WHAT'S CONDUCIVE TO PEACE

By Radzini Oledan, Slice of Life

"...peace building entails strengthening or creating democratic structures and processes that are fair and responsive to the needs of the entire population."

THE culture of peace must be taken by government, communities and individuals to heart and mind. While nothing less than a transformation of the status quo is required, the first step is enabling the children and youth to understand that security can no longer come from the barrel of a gun. Peace and security defined in terms of human and ecological needs must replace the prevailing definition based on armaments, violent conflict and war. However, it's true that peace building is not about the imposition of solutions but rather a creation of opportunities. The challenge is to identify and nurture the political, economic and social space, within which local communities can identify, develop and employ the resources necessary to build a peaceful, prosperous and just society. Ultimately, peace building entails strengthening or creating democratic structures and processes that are fair and responsive to the needs of the entire population-institutions which protect and advance the political rights and responsibilities of state and civil society, and which strengthen human security through the promotion of robust and sustainable economic, judicial and social practices. More than the simple advocacy of the avoidance of war, peace building should be based on human rights, tolerance and respect. This could be something more systematic and lasting from the bottom up. For the foundation of peace building and peace education goes beyond the science of conflict that preoccupies the current curricula and aims to create the knowledge, skills and attitudes that will allow people of all ages and levels to develop the behavioral changes needed to prevent the occurrence of conflict, to resolve it peacefully and to create the social conditions conducive to peace. Human rights, cooperation and toleration remain to be the main instruments for lasting peace and not power and subjugation to maintain order. Building the culture of peace then should also recognize the urgent need to correct social and political injustice. Mindanawons had enough of the war culture, which has destroyed so many lives and put the island in perpetual dependence to foreign development assistance for "development" to come in. The challenge then is to ensure that the vision and requirements for peace education are not sublimated by the daily grind of politics that perpetuates the culture of violence. The agenda for peace must transcend the daily market place of politics and confront the war mentality head-on. In teaching the children and youth "how" and not "what" to think we will open up the political process to include those it claims to encompass, move beyond the prevailing violence and cynicism and put peace on the agenda. After all, the most effective way to inspire peace activism and thus, change is through learning.