To welcome in the new year I would like to share a video by Johan Rockstrom who talks about how human growth is draining the planet. However on a less apocalyptic note he provides guidance for protecting the worlds ecosystems.
| From the Arab Spring to the Occupy movement, 2011 has certainly been a turbulent year. Maybe it will go down in history as the year when we finally said “enough is enough”.
For me, CISV’s mantra is to create the people who will change the world, and living up to that claim, CISVers across the world have been actively involved in creating globally significant change in their country, some even taking direct action. So coming to the end of the year 2011 with the focus content area Conflict and Resolution, I thought it would be inspiring to share our stories on how we have worked with this topic area. Especially to acknowledge our work done on the peaceful resolution of conflicts, which seems more important than ever looking at the events of the past year. Many thanks to those who have contributed articles, I hope these stories will motivate others to take the much needed action to create a culture of peaceful resolution. |
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| In her very touching piece, Rowan El Shimi describes how she found her values challenged as she got involved in the Egyptian revolution has appeared in IJB Thinks#17. A must-read for anybody who cares about the commitment to peaceful means under extreme circumstances. | |
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| With inspiration from an IPP in Bosnia, Elena Baraldi tells the story of how her experiences helped develop two days of activities for her chapter to raise awareness of conflicts and the aftermath of war. Everything started in Bosnia… | |
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This year CISV Netherlands worked with a local World War II museum to create anIPP to make sure that the youth of today do not forget the terrors of war. Read more… |
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| This year Leeds hosted GB’s first Mosaic programme, working with local cultural organisations to explore the issue of cultural conflict in a local context. The participants and adults had great new experiences of their own city and helped contribute to an improved dialogue between cultures. Read more… | |
Last night in Oslo City we puzzled stressing Christmas shoppers by quietly reading a book about Dugnad – collective volunteer action. You can find out more about the book here.
Here are some of the photos from yesterday, you can click on the images to see them full size.
You can find the whole collection of pictures here.
I was asked to answer a few questions for the CISV Norway membership magazine that has just been released, so I thought I would share them here for people outside of Norway.
You are the EVS volunteer for CISV Norway, what does that mean?
EVS is the European Voluntary Service, part of the European Union’s Youth in Action initiative. EVS gives young people both inside and outside the EU the opportunity to volunteer for a charity in a foreign country. So far while volunteering for CISV Norway I have helped run national weekends, local seminars on conflict and given training on the Mosaic program. In the future I will be touring around some of the CISV Norway chapters and giving practical training on conflict resolution techniques which people should be able to use in everyday life.
How do you like it so far?
I love it! Working in Norway has given me a great experience in working in a foreign culture with a lifestyle different to what I am used to and has let me encounter new and diverse perspectives on the topics which I work with.
What’s your best CISV memory?
My best CISV memory has to be from when I was a participant at an International People’s Project in Almeria, Spain in 2010. We worked with immigrants who had traveled by sea from Northern Africa in search of a better life, however they were stuck with working in greenhouses in the so-called “sea of plastic” which covers much of southern Andalucía. We worked alongside the Red Cross, giving out food parcels in the immigrant settlements, running activities for children with an emphasis on helping them speak Spanish, and giving basic medical care to those who had just taken the perilous daylong journey on tiny boats across the strait of Gibraltar. The whole community came out to take part, to play, dance, sing and eat together. The desperate conditions which the people live in there are abated by food parcels and medical care, but that night made us all realise that people need more, we need to remember what it is to be human.
What would you say is the most important lesson you’ve learnt by being active in CISV?
My work with CISV has taught me the power of people who make the effort to take action and work towards a more just and peaceful world. CISV is volunteer based organization with only a handful of employees across the world, yet we still manage to create hundreds of projects each year. The passion of CISV’s members impresses me, as people work tirelessly all year, not for money, but to give people an unforgettable experience and educate them about peace.
What would you say to someone who is considering joining a CISV activity?
Many people think that CISV is not for them, but I would tell them to not be skeptical but to throw themselves into it. It is true in CISV as in life; that the more you put in, the more you will get out.
Last night I ran the penultimate Weapons of War seminar, with the theme of Nuclear Weapons. We started with a brief bit of history and some facts about the current state of nuclear weapons; who has them, how many there are, and how they are distributed. Do you know which countries have nuclear weapons, and how many. If not, I highly recommend that you check out the website of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. The first file of this page has some fantastic and shocking information.
We watched this video too, showing all the nuclear bombs detonated since 1945. Rather disconcerting when you think about the environmental impact.
We looked at the case of Mordechai Vanunu, who blew the whistle on Israeli nuclear weapons in 1986. Find out more about him in “Activity D” on this page.
We ended the session with a relay race to get as many arguments for and against nuclear weapons.
The “against” team one by 10 to 8, even with the “for” team coming up with a few unlikely (but creative) arguments, for example that nuclear weapons could be used as a mass suicide tactic if aliens were ever to invade. So, with all the “against” arguments, why do we still have so many nuclear weapons ready to be fired in a second?
If you are lucky enough to live close enough to Oslo you are invited to attend a free course of 3 interactive seminars, open to all 18+, held at the CISV office. These seminars will critically analyse the tools of conflict and challenge your preconceptions. Just click the picture to register.
CISV Norway is looking for 2 EVS volunteers to start in the Summer of 2012. Find out more about EVS here. Watch the video to find out why you should apply.
If you are interested you can find the application form at cisv.no/evs or if you have any questions please contact norway (at) cisv.org. The application deadline is December 15th 2011.
Recently I have been in Tromsø and Bergen giving practical training on conflict resolution. First we brainstormed about what a conflict is, defining conflict as “a situation where there are 2 or more goals which are incompatible or seemingly incompatible”. Using this definition we can see that conflict is not only inevitable, but is also necessary to bring about a better way of doing things. We then focused on the word “resolution”, finding that it is very different from purely a solution, and if we think creatively, does not have to be only a compromise. One of the most important skills needed for a successful resolution is effective communication. The participants were introduced to the idea of Active Listening, where the listener takes an impartial but active role to help another person explore a conflict in which they are involved. An active listener is non-judgmental, non-directive and gives the other person time to externalise their conflict. The group used this technique in role plays involving fictional and real conflicts.
The second half of the workshop involved learning about a technique called Nonviolent Communication. This is a technique used to assist in identifying areas of a conflict by clarifying the facts, discovering how these facts make us feel, turning these feelings into a need which is not being met, then making a request to have the need met. You can learn more about Nonviolent Communication at website of The Center for Nonviolent Communication
You can click here to view or download the PowerPoint used in the workshop.
Below is an interview with the creator of Nonviolent Communication, Marshall Rosenberg. In the first 3 minutes he explains how he used the technique of Nonviolent Communication in a refugee camp in Palestine.
The 5th TED Talks video featured here is by Thomas Barnett and is called “A new map for peace”. Thomas Barnett, an international security strategist, presents a controversial yet simple future for the US Military. How can this insight into military strategy give us, as peace workers, better tactics in how to create peace?
Last weekend was the biggest CISV Norway meeting I have been to so far, around 90 people gathered for Høstmøtet (the fall meeting) in Haraldvangen, just outside Oslo. Many were there to attend the kick-off seminar to start working on the year ahead, but a lucky group attended sessions which combined the enigmatic Mango team and the charming Mosaic duo to create the most powerful CISV force in living history – MOSANGO!
In these sessions we delved into the topic of sustainable development, created our perfectly sustainable person and planned a mosaic project in 5 minutes. I even got pregnant! We ended with a quiz on sustainable development, with the points for each question decided by this roulette wheel:
The fall meeting also hosted a set of workshops on democracy for about 20 people, ran by 4 Egyptians and 2 Norwegians. At the end of the weekend the Egyptian guests gave first hand accounts of the Arab Spring and fantastic insights into the revolution. They also showed this dramatic video:
