation, mediation “Value Peace”- when we respond with concern & feel empathy for the war victims especially women and children who become internal refugees. Remember: ‘In any war there are no victors, only victims’ “Act for Peace”- when we take some action from the personal level & beyond; re-examining our own beliefs and attitudes, being an advocate against war and the tools of violence, e.g. weapons, & against systems & practices that breed war such as discrimination and injustice