Category Archives: TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Young Liberian Off to Turkey for Global Peace Chain Summit

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Liberian Observer

Mariama H. Konneh, a young Liberian women’s rights advocate, has been selected to participate in the Global Peace Chain summit 2020 in Turkey. The summit, set for October 15 through 18, aims to provide a platform for young leaders to form partnerships, bring solutions, and theory on ways to reshape how the world response to the 2030 UN sustainable development Goals amid COVID-19.


Mariama H. Konneh, young Liberian women’s rights advocate

Konneh, a student of network engineering with a focus on systems administration at the Blue Crest University in Monrovia, says she has been involved with advocacy since she was a child during the heat of the civil war in my country during which children of all ages were raped, killed and forced into hard labor and fighting forces.

“Advocacy does not necessarily mean protest or agitation, but a way in which we add our peaceful voices to the problems we face nationally or globally to make our world a peaceful place for all humanity,” she says.  “Having witnessed multiple incidents of violence perpetrated against women in Liberia, I voluntarily joined the Paramount Young Women Initiative (PAYOWI) to support their work and add my voice on issues affecting women and girls in my country. I have 8 years of experience in community service, particularly working on gender equality and environmental protection campaigns.” 

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Question related to this article:
 
Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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Konneh says she volunteers with many youth-led organizations in Liberia, including those involved with campaigns against rape, gender-based violence, corruption, and environmental pollution. Hers is a call to duty which she says, inspired by the words of former US President John F. Kennedy: “Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.”

“I am so excited to participate in the Global Peace Chain,” she says. “This will bring so much pride to my country and inspiration to other young people working on the same causes I believe in. I will use the knowledge to conduct trainings around the country and pass-on the knowledge to many other young Liberians who wish to contribute to social change and peace. By transferring knowledge and skills gained from the Global Peace Chain, I hope to build a network of youth activists committed to non-violence advocacy and values of tolerance and peaceful coexistence.” 

The Global Peace Chain has more than 75 peace ambassadors from Liberia, including Konneh, who was selected as an ambassador in December 2018. The organization so far has more than 2,330 peace ambassadors in more than 130 countries around the world.

Established on July 2, 2018, Global Peace Chain is an international non-profit organization that empowers youth and reinforces the vitality of youth leadership and development through partnership-driven activities, Community service initiatives, and peace-building workshops. Global Peace Chain envisions to build resilience by cultivating a culture of tolerance, inclusivity, interfaith harmony, and co-existence through the contribution toward the UN SDGs, peace education, interactive sessions and peace talks with society stakeholders such as diplomats, religious scholars, and community-based groups/organizations. The Global Peace Chain is headquartered in the United States of America, with regional offices in Pakistan, Nepal, Burundi and Mauritius for reinforcing youth leadership and development.

The Global Peace Summit 2020 in Turkey serves as one of our initiatives to bring young leaders from diverse ethnic, religious and Professional backgrounds and empower them to continue developing young leaders and contributing to a culture of peace through the achievement of the 2030 UN Sustainable Development Goals.

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Gabon: Payncop and Unesco in Support of People Living with Disabilities

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY . .

Special to CPNN from Jerry Bibang

As part of these activities relating to the Covid19 pandemic, the National Coordination of the Pan-African Youth Network for the Culture of Peace (PAYNCoP Gabon) launched, on Tuesday September 15, 2020, the support project for people living with a handicap.


The initiative, which benefits from the support of UNESCO and the National Commission for UNESCO, supports the actions of public authorities. The project consists of three components, in particular an awareness campaign on barrier gestures, the distribution of bibs and hydroalcoholic gels and the provision of food.

(Click here for the original version in French.)

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Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

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According to Jerry Bibang, the National Coordinator of PAYNCoP Gabon, “the project involves four associations including the Organization of Handicapped People (OPH), the National Association of the Blind and Visually Impaired of Gabon (ANAAG), the Association of the Deaf (ANDES ) and the NGO Bagniamessebe. It will impact a total of 50 Gabonese families, or around 200 people.”

For the National Commission for UNESCO, “this project helps implement the resilience strategies advocated by the Gabonese Government and UNESCO, in this period of global health crisis, marked by the Covid19 pandemic.” This was explained by Philippe MEMENE M’EYI, its Deputy Secretary General.

The urgent support project for people living with a disability follows on from other actions carried out by PAYNCoP Gabon since the onset of the pandemia. These include, among others, the awareness campaign on social networks, in partnership with the National Youth Council; participation in the awareness-raising video on fakes news around Covid19, produced by UNESCO; the establishment of hand washing points in the neighborhoods of Libreville, in partnership with the NGO Engineers Without Borders and the New World Citizen Laboratory; and the production of two comics, dedicated to raising awareness among young people about Covid19.

Africa, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

30,000 back US campaign seeking Nobel for Cuban doctors

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Anadolu Agency

A US campaign that asks Nobel Peace Prize nomination for Cuban doctors to praise their international efforts during the coronavirus outbreak has reached nearly 30,000 signatures.

Nobel Peace Prize for Cuban Doctors campaign has been endorsed by prominent intellectuals, artists, politicians, and citizens worldwide, according to the campaign’s website.


Cuba has maintained its vocation for solidarity amidst the pandemic, despite the tightening of the U.S. blockade. Photo: Granma Archives

Prominent endorsers include Nobel Peace Prize winner Adolfo Perez Esquivel, former President of Ecuador Rafael Correa, actors Danny Glover and Mark Ruffalo, writers Alice Walker, Noam Chomsky, and Nancy Morejon, filmmakers Oliver Stone and Petra Costa, musician Tom Morello, and singer/songwriter Silvio Rodriguez, among numerous others.


The campaign launched on June 16 describes its mission “to promote the nomination of the Cuban International Medical Brigade, called the Henry Reeve Brigade, for the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize” and “educate people about how a small, poor country has demonstrated to a world reeling from COVID-19 what global solidarity looks like.”

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Question related to this article:
 
How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

Does Cuba promote a culture of peace?

The Nobel Peace Prize: Does it go to the right people?

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“Cuba is the only country to have shown genuine internationalism during this coronavirus crisis,” the website cited Chomsky, an intellectual and activist known for both his groundbreaking contributions to linguistics and his critiques of political systems.


The US “attempts to discredit Cuba’s internationalist healthcare program, from labeling it as a form of human trafficking to pushing governments not to accept Cuba’s aid,” the campaign said, adding that it plans to expose “such crass and mean-spirited sabotage.”


“Selflessness, solidarity and working for the common good characterize what the Nobel Peace Prize should be about,” it said. “These traits aptly describe Cuba’s Henry Reeve International Medical Brigade, which has saved over 80,000 lives since 2005 and has been fighting COVID-19 in 27 countries.”

Over 2,000 doctors, nurses, and medical professionals from Cuba have been collaborating in 27 countries affected by the coronavirus and providing urgently needed assistance in Andorra, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, Belize, Cape Verde, Dominica, Grenada, Guinea, Haiti, Honduras, Italy, Jamaica, Kuwait, Mexico, Mozambique, Nicaragua, Peru, Qatar, Saint Lucia, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, South Africa, Suriname, Togo, Trinidad and Tobago, and Venezuela.


The medical brigade received Dr. LEE Jong-wook Memorial Prize for Public Health from the World Health Organization in 2017.

The petition, with over 29,700 signatures currently, has a goal to reach 35,000 signatures.

Since originating in China last December, the novel coronavirus infected over 16.26 million people worldwide so far, with fatalities nearing 650,000, according to figures compiled by the US-based Johns Hopkins University.

The global recoveries currently stands around 9.4 million.

global, Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

For colleges in the United States: First Year Connect

EDUCATION FOR PEACE .

An announcement from Search for Common Ground

American society is plagued by far-reaching polarization stemming from deep grievances and divides. College campuses have become a battleground, with racial hate incidents, controversy over guest speakers, and heated debates over creating safe spaces or protecting free speech.

First Year Connect aims to combat polarization on college campuses and in American society by equipping a generation of young Americans to engage constructively across their differences. We intend for First Year Connect to be the primary orientation program used by colleges to develop healthy campus communities, reaching tens of thousands of students per year on a fee-for-service basis.

THE PROGRAM

First Year Connect is an orientation program for first-year students that will facilitate intra-campus dialogue and build trust, respect, and constructive coexistence across differences.

Students will meet in small groups (8-12 members) through an online video-conferencing platform before arriving on campus. Each group will be composed of students spanning political, racial, and other lines of diversity within the student body, and will be guided by a highly-trained facilitator.

A wide range of topics will be discussed, such as politics, religion, and personal values, and students will be given the chance to feel heard, welcomed, and embraced before they arrive on campus.

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Question related to this article:
 
What is the relation between peace and education?>

Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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First Year Connect builds on over 20 years of experience facilitating online, cross-cultural dialogue experiences for young people from varied backgrounds in universities, language centers, and youth organizations across the globe.

OUR GOALS

First Year Connect will empower students to set the cultural and social norms on campus during times of tension. The program will enable students to drive constructive dialogues on campus themselves rather than relying on top-down direction from administrators.

Even before starting classes, the student body will develop norms of constructive discourse, helping all students to feel heard and respected.

First Year Connect aims to protect both safe spaces and free speech. Students will be able to express themselves openly while creating a productive, genuine, and respectful dialogue with others.

A greater sense of community across campus will be developed and maintained as a result of the mutual trust and respect cultivated by First Year Connect. Students will become trained facilitators themselves, which will help hold the community together during times of heightened tension.

PATHWAY TO SUSTAINABLE SCALE

First Year Connect has partnered with a state university and a small liberal arts college for its 2-year pilot program. These pilot institutions have agreed to cover a portion of the program costs for the first two years, and then will cover the full costs starting in year 3 if the program meets agreed-upon metrics. If successful, First Year Connect can achieve scale by tapping into new markets through a fee-for-service model rather than relying on philanthropy.

In order to scale, a public relations campaign will target higher education leaders to popularize First Year Connect as the preferred program for orienting diverse student bodies into healthy campus communities.

Search for Common Ground has partnered with Soliya and Tiger 21 to implement First Year Connect.

North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

United Nations: Nothing less than equality and a seat at the table for youth

. TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article from UN Women

UN Women, in collaboration with ITU (the UN agency for information and communication technologies), and youth and gender equality activists around the world, celebrated International Youth Day on 12 August with a virtual event. Co-hosted by international activist and Miss Universe, Zozibini Tunzi, the event featured performances by international artists and vibrant conversations about social justice, peace and security and the impact of COVID-19 on youth.


Watch this video on www.youtube.com.

Opening the event, Zozi welcomed participants and shared her thoughts on what International Youth Day meant to her. Young leaders from Japan (Satoko Yamaguchi ), Kenya (Kathy Kyler), South Africa (Munnira Katongele), and the United States of America (Ayanna Depas) also shared their visions for Youth Day.

Following a musical performance by Maia Reficco (Argentinian-American singer) and a message from the Beijing +25 Youth Task Force, UN Women Executive Director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka reminded youth leaders and audiences that while UN Women was still “a young girl, [of] ten years old, [it is] made up of people with many years of fighting for gender equality.” In her remarks, the Executive Director stressed the need for intergenerational collaboration. “We are encouraged by your radical impatience; it is most refreshing. We need you to be at the table where decisions are being made…in the streets…on the podiums,” she said.

Fire-chat conversations were led by UN Secretary-General’s Youth Envoy Jayathma Wickramanayake and Hajer Sharief, human rights activist and the co-founder of “Together we build it”.

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Question related to this article:
 
Youth initiatives for a culture of peace, How can we ensure they get the attention and funding they deserve?

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In a conversation with Ms. Wickramanayake about activism and intersectionality during COVID-19, youth activists highlighted the importance of responsible storytelling to inspire and mobilize action, and to prevent the erasure of diverse youth voices.

“Every activist has a story to tell, and every story has a solution to give, and every solution has a life to change,” said youth climate justice activist, Vanessa Nakate (Uganda).

Samantha Paige Davis, Black Swan Academy Founder and Executive Director (USA), spoke about the importance of intersectionality: “When you start recognizing the layers of identity, it allows us to create solutions that meet the most marginalized among us. [And] when you centre the voices, the experiences and stories of the most marginalized in our communities, then we all benefit.”

The panelists concluded by sharing their vision of post-pandemic “new normal”. Ines Yabar, activist from Peru, emphasized the need for change, action and solidarity, making sure that diverse youth have space at the table to make the decisions that shape their lives.

The second panel discussion focusing on peace and security featured . Fatima Askira, Founder/Executive Director of Borno Women Development Initiative; Juanita Ibanez Santamaria, Colombian political scientist; and Mallika Iyer, Global Network of Women Peacebuilders. According to Malika Iyer, “gender equality is inextricably linked to conflict prevention, sustainable peace and women’s empowerment.” A gender equal world must also be peaceful, she said, adding that, “peace cannot just be defined as an absence of war or armed conflict, but should include human security, harmonious government and good governance.”

The panelists agreed that upcoming anniversaries and milestones for women’s rights and peace and security, such as the UN Security Council resolution 1325 (adopted in 2000), the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (adopted in 1995), the 10th anniversary of UN Women and 75th birthday of the United Nations, offer opportunities to push for transformative changes on the ground.

Award-winning performers and spoken word artists, such as 25 May Movement, Malkia Band, Yvonne H+, Maia Reficco Viqueira, Manizha, and Masha Brodskaya, also participated at the virtual event.

The event closed with a call to action by youth outlining 5 demands: gender equal Legislation, women in leadership and policy making positions, ending gender based violence, equal access to education; and, youth leadership.

(Thank you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

global, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

Palestine: 15 lessons from 15 years of BDS

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An article by Alys Samson Estapé from the Electronic Intifada

July marked the 15th anniversary of the launch of the boycott, divestment and sanctions (BDS) movement.

Much has happened over those years. Here are 15 lessons I’ve learned on the journey to dismantle Israeli apartheid.

A grassroots movement is powerful because it is grassroots

Anyone who adheres to the BDS principles can join the movement. This empowers and enables everyone to effect extraordinary changes.

The BDS movement speaks directly to people of conscience who understand that by not acting they are allowing states, companies, artists, institutions, universities and businesses to remain complicit and fuel Israeli apartheid.

Joining and taking action allows each one of us to take responsibility and make sure we are at the very least not contributing to harming the Palestinian people. It allows us to speak out and mobilize others to take action too.

The power of the equality that grassroots mobilization brings to politics and the community is instrumental in making every single member give their best and take ownership. No single person in the movement is more important than anyone else. This powers collective leadership.

We don’t work with everyone who works on Palestinian freedom

Unfortunately, there are still those who stand up for freedom for the Palestinian people but do not care about the rights and dignity of other discriminated and oppressed groups.

Our deep commitment to anti-racism and intersectionality means we do not liaise with just anyone who agrees on Palestinian rights unless they also respect and support rights and dignity for all. We cannot build and fight for a new world while agreeing to oppress others.

Think small to win big

Every little success matters. Small victories can help in reaching a much larger aim.

Getting a small pension fund to divest from the weapons firm Elbit Systems  can contribute to discussion of the need for a military embargo against Israel. This small pension fund can encourage others to follow suit.

As we tackle local issues, we must remember the global picture and how being part of a global movement means that what happens somewhere can affect the movement as a whole, positively and negatively.

BDS is also about correcting the narrative

The BDS movement has already contributed to mainstreaming awareness of the fact that Israel is an apartheid regime.

Why is this so important? In a world with such biased media and even schoolbooks that are still deeply embedded in a colonial narrative, it is essential we take time to clarify reality.

When calling for a boycott or organizing a campaign, we must always remember how doing so helps to clearly explain what Palestinians are facing and how injustice is taking place. Even campaigns that may not reach their objective can contribute to explaining what is happening on the ground and what the Palestinian people are calling for, and to raising awareness about Israel’s regime of dispossession and colonization.

BDS supports the largest coalition of Palestinian civil society groups

The fact that we support Palestinian rights does not mean that we know best what Palestinians should do, and it does not give us a free pass to say whatever we want. Moreover, when facing attacks, we must defend our right to freedom of expression in a manner that centers Palestinians and keeps the focus on the crimes perpetrated by Israel against them.

We must remember that, by defending the right to freedom of expression, we are defending the right of Palestinians to make their experience and views heard – directly or through us – by the public and decision-makers in our country.

Privilege Palestinian voices.

Earlier this month, Rafeef Ziadah and Riya Al’sanah wrote  how “it is worth reflecting on why Palestinians are treated as mere spectators in debates concerning our daily lives.”

While the BDS movement calls on allies around the world to take action, Palestinians have a clear, pivotal role. When this isn’t happening, it means we are doing something wrong.

We must keep on decolonizing our actions and make sure Palestinians are being heard and that we take guidance from them while organizing in the BDS movement.

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Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

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BDS has to be part of the struggle for a just and free world

Our oppressors are more connected than ever.

At a time when the right and the far-right are gaining power in many institutions worldwide, the left and progressive groups and movements have the opportunity and duty to rethink themselves and to create stronger, more solid and inclusive movements. We must make sure Palestine is a part of that.

We also must be more connected than ever.

Everywhere you look you will find allies

We have often been surprised to find allies where we wouldn’t expect them. We usually have more allies than we think.

To connect to them we must consider different approaches, language and context-sensitivity. We must ask ourselves, are we helping the movement grow? Are we empowering others to join?

The world changes and so do we

“The BDS movement has shown itself to be highly adept at pivoting to new strategies and building influential alliances. There continue to be numerous arenas in which it faces little effective resistance.” These are the words of Asher Fredman, who used to work with Israel’s strategic affairs ministry.

We must learn from other liberation struggles while bearing in mind that times and political relations change.

While the BDS movement is highly inspired by the anti-apartheid movement in South Africa, the world is very different from how it looked 30 years ago.

We should not look for patterns to copy, but politically analyze the present and adapt to new times. This means continuing to learn, grow and use the best opportunities in a changing context.

Stick to the principles

Like all social movements, the BDS movement is facing severe and sustained attacks. Israel’s government and its lobby groups are regularly attacking and smearing us in an attempt to delegitimize our struggle.

We must not let their attacks shape our plans; strategizing and sticking to our anti-discrimination principles and our proactive and effective campaigning are what protect us the most.

While they seek to distract us from our target, the most powerful thing we can do is to keep on working for Palestinian rights. The best way to defend our right to boycott is to keep on boycotting while mobilizing mass support for our right to freedom of expression.

Supporting our allies is a matter of principle

Solidarity is not unidirectional. At all times we must take responsibility and reject any form of racism, sexism, LGTB-phobia, and any other form of discrimination or bigotry within the movement.

While we call on others to support Palestinian rights, we must show support for other struggles too. Palestine is an Indigenous, anti-racist, feminist, LGTBQAI+, anti-fascist and climate justice issue, and this makes all these struggles crucial to ensuring Palestinian self-determination.

Social movements have always been repressed

The Israeli government and its supporters spend hundreds of millions of dollars on criminalizing and persecuting the BDS movement and groups in solidarity with Palestine.

But this cannot be understood as something unique or isolated. Social movements have always been repressed by those seeking to maintain injustice and oppression.

Activists everywhere have been imprisoned for criticizing governments, and many calls for justice are being repressed in the streets and online. Let us not forget that those most oppressed by the Israeli government are always the Palestinians.

Never underestimate creativity

Using different tactics helps us reach a broader audience. As racism, sexism and disaster capitalism adapt and reconfigure, finding different ways to keep on oppressing, we must also keep on finding creative new ways to engage with others and accomplish our goals.

Political resistance can be beautiful  too.

The most important actions happen behind the scenes
Holding events, lectures, protests and public activities are crucial to show and visualize support for Palestinian rights. But talking to people, organizing, doing research, building alliances and strengthening relations all happen behind closed doors and are what enable us to then go public.

We should never forget how important it is to plan, foster relationships and carefully organize to then build our campaigns.

Hope is a political tool

It is incredible how many cities and cultural spaces have declared  themselves “apartheid free zones,” how many companies have divested from Israeli apartheid, how many artists have decided  not to play in Israel and how many academics have ended  relationships with Israeli institutions as a result of BDS campaigns.

Yet it is often difficult to keep our hopes up while knowing that Israeli apartheid is the cruelest it has ever been, knowing ongoing Palestinian pain and suffering, and seeing Israel maintain its impunity despite its televised crimes. But we keep on struggling and growing because we know that justice can and will prevail.

Fifteen years on, and during a time of global uprising against an entire system of racist exploitation and oppression, the BDS movement continues learning, adapting and growing, making connections, and exposing and challenging Israeli apartheid.

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

Adolescents in Cuba delve into the culture of peace

TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY .

An article from the Inter Press Service of Cuba (translation by CPNN)

Although for adolescents the pandemic has closed schools, canceled projects and distanced them from their friends, a Cuban initiative is encourageing the creation of new ways to have fun together.

The initiative uses the potential of culture to identify and protect adolescents from acts of discrimination, abuse or violence, both in the domestic sphere and in digital spaces, according to a summary of the project.


Foto from UNICEF Cuba

It is also an opportunity for young participants to develop creative skills and enjoy free time in new ways.

This is the first edition of the virtual workshop “Living adolescence in times of covid-19: promoting good practices from culture as a protective environment”, held from June 15 to 26, with 30 adolescents living in the Cuban capital.

The initiative is led by the Caribbean island office of the United Nations Children’s Program (UNICEF), as part of the new Cooperation Program (2020-2024), between UNICEF and the Government of Cuba.

A team of specialists from the a + adolescent spaces Center , the University of Havana and the Enrique José Varona University of Pedagogical Sciences also participated .

It is aligned with the principle that “all children should be protected from violence and exploitation”, focused on preventing violence and strengthening the protective environments of adolescence with a focus on rights and equity.

According to the organizers, this experience constitutes a pioneering and innovative way of learning in the country and paves the way for reaching adolescents through the responsible use of technologies.

Complex stage

Adolescence is a very complex stage of life, due to the multiple physical, psychological and emotional changes that are experienced, which generate fears, anxieties, doubts and uncertainties.

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(Click here for the original version in Spanish)

Question for discussion

How can we work together to overcome this medical and economic crisis?

Does Cuba promote a culture of peace?

As a consequence of the pandemic and the necessary physical and social distancing, this age group experiences more than others feelings such as loneliness and sadness, as they cannot share activities related to study, recreation and leisure with their peers, according to the specialists.

This can be especially heartbreaking for those who live in violent family environments or are more frequently exposed to the risks of digital scenarios, they warn.

“During this time I have seen my 13-year-old son, Adrián, at times anxious, irritable, not being able to go out to play with his friends and stay whole weeks at home,” said Yuriana Sáez, a resident of the city of Moa, in the eastern province of Holguín.

For her part, Tailenis Céspedes, a resident of Old Havana, stated that her 15-year-old daughter Adianet “has been fortunate to live with one of her cousins, which is why she is not so bored: otherwise, I imagine she would have been very depressed without someone her age to share with.

The experience

According to specialists added to the initiative, isolation reduces the chances of receiving professional advice and services from professionals.

For this reason, the workshop was implemented through the WhatsApp social network, an easy-to-use tool that is very popular with adolescents.

This allowed psychologists, sociologists, social communicators and artists to reach a group and encourage them to participate in processes that contribute to the promotion of their rights and the prevention of violence under the concept of culture as a protective environment.

At the same time, it provided them with tools to resolve doubts, socialize experiences and opinions, as well as obtain resources for better performance and self-protection in situations of discrimination, abuse or violence.

Due to limitations in connectivity, so far only 30 adolescents from the capital have participated in the experiment, but the objective is to benefit at least a hundred from different provinces of the country.

The aim is to facilitate the exchange with the teaching team, the study of support materials, the analysis of bibliographic and audiovisual materials and participation in debates.

Some of the participants acknowledge that they have increased their knowledge and tools to prevent domestic violence and violence on digital platforms.

The workshop has encouraged the use of various artistic expressions such as poetry, drawing, photography, song, and radio messages, among others.

Through these manifestations, the participants have reflected their views on the importance of culture to understand and transform attitudes, traditions, customs, behaviors and habits that hinder and negatively impact the normal development of childhood and adolescence.

It also increased their motivation to be part of a social movement that raises their voice, with the aim of ending all types of violence.

Latin America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY, United Nations,

Palestine Must Live: An Online Petition

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A petition on AVAAZ: The World in Action

In 7 days, Israel’s Prime Minister is set to expand Israel into much of Palestine.

Palestine is recognised by the United Nations. But Israel’s government is simply taking it over, in violation of all international law.

Virtually everyone opposes this, but the question is whether anyone will do anything about it. Europe and others have the power to make Israel think twice, but they need to hear a massive demand for action from citizens first. Let’s give it to them!

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Question related to this article:

Presenting the Palestinian side of the Middle East, Is it important for a culture of peace?

How can a culture of peace be established in the Middle East?

(article continued from left column)

CPNN readers are encouraged to add their names to the following petition.

To Heads of State, Foreign Ministers, and Trade Ministers:

The treatment of the Palestinian people has become a stain on the conscience of the world. It is time for the world to stand up and act, to bring sanctions on key Israeli industries until Palestinians are granted full and equal civil rights. We appeal to you for moral leadership and action to save lives.

To sign the petition, go here.

(Thank you you to Phyllis Kotite, the CPNN reporter for this article)

Mideast, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY

France: Solidarity with the struggles of pacifists and anti-racists in the USA, following the murder of G. Floyd

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

A post on June 1 from the facebook page of Roland Nivet, Mouvement de la Paix, France [Peace Movement]

Protests and demonstrations following the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota (USA) last week by police continued to intensify across the United States on Sunday and Monday to protest this horrific murder and the string of racist murders in the US.

President Donald Trump attributed the violence to “thugs” who, he said, “dishonored the memory of George Floyd. This comment, which preceded the announcement of repressive measures against various American organizations, drew criticism from Keisha Lance Bottoms, the Democratic mayor of Atlanta.

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Readers’ comments are welcome. See the form below.
 

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According to Amnesty International of the USA, “the US police do not respect the right to peaceful protest. They are failing throughout the country to meet their obligations under international law to respect and facilitate the right to peaceful protest … This exacerbates a tense situation and endangers the lives of demonstrators. We call for an immediate end to all excessive use of force and for law enforcement officials to guarantee and protect the legal right to demonstrate. »

Our pacifist correspondents in the US believe that current events “should be interpreted as public mourning, from people shouting that the killing of black and brown people should no longer be tolerated. These uprisings across America reveal a thirst for democracy and the fact that young and old of various ethnicities recognize that this is a time when we must stand up against this history of inhumanity that has existed for too long and that discrimination, racism, and the killing of black and brown people must be stopped. For these activists, “Now is the time to change America! We are going to fight together with the awareness that our struggle is linked to struggles inside and outside the country, wherever there is injustice.

Mouvement de la Paix condemns this new racist murder and brings its total solidarity to the peace and anti-racist activists who are fighting a hard fight in the USA.

Mouvement de la Paix reaffirms its determination to continue its fight against racism and xenophobia in France. More than ever, the fight against racism, xenophobia and the rise of extreme right-wing extremism must unite all humanists throughout the world.

Europe, North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY,

“America’s Moment of Reckoning”: Cornel West Says Nationwide Uprising Is Sign of “Empire Imploding”

TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY .

An interview on June 1 by Democracy Now ( Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License)

As thousands from coast to coast took to the streets this weekend to protest the state-sanctioned killing of Black people, and the nation faces its largest public health crisis in generations and the highest unemployment rate since the Great Depression, professor Cornel West calls the U.S. a “predatory capitalist civilization obsessed with money, money, money.” He also makes the connections between U.S. violence abroad and at home. “There is a connection between the seeds that you sow of violence externally and internally.”


Cornel West

(This is a rush transcript. Copy may not be in its final form.)

NERMEEN SHAIKH: Dr. Cornel West, could you respond to what professor Yamahtta Taylor said? You agree that, of course, the murder of George Floyd was a lynching. You’ve also said that his murder and the demonstrations that have followed show that America is a failed social experiment. So could you respond to that and also the way that the state and police forces have responded to the protests, following George Floyd’s killing, with the National Guard called out in so many cities and states across the country?

CORNEL WEST: Well, there’s no doubt that this is America’s moment of reckoning. But we want to make the connection between the local and the global, because, you see, when you sow the seeds of greed — domestically, inequality; globally, imperial tentacles, 800 military units abroad, violence and AFRICOM in Africa, supporting various regimes, dictatorial ones in Asia and so forth — there is a connection between the seeds that you sow of violence externally and internally. Same is true in terms of the seed of hatred, of white supremacy, hating Black people, anti-Blackness hatred having its own dynamic within the context of a predatory capitalist civilization obsessed with money, money, money, domination of workers, marginalization of those who don’t fit — gay brothers, lesbian sisters, trans and so forth. So, it’s precisely this convergence that my dear sister Professor Taylor is talking about of the ways in which the American Empire, imploding, its foundations being shaken, with uprisings from below.

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The catalyst was certainly Brother George Floyd’s public lynching, but the failures of the predatory capitalist economy to provide the satisfaction of the basic needs of food and healthcare and quality education, jobs with a decent wage, at the same time the collapse of your political class, the collapse of your professional class. Their legitimacy has been radically called into question, and that’s multiracial. It’s the neofascist dimension in Trump. It’s the neoliberal dimension in Biden and Obama and the Clintons and so forth. And it includes much of the media. It includes many of the professors in universities. The young people are saying, “You all have been hypocritical. You haven’t been concerned about our suffering, our misery. And we no longer believe in your legitimacy.” And it spills over into violent explosion.

And it’s here. I won’t go on, but, I mean, it’s here, where I think Ella Baker and Fannie Lou Hamer and Rabbi Heschel and Edward Said, and especially Brother Martin and Malcolm, their legacies, I think, become more central, because they provide the kind of truth telling. They provide the connection between justice and compassion in their example, in their organizing. And that’s what is needed right now. Rebellion is not the same thing in any way as revolution. And what we need is a nonviolent revolutionary project of full-scale democratic sharing — power, wealth, resources, respect, organizing — and a fundamental transformation of this American Empire.

AMY GOODMAN: And your thoughts, Professor West, on the governor of Minnesota saying they’re looking into white supremacist connections to the looting and the burning of the city, and then President Trump tweeting that he’s going to try to put antifa, the anti-fascist activists, on the terror list — which he cannot do — and William Barr emphasizing this, saying he’s going after the far left to investigate?

CORNEL WEST: No, I mean, that’s ridiculous. You know, you remember, Sister Amy — and I love and respect you so — that antifa saved my life in Charlottesville. There’s no doubt about it, that they provided the security, you see. So the very notion that they become candidates for a terrorist organization, but the people who were trying to kill us — the Nazis, the Klan — they’re not candidates for terrorist organization status — but that’s what you’re going to get. You’re going to get a Trump-led neofascist backlash and clampdown on what is going on. We ought to be very clear about that. The neofascism has that kind of obsession with militaristic imposition in the face of any kind of disorder. And so we’ve got to be fortified for that.

But most importantly, I think we’ve got to make sure that we preserve our own moral, spiritual, quality, fundamental focus on truth and justice, and keep track of legalized looting, Wall Street greed; legalized murder, police; legalized murder abroad in Yemen, in Pakistan, in Africa with AFRICOM, and so forth. That’s where our focus has to be, because with all of this rebellious energy, it’s got to be channeled through organizations rooted in a quest for truth and justice.

North America, TOLERANCE & SOLIDARITY