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Ongoing and Intended Programs
Peacebuilding activity may involve a vast composition of imaginary programs and activities. Given a healthy presence of appropriate Governing Bodies and a minimum number of full-time staff, it will be possible to attract and empower volunteers to carry out a number of activities. The type, the output quality, and the number of programs and projects will depend on the human and financial resources available.
The Quantitative Output of such activities is the number of new citizens in each and every social stratum who participated in such activities.
The Qualitative Output of such activities is the level of empowerment to transcend to a Peace Culture, as well as the depth and sustainability of such personal transformation, together with the motivation to disseminate the new discoveries.
For a detailed presentation of how wide the spectrum of these possible programs and activities is, an ‘Excel’ matrix table has been prepared for those who want to probe deeply into the Social Change Tools leading to a Peace Culture. The careful involvement of the State and other necessary Social Partnerships is also listed if one is to aim at a successful Social Change outcome.
Consequently, the level of our activity for any of these Peacebuilding programs depends on the resources we will manage to bring together. The following programs will draw our immediate attention:
The Centre has been instrumental in introducing Conflict Resolution workshops to Cyprus since 1992. These workshops have proved very powerful transformation tools. Our intention is to continue having these workshops high on the list of our programs. We will strive, however to bring this experience to their doorstep of the larger community, bypassing the language barrier. The proposed Peace Bus Project aims at exactly this ambitious project.
Youth Camp Projects involving Cypriot, Turkish and Greek youth, as well as Palestinian and Jewish youth have been organised throughout the life of the Centre. These very successful projects will continue.
However, because of the high cost of such projects, they will continue to depend on available external funding. This shouldn’t be a problem with the current EU environment.
We will work with the State authorities to introduce the ‘PeaceJam Project’ to public schools.
This is an International Project designed by the international ‘PeaceJam’ organisation which is headed by eleven Nobel Peace laureates. It has been implemented in schools in countries all over the world
We will work to empower young university students and others to participate in Peace e-Education offered by renowned Peace Universities.
These scholarships will be sponsored by a ‘donor-student program’ to be administered by the Centre.
Because of language problems, Peace-building work has, to-date, been limited to persons with higher education. We are seriously considering the extension of our activities to the community level all over Cyprus. Such programs, though invaluable, will demand high volunteer commitment and can only take effect together with the Peace Bus Project described below. Effective Transformative Peace Actions Whether the State finances these actions or not, such actions should be truly EFFECTIVE in helping the total population transcend from an Adversarial to a Peace Culture. There is adequate Local and limitless International expertise for the design of such Actions. The following actions, though empowering those who participate, are NOT considered effective in helping those in disagreement think fresh and enter a personal transformation process: The traditional ‘Ritualistic’ Actions of: Issuing a wishful declaration, planting an olive tree, staging a song concert, organising a march with ‘anti’ slogans. Press Articles: They are read by those few who read articles. Such articles are not published in the press that is hostile to such thinking. Most people read newspapers that express their own personal ideology. The Centre believes that these Actions should incorporate the new Human Technologies researched, designed and successfully implemented by the Academic Community and other Peace Scholars during the last thirty years or so. They should be designed having in mind the particular socio-political local culture, historical truths, and the need for a pragmatist approach to a win-win resolution of the conflict. Contemporary Human Development Processes recognise the need to work with the community in a Participatory Democratic Process that where the trainers are only facilitating the group to find their own truths and define their own needs.
This project involves the purchase of a small bus, appropriately equipped with audio, video, IT and other equipment for the purpose of taking Peacebuilding processes to the public at the village, the town or the city square.
It is considered the only way to reach people who would not otherwise have access to these Peacebuilding processes. For the program to be vibrant high volunteer commitment is required.
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