The Journey of Young Peacemakers

Volunteer work benefits not only these school communities, but also the volunteers themselves

Story by Jaruwan Supolrai, special to Service for Peace Thailand

In the middle of the day, sweating under the hot, scorching sun, a volunteer group of thirteen young Korean students from Seoul National University in Korea, had carried sand bags, bricks and buckets of mixed cement, and are now painting the beam to complete a school library for under-privileged students in a rural village of Ban Nong Yao School in Bueng Kan District, Nong Khai Province, Northeastern Thailand.

Not only have they have learned to give through an educational service project by providing a room to read, but the young volunteers themselves have learned to appreciate the values of the happiness of giving and volunteering through the ‘Dream Catcher Library Project’.

This school library project is a part of Global Peacemaker Camp, which is an initiative of Service for Peace Thailand.  The peacemaker Camp lasted for two weeks. The group had already finished one library for a school village in the Mae Chaem district in Chiang Mai Northern Thailand before traveling down to the Northeast to build this one in Nong Khai.

This young volunteer group is a member of ‘Global Inter-Culturing & Volunteering Club (GIV)’ from Seoul National University. The club does many activities concerned with volunteer work and cultural exchange programs.

“It was my first time to go abroad for volunteering. I feel the sharing communion between Thai people and GIV club members, especially when children ran to me and kissed me while I was walking in the village. I feel that I’m in heaven,” said 20 year-old Lee Yu Bin, a Agriculture Economics & Rural Development major from Gwang-Ju.

Volunteers and students enjoy helping each other to build the school library by making a level floor and painting the beams.  Apart from this, they also enjoy playing with each other while working hard under the hot sun. They can relax, having fun and making friends at the same time. And at the end of the day, the homestay program is ready for them.

To have cross-cultural understanding, it is very important for young peacemakers to live and learn together with people of different background and cultures. The idea is to let them learn from each other, respect others and build relationship among themselves through different organized activities.

“I feel that I have made a difference in the community. I think we all realize that although Koreans and Thais live in different lands and use different languages, our thoughts and our minds are not different. We are (now) tied (to one another) with strong affection,” sincerely revealed Lee Yu Bin.

Before this camp, Lee Yu Bin thought Thais and Koreans would have only little things in common and there would be many differences between them. “But when I saw Thai students like Super-Junior and Big-Bang [popular Korean boy bands] and we danced with some grandmothers delightfully who came to our farewell party;  when they tied strings on my hands and prayed sincerely for my health and happiness, I now feel that we are one and we’re tied with even stronger affection,” recalled Lee Yu Bin.

Another GIV Club member expressed her feelings that “I didn’t expect the people here would welcome such foreigners that much. Maybe that’s because I’ve been living in the big city since I was born, people around me don’t usually open their mind to strangers. But villagers here made me realize that they receive people and things sincerely,” said 19-year-old Lee Yoon-ju, a linguistics major from Suwon.

At the end of the program, school teachers, villagers and students arranged a farewell party. There was a Thai blessing ceremony, a beautiful local performance, and the volunteers were invited to joyfully dance in the Isaan [Northeast] style with villagers.
Volunteers are expected to feel their personal change and growth through this program by giving change to others like building a community library and participating in a cultural exchange program with villagers and children.

“It was a true life-changing experience for me. It was a priceless lesson to communicate not just with Thai people but with people all over the world. This opportunity has broadened my perspective in many ways,” added a 21-year-old Kim Seong Hye, a Civil and Environmental Engineering student. “I could grow up mentally and feel the pleasant atmosphere of volunteer work.  I became more open-hearted to other cultures and new people. I felt happy and special sweating under the scorching sun!”

“Through this program, I think I became a person who has passion. In the past, when encountering difficulties I tried to escape from the situation,” said, 19-year-old Cho Yeon Hee. “Now I enjoy challenge! I think I got courage from this program. Before I was a very shy girl, but when I talked to Thailand’s kind people, I became a little more of an active person!”

O Min Seok, 23 year-old-nuclear engineering major who grew up in Seoul said that “I didn’t know the joy of volunteering before. But when I saw children laughing, and every volunteer enjoying working and playing with the children, it also made me happy. Now I have recognized that volunteering is one way to be happy.”

Many people may think that building peace is a big deal and beyond the ability of just oneself, but in fact everybody can build peace all the time. Peace building can be accomplished by working in different kinds of service work and social activities.

Each single volunteer from the project is in a position of ‘peacemaker’, willing to do social service with volunteer spirit and always ready to give and share with under-privileged people.

“We believe that bringing ‘peace’ is a way to help reduce daily social problems and make worse circumstances better. That is why we aim to encourage our volunteers to be involved in service work,” cheerfully explained Hathailak Atcharakham, 25 year-old, project coordinator from Service for Peace Thailand.  “We deeply hope that ‘volunteer spirit’ will be sustainably cultivated in their minds and will continue to grow more and more,” ensured Hathailak.

After the program, a young peacemaker is supposed to feel the state of being a leader within himself or herself, and appreciate the value of being a volunteer by helping others.  In addition, a young peacemaker should be aware that he or she is not just a citizen that belongs to an individual country, but is a world citizen, who is able to share the same mission with people across the globe to make peace for this world.

Start a change, become a Peacemaker!
Learn more about Service for Peace Thailand at www.sfpthailand.org

Update from Young People Movement for Democracy: Please help STOP KILLING in Thailand NOW!!

Dear Friends,

We really need your help to stop massacre in Bangkok. If it’s possible, please organise the demonstration in front of Thai embassy in your country.

You can also forward to your friends and networks.

Please show them the world does not support their massacre against people.
Tell them that “STOP Killing now”

Updated situation is below.

Thank you very much.
In Peace and Solidarity,
Young People Movement for Democracy

View this document on Scribd

ASEAN Youth Movement Newsletter – Winter Issue 2010

Give it a read and share your thoughts, friends!!!

View this document on Scribd

Globalizzazione e Diritti

Oggi pomeriggio, ore 17:30

Silvia Cappelli espone l’elaborato della sua tesi:

Il Microcredito oggi, L’esperienza della Cambogia

Introduce il prof. Matteo Cervellati

Hi from Elena

HI! Tell us what’s your name, who are you and where do you come from?
Hi! I’m Elena Bardi, I’m 26 years old and I live in Forlì. Right now, I’m working for the Civil Service at the Integration Service Center of Forlì and I work for Laboratorio Mondo too.

For whom are you working for? Which are your skills?
As a part of my job, I’m the secretary-treasurer of Laboratorio Mondo.

Who is involved in your organisation’s activities? (what’s your target?)
Our target are both italian and forigner citizens, the wage of our activity until now is linked to the territory so we try to answer to the biggest problems and lacks in our place.

Why are you an activist? What’s the event that raised on you the need to participate actively in your country’s life?
I decided to take part in this project due in part to my academic background, but especially after meeting some professionists working in this sector who supported me and gave me passion and faith in the possibility of a change that can ameliorate our relations on which we should found tomorrow’s society!

The economic situation of your country influenced your decision?
Somehow yes.

Do you think this is going to be your work for life?
I wish that to me everyday!

Does your family and friends understand and approve?
Yes, people around me they support and follow with interest our activities.

Which was the project you where involved and you liked more?
Until now, the project I liked more was the one about the “Cultural Trip to Cambodia”, unless it was the project I was less involved, was the one in which we measured us in something totally new for us as responsible tourism.

If you could organize an international event, where would you like to settle it? Which topic would you choose?
The topic would be the social inclusion, the place Forlì, because I would like my city becoming the center for this society changement on the topic of immigration, which could become the model for “good practices”.

What do you think about Italy? And which kind of informations do you get in your country about Italy?
I think information is one of the biggest problems in Italy, both from the point of view its gives, and for who runs it, for the same reason of being managed and for the educative’s role taken by it.

——————————————————————–

Ciao! Presentati: Come ti chiami, chi sei e da dove vieni?

Ciao! Sono Elena Bardi, ho 26 anni e vivo a Forlì. Attualmente, sto prestando Servizio Civile, presso il Centro Servizi per l’Integrazione di Forlì, e lavoro per l’Associazione Laboratorio Mondo.

Dove lavori? Quali sono i tuoi compiti all’interno dell’associazione?

Lavoro a Forlì per l’Associazione Laboratorio Mondo, mi occupo delle mansioni burocratico/amministrative, sono il Segretario

Chi viene coinvolto nelle attività dell’associazione?

I nostri utenti sono sia cittadini italiani che immigrati, la dimensione delle nostre attività, per il momento, è legata al territorio per cui tentiamo di dare risposta a quelle che sono le principali problematiche e mancanze a livello locale.

Perché sei un attivista? Qual’è l’evento che ha fatto nascere in te la necessità di partecipare attivamente nella società civile del tuo paese?

Ho deciso di partecipare a questo progetto in parte per la mia formazione universitaria, e soprattutto, dopo aver conosciuto alcuni professionisti che operano nel settore, i quali mi sono stati di supporto trasmettendomi passione e fede nel credere ad un possibile cambiamento in grado di migliorare le nostre relazioni su cui fondare la società del domani!

La situazione economica del tuo paese ha influito sulla decisione di essere attivista?

In piccola parte si.

Pensi che farai questo genere di cose per il resto della tua vita?

Lo auguro a me stessa tutti i giorni!

I tuoi amici approvano?E la tua famiglia?

Si, le persone accanto sostengono e seguono con interesse le nostre attività.

Qual’è il progetto a cui hai partecipato che ti è piaciuto di più?

Per il momento il Progetto che mi è piaciuto di più è stato quello sul “Viaggio culturale in Cambogia”, anche se è il progetto a cui ho collaborato in modo minore, però, è stato quello che ci ha permesso di misurarci, fin dall’inizio, con un ambito a noi sconosciuto come quello del turismo responsabile.

Se potessi organizzare un evento con risonanza internazionale, dove lo faresti? Quale tema porteresti?

Il tema sarebbe quello dell’inclusione sociale, e il luogo Forlì, perché vorrei che Forlì diventasse il centro del cambiamento di questa società nel campo dell’immigrazione, che diventasse un modello per le “buone prassi”.

Cosa pensi dell’Italia? E nel tuo paese che tipo di informazioni ricevi sull’Italia?

Credo che l’informazione sia uno dei principali problemi dell’Italia, sia per il punto di vista che fornisce, sia per chi la gestisce, per il fatto stesso di essere gestita e per il ruolo educativo che sta assumendo.

Fattore Emergenza

Cosa intendiamo per sicurezza? difesa? paura? emergenza?

Il fenomeno delle migrazioni si colloca nel contesto di uno scenario ingiusto al punto da indurre a prendere in considerazione le ragioni dei Paesi di origine.

Risuona nelle orecchie lo slogan “Aiutiamoli a casa loro”, con l’intento di far passare per sagge politiche restrittive alle quali corrisponde il disimpegno sul piano degli aiuti. I Grandi della Terra, nei loro incontri, rinnovano le promesse di intervento, ma si tratta degli stessi impegni presi nel passato e finora non mantenuti. Molti Paesi considerati sviluppati, e in particolare l’Italia, sono lontani, in realtà, dal devolvere per lo sviluppo lo 0,7% del PIL, stabilito come obiettivo minimo a livello internazionale. E’ vero che l’Italia è un Paese con diversi problemi (povertà, malavita, stipendi bassi, forte inflazione etc.) ma ciò non giustifica il disimpegno rispetto al problema dello sviluppo mondiale e neppure la chiusura nei confronti dell’immigrazione.

Alcune economie, come quella della Moldavia, ricevono più di un quarto del PIL nazionale: si può immaginare cosa capiterebbe se, in cambio di un improbabile aiuto in loco, venisse meno il contributo degli emigrati?

La società è lo specchio di ogni tempo ed è il luogo che accoglie o respinge chi vi entra. Le remore da parte degli italiani a livello sociale, culturale e religioso, hanno trovato una sponda nel nuovo decreto legge entrato in vigore l’8 agosto, (Pacchetto Sicurezza, legge 94/2009) che si è occupato dell’immigrazione solo con misure di carattere restrittivo: introduzione del reato di clandestinità (nonostante il numero dei clandestini, dal 2003 ad oggi sia in costante diminuzione, il che significa che il territorio è stato in grado di far emergere situazioni irregolari che oggi, regolarizzandosi, si sono consolidate), aumento dei parametri finanziari, e richiesta del certificato di idoneità alloggiativa plurimo, per i richiedenti il ricongiungimento familiare, introduzione di un versamento di 200 euro a carico di chi richiede la cittadinanza o il rinnovo/rilascio di un permesso di soggiorno, previsione di un premesso di soggiorno a punti etc.

E’ opinione di chi scrive che gli “stranieri” non siano persone dal tasso di delinquenza più elevato rispetto agli italiani, non stiano dando luogo ad un’invasione di carattere religiosa, non consumino risorse pubbliche più di quanto non versino con tasse e contributi, non nutrano sentimenti opportunistici o di indifferenza verso il Paese che li accoglie, ma anzi, opinione personale è che queste persone, perché è di questo che si sta discutendo, apportano un valore aggiunto positivamente rilevante ai fini della convivenza sociale.

Nel dibattito pubblico non manca chi sostiene che nella nostra società è accettabile  una presenza multietnica, ma non multiculturale, e tanto meno interculturale, dunque una sorta di mera presenza fisica in assenza di scambi, intrecci e fusioni, secondo un’impostazione di divisione, quasi ghettizzazione.

Si continua a considerare “stranieri” gli immigrati e a trattarli come tali, la dimensione umana viene inglobata da un sistema restrittivo ed esclusivo che mira a classificare il valore dell’individuo.

Sarebbe più opportuno puntare su strumenti interculturali, sulla mediazione, pratiche attualmente eclissate da un’eccessiva insistenza sulla sicurezza, ma che sono la chiave che permetterà di generare una società aperta e consapevole.

[Elena Bardi]

More Than a Statement

ASEAN Youth Forum 2009, Petchburi Thailand

by Bennett Haynes

We came together for two main reasons. First, we aimed to produce a new, comprehensive Youth Statement that represented our consensus on key issues in the ASEAN region. Second, we hoped to strengthen our youth network to facilitate communication and exchange of ideas, support youth activities and share information between youth working at the local-level. The ASEAN Youth Forum was planned to be a platform to build recognition for youth voices in civil society and engage directly with ASEAN.
Erwin, a student activist from Java, Indonesia pointed out early on, “youth are casualties of globalization.” This statement may seem vague, but it makes an important point. The economic, socio-cultural and environmental changes occurring in ASEAN are having real, negative impacts on youth and we are increasingly aware of them. Southeast Asian countries have young populations, yet there is little being done by state governments to support a sustainable future for the next generation. Whether it is unemployment in Indonesia or Cambodia, unequal access to education in Lao PDR or Burma, gender inequality in Vietnam, socio-political apathy in the Philippines or Singapore, and migrant labor throughout the Mekong sub-region, there are serious problems and challenges facing youth. Economies have expanded greatly and many youth own fancy cell phones and motorbikes, but what are we to for all ASEAN Youth?
On our second evening, I sat for dinner with a Vietnamese environmental researcher of Khmer Krom heritage, a Lao youth organizer of Vietnamese decent, a brother and sister from the Tai Yai community in Shan State, Burma, and a Thai student activist from the rural northeast. We sat together, speaking Thai, Lao, Vietnamese, Tai Yai and English, while sharing ideas about important issues. Our conversation ranged from regional history of migration, the climate crisis and carbon trading, agribusiness and livestock feedlots, global economic bodies like the G8, BRIC and ASEAN, and finally, the construction of dams on the Mekong and Salween rivers. After dinner, it hit me that I was working with a unique group of young people that genuinely care about society and are working for positive change.
But for many grassroots activists, ASEAN’s economic focus is a major problem. Some youth reject ASEAN on this principle, while others question the viability of bilateral trade agreements. To all of us, such an emphasis on the economy speaks to ASEAN’s ignorance towards important social and environmental issues. Yet how do we want to engage with an institution that we don’t agree with? As I have written before, here and here, there is an undeniable value in actually meeting person-to-person, bringing people together for a common cause (though not necessarily a stress-free process).
Statement process
Our participants knew that we needed a clear, specific set of recommendations. We shared common ground on human rights, impacts from the financial crisis, human trafficking, government corruption, natural resource exploitation and environmental destruction. We also understood the potential for conflict between bordering nations, especially from the Mekong and Salween dams and the increasing presence of Chinese investors and corporations in natural resource-rich economies.
We also felt a need to integrate the Young Progressives Southeast Asia (YPSEA) Youth Charter into our statement. After four years of development, the Youth Charter presented a solid approach to regional youth policy, something that other youth networks had yet to focus on. Education, the environment and human rights were productive points of discussion.
The problems associated with the conventional education system are something many youth are already focusing on them. Vietnam youth organizations such as the Vietnam Students Union are working to address this issue, but are unable to take a rights-based approach because of government intervention (Tuan, a youth representative from Hanoi, made the point that the Students Union was “government funded, but independent” though with a government official as chairperson).
Indonesian, Philippine and Malay youth organizations are all fighting against privatization of schools and pushing for youth participation in educational system decision-making. Thai youth from the Youth and Local Wisdom Network called for reform in the conventional education system and made concrete suggestions about the need for alternative education, which includes and supports local communities. Environmental education is also seen as an important starting point for building awareness and genuine environmentalism among youth.
Though the Lao government seems convinced by the “battery of Southeast Asia” concept, Lao youth are able to articulate very clearly the connections between large-scale development projects, such as dams, and impacts on community and environment. Development in Laos has meant a widening gap between the wealthy and poor (especially in terms of education) and environmental destruction. Youth in other ASEAN countries (including those which may not be direct beneficiaries of Mekong hydropower) saw this as an important issue and were supportive of a strong statement regarding the environment. Moving beyond our demands to stop large-scale hydropower development, we urge more support for local, renewable and community-managed forms of alternative energy.
Further, biofuel plantations are not the answer to our energy needs. Such monocropping is already destroying community food resources in Thailand and is increasingly present throughout the region. As Usup, a Thai activist based in Chiang Mai pointed out, we must also look beyond food security, understanding that it isn’t “connected to our rights, it just talks about having something to eat…but food sovereignty is about rights, our choices to plant what we eat, the safety of this food and the diversity of foods to eat.”
Given the dedication to human rights by the Thai Volunteer Service Foundation and Action Aid, the protection of human rights was a key issue for our forum. As one Burmese youth living in a refugee camp on the Mae Sot border pointed out, “we have our own rules and laws, but they are only in the books.” These youth were incredibly brave to stand in front of ASEAN and speak honestly about the Burmese people’s struggle. While rights violations in Burma are the most well known in our region, they continue in all ASEAN countries. We demand that the ASEAN Inter-governmental Commission on Human Rights (AICHR) be an independent body capable of protecting human rights and investigating rights violations. Youth must also be a part of this process, especially for young law students. The unveiling of the AICHR at the 15th ASEAN Summit made clear that such interests were not taken into account, but we will continue this work for justice and community rights regardless of ASEAN support.
There is a contradiction between economic and social development in ASEAN. This is made clear by the environmental devastation (often transboundary) occurring every day. Export-orientation has put small-scale producers at a major disadvantage, and the financial crisis has proven that we can no longer rely on this system. Yet ASEAN governments support this system, so ASEAN youth must find a concrete way to engage and challenge free trade.
The regional economy was a major sticking point for our group’s process. Donaldson Tan’s in-depth understanding of regional politics, economics and even engineering eventually became an essential part of our critical engagement with ASEAN. Several Thai grassroots activists were initially frustrated by Donald’s insistence about economic issues, such as the inevitability of free trade and Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). During the discussion on Fair Trade, Athit, a leader in the LYAP project “Are we youth or politicians?” Can, an activist based in Chiang Mai, Thailand continued, “we are agricultural countries, and we need to exchange and help our neighbors. It’s more about exchange than trade or racing to get rich.”
But through hours of exchange and debate, we forged common ground about the need for fair trade and intervention on corporate exploitation of workers and natural resources. We are believers in the power of local economies and the role of youth social entrepreneurs in those communities. This is where ASEAN should put its support if they truly want to strengthen the regional economy. Our struggle to agree on the economy was the exact opposite of ASEAN’s process because we worked so hard to account for the social and environmental impacts from trade and investment. Perhaps serves as a symbol for difference in worldviews between ASEAN governments and civil society.
Network process
When we first met each other, Che-Anne, a student activist from the Philippines, called our network’s goal, “greater collaboration for greater space.” Later, while introducing the Philippines’ situation to the group, she concluded that “participation is not just about airing grievances, we need to propose concrete solutions.” Based on our Youth Statement, it’s clear that we’ve proposed concrete solutions. But can we bring a network together? Can we call it an “ASEAN Youth Movement”?
Our access and use of communication tools remains an obstacle in this process. At our Media Team meeting, Burmese youth explained that e-mail from several major providers is unavailable, and most importantly, they must be very careful with what they send and receive, and how public that information can become. Following our forum, one youth sent an e-mail that told everyone she was leaving for her fieldwork in rural Burma and would not have e-mail access for the next several months. Most youth working in rural communities have irregular access to e-mail. When we use these tools, we tend to prioritize our communication as well. How can we make contributing to aseanyouthmovement.org or informing friends about an upcoming event a priority?
The English language also remains a point of some contention. For some Thai activists, English represents the loss of culture and local languages, and for Che-Anne, from the Philippines; the ability to speak English fluently is a legacy of her countries history of colonialism. Yet for others, learning English is an essential tool for communicating to a larger audience and accessing information for abroad. These differing understandings of English will be an important challenge for keeping our network connected.
The forum’s facilitator, Aphatson “Ae” Sombunwatthanakun, introduced concepts of a “transnational civil society” and “regional people’s movement” to our group. I think that these are useful for us to think about in working to create our network. We’ve created a group of friends in nine out of ten ASEAN countries, but how do we generate a “space” for us to work together. On one level, this space requires further funding, so that we can host more forums and meetings to develop future collaborative projects. On another level, this space requires commitment from our Youth Forum’s participants. If youth are committed to further communication and coordination, and bring their friends and allies into the process, we can begin to open a space and engage the local with the transnational and regional levels.
Conclusions
“I believe in the struggle of the people, not meetings among government officials.” – Usup
Many youth don’t expect that much from ASEAN. The failure of government leaders to participate in the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum was certainly disappointing, but not surprising. The rejection of civil society representatives in the Interface dialogue with ASEAN was just the icing on the cake. How can ASEAN claim to be “peoples’ centered” while refusing to dialog with the people themselves?
Many youth have said, “This doesn’t just stop at the ASEAN Summit.” Our voices are coming from grassroots communities and pursue ASEAN as another space for exchange. There are important common issues between many ASEAN countries: incomplete or unequal educational systems, youth job insecurity, a widening gap between urban and rural youth, environmental and social impacts from large-scale development and chemical-intensive agriculture.
At the end of her discussion on human rights and ASEAN, Dr. Sriprapha, now a member of the ASEAN Inter-governmental Human Rights Commission (AICHR), told us all, “Being noisy is useful as well.” It is clear that we will need to keep making government leaders listen to us.
We’ve developed a progressive agenda and taking action at the ASEAN Peoples’ Forum (APF) was a first step. Running around the event in pink t-shirts and carrying signs that ranged from “Local Wisdom” to “NO EU-ASEAN FTA,” we made clear to the rest of civil society that youth are committed to working on regional issues. We believe that working for change ourselves is most important.
To learn more about our movement, please visit aseanyothmovement.org
For comments or questions, please contact us at aseanyouthmovement@gmail.com

Get the Project Started!

Hi friends, collegues, sporadic readers! It’s Silvia writing.

As some of you should know, I’m the Director of Laboratorio Mondo, a brand new Association born in Italy to spread initiatives of social inclusion, researches on immigration and discrimination, creation of worldwide nets.

With our activities we address potentially to everyone who is interested in civil involvement and community help but also to whom wants to be part of our dialogues network.

The main goal of the Association is to change people’s believes about immigration a diversity. We think that struggling against prejudices means acting for truth.  Showing the truth means make visible what leads to Peace and what leads to Conflicts.

Our aim with the “Osservatorio Mondo” project (The World’s Observer project) is to share experiences with people from different parts of the world, to give them space to talk about their projects and country’s problems, to create a network and eventually a common initiative.

What I learned last year at the Peace Conference in Siem Riep, Cambodia organized by Youth For Peace (and I think the Authors agree with me) is that the more we listen to each other, the more we grow and enrich inside.

I’d like to thank the Authors who are supporting the project witing articles for free, believing in our goals. We think is important to have the chance to spread your voice and know there is somebody around the world who cares about what you say and happens in your country.

So please write us for advices, comments, ideas we appreciate your participation.
Silvia

Greetings from the Philippines

Ciao, Laboratorio Mondo and fellow bloggers/readers! I will start the discussion on this blog site by sharing some of my thoughts. Thanks to Silvia for including us in this initiative.

LaboratorioMondo (LM): HI! Tell us what’s your name, who are you and where do you come from?

Nikki: I am Nikki Al Ben Santos Delfin, from Quezon City, The Philippines. In case you don’t know, Philippines is in Southeast Asia.

LM: For whom are you working for? Which are your skills?

Nikki: I work for a Non-Governmental Organization (NGO) called Gaston Z. Ortigas Peace Institute as a Programme Assistant for its different programs such as Peace Advocacy and Networking, Peace Education and Capability Building, and Peace Promotion and Studies. Our main work is on Peace-building. If you do not know, the Philippines is experiencing 40 year old wars on two fronts: 1) Communist insurgency struggling nationally and 2) a Muslim nationalist-separatist rebel movement in Southern Philippines.

LM: Who is involved in your organisation’s activities? (what’s your target?)

Nikki: Our organization acts as a secretariat for different networks/campaigns such as: Generation Peace Youth Network, Philippine Action Network on Small Arms, Philippine Campaign Against Cluster Munitions, 1000 Peace Women, Indigenous Peoples’ Peace Women, Mindanao Solidarity Network, etc.  So the involvement in our organization’s work on PEACE are diverse—NGOs, peoples’ organizations, women, youth, children, indigenous peoples, etc.

LM: How are fund raised the projects? Are national funds available from the institutions? And what are your relationship with international institutions?

Nikki: Funding is a major obstacle in our projects. National funds are almost non-existent. There is few funding coming from the government in peace efforts. Usually, funding comes from international institutions such as the UNDP or to other international NGOs like the International Alert. ASEAN, EU and Embassies of First World Countries also help support the local civil society initiatives in the country.

LM: Why are you an activist? What’s the event that raised on you the need to participate actively in your country’s life?

Nikki: I grew up in the activist culture of my family. Both my parents were also activists and activism is a common family discussion when I was still a kid. Also, growing up in the 80’s, I lived in a historical context fruitful for activism. The Philippines struggled against Martial Law rule of Ferdinand Marcos, and had a glorious triumph in toppling the dictator through the non-violent social change famously known as the EDSA Revolution.

There is no singular event in my life that urged me to participate actively in the country’s life but a collection of experiences and philosophies that flourished as I grew up. Poverty and underdevelopment, justice and equality, capitalism and socialism—these are just some of the realities and thoughts that I contended with while growing up.

LM: The economic situation of your country influenced your decision?

Nikki: Yes. The economic policy and practice in the country is also a big influence in being an activist. The economy is a root cause of armed conflict, it is a cause of inequalities, injustices and exclusion of many people.

LM: Do you think this is going to be your work for life?

Nikki: I cannot say if my work in a Peace NGO is permanent, but with activism it’s a different matter. Activism is not work, it is a moral principle that a person lives by. Whether you work as a doctor, a fisherman or still a student, you can be an activist and work on it for life.

LM: Does your family and friends understand and approve?

Nikki: Yes they do. Some friends do not approve, sometimes my family gets into quarrels because of our political and social principles, but generally we are respectful of everyone’s opinions and actions.

LM: Which was the project you where involved and you liked more?

Nikki: I am very engaged and delighted to work with the peacebuilding program and the youth program as well as the disarmament campaigns (small arms and light weapons, cluster bombs, etc.).

LM: If you could organize an international event, where would you like to settle it? Which topic would you choose?

Nikki: I would have the event where money or resources can permit. If there’s funding for it, then another country is possible such as Cambodia, Thailand, or Italy! But if not, then having it in the Philippines would be much cheaper. Not a lot of people are involved in peace, especially countries that do not have armed conflicts or great violence happening in their midst. I will choose Peace as a topic for an international event.

LM: What do you think about Italy? And which kind of informations do you get in your country about Italy?

Nikki: Aside from Italian food (that are actually fake Italian food) and Italian fashion (which is very expensive here, and there are also fake Italian fashion), we rarely know anything about Italy. We know that Italy is in Europe, and Italy has great wine, but we do not know much about Italy apart from superficial and stereotypical notions.

LM: What’s your motto (saying or quotation)?

Nikki: I don’t have anything in particular, but for my Italian friends, I would say “Posible ang kapayapaan”, which is the Filipino for “Peace is possible.”

Would you like to add more?

Nikki: Visit http://genpeace.tk/ if you want to know more about GenPeace. We are also inspired by www.iblogforpeace.org/ so you might want to check this site too.

Osservatorio Mondo

Laboratorio Mondo is running a new project, called Osservatorio Mondo: “the World’s Observer”.

With the contribution of young activists from all over the world, we would like to inform, discuss and let people know what happens not only inside our neighborhood but also around the world.

None of the participants of this project are professional journalist, they are just young people who made the motto “ I wanna change the world, I wanna do something significant for my country” as their work’s aim.

Topics will be decided autonomously by the authors, based on what they do in their own organizations, what is actually important to say about their country or by questions raised inside the discussion we will encourage on the comments section of this blog.

So Welcome to Nikki, Netting, Channy, Maurice and Suvechha!

If you like the idea and you want to be part of it, write us : laboratoriomondo@gmail.com

For this blog’s section we will use English as main language, so write your comments in english, please

Laboratorio Mondo sta organizzando un nuovo progetto, chiamato “Osservatorio Mondo”.

Con il contributo di giovani attivisti provenienti da diverse parti del mondo, vorremmo informare, discutere e dare importanza non solo a quello che accade vicino a noi, ma anche nel resto del mondo.

Nessuno dei participanti al progetto è un giornalista professionista, sono invece giovani che hanno messo il motto “Voglio cambiare il mondo, voglio fare qualcosa di significativo per il mio paese” come scopo del loro lavoro.

Gli argomenti trattati verranno decisi autonomamente dagli autori degli articoli, secondo quelli che sono gli argomenti trattati nel loro lavoro, quello che è importante in generale a proposito del loro lavoro ma anche in base alle richieste che possono venir fuori dalle discussioni nella sezione dei commenti ai post di questo blog.

Quindi benvenuti a Nikki, Netting, Channy, Maurice and Suvechha!

Se ti piace l’idea e vuoi entrare a farne parte, scrivici: laboratoriomondo@gmail.com

Per questa sezione del blog la lingua usata sarà l’Inglese, per cui vi preghiamo di commentare in Inglese, grazie