International Month of Peace Workshop
Image 1.1 As Mr. Simons starts to discuss his part of the program as one of the Guest Speaker
The Workshop on the Culture of Peace and Conflict Sensitivity was held on September 20, 2016 at the Training room, 8th Floor Community Center, Ateneo de Davao University. The workshop was conducted by Al Qalam Institute with the coordination of the Office of the Presidential Adviser on Peace Process (OPAPP). Many attended coming from different Peace Partners who are made up of at least 48 Organizations. The event was also part of a week-long celebration of International Month of Peace.
The program began with the typical routine starting with an invocation, followed by singing of the Philippine National Anthem, then with opening remarks, the overview and introduction of speaker.
The speaker was Mr. Jeremy Simons, an American volunteer coming from a private organization iEmergence. To further understand what the workshop was all about, he started off discussing the definition and history of peace and the culture of peace, the integration of gender in peace process support on local conflict resolution, and the common conflicts between cultures and peace. The duration of the workshop went well since the speaker really had researched the topic thoroughly.
(1)Education (2) Research (3) Respect (4) Knowledge and (5) Creativity are the UNESCO Elements of “Soft Power”, he pointed out. It was nice knowing these elements and discussing the importance and relation of each to the conflict which the country is facing.
“It’s all about connections!” he added.
Image 1.2 Mr. Guiani opens the program by introducing Al Qalam Institute to their partner organizations
The participants were keen at digging on how to resolve this unending conflict of the country. They did not just tackle about the peace and culture but also justice. This workshop helped them to see the reality. This workshop became the bridge of the speaker and some of the participants to share and exchange their thoughts and ideas.
