The Peace Messengers Newsletter #13 is now available. In this issue you can read about a Peace Messengers training organised by Útilapu (SCI Hungary), and an online training session for Peace Messengers. Discover who are this months Peace Messengers of the Month. Finally, you can also read about SCI's No More War Campaign which is just one of SCI's 90 Years Anniversary campaigns. You can find it here
In May 2010, Útilapu Hálózat – SCI Hungary organized a training course “Voluntary Approach Towards a Culture of Peace”.
The training aimed to involve new volunteers who are interested in organizing sessions and workshops on peace related issues, such as migration, discrimination, racism, in schools, workcamps and other SCI projects.
The course was supported by the EU Youth in Action 3.1 Programme.
A fantastic crowd of international Peace Messengers from 12 countries met from 20-27th May in Wustrow to network and share ideas about continuing the No More War action. They also learned how to make video, how to perform theatre and how to coordinate an international group. Thanks to the two trainers, Matteo from SCI Italy and Georg from SCI Germany, for their heroic efforts.
We now look forward to a series of No More Workcamps taking place throughout the volunteer world in 2010.
News from these camps will be posted regularly on the No More War Blog.
SCI Malaysia (Penang) is happy to invite to the first time organized in Malaysia run known as the PEACE RUN for disabled participants.
The Peace Run will take place on Sunday 25th July, 2010 – 7.30 am in Taman Perbandaran (YouthPark) in Penang
The run will be officiated and flagged off under the distinguished patronage of the Yang Di-pertua Negeri Pulau Pinang, Tuan Yang Terutama, Tun Dato’ Seri Utama (DR) Haji Abdul Rahman Bin Haji Abbas, D.M.K., S.M.N., D.U.P.N., S.P.D.K., D.P., D.M.P.N., D.J.N.
Participants:
Physically handicapped, intellectually disabled, vision impaired and hearing impaired together with the able bodied participants (expected total of participants about 2500-3000).
Physically handicapped – From Spastic Centre and Cheshire Home.
(will comprise of fully aided and partially aided participants).
Intellectually disabled – from Dato Kramat and GroveRoadSchools.
Visually Impaired – from St Nicholas
Hearing Impaired – from FederationSchool for the Hearing Impaired at Tanjong Bungah (the hearing impaired will be classified under the normal categories).
Distance: 1.5 km for the physically disabled
6.0 km for others
Payments : RM15.00 for normal adults
: RM10.00 for students
FREE FOR THE SPECIALSSCHOOLS AND ORPHANAGE
Prizes : First 10 in each category will be given medals.
Lucky Draw : There will also be lucky draw prizes.
Certificates: Will be given to all participants who complete the run in 70minutes.
T-shirts : Every registered participant will be given a T’shirt and shall wear during the RUN.
This year, SCI Malaysia / MPPP Penang Peace Run 2010 is jointly organized by :
Service Civil International Malaysia, Penang Chapter (SCI), Majlis Sukan Negeri Pulau Pinang(MSN), Majlis Perbandaran Pulau Pinang(MPPP), Persatuan Olahraga Amatur Pulau Pinang(PAAA)
Please find uploaded new No More War toolkit. This tool kit is meant for the Peace Education Study Part on the “No-More-War” Camps in 2010. It is designed for the camp co-ordinators, although it can be used by everyone interested in peace education.
Asian Pacific Peace Education Seminar in Australia
10. June 2010
IVP Australia would like to invite you to the Asian Pacific Peace Education Seminar (APPES), which will take place in Katoomba (close to Sydney) Australia, from 13-17th of July 2010.
The seminar will be an excellent opportunity for activists to meet, train and learn more about peace-education. Topics as non-violent action, intercultural dialogue and peace-building are part of the program.
Participation fee is 40AUD$ a day, and you are expected to join the seminar for the whole duration. There is no strict deadline for applying, but we will ask you to apply ASAP, especially in the case you need a visa for Australia.
Pleasse note that there is a special short term volunteer project and a photo exhibition associated with this seminar. More details are on the IVP website www.ivp.org.au.
Service Civil International (SCI) SCI's No More War Campaign group has created a new blog. The aim is to promote exchange of ideas, experience and networking among SCI & partners' peace activists.
The 12th edition of Peace Messengers Newsletter is out now! You can find it here.
This issue has a focus on refugees' issues, which is one of the topics of the Peace Messengers training seminar from the 6th-22th of May 2010 in Budapest, Hungary.
IVS Great Britain is organizing brand new Pacifist Voluntary Project called “Interfaith” in Leicester, 9 August - 19 August.
Volunteers will do practical gardening work in the grounds of buildings of worship of different faiths in Leicester: Mosques, Churches, Synagogues, Gurdwaras, Buddhist and Hindu temples. There will also be some painting/decorating tasks and work on supporting community understanding. There is a strong study element to this project around aspects of peace, faith and the community.
For details on the project go to SCI workamp database www.workcamps.info/icamps. Code of the project is UK-IVS 11.4.
The Peace Messengers network is inviting you to an Online training! During 5 weeks the training will discuss the meaning of peace and the role of a Peace Messenger. In the true spirit of non-formal education, participants will actively contribute to the course with their ideas and opinions, but facilitators will be there to help them build their knowledge and provide them with information. We will work in the framework of a virtual classroom.
If you want to know more about peace and Peace Messengers, if you have one or two hours to spare every week, access to Internet connection and Skype, and if you have already taken part to a workcamp, then come on and join!
Please send the following information by email:
- Name :
- Age :
- Country:
- Your involvement in SCI (if any)?
- What is peace for you?
- e-mail address:
- Skype ID:
- General availability for skype meeting
Please send you answers to these questions to peacemessengers@gmail.com before the 24th of May. There is only a limited number of places, so register quickly!
SCI partner, PVN Albania is in the framework of SCI Peace Messengers working group organizing this summer travelling workcamp.
The workcamp is organized by SCI branches in the Balkans: PVN Albania, VCV Vojvodina, BSF Kosovo, CID Macedonia, ZID Montenegro and Zelena Glava Bosnia and Herzegovina.
At the beginning of the camp there will be training for peace messengers to prepare the study part program of the workcamps. The program is about peace promotion issues, more specifically in Human Rights, social issues like disabled and disadvantaged groups, multiethnicity, as well topics related to 90th anniversary of SCI, like antimilitarism, nonviolent conflict transformation, roots and history of SCI, etc. Peace messengers will be divided in two groups to visit workcamps in respective countries. After visiting the camps all Peace Messengers will be gathered again for evaluation of the camp.
The workcamp is going to take place between 18 July to 10 August.
To apply for a camp check SCI Workcamp database www.workcamps.info and contact local SCI branch. To find contact details of your local branch, go to www.sciint.org.
SCI Germany has a long tradition of “Travelling Workcamps”. Peace Messengers travel the international workcamps and run peace education workshops. Here you can find out how such 'travelling' functions...
With joining Travelling workcamps volunteers from all over Europe get the opportunity to enjoy an intensive “crash course” for becoming Peace Messengers. The volunteers learn the theory and immediately put it into practice by visiting international workcamps and running unique, individually-prepared one-day peace education workshops for other international volunteers.
Logistics...
It might sound simple, but in practice it is not. The participants have to join one international workcamp; work one day with the team of volunteers at the camp; run a workshop the next day; and travel to the next camp where everything is repeated. The problem is that different projects run at different times; project sponsors have time restrictions; and we need to take care of the distances that the teams must cover as well as the limit to their travel costs. Last year it took one person two months of negotiations before the routes could be finalised!
Trainers...
Another important issue that needs to be solved is that of trainers. It is very important to find experienced trainers with understanding of SCI, voluntary work, intercultural learning processes and with the ability to empower volunteers by using rewarding and innovative methods of peace education.
Innovative peace workshops
The real challenge, however, starts when the Peace Messengers arrive at the training in Berlin. First they need to identify, discuss and define the “peace message” they wish to put across during their workshops. Then they have to agree on the composition of the teams, and last but not least they need to design a workshop using different and innovative methods that will capture the interest of even the least interested and motivated volunteer in the workcamps.
Unforeseen situations
The Peace Messengers also need to be able to improvise, as in the case of the first team that missed the train from Berlin to their first workcamp. It can also happen that the project sponsor decides that it does not want to receive the group after all. Finally, after having travelled several hundred kilometres, making friends with hundreds of volunteers, and having run their workshops, the Peace Messengers still need to have some remaining energy in order to evaluate, share their experiences and make recommendations for improvements at a follow-up meeting back in Berlin.
Results!
So is all the effort, money and trouble worth it? Sometimes we do wonder, because not all workshops meet with the enthusiastic response that the Peace Messengers hope and wish for. At the same time though, we feel that we achieve some important results that justify the large investments made:
1. 20 young people are trained as Peace Messengers. They will use their knowledge and skills for the rest of their lives, within their family, school, university, workplace or elsewhere.
2. More than 200 international volunteers are - sometimes for the first time – encouraged to think about existing causes of war, violence, social injustice & discrimination and are forced to confront and question their own prejudices and stereotypes about others.
3. SCI’s image as an organisation that is “working for peace” is reinforced and made evident to large numbers of young people as well as to project sponsors
Interested?
This year’s Travelling Work Camp Germany will take place from 8 – 29th August and is included in the workcamp search engine (OPS). If Germany is not appealing (enough) to you, then you can also join a second, similar Travelling Work Camp that will take place in the Balkans? We can certainly promise a tiring, but enormously enriching, exciting and rewarding experience for those who have the right motivation!
This issue includes a focus on Peace Messengers and popular education: after introducing Paulo Freire and his ideas, you'll find an article from SVI-Brazil about how to put in practice the 'pedagogy of oppressed', a presentation of popular education activities by the Landless Workers' Movement from Brazil, and an article by a Peace Messenger about her experiences.
You can send your comments and feedback, and of course contributions for the next issue to peacemessengersnews@gmail.com.
The highlights of this issue are the article about Brazilian projects on youth and non-violence, a report on the Peace Messengers’ visits of the international events to promote Peace Messenger programme, and an article on pan-Asian training project in Bangladesh.
Awareness about SCI’s mission among the volunteers
23. November 2009
A report is out about to what extent volunteers are aware of SCI’s mission, aims and objectives. It is based on the survey that was carried out in 2004 and 2005 among 500 volunteers on workcamps; 17 SCI branches participated in this survey. Its main aim was to find out what do volunteers on workcamps really know about SCI, and how SCI can improve communication about its philosophy and aims.
It was edited by Cvetko Wonderment, a pseudonym for a group who worked on this handbook. They are preparing now a second edition and are collecting feedbacks for this edition at ong.cvetko_sfp@yahoo.co.nz
This issue includes article on cross border cooperation among peace messengers, impressions from Travelling Work camp in the Balkans, report on the Message in the Bottle project, as well as the note about SCI events for The International Day of Peace. You can find also the PM plan of action for 2009-2010, and of course the PM of the Month section, this time it is Margarita who joined PM Travelling work camp!
The thematic focus is postponed for next issues. Feel invited to contribute, here are the deadlines:
- 'Youth and non-violence' - early December
- 'Keep it real' - early February (about how to make sure that PM sessions are truly connected to surrounding socio-politico-economic-environmental issues).
For these issues you can contribute also other articles (including announcements and reports)… keep in mind the mentioned deadlines.
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