Category Archives: DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Democratic Republic of Congo: Activities Report of JFDHOP during the 2018 elections

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

by Medard du Rocher-BOPE, President, JFDHOP (Youth and Women for Human Rights and Peace)

The year 2018 was marked by strong tensions associated with national elections in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). On the side of power (the rulers), there was no desire to organize these elections and they sought by all means how to circumvent them.


One of their strategies was to offer one of the opposition leaders the post of Prime Minister, which would allow them to extend the term of office of those in power. This would have bypassed the election agreements of Saint Sylvestre that had been agreed on 31/12/2016.

The electoral center, an accomplice, proposed the delay the dates of the election, hoping to provoke a popular uprising that would enable them to declare a state of emergency and simply cancel the elections for a later date.

Also to circumvent the elections, a coup d’etat was prepared, the army and / or the National Police would take power by force for a few days as was done in the past with Kasa Vubu and Mobutu after independence, enabling them to declare the impossibility of organizing elections as a result of insecurity.

Several strategies were mounted; the most recent was the scenario of a fire to burn up the voting machines and bulletins on the high command avenue in Kinshasa / Gombe. Under the watchful eye of the international community, with divided opposition. Part of the latter supported the elections with or without voting machines and another was categorical: elections without a machine for several reasons:

One reason given was that the Congolese people do not have experience with voting machines. One of the proponents has even stated that he needed 6 minutes to use it, and he felt that those who do not master computers would need more or less 20 minutes.

Another argument was that by manipulating the computers, the results could be determined in advance by programming it so that each vote would be counted 3 or 5 times for one of the candidates.

All this was said to discourage the people from going to vote, to sabotage the elections and allow those holding power to cling and extend their power. Finally, the voter turnout turned out to be low at only 37%.

In brief, this was the context in which your Association “J.F.D.HO.P” went to work. Sometimes, security guards would charge us for being supporters of KAMWENA SAPU. But they ended up freeing us when they could not find any indication of KAMWENA SAPU supporters.

Several activities were organized to offer the population to go to the polls and vote. A motorized caravan was organized in October during the submission of applications, encouraging women to come forward, and to realize that they are the majority of the population. This caravan organized for 2 days in Kimbaseke, Ndjili, Makala, Nsele, part of Maluku, Masina, Ngaba, Limete and Matete.

During this period, doubts hovered over the heads of the Congolese people. Everyone supported the elections but the voting machines were called “machine to steal” and this did not inspire confidence.

(continued in right column)

Click here for the version in French)

Question(s) related to this article:

Can you add to this analysis of the Democratic Republic of the Congo?

(continued from left column)

Faced with this situation, your Association organized a morning with the Youth at the Church of God’s Elect at Residential Limit 13th Street to discuss the subject of elections. The theme was “Democracy and Elections”. The Association urged the youth not to give way to discouragement. They must seize the opportunity because their future depends on it. In turn, the young people gave us the mission to bring them the information about whether they were really”machines to steal”.

Your Association attended the sensitization on the voting machine in Ndjili  [a municipality in the Tshangu district of Kinshasa] and we had the opportunity for the first time to use the voting machine and to ask the necessary questions.

After this session, your Association has once again convened a meeting, this time also inviting the elders as well as youth. We explained to them how to vote with the machine. Young people as well as old people who have android phones quickly understood. For the others, it was necessary to explain them more. And, we asked the participants to reiterate to others, to convey the information that the machine is not complicated, it is enough to have in advance the numbers of your candidates, in which case everything is easy. It is more complicated and takes longer if you have to look for the number of your candidates.

But the tension was increasing around the voting machine. One of the leaders of the opposition declare openly that they would sabotage the machines.

Faced with this situation, your Association with the support of the United Nations Joint Human Rights Office distributed T-shirts with various messages of peace, (among others: voting is a right and a duty; violence is a crime; your choice in the elections; it is the Congo of tomorrow; Election yes! violence no!, etc.).

Your Association went to meet with youth associations in Kasavubu, Limete, Makala, Kalamu, Kingasani, Masina, Ndjili, Mont-ngafula and Nsele to exchange and give these messages in the churches and finally with the activists of the political parties. We first went down to the UDPS / Tshisekedi headquarters at Limete 10th Street. We exchanged with the militants of this party and distributed to them the messages of non-violence and peace. To avoid being confused with the candidates to the elections and to avoid being stoned by the population, the members of the Association wore the T-shirt when going to the peripheral districts of the city of Kinshasa such as Malueka, Kimbaseke, Ferbois , Siwabanza, Makala etc.) At bus stops, markets, etc. we distributed messages and spread this message of non-violence and peace. A strong sensitization was also made to the Church of the elect of God in Limete 13th Street by the president of the Association Mr. Medard du Rocher-BOPE. Your Association has also used social networks (facebook, etc.) for a wide dissemination of message.

The postponement of the elections from December 23 to December 30 further sowed doubt about effective organization. Your Association, always close to young people, reassured them by reminding them of the will of the International Community to bring our country to the organization of elections.

Finally, J.F.D.HO.P are volunteers. After voting, they circulated in different polling centers to see what was happening and to assess the degree of violence. Some of our members were in the center until the results were posted.

[Editor’s note: As of the date of posting of this article, the opposition candidate Felix Tshisekedi has been sworn in as President in the country’s first transfer of power via an election in 59 years of independence. However, there are claims that the election was actually won by another opposition candidate, Martin Fayulu, and tensions remain high in the country.]

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION

France: The “Yellow Vests”. Sixty Days That Have Turned Everything Upside Down

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Pierre Duquesne with Cécile Rousseau in L’Humanité

Since November 17, the “yellow vests” [gilets jaunes] have brought the people back to the fore, revealing the extent of the democratic crisis. An unprecedented mobilization has brought a halt to Emmanuel Macron’s five-year term.

Emmanuel Macron loves, decidedly, the small Norman villages. Before debating for seven hours in a gymnasium in Grand-Bourgtheroulde on Tuesday, he made a stop at the Berd’huis, a small village in the Orne, in April 2018, for an appointment with Jean-Pierre Pernaut. This seems to come from another time.

A year after his election, the president felt powerful. To the unions who were fighting against the transformation of the SNCF, he warned that he would go “to the end”. To the students who were fighting against Parcoursup’s selection logic, he was saying that they had better think again “There will be no chocolate exam in the Republic,” he added, from a grade 2 class. Shamelessly, he said “thank you” to retirees for losing income because of the rise of the CSG.

“A lot of the way has been traveled but there is still much to do,” he said at that time. The capitalists could not fault him. For them, the assessment was already largely positive. The TFR on financial investments was crossed out with a stroke of the pen. The flat tax, an anglicism useful for concealing the end of the progressivity of taxation on capital, had just passed like a letter to the post office. In 2019, the Cice engraved in marble will make 40 billion euros for businesses. The difficulties? They “do not stop me and, I am not naive, I even expected them,” he declared, this president of the ultra-rich. He had not expected, obviously, that social anger would spring up around him, that the cry of greater fiscal justice would resound under the windows of the Elysee, where he was completely barricaded. Nor that this dispute would occur everywhere, far exceeding a few demonstrations at place de la Republic et Nation, and that it would flood the upscale streets of the capital.

“It’s a crucial moment in his five-year term”

We have yet to know if the five-year term of Emmanuel Macron reached a turning point on November 17 or December 1, when riots ignited the chic neighborhoods of western Paris? Or on December 10, when, for the first time, Emmanuel Macron conceded that he had made mistakes, in a televised interview. A yellow jacket remarked to L’Humanité that “The monarch has lost his splendor.” For the President of the Republic, everything changed when he was forced to flee a taunting crowd at the prefecture of Puy-en-Velay, set on fire and still smoking. Later that evening he said “It’s a central moment of my five-year term,” in speaking with deputies of LaREM [his political party, La Republique en Marche]

Nothing, indeed, will be like before. Because we have now seen the emergence of faces and figures that until now were invisible. It was necessary to see, on the barricades and in the demonstrations, the yellow vests in the live interviews of the TV channel BFMTV to understand the satisfaction of ordinary people to finally be shown in the television news.

There resurfaced a whole people that some people thought had been swallowed up forever in the “suburban nightmare,” a “pacified proletariat” succumbed to the cult of goods and property. A “closed session of the ego” where one would live “separated together” in a well-marked routine, far from the world of demonstrations and collective struggles.

(Article continued in right column)

(Click here for the French version of this article)

Questions for this article

What is the future of the Gilets Jaunes movement?

(Article continued from left column)

But this was not to be! Thousands of employees, workers and employees fraternized and demonstrated for the first time.

An example was Dimitri, a 31-year-old carpenter, interviewed last Saturday on the Champs-Élysées. “I had not voted since Chirac and even the, because my grandmother had pushed me! I was not interested in politics but I participated in the first act of yellow vests because I cannot continue to live in this unequal society. In Poissy, we organized ourselves in groups and distributed leaflets in the region to raise awareness. In the demonstration, I met people in all conditions, unemployed, stretcher bearers, young people, old …

This movement will leave traces at home, and not just because he was beaten by the police, during the act IV. This resident of Carrières-sous-Poissy (Yvelines), earning 1,700 euros per month, came out with a knee injury, a broken phone and the determination that he would not give up. “I was shocked, but I am passionate about this movement, this desire to find the right way to justice. As Macron has already repealed the carbon tax, we must continue. This political expression pushes him today to demand a change of Constitution, believing that the citizens’ initiative referendum (RIC) does not “go far enough”.

Nothing will be as before, because this movement combines social and democratic demands.. . . This movement, although it has overflowed the big trade union centers, can not however be detached from the world of work, according to Benoît Coquart, sociologist at INRA. “I spoke with an employee of Amazon, when we met at the demonstration. she told how it is very difficult to organize, to make demands, in this company where there are many temporary workers and short-term contracts [interim]. But what they can no longer do in their workplace, these workers can do through this type of movement in the streets which, at first glance, takes place outside the world of work,” reports the researcher. “Macron will be on interim,” one could read on a wall in Dijon, between two slogans demanding the resignation of the head of state.

“The first social movement of the new global age”

As for the concessions released by Emmanuel Macron on December 10, they did not move the big capitalist of Medef, Geoffroy Roux de Bézieux. “It’s true that 15 billion euros, that’s a lot. But if it helps to restore civil peace, it’s worth it, “he said, before quoting Lenin:” We must always be one step ahead of the masses. ”

Nothing will be as before, because, for the first time in a long time, the dominant classes were afraid of this “monster who escaped his parents”, these people “factious” and “seditious” (Christophe Castaner), this “hateful crowd” (Emmanuel Macron). But their repressive strategy was not enough to extinguish the demonstrations that continued between Christmas and the New Year.

“This is perhaps the first social movement of the new global age, as defined by the sociologist Saskia Sassen. This is an age when states have voluntarily delegated some of their powers to the European Union or independent administrative agencies, removing them from the decision of the citizen,” according to Danielle Tartakovsky, historian and specialist social movements, speaking to Echoes.

The great strength of this movement that has united under the clothing of “yellow vests” individuals from a very broad range of political views, could also become its weakness in the future. For the moment its claims are egalitarian and rather progressive, but it is still far from having the force to be inscribed in the long history of the labor movement. It remains to be seen what will happen with regard to institutional policy. In short, everything remains to be done if 2018 will enter permanently in the lineage of 1995, 1968, 1936 and 1789, as recently claimed by a sign of yellow vests.

(Thank you to Kiki Chauvin, the CPNN reporter for this article.)

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe, SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT

Nigeria: National Council for Arts & Culture moves for peaceful elections

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article by Osa Mbonu in Vanguard

Critical stakeholders and indeed all Nigerians have been encouraged to embrace the long tested culture of peace during and after the conduct of the 2019 general elections.

This admonition was given by a collective assemblage of relevant stakeholders who converged at the headquarters of the National Council for Arts and Culture in Abuja to preach the message of peace as Nigeria prepares for 2019 elections.


Director-General (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe

Leading the call for peace, Director-General (NCAC), Otunba Segun Runsewe charged everyone to maintain the culture of peace and brotherliness that Nigerians have been known for from time immemorial.

(Article continued in right column)

Question related to this article:

How should elections be organized in a true democracy?

(Article continued from left column)

Runsewe gave the advice while addressing major interested parties like the Independent National Electoral Commission, National Council of Women Society, National Youth Council, traditional leaders, NGOs, the media, security agencies and the international community.

Speaking further, Runsewe appealed to other agencies to join the NCAC as it enjoins all Nigerians especially the youths to remain peaceful as the country goes into an election year noting that Nigerians have always been peace loving people irrespective of ethnic or political leanings.

Also adding his voice to the call for peace was the chairman of the occasion, Maj-Gen I. B. M. Haruna (rtd) who reminded everyone that the peace accord for 2015 elections has also been adopted for 2019 and should be adhered to by all players.

He extolled the NCAC for leading the call for peace agreeing that peace is a major part of Nigeria’s culture even from historical perspectives.

On his part, the Executive Director, news of the Nigerian Television Authority, Baba Barau expressed his delight with the NCAC for fulfilling its mandate with a timely initiative like the peace program affirming that Nigerians from all divides will continue to coexist in harmony notwithstanding the outcome of the 2019 elections.

The Peace Program with the theme: Building a culture of peace towards 2019 elections, was organized at the instance of NCAC with the aim of sensitizing Nigerians on the need to maintain peace before, during and after next year’s elections.

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

The project of Arab cultural capitals and cities: 22 years later, diagnosis and perspectives

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article by Mohamed Salah Kadri from Leaders (translated by CPNN and abbreviated)

The Cultural Capitals project originated in Europe in November 1983 . . . , when Melina Mercouri (1920-1994), then Greek Minister of Culture, invited her European peers to “rethink the role of culture in a European construction first based on the economic integration of its members”. The Council of European Ministers responsible for culture responded to this call and Athens (1985), Florence (1986), Amsterdam (1987) and West Berlin (1988) were respectively dedicated to “European cities of culture”

Also, at the end of the treaty of the Union of the Ibero-American Cultural Capitals (UCCI) signed on October 12th, 1982, Bogota was declared in 1991, Cultural Capital and La LaPaz, was benefited of this title in 1999 and now, after almost twenty years, the title is again awarded. . . The cities Montevideo (1996) and Havana (1997) were chosen as part of the UCCI. . . .
This recognition of belonging to a common cultural area is also at the heart of the “East Asia City of Culture” program, which seeks to foster mutual understanding between Japan, South Korea and China. . . .

Cultural capitals and cities in the Arab region

The objectives documented in the feasibility paper of the Arab Cultural Capitals Project prepared by ALECSO and endorsed by the 1998 Conference of Ministers of Culture in Arab Countries, were summarized as follows:

– to reaffirm the importance of Arab cultural unity and present a clear image of the Arab-Muslim civilization,

– to promote the participation of local populations in cultural life,

– to include culture as a vector of economic and social development,

– to encourage cultural and creative industries in Arab countries,

– to strengthen cultural cooperation between Arab countries and with the rest of the world.

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for the original in French.)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

(Continued from left column)

The program of Arab capital cities and cultural cities continued on a regular basis from 1996, with one capital per year. From 1996 to 2018, a number of 21 Arab capitals enjoyed the title: Cairo (1996), Tunis (1997), Sharjah (1998), Beirut (1999), Riyadh (2000), Kuwait (2001) , Amman (2002), Rabat (2003), Sanaa (2004), Khartoum (2005), Muscat (2006), Damascus (2008), Jerusalem (2009), Doha (2010), Sirte (2011), Manama (2012), Baghdad (2013), Tripoli (2014) , Constantine (2015), Sfax (2016), Luxor (2017) and Oujda (2018). For the next five years, these will be: Port Sudan (2019), Bethlehem (2020), Irbid (2021), Kuwait (2022) and Tripoli (Lebanon 2023).

The merits and the limits of the project: some observations

The record of the Arab Cultural Capitals to date proves that they have the potential to act as a catalyst for local development and cultural tourism. The event was a good opportunity for new infrastructure to be built and others refurbished. Historical and archaeological sites are highlighted and artistic activities have multiplied. However, the lack of a cell or structure, even ad-hoc, at the level of the ALECSO responsible for monitoring this program makes it difficult, today to establish an exhaustive report of the actions carried out. . .

There is a tendency, more and more, to be limited to an opening ceremony and a closing ceremony. . . .

While the Arab Cultural Capitals project was a milestone on the agenda of the Arab Decade for Cultural Development (2005-2014), it is eminently recommended now with the launch from Tunis on 22 June 2018, by ALECSO, of an Arab Decade of Cultural Law for the period 2018-2027, to rehabilitate the project of the Capitals of Arab Culture in the light of the objectives of the said Decade. The Capitals of Culture chosen for the next few years should take into account in their programs new developments, namely to protect cultural rights as human rights and to promote the culture of peace, tolerance and the improvement of culture. mutual understanding between Arab countries and the rest of the world. In addition, it also seems advisable to work towards mutual alliances, to form partnerships and to make twinnings between the Arab Cultural Capitals and their African, Islamic, European, Asian and Ibero-American counterparts. De facto, a work on the image of the winning city requires borrowing cultural policies likely to enroll the younger generations in the era of time and prepare them to live in a plural world. On the other hand, did the 29th Arab Summit held in Dhahran (Kingdom of Saudi Arabia) on April 15, 2018, present an opportunity to rethink the status of culture in Arab countries, calling for the organization of an Arab summit exclusively dedicated to the cultural question “Better to keep one promise than to renew one hundred”.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Mideast

The 815th meeting of the African Union Peace and Security Council: Report of the Commission on Elections in Africa

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .

An article from Relief Web (translation by CPNN)

The Peace and Security Council of the African Union (AU), at its 815th meeting held on 4 December 2018, adopted the following decision on the report of the Commission on Elections in Africa:

The board,
1. Takes note of the presentation by the AU Commissioner for Political Affairs, HE Ms. Minata Samate Cessouma, of the report of the African Elections Commission on the twelve (12) national elections held from January to November 2018, namely: in Djibouti, Sierra Leone, Egypt, Mali, Zimbabwe, Mauritania, Rwanda, Eswatini, Gabon, Cameroon, Sao Tome and Principe and Madagascar. The Council also takes note of the communications on the forthcoming elections of December 2018, in particular in Madagascar (second round of presidential elections), Togo and the DRC, as well as on the three elections scheduled for the first quarter of 2019 (Nigeria, Senegal and Benign). The Council further notes the statements of Mauritania, Madagascar, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Nigeria, Egypt and Gabon;

2. Reaffirms its commitment to endorse the process of democratization on the continent, in accordance with the relevant AU instruments, in particular the Constitutive Act, the Protocol for the Establishment of the Peace and Security Council of the African Union as well as the Charter of Democracy, Elections and Governance;

3. Stresses once again the crucial nature of proactive action and preventive diplomacy aimed at combating all forms of election-related violence, early warning and conflict prevention. In this regard, the Council reiterates the central role of credible elections in the consolidation of peace and democracy, bearing in mind that failures, irregularities and bad practices in electoral processes are key factors in election-related violence in Africa;

(Click here for the original version of this article in French.)

Question related to this article:

How should elections be organized in a true democracy?

Can the African Union help bring a culture of peace to Africa?

4. Commends all the Member States that have successfully organized peaceful elections and encourages those who have not yet held their own elections to draw on good practices already observed in other Member States. The Council further encourages all Member States to continue to take appropriate measures to ensure the credibility and legitimacy of their results, inter alia, through an effective and transparent voter registration process, civic education based on inclusion, diversity management, tolerance and the culture of peace, and reiterates the importance of using legal channels to resolve election-related challenges;

5. Stresses the need for strong constitutional, institutional and legal frameworks to establish a strong foundation for electoral governance and administration. In this regard, the Council reiterates the AU’s call for Member States to continue their efforts to strengthen the National Electoral Management Bodies (EMBs) in Africa, as well as their institutional capacities, with a view to help them fulfill their mandate and build their capacity to better deal with pre- and post-election tensions and disputes;

6. Reaffirms the need to strengthen citizens’ participation in electoral and democratic processes, through appropriate mechanisms encouraging citizens to take part in elections. In the same context, the Council recognizes the central role of political parties in electoral and democratic processes and calls on Member States to strengthen their institutional framework, in order to allow wider and more inclusive political participation in electoral processes and risk reduction. election-related violence;

7. Reiterates its appeal to Member States to take appropriate measures to strengthen gender equality and women’s empowerment through electoral and democratic processes;

8. Encourages the Commission, through appropriate channels, to share with the Member States concerned the results and recommendations of the Election Observation Missions with a view to contributing to their capacity to conduct electoral processes;

9. Calls on all AU Member States, which have not yet done so, to sign, ratify, integrate into their legislation and implement the African Charter on Democracy, Elections and Governance;

10. Decides to remain actively engaged with the matter.
 

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

Mali: FOOTBALL “We are all together”: For the promotion of peace and living together

. . DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION . .
An article by Noyine Touré in Afrique Sports (translated by CPNN)

The United Nations, in collaboration with Search For Common Ground, is organizing the first edition of the “we are all together” football tournament from 30 November to 02 December 2018 in Bamako. The aim of this activity is to raise awareness of the culture of peace and tolerance through sport.

The announcement was made during a press briefing this Thursday in Bamako at the UNESCO office in the presence of Ms. Ute Kollies, Head of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Mali, her counterpart of UNESCO, Mr. Hervé Huot-Marchand and the representative of the Ministry of Sports, Diakaridia Diakité, Technical Advisor, who welcomed the idea.

From Friday, December 30 to Sunday, December 2, from 5 pm, the Zone-K complex in Bamako will welcome teams from the North and Center of the country. Young people from Gao, Mopti, Tessalit and Timbuktu will compete for three days to win the first phase of the competition. These different meetings are an opportunity to highlight the values ​​of sport, such as the patient, tolerance, or perseverance.

It is not a simple tournament, but it is a question of bringing together young people from different horizons, in order to sensitize them to the knowledge and the respect of the other person, as well as to social cohesion and dialogue.

(article continued in right column)

(Click here for the French version of this article)

Question related to this article:

 

How can sports promote peace?

(article continued from left column)

Thus, awareness and reflection sessions on peace will be given to young people, to allow them to return to their respective regions with action projects, which they can set up, in order to promote peace in their turn. and tolerance.

Sport has always been an element of social cohesion, all sports competitions and in particular football allows for at least 90 seconds to bring together a whole nation behind its national team. For years, football has been considered the most popular sport in Mali, for all categories, “seniors, juniors and juniors”. It is a unifying element between communities and young people.

In this perspective, the United Nations system through this tournament makes football a central element in promoting peace. It should be noted that for the United Nations as a whole, sport has a significant role in promoting the ideals of peace during the post-conflict period.

The young footballers already on site in Bamako welcomed the initiative to its true value and wished that other editions could be played in the north as well as in the center. For them, it is already a victory to be together with brothers here in Bamako for the unification of communities and especially between their younth.

The main partners of this activity are, with UNESCO: the Ministry of Sports, the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA), the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), the United Nations Multidimensional Integrated Stabilization in Mali (MINUSMA), Mikado FM Peace Radio in Mali, and Search For Common Ground.

Africa, DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION

International Cities of Peace and Rotary Peace Clubs

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

Excerpts from an address by Fred Arment, Executive Diector of Inernational Cities of Peace to the Rotary E Club for World Peace, published November 18, 2018

In the International Cities of Peace we have had extraordinary growth in terms of being able to help and mentor and challenge people within communities to build city of peace efforts. . .

We started with the idea of the city of peace which is an idea that is not only hundreds of years old, but thousands. Jerusalem, for example, means city of peace in Hebrew and Arabic. The concept of a city of peace is really inspirational.

We define peace in a way that is a consensus value. So we define it as three freedoms:

– Safety: Freedom from risk of injury, danger or loss

– Prosperity: Freedom to achieve a good standard of living

– Quality of Life: Freedom to enjoy health and happiness

These cannot be taken for granted. I get emails every day from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, from Palestine, from Colombia. These people have a vision and a hope for their lives and for their children to create a peacebuilding operation in their city that will achieve safety, prosperity and quality of life. . .

This is about Rotary because Rotary has such intense potential to create peace in the world. . . Every Rotary Club has this need and desire to create a better community . . . Rotary Peace Clubs are a huge benefit not only through the United States but throughout the world . . . International Cities of Peace fits in as a pathway to build stronger Rotary Clubs. . . . It’s a platform for inspiring community action, for creating larger peace within the community . . . and it’s a way for Rotary Clubs to connect to the global family where there are people in great need . . .

As of this morning we now have over 224 cities of peace in 50 countries on 6 continents. The last one this morning was Hyderabad in Pakistan which we just learned about over the past couple of months.

It takes several months for people to create a city of peace initiative. It’s not just a signature on a piece of paper. . . It’s rigourous and that is why it is making a difference. There are five steps to establishing a community as an International City of Peace:

1. Get signatures on a Letter of Intent. . . It must be community-wide. The signature has to do with the culture of peace as defined by UNESCO and signing up for that.

2. Write a vision, mission, and goals statement for their unique community. We help them through that, engagig about 500 different people working with International Cities of Peace who serve as mentors for people around the world.

(Continued in right column)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

(Continued from left column)

3. Send photos and captions of local peace events and we create a free web page for each of our cities with contact information.

4. Submit a photo and bio for the leader of the group

5. Write a statement about the peace legacy of the community. Every community has a peace legacy, whether it’s teachers or artists. Our children need to know about the peace work that has been done in their community.

It’s a rigorous process that people go through. The key word is “transformative.” The people who develop city of peace initiatives transform themselves personally. It’s a different way of thinking about the world. How can we create a culture of peace? . . .

Here is the UNESCO definition of the culture of peace to which they adhere in their Letter of Intent:

– Education

– Sustainable economic development

– Human rights

– Equality of women and men

– Democratic participation

– Understanding and tolerance

– Free flow of information

– International peace and security

It’s amazing how, around the world, some of these items are very controversial, for example, equality of women and men, democratic participation. They are literally at risk when they sign the Letter of Intent to create what UNESCO has said is a culture of peace. And, there’s Hindus and Muslims and Buddhists and Christians and Jews and all of the different religions. The UNESCO resolution did not address directly the cultures of faith, so what we added, when someone creates a city of peace they sign a document that says they are going to be inclusive and we use the Golden Rule as the moral ethic for creating a city of peace. It’s very inclusive of all creeds and religions and races and cultures. . .

I want to tell a few amazing stories about International Cities of Peace and reflect on their connection to Rotary [for details, see minutes 19-23 in the YouTube broadcast]. . . .

In conclusion, our goal is to establish 1000 Cities of Peace around the world by year 2025. Imagine the difference that could make in the lives of our 7 billion companions on Earth. By creating the global infrastructure of peace, the great challenges and issues of our time could be addressed locally through democratic and reasoned debate and action. The dynamic of top-down prescriptions for how to create peace has not worked so well. It is only through bottom-up, “in situ” peace building by citizens who know the needs of their communities that will foster the kind of commitment and compassion that will change the world… and change the world, we will.

For more information on how to establish your community as an International City of Peace, send an email to info@internationalcitiesofpeace.org, or go to www.internationalcitiesofpeace.org for an easy-to-use web resource.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, global

Madrid: Women close the Anti-Violence Forum with a message of peace

. . WOMEN’S EQUALITY . .

An article from Ultima Hora (Note: Also available from Europapress)

Ten women leaders of politics and society closed today [Nov 8] the II World Forum on Urban Violence and Education for Coexistence and Peace in Madrid with a message of peace.

“Women do not shy away from conflict. When there is injustice, it must be revealed, “said the mayor of the Spanish capital, Manuela Carmena. “But the big difference is that we do not use violence to resolve conflicts. Women are agents of peace.”

For two hours before an audience that interrupted the interventions with applause, the participants discussed from a feminist perspective a large part of the topics of the forum organized by the city council of Madrid in the Matadero cultural venue, which included dozens of papers, workshops and events.

Mayor Carmena had the last word, sending a message of hope and asking for a cultural change. “Why have we chosen this extraordinary panel to finish? It has an explanation: we have defined 2018 as the violet year. Millions of women went out to the streets to remember that the prominence of women is still pending. We must be protagonists in the 21st century and in the following centuries,” she said.

“Violence is still linked to the culture of machismo and that erroneous concept of masculinity. Earlier we heard that in Latin America there are 400 homicides a day. But that statistic does not say that most are committed by men. Just 1 percent are committed by women,” she added.

“We have to say it. Women do not have their hands stained with blood, “said Carmena, who nevertheless pointed out that the culture of peace has been moving forward in the 20th century despite the atrocities of world wars.

As noted, interpersonal violence has been reduced by 16 percent. “And that’s partly due to the triumph of women’s values,” she said. “You just have to read the women of the past. The war correspondents all spoke against the war, but they were not listened to. Now we are here their daughters and granddaughters so that it is known that the voice of women is the voice of peace “.

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for a version in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

Do women have a special role to play in the peace movement?

(Continued from left column)

Sitting next to Carmena, the Ibero-American General Secretary, Rebeca Grynspan, drew a somewhat more pessimistic picture of Latin America, which she described as “one of the most violent regions in the world.”

To the data of 400 daily homicides, she added that more than half of citizens say they live with fear. In addition, she stated that many countries in the region are among the worst in feminicide statistics.

“We must change the conception of masculinities and we must ensure that women have more autonomy,” said the Costa Rican official, who also pointed out some immediate measures that can be taken to reduce violence in the cities.

“We know that where public areas are set up for sport, culture or art, violence is reduced. We know that where there is less overcrowding violence is reduced. We know that putting more light on the city reduces violence. But we also need a longer-term vision,” she said.

The Latin American region was also represented by the president of the Association of Municipalities of Bolivia, Rocío Alejandra Molina, and by the mayor of Rosario, Mónica Fein.

Molina said that her country is in a “process of change” and stressed that more than 50 percent of Bolivian parliamentarians are women, but that there is still much to be done to eradicate “structural violence.” For her part, Fein recalled the strength of the feminist movement in Argentina and the struggle to pass a law in favor of the voluntary interruption of pregnancy. “We have won many battles, but there are still many battles to be fought,” she warned.

Other participants in the panel included: Liv Torres, executive director of the Nobel Peace Center; Concepción Gamarra, mayor of Logroño and first vice president of the FEMP; Beatrice Fihn, executive director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons; Emilia Saiz, General Secretary of UCLG; Elena Biurrun, Mayor of Torrelodones, and Tunisian Ouided Bouchmaoui, Nobel Peace Prize 2015.

In her brief closing speech, Carmena thanked Pope Francis for the message of support he sent to the forum and that was read during the women’s talk, as well as insisting on what he said on Monday at the inauguration, citing the legendary former South African president Nelson Mandela: “Violence is not intrinsic in the human being.”

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe, global,

The II Forum on Urban Violence closes in Madrid with the commitment to an agenda of cities of coexistence and peace

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article from Tercera Informacion (translation by CPNN)

The II World Forum on Urban Violence and Education for Coexistence and Peace closes Thursday [November 10] with the commitment to elaborate an agenda of cities of peace. Madrid continues the line started in April last year when, in the first edition of this meeting, a line of work was opened that highlighted the potential of cities as a stage to advance in the achievement of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (ODS), through the construction of a culture of peace.

The instruments to materialize such actions include:

– implement policies of caring rather than policies of security;

– articulate with the state governments the preparation, implementation and supervision of action plans for the prevention of violence;

– develop local action plans to address them.

In this sense, both the Forum and the commitment with which it closes its second edition “could become the basis for a more continuous and systematic expression of a local effort aimed at the prevention of violence.”

Pope Francis sent, through the archbishop of Madrid, Carlos Osoro, a letter to all the participants in the II World Forum on Urban Violence in which he expressed his hope that these days have served for dialogue and exchange: “That they have been an auspicious occasion to promote the construction of the social fabric of our towns and cities, so fragmented today by selfishness, injustice and aggression.”

(Continued in right column)

(Click here for a version in Spanish)

Questions for this article:

How can culture of peace be developed at the municipal level?

(Continued from left column)

The Pope’s letter also encourages all participants to welcome certain people in a special way: “To the most fragile members, to the marginalized, to the discarded, so that they may have the opportunity to feel at home in a community that welcomes, integrates, sustains, and favors the recognition of the other in his own wealth and diversity.”

The words of the Holy Father were read by Carlos Osoro in the plenary on interreligious dialogue that was held early in the morning. Subsequently, Juan Luis Cano, the moderator of the closing, who read the letter during that session concluded the forum in a roundtable with a dozen women with experience in institutional representation and in government work and who have participated or actively participate in public life and the responsibilities of city government.

Women, agents of peace

“Women can feel safe being agents of peace. The most positive data on the culture of peace according to the latest statistics available for 2014 show that 16% of interpersonal violence has been reduced in the world “. This was pointed out by Mayor Carmena during the closing ceremony of the second edition of a forum that exceeded the figures of the previous year by bringing together 5,000 participants and sharing1000 experiences.

Liv Torres, executive director of the Nobel Peace Center, recalled that the regard and presence of women in conflict resolution is more important than ever: “The processes of mediation in which women participate last longer and they are more sustainable over time. We have to sit next to each other, support each other and show the value of women in their role as leaders.”

For its part, the Ibero-American General Secretary, Rebecca Grynspan, has pointed out that inequality is one of the main causes of violence and has added: “In Latin America there are 400 homicides per day but 80% of those cases occur in 2% of the Latin American territory.”

All have agreed on the importance of talking about education, changing the conception of masculinity and giving more economic autonomy to women to ensure that future generations really live in cities of peace.

After the debate, 400 girls and boys, between 12 and 16 years old, from different schools in the two districts of Valleca, have drawn the symbol of peace in Plaza Matadero, accompanied by an orchestra of social excluded children, an action initiated by the NGO Mundo sin Guerras.

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Europe

7th Fair of Nonviolent Initiatives in Quito, Ecuador

.. DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION ..

An article and photo album by Walker Vizcarra in Pressenza (reproduced according to a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International license) (translation by CPNN)

Questions for this article:

Can festivals help create peace at the community level?

More than 15 organizations that develop activities, projects and initiatives for active nonviolence, building a culture of peace, non-discrimination and respect for diversity have come together on the boulevard the United Nations in the city of Quito, last Saturday October 27th for the 7th Fair of Nonviolent Initiatives , which is one of the iconic activities carried out during “Nonviolent October.”

NonViolent October brought together collectives and organizations from 14 cities that launched more than 100 initiatives between the last week of September and the entire month October which ended a few days ago.

Click here for the photo album.

(Click here for a Spanish version of this article or here for a version in French. )

DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION, Latin America