|
|
Culture of Peace Advances in Brazil
an article by Lia Diskin and David Adams, Association Palas Athena (Brazil) and CPNN
Local government commissions for the culture of peace are
spreading in Brazil. They are the outgrowth of the Comitê Paulista of
the Culture of Peace, established in 2000 for the International Year
for the Culture of Peace by UNESCO, the City of São Paulo and the
Association Palas Athena. For readers who can read Portuguese, there is
a website
that gives the details on each stage of the development of the first
commission, that of the Legislative Assembly of the State of São Paulo.
In the last few years, three other commissions have been established in
the cities of Itepecirica da Serra, São José dos Campos and Diadema,
all within the State of São Paulo. Three other cities are awaiting
approval by the National Congress of Brazil: Curitiba, Ribeirão Pires
and Cotia. Curitiba is the first to be in another state (the state of
Parana). Also the Municipal Chamber of São Paulo is preparing the
papers for official recognition.
These commissions are composed of both legislators and representatives
of civil society organizations. In this way, they integrate the
initiatives and perspectives of government and civil society.
Because the culture of peace integrates a broad range of program areas,
including not only disarmament, but also peace education, equality of
women, human rights, tolerance and solidarity, democratic
participation, free flow of information and sustainable development, it
provides a platform to integrate different departments of government.
For example, a recent event was sponsored by the secretariats for human
rights and for the environment, and brought together government workers
in health, social work, education and police as well as civil society
organizations in all these areas.
Already the national health system of Brazil is using the culture of
peace in its program called CONASEMS in over 5,000 municipalities to
treat local and family violence as a public health problem. The
materials, based on the principles of the culture of peace, have been
prepared by the Association Palas Athena and the Gandhi Network. There
is also a national program of disarmament run by the police for the
turning in of guns which is part of these culture of peace initiatives.
In the words of Lia Diskin, "We have already made progress in the first
five years of the Decade for a Culture of Peace on the basis of minimal
support and little organization of the various partners and without
much research on the culture of peace. Imagine what progress we can
make in the next five years if we organize ourselves well and work
together!"
|
|
 |
DISCUSSION
Question(s) related to this article:
How can we know if the culture of peace is advancing?
As a reader, you are invited to join in the discussion of
this article based on any of the above question(s): just click on the
question, read the previous comments and add a new reply. You may also
enter a new discussion topic on this article - see bottom of this page.
Thematic forum(s) in which this article is being discussed:
GLOBAL MOVEMENT FOR A CULTURE OF PEACE
LATEST READER COMMENT:
In
regard to your question, the answer is: YES, the Culture of Peace is
advancing. I manage to overlook the indifference and absolute silence
demonstrated by the commercial mass media regarding the Culture of
Peace, because what I focus my attention on, here in my microcosm, is:
*
the great number of Professors (more than 100) from all the Schools of
the Aristotle University of Thessaloniki and other Greek Universities
(University of Thessaly, University of Thrace, etc.), who constantly
teach and support the Courses of the UNESCO Chair for the Culture of
Peace, since 1993, on a purely voluntary basis, without recompense of
any kind
* the students from all the Schools of the A.U.Th., who
eagerly choose and attend this demanding Course every academic semester
and who claim that this Course Programme is the most valuable learning
experience they have had during their studies
* the innumerable
teachers of primary and secondary education, from all specialties
throughout Greece, who constitute the Greek National Network of
Schoolteachers for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence of the UNESCO
Chair/A.U.Th. These teachers are our invaluable partners in the
promotion of the Culture of Peace in the school classrooms. It is with
great imagination, originality and commitment to the Culture of Peace
that they organize many commendable activities with their students in
the classroom. Every time that I am honored to receive Reports of their
work, apart from my satisfaction and admiration, I feel certain that
the Culture of Peace is in the rights hands.
And these are only
some of my sources of strength and optimism. So, what do we really need
the mass media for? Let them go on with their significant work.. . ...more.
|
|
