College of Psychology and Humanistic Studies

INTERNATIONAL WOMEN'S DAY: A DAY TO CELEBRATE 1325

By BETTY REARDON, Founder Emeritus, International Institute on Peace Education

 

For those who have been striving for the realization of the human rights of women, the first week of March - the 8^th day of which is International Women’s Day - is a time of in-gathering of the international women’s movements with the convening of the annual session of the United Nations Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). This year, the 56^th CSW session brings women (and a few but increasing number of men) from all over the world, some of them representing the member states that sit on the Commission, charged with advancing UN policy statements adopted over the past half century to “reaffirm…the equal rights of men and women….” in such documents as the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination against Women, the Beijing Platform for Action, and Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women Peace and Security.

From Dictatorship to Democracy 2.0

Well before the Arab Spring and the current direct democracy movement, Clay Shirky not only argued that social media represented the “greatest increase in human expressive capability in history,” but that it would radically empower individuals at the expense of their own governments. In response, a more skeptical Evgeny Morozov cautioned that there was a flip side to this ‘good news’ story – i.e., both the internet and social media can just as readily enhance the legitimacy of authoritarian regimes (and stifle political change) than not. Well, given the dual nature that social media has, and given our incorrigible optimism here at the International Relations and Security Network, today we would like to burnish further the pro-empowerment case. In particular, we would like to look at Gene Sharp’s legendary handbook of non-violent resistance,From Dictatorship to Democracy: A Conceptual Framework for Liberation, but from a social media perspective.

US Institute of Peace engages teachers and students with new resources

As part of its mission to educate key audiences about peacebuilding and conflict management, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) in February activated a virtual Global Peacebuilding Center, providing younger audiences and educators with substantial peacebuilding resources and activities.

The website––www.buildingpeace.org––is the digital arm of USIP’s onsite Global Peacebuilding Center, a public education space which extends USIP’s educational work to new audiences through multimedia exhibits and educational programs.

The new website features educational materials, a Virtual Passport experience, and many ways for young people to learn about the work of USIP and the importance of peacebuilding.

The time is right for the human right to peace

No time is more appropriate than now to build the culture of peace. No social responsibility is greater nor task more significant than that of securing peace on our planet on a sustainable foundation. Today's world with its complexities and challenges is becoming increasingly more interdependent and interconnected. The sheer magnitude of it requires all of us to work together.

By Anwarul K. Chowdhury

Recognition of the human right to peace by the international community, particularly the United Nations, will surely generate the inspiration in creating the much-needed culture of peace in each one of us.

Nearly thirteen years ago in 1998, on the occasion of the 50th anniversary of the Universal Declaration on Human Rights, a group of civil society organizations launched a global campaign for the recognition by all of the human right to peace. They declared, "We are convinced that after this century with its horrible wars, barbarism and crimes against humanity and human rights, it is high time for the 'Human Right to Peace' ".

They elaborated by underscoring that "the right to live is not applied in times of war – this contradiction and the undermining of the universality of human rights must be ended by the recognition of the human right to peace". They called upon all "to prevent violence, intolerance and injustice in our countries and societies in order to overcome the cult of war and to build a Culture of Peace".

Both objectives still remain elusive, unattained – human right to peace has not yet been fully, formally and directly recognized as well as efforts needed for advancing the culture of peace remain sidelined in the UN system.

Celebrating the right to education

©UNESCO/Mustafa R. M. Daras

Under human rights law, governments everywhere are obliged to facilitate the right to education, according to a recent UN report. They must also secure sustainable investment in education. Prepared by the UN Special Rapporteur on the right to education, the report also addresses education in contexts affected by conflict and disaster.

The right to education is also at the heart of an ongoing consultation of UNESCO Member States. Launched in September 2011, it concerns the implementation of the Convention and Recommendation against Discrimination in Education (2006-2011). 

An exhibition of graphic, brightly-coloured posters illustrating the right to education will be launched on 8 December in the context of the partnership between UNESCO and the NGO “Posters4tomorrow”. A video of the posters is on YouTube.  

Education as a human right and teaching and learning about human rights are two aspects of UNESCO’s rights-based work in education. Knowledge of rights and freedoms ensures  respect for the rights of all. Human rights education creates a “human rights-friendly” environment. It aims to develop learners’ competencies to apply a rights-based approach to everyday issues for a sustainable and peaceful future.  

How to learn nonviolent resistance as King did

by Mary Elizabeth King

Original post can be found on the Waging Nonviolence website

How does one learn nonviolent resistance? The same way that Martin Luther King Jr. did—by study, reading and interrogating seasoned tutors. King would eventually become the person most responsible for advancing and popularizing Gandhi’s ideas in the United States, by persuading black Americans to adapt the strategies used against British imperialism in India to their own struggles. Yet he was not the first to bring this knowledge from the subcontinent.

By the 1930s and 1940s, via ocean voyages and propeller airplanes, a constant flow of prominent black leaders were traveling to India. College presidents, professors, pastors and journalists journeyed to India to meet Gandhi and study how to forge mass struggle with nonviolent means. Returning to the United States, they wrote articles, preached, lectured and passed key documents from hand to hand for study by other black leaders.

Learning from failure to improve peace education work

 By ELTON SKENDAJ, Visiting Research Fellow, Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame

Original post found in the Global Campaign for Peace Education Newsletter, February 2012 issue.

I write this as a research fellow at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame, where reflection and action in peace research are encouraged. In a review of current practices of peace education by US Institute of Peace, the writers celebrate the diversity of peace practice, but sound a note of caution that we need better evaluation of the strategies that work in peace education. In this spirit of reflection, I want to make a plea for learning from our failures and sharing information about when our strategies work and when they don’t. As peace educators, we often share information about what we consider successful outcomes of our efforts, and failures to achieve the peace we seek are used to justify the claim that more peace education activities are needed.

Stanley Krippner and Steven Pritzker will Teach Personal Mythology Workshop at Esalen May 18-20

Your personal myths—the hidden themes and stories of your life—could be subconsciously shaping the way you live today. Personal myths are generated from family, society, and your own experience. When you become aware of your guiding personal myths, you can examine them to determine whether they are more functional than dysfunctional. This process can help you identify myths that no longer serve you, which reduces the power they have to influence your thinking and decisions.

This workshop is based on the award-winning book The Mythic Path, written by David Feinstein and Stanley Krippner. 

You will participate in a series of personal rituals designed to help you scrutinize your own myths in light of the culture (or cultures) in which you grew up. We’ll embark on a five-stage process of discovery using psychodrama, writing, dreamwork, and artwork to journey into the past and possible futures, and we’ll explore how personal myths affect each moment of the present. 

Join us for an opportunity to understand more about yourself, which may help you develop options that have the potential to change your life. If you've taken this course at Saybrook University or at a workshop elsewhere, you know how powerful it can be so recommend the experience to friends who you think may find it helpful. Discovering the guiding stories of your past can help you create a vision for your future.

For further information please go to: 

http://webapp.esalen.org/workshops/11097

Personal Mythology is an elective in both the M.A. and PhD in Psychology with a Specialization in Creativity Studies at Saybrook University. For additional information go to these links:

http://www.saybrook.edu/phs/academicprograms/psy/cshttp://www.saybrook.edu/phs/academicprograms/psy/phdcs

 

 

Whitney Houston, creativity, and drug use -- When is Enough Enough?

by Steven R. Pritzker

When I was producing television, I met Whitney Houston. She was suggested by a network for a guest role on a show I was producing. I had never heard of her so they sent over a copy of her singing "I'm Saving All My Love for You." Before the song was over, I knew that I was willing to give her a shot even though she had never acted before. Not only was she a fantastic singer, but she really jumped off the screen with a luminous energy.

The week that we did the taping, Whitney couldn't have been nicer. She was about 20 at the time and seemed to be surprised and delighted at her new found fame. As I've watched her very public struggle with drugs and an abusive marriage, it has been heartbreaking. How did that joyous talented young woman turn into a pathetic drug addict?

Of course it is a common story in the entertainment business and especially among musicians. Quincy Jones, the renowned music producer, said on CBS News that he "was angry about her drug use" but recalled the similar problems of Ray Charles and Jimi Hendrix. He offered his opinion that he doesn't think there's going to be any change in the music industry in a clip available at http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7398559n&tag=mncol;lst;1

Guide to international careers in conflict resolution and development

This is an edited version of a post by Craig Zelizer on the Peace and Collaborative Development Network.

Finding the right job in conflict resolution, international development and related fields requires a combination of the right experience and training, an understanding of the field, developing strong connections and a bit of serendipity. In addition to academic and/or professional training, it is essential to have an understanding of how conflict resolution works in practice. Many people working in conflict related jobs, will not find employment with "conflict resolution organizations" but with organizations in others sectors (international development, education, environment, business) working on conflict related jobs. Thus it is also important in the job search to broaden your scope to include international development organizations, government and intergovernmental institutions, for-profit and business institutions, educational institutions, and more.