The International Institute on
Peace Education

2005 Program
Plenary & Workshop Descriptions

Community Art Project
Baris Karayazgan - Turkey
Recyclable Waste Sculpture Project

"Recyclable Waste Sculpture Project" consists of several levels . The project contains environmental, social and communal art stages . The environmental and the social part of the project takes place before the workshop and is very crucial to the project . We will go over all the aspects about how these are all connected and talk about the facts of the workshop in the beginning . The environmental part involves the learning and practicing recycling (esp .plastics - mostly bottles) and its importance for our world . The social aspect of the project starts when kids start to share this information with others (families, friends, schoolmates, neighbors, people in their community…) . Kids should explain the project and try to get them involved in it by collecting recyclable wastes . The final part of the project is a workshop which brings me (the artist) and the community (mostly kids as participants and families as viewers; and in this context, the Institute participants) together to create a "Recyclable Waste Sculpture" in less than 2 hours.  

Day 2 – July 25 (Monday)

Plenary Panel 1
THEME: Peace Education for Constructive Change
Moderator: Janet Gerson

Liutauras Degesys - Lithuania
Art as the Chance in the Perspective of Intercultural Misunderstanding
This presentation is principally aimed for the incorporation of intercultural understanding by the means of philosophical and civic education into both the school curriculum and the daily life of the school . Art incorporated into the school curriculum may help the teachers to detect and solve the problems which they face improving relations between pupils of different cultural backgrounds and different mentalities . It is based on the idea that art may develop understanding of inextricable interrelation of all people, places, environments and cultures, enabling students to develop skills that will help them to combat prejudice and discrimination . Incorporating Art into the teaching of social sciences may enable pupils to respond positively to the opportunities and challenges of the rapidly changing world, it should reflect the enduring values that contribute to the social justice, respecting differences and human rights . It aims to portray a more balanced view, seeing the positive as well as negative and highlighting similarities as well as differences of historical and social contexts of different cultures.

Asha Hans - India
South Asians films: Militarism and Patriarchy
The presentation looks at films from South Asia as a medium of art which is being used most commonly by educators. I begin the presentation with an overall view of films which are both mainstream and documentary made by women directors. The presentation will then move to a particular set of films known to many writers globally which deal with patriarchy and militarism. These films by Ananta Patwardhan introduce the issue directly but unfortunately Patwardhan later finds diverges from the main issue and therefore finds it difficult to link it to daily issues which women face in a patriarchal society.

Pat Mische – USA
Cosmic Creativity and Peace Education: Awakening Human Creativity for Peace Human creativity is a continuation of cosmic and Earth creativity . At each crisis in cosmic and planetary evolution, when existence was threatened by impasses and annihilation, tremendous creativity was summoned, not only to find a way through, but ultimately leading to greater life . This cosmic creativity has been characterized by increasing: 1) differentiation, 2) interiority and subjectivity; and 3) communion . Now, when warfare and structural violence threaten human existence and planetary health, peace educators must help awaken and nurture tremendous human creativity as a path to greater life . This presentation will consider the creative processes as they relate to the 3 principles of increasing differentiation, subjectivity, and communion, and offer concrete examples of this creativity at work for peace and nonviolence .

Concurrent Workshop Session A

1) Rehearsal for the Revolution
(Charlotta Andersson – Sweden, Jill Becker – USA, Maria Damato – USA) This workshop is designed for the participants to step outside their preconceived ideas of theatre and to work towards the sharing of ideas rather than entertainment . The instructors hope to create discourse through theater exercises that will address issues of concern within systems of oppression . Through games, exercises and dialogue the participant will be encouraged to get in touch with their body as a tool for communication and creation .

2) Logics and Art: the Chance in the Perspective of Interpersonal Misunderstanding ( Rasa Askinyte-Degesiene - Lithuania) This interactive workshop will suggest short theoretical introduction and practical procedures how to use Art and Logics as an instrument in teaching interpersonal understanding. Some temporal communities of inquiry will be created acting in attempt to find the different ways to understand the same case or concept. The theoretical meta-analysis will focus on a problem of possibility or impossibility to understand the Other. This workshop will consist of some activities and short final discussion.

3) Snap, Crackle, Pop! Participatory Photography Projects and Peacebuilding (Albie Sharpe - Japan) What is the difference between peace and war photography? Do photojournalists really succeed in creating images which undermine support for conflict? Or do they support a system which prolongs conflict? What effects do images of fear and suffering have on their audiences? Is there an alternative? The workshop will involve a discussion about the distinctions, if there are any, between peace and war photography, and then move on to the role of participatory photography projects in rebuilding communities after conflicts . We will discuss several NGOs that have organized such projects with young people . Participants will then be asked to design a participatory photography project for themselves in small groups .

4) Educating for Gender Equality and Women’s Rights: Using the Arts
(Memoona R . Khan - Pakistan) The larger group will be divided into smaller groups which will have to participate in an creative interactive creative social mapping exercise. Each group will be instructed to choose one or more outstanding basic right (particularly a cherished belief or institution among women) of gender equality and women’s rights which is enshrined in their constitution or religion, but violated with impunity in their own country. They will be asked to describe or depict how violation of this right could be interpreted in meaningful ways by means of local art forms so as to reach two or three diverse types of audiences. Clues should be found in the ways that the intelligentsia or liberal elements in their society as well as forms of folk art deal with this issue.

5) Using the Arts for Community Building and Social Transformation
(Cindy Maguire - USA) Many communities around the world are involved in using arts and cultural practices to engage in community building and social transformation, which can include the work of peace education. This workshop will look at three different examples of community based installations that work towards community building and creating the ground for peace. Questions regarding pedagogy and methodology will be covered through participants engaging, individually and collectively, in the installation process. These activities will be directly tied into the IIPE collaborative community based installation.

Day 3 – July 26 (Tuesday)

Plenary Panel 2
THEME: The Arts & Conflict Processes
Moderator: Asha Hans

Dr. Helen (Eleni) Agathonos-Georgopoulou – Greece
Colors in the Town: Needs assessment and intervention in a socially excluded community in Rhodes The community of 3500 residents was created in the late 1970’s as a housing project of the Ministry of Health and Welfare, for welfare recipients and their families living in the Dodecanese islands. Reasons for dependency by the state: physical and mental disability, single parenthood, incapacitated parents, refugee status, large family and associated poverty. In 1995, a needs assessment survey disclosed a multi-problem socially excluded community presenting unemployment, family violence, child abuse, juvenile delinquency, collective anger towards the political system. A 7year intervention was carried out, funded by various national and European sources. Aims: from exclusion to integration, reaching out to vulnerable groups (women 25-50yrs, youth, preschool children). The evaluation revealed considerable improvement and reaching of targets.

Susan Anderson - USA
Trauma and Healing Conflict Through the Arts Imagine for a moment witnessing acts of violence against your family members, experiencing unspeakable acts of savagery committed against yourself, seeing your city crumble into a heap of rubble. Now imagine experiencing all this by the age of ten, or while holding your children, hoping to protect them from that violence. How might the arts promote healing from these life altering events, and provide an environment to foster conflict resolution for the victims? Susan Anderson, founder of The ArtReach Foundation (www.artreachfoundation.org) will present some of the ways her organization has used art, drama and music in their work in Bosnia during the last five years.

Janet Gerson - USA
Spectacle and Judgement: The World Tribunal on Iraq
The World Tribunal on Iraq (WTI) took off as a global civil society movement in response to the US-UK coalition attack on Iraq . Building solidarity amongst diverse regional groups, 20 cities held hearings with a culminating session in Istanbul in June . Conceptual, factual and emotional contributions were crafted through a collaborative multi-peoples’ process into a formal three day event modeled on the 1967 Russell Tribunal on the Vietnam War . The “Preliminary Declaration of the Jury of Conscience” maps the findings, articulates charges and offers recommendations . The symbolic and practical importance of the WTI public spectacle, the judgment and recommendations will be explored as tools of the peace movement and peace education .

Concurrent Workshops B

1) Conflict Resolution and Peace Building in Fairy Tales and Folk Tales
( Jenny Engström - United Kingdom) In this workshop we will explore the themes of conflict and peace in some of the folk tales and fairy tales we may have grown up with. In doing this, we will look deeper into the lives of Cinderella, her Stepsisters and other familiar characters, with the aim of helping them transform their conflicts into peaceful relationships. We will draw on stories from across the world, and participants are encouraged to contribute their folk tales from their own cultures. This will be a highly interactive workshop, containing both conceptual material and role play.

2) Healing the Mind from Violent Images (Gabriela Ines Lasko - Canada) From pain to resolution, from trauma to peace of mind…two collages, immediate art. No need to know how to draw here! Using notions from EMDR (Eye movement Desensitization and Reprocessing) a therapy used for shock and traumatic experiences, listening to music and watching excerpts of films learn how to use ART to bring out a traumatic experience into a visual image. Transform that image to empower yourself visually into new hope. We will do some guided mediation, discussion, and transformation, metamorphosis… Participants should bring two small passport photos of themselves…and if they don’t we shall make it up!

3) Using Drama and Improvisation to Generate Conflict Resolution Skills
(Anya Elizabeth Jacobson - USA) In this participatory workshop we will explore whys and ways in which drama and improvisation can help develop skills for conflict resolution. Acting games and role play will be furthered and deepened to look at how such activities can help develop personal understanding, create empathy, and highlight issues of communication. We will also look briefly at historical and living examples of drama as political protest and discuss ways to include drama in your curriculum.

4) Using movement for emotional and social development (Martha James - USA) In this interactive session we will be exploring movement as a vehicle for self expression and understanding. All levels of movers are encouraged to join us. We will, as a group, learn a foundational movement vocabulary to create a level of comfort for the dancer that lives inside all of us. We will then learn to uncover the movement that is hidden within words and use that movement as a tools for discussion and understanding of cultures around the world and in our homes. Friere says that dialouge is love and I believe that creating a language of movement with which to dialouge is a rich opportunity to begin a cultural dialouge leading us towards the possibility of love.

 5) Move Me a Story: Understanding Loss and Grieving through Storytelling and Dance (Melinda Salzman - USA) During our lifetime we will each experience varieties of loss, ranging from developmental losses such as leaving home to the death of loved ones, the loss of home and country, or the loss of dreams. In this workshop, we will use storytelling and movement to become familiar with common reactions to loss, concepts of grieving, and how integrating loss helps us master new skills and gain wisdom. By supporting individuals and groups who are suffering from loss, we intend to replace hatred and retaliation with forgiveness and growth. Workshop participants will draw on stories of loss—either personal or societal—to develop movement phrases as a medium for integrating loss.

Concurrent Workshops C  

1) This is My Home: A Human Rights Education Experience and Documenting Human Rights Education Through the Arts ( Christina Clusiau - USA) In this workshop we will view visual resource tools that the University of Minnesota Human Rights Center in collaboration with the Minnesota Department of Human Rights is developing and currently piloting. One resource tool is a new k-12 Human Rights Education Framework and Process Model to intergrate human rights and peace education into school throughout Minnesota. This is My Home: A Human Rights Education Experience. The other resource tools are visual representations of human rights and peace education through the arts in action. We will also take some time to discuss the idea of sharing and bringing our stories home and how we can do this in a creative, artistic way. We will explore the core question of how does arts create a community of respect, sharing and learning? And how do we evaluate and measure for Human Rights Education in an artistic way.

2) Using creativity in workshops/trainings to build human dignity and human security ( Tara Hopkins - Turkey) This interactive workshop is designed to give an idea of our training program ‘Human Dignity and Human Security,’ which is designed for people working with children in poverty and violence yet not necessarily trained in rights. We focus on the background for rights first in the belief that more people living in oppressed areas need to be empowered before they are able to realize their rights. This workship will focus on activities that both use and encourage participants’ own creativity in order to understand the concepts of dignity, gender equality, awareness of self and human rights.

3) Creative Expressions of Conflict Transformation using Folktales
( Michele Milner - Canada) This workshop will look at how creative methods of re-telling folktales can be used to identify and explore different concepts related to conflict resolution and transformation. Experiential learning through movement, drama, music and visual art can provide alternative ways of knowing and understanding while allowing students to physically experience the concepts and emotions associated with complex topics. In intercultural learning situations, expressive arts activities can be particularly useful in building skills in observation, while validating multiple interpretations of concepts. This builds respect and trust in other’s ideas through positive group interaction and supports thinking dispositions such as being open-minded, and reflective.

4) Transforming Xenophobia thru Creative Expression
(Mary N. Ntabeni - Lesotho) Conflict and systematic racism permeated the social fabric of the southern African region for centuries until South Africa was liberated in 1994. This feat was achieved through the enduring peacemaking efforts of countries, organisations, movements and individuals. However, more peace-building and peacekeeping work still needs to be done to combat xenophobia and many other inhumane and discriminatory practices that continue to plague the region. Therefore, participatory activities of fostering tolerance will include drama/role-play/simulation/mock-interviews, poems, songs, and images/drawings. The idea is to address the problem of xenophobia by drawing lessons from the actions and words of peace of Moshoeshoe I of Lesotho and the South African Nobel Peace Prize Laureates, all in the spirit of continuing and reinforcing a culture of peace for the present and future.

5) Recyclable Waste Sculpture Project
(Baris Karayazgan – Turkey)
See description above – re: community art project.

Day 5 – July 28 (Thursday)

Plenary 3
THEME: Peace, Communication, and the Arts
Moderator: Tara Hopkins

Sami Zaidalkilani - Palestine
A Suggested Model for Personality/Identity This is a trial to describe the Personality of the individual or the Identity of a group or an organization through a model depending on a multidimensional space. The space is defined by a set of axes. Each axis represents a characteristic that is given a value between two pole-values representing the opposite extremes. It is assumed that the personality/identity is attracted by the extremes, where "Big Yes" gives false satisfaction and blocks effective communication with surrounding. The model will give 3 main indicators of the personality/identity: Diversity of references defined by the number of axes; Acceptance of pluralism defined by the summation of squares of values on axes divided by number of axes; and a qualitative one determined by solid curve produced by the values on the axes. The Idea is still vague and many challenges are facing this suggested model to make it meaning full through details of the abstracted model.

Yasuyo Fukanaga – Japan
Language, difference and power in hollywood films D . W . Griffith once said, “The task I am trying to achieve is to make people see .” Films show us what it's like to be human . They help us view the world and identify with people we’d otherwise be unaware of .  We can believe what we see, and say “I see” meaning “I understand” . Foucault, however, warns that perception is not a literal way of seeing, because it is governed by modes of discourse characterizing particular regimes .  We need to be film literate in order to become analytical, critical and active viewers of film especially in the age of Hollywood .

Dale Snauwaert - USA
Aesthetic Experience and the Ethics of Peace as Human Flourishing It is argued that human (natural) rights are grounded in the realization of universal “basic values (goods),” and these values constitute, in multiple individual and cultural instantiations, human flourishing. A peaceful society can be understood as one that guarantees human rights, safeguarding basic values, thereby providing the social conditions necessary for human flourishing. In turn, aesthetic experience is both a basic value necessary for human flourishing and a necessary condition for the development of the moral capacities through which human beings engage as competent moral agents. Aesthetic experience is therefore a requirement of both peace and peace education.

Concurrent Workshops D  

1) Facilitating Student Participation and Empowerment Through Productions/Events ( Donna McInnis - Japan) (Hunger Banquet; Speak Truth to Power Play and Photo Exhibit; The Council of All Beings; Tokyo War Crimes Tribunal Volunteer Activity, Necessary Targets – Play by Eve Ensler) By tapping into students’ creative capacities we awaken in them the passion for creative peacebuilding and action. The opportunity to organize and stage an awareness-raising production or event empowers them with valuable skills to affect and transform their world. It encourages them to learn and to teach, to be inspired and to inspire, and to actively engage in creating and realizing a culture of peace. Workshop participants will receive a packet of ready to use materials, scripts, planning advice, and resources which engage learners in peace action, and hopefully instills in them a life-long commitment to active engagement for change.

2) The art of Photography and Peace Politics (Jelena Miletic - Serbia & Montenegro) Contemporary art has new approach to objective reality. It’s not only resistance or struggle of classes it is new invention. The intent of women artist present particular state of mind which is different from mainstream thought. Vesna Pavlovic is a women photographer whose photography was a medium of peace during war in Former Yugoslavia. Her artistic value is to show peace resistance of the Women in Black. Their expression is “the resistance of silence.” Milica Tomic and I use popular mediums (photos in magazines and postcards) to forewarning their citizens about crimes which occurred during The Second World War. The intent of the message is the emancipation of woman. Woman artist reality put woman in isolation. Women are always the object in popular media. The authors turn of the situation, they became subject of message, their perfomative act produced different woman. They identify with victims but they refuse to become as victims. Their bodies become the political body.

3) Media Literacy, Social Justice, and the Construction of Youth Narratives
(Maria Hantzopoulos – USA , & Tammy Arnstein - USA) In this workshop we will explore the intersection of media literacy and peace education theory, examining how mainstream films perpetuate a culture of both structural and direct violence. Since films are a popular medium among young people, we will present ways to help students approach media from a critical perspective. Through a common strategy -envisioning - we will bridge peace education and media production. We investigate methods and structures for young people both to critique and to imagine alternatives to the current local, national, and global climate and we will provide examples of youth-produced videos that explore themes of social justice and structural violence. Finally, we will create our own alternative visions of more just and peaceful communities through the use of simple narrative and visual techniques such as storyboarding and scenario writing.

4) The Art of Storytelling through the Arts (Peggy Sotirhos - USA / Greece) In this workshop, participants will work on the process of developing arts based programs which encourage visual inclusion and storytelling about their experiences.

5) Forensic Linguistics: How to Avoid Language Crimes
(Effie Papatzikou Cochran - US / Greece) Oral or written legal argumentation can be used or abused to the detriment of children, non-native speakers of a language, women and other minorities. Forensic Linguistics is linguistics applied to legal proceedings, and covers graphology, phonology, and discourse analysis. Acting as expert witnesses, forensic linguists examine what language users know and do in court. They interpret and analyze language, accents and dialects, including body language, overlapping speech, and interruption patterns on tapes. Participants will be given court situations to write scripts for and perform them for each other.

Concurrent Workshops E

1) Arab Children Express in Art and communicate with Puppets (Maha Zaru - Jordan) Part 1: The Art works presented are expressions in art forms of children’s points of view towards situations They are selected from the annual Arab Children’s Congress Workshops with children Artworks from Palestinian and Jordanian children. Part 2: Traveling Puppet Performance (Kanafeesh) which is targeted to children from all sectors of the community, traveled in a Kanafeesh bus to villages and remote areas in Jordan The tours are meant to stir imagination, develop attitudes towards the other and invite for participation, learning and communication among children of different age levels and backgrounds. The creative puppets are produced from scrap and available materials the program is supported by the Performing Arts Center and enhanced by the feed back of children.

2) Representation and Perception in War Time. Close-up: Syria
(Nathalie Applewhite – USA , Cynthia Croot - USA) This interactive workshop will begin from a global perspective examining questions of self and national representation in the mainstream media, asking how these representations relate to the individual, and national “will to war”. Focusing specifically on current US-Syria relations we’ll use news reports and video clips to explore how the “enemy” is presented in war time. And finally we’ll ask how alternative mediums, including theater, poetry and music, combined with new technologies that allow for greater self representation, such as the internet and digital video, can help shape perceptions that promote a more peaceful global community.

3) The art of film and the art of drama as conduits for peace education pedagogy (Shyrl Matias - USA) This workshop will focus on the art of film and the art of drama as conduits for peace education pedagogy. Participants will directly engage in the art of dramatic presentation through pantomime, improvisation, and scripted work as mediums for peace education. We will examine “The War Prayer” by the American satirist, Mark Twain, as text and script, and consider the impact of the dramatic script compared to the written text. We will visit the concepts of “guerilla” and “street” theatre in conjunction with peace education pedagogy. Participants will receive an overview of the workshop and a list of pertinent websites.

4) Building Community Through Music (Barbara Barnes - USA) We are all music makers . In this workshop we will draw on this potential to improvise and create music in small ensembles and as a community . We will engage in a series of musical activities drawn from a ‘Music for People’ curriculum . This workshop is for anyone who would like to engage in a creative experience using sounds and rhythms for self-expression and to build community . Individuals with some musical background are encouraged to bring their instruments; the rest of us are asked to bring something from our everyday world, with which to make sounds and rhythms .

Day 6 – July 29 (Friday)

PUBLIC PLENARY
Moderator: Betty Reardon

Ghassan Abdullah - Palestine
Art for Understanding Representing the Middle East Children’s Association’s (MECA) experience, this presentation will focus on the the Art Group work to achieve understanding between Israeli and Palestinian teachers towards peace for all.

Olena Suslova - Ukraine
People Surprising us in a Country we Didn’t Know The Orange Revolution in Ukraine this past year changed a lot not only in Ukraine but broader in region . It was followed by many myths and radically opposite opinions . Some tell that it was a political project prepared and done in Russia or USA . This plenary presentation will try to analyze non-violent tools of the Orange Revolution, particularly its arts and oral stories told by “barricades revolutionists .” Gender division of the Orange Revolution will be also explored.

Sakena Yacoobi – Afghanistan
The Afghan Institute of Learning: Using Art to Further Peace, Education, and Economic Opportunity As Afghanistan struggles through reconstruction, persistent violence threatens women and children. In order to create lasting peace in Afghanistan, the Afghan Institute of Learning brings education and economic opportunity to Afghan women and children through interactive artistic exercises like role plays, drawing, rug weaving, sewing, and calligraphy. Women learn artistic skills and start businesses to support themselves and their children. The Afghan Institute of Learning is using art to further peace in Afghanistan as a source of cultural pride, a method of communicating positive messages in the midst of violence, and a strategy for re-engaging people in constructive traditions.

Concurrent Workshops F

 1) Theatre exercises and games for peace ( Yasmine El Rifai - Egypt) A successful play and a peaceful world have many ingredients in common: trust, cooperation, good listening abilities, acceptance of the self and the other, teamwork and creativity are but a few. In this workshop, participants will engage in a number of theatre exercises and games to explore the potentials of that mode of bodily expression and how it can be used in the education for peace and non violence.

2) Designing an Experiential Learning Program: Collaboration of University Curriculum and NGO Activities (Kathy Matsui - Japan) This workshop will first introduce the design and establishment of the Department of Global Citizenship Studies, Seisen University, Tokyo, Japan. The curriculum of this department offers three areas: Global Society, Multicultural Understanding and Fieldwork. Fieldwork courses consist of numerous experiential learning programs. One significant program is Peace Boat Global University. The department also offers experiential learning opportunities for students: International Student Symposium on Environmental Education, and Hunger Banquet. In this workshop, participants will discuss and design a curriculum that can serve as a model to various institutions.

3) Using Theobald techniques in visioning and teaching Peace
(Benjamin Page - USA) Inspired by the thinking of scientist-priest PierreTeilhard de Chardin and my participation in workshops of futurist Robert Theobald, this workshop will seek to model ways of “empowering” people to envision peace and become involved in efforts to achieve it. In preparation (in advance), participants should think about their visions of peace, and of what has to happen to get “there” from “here”—what in your personal life or today’s world can be built upon; what in either needs to be changed; in your experience how does personal or social change happen; what can you do in your personal life or relationships with others—with the world--to help this happen. Bring notes or write-ups (1 page), to share (20 copies). Suggested advance reading: Benjamin Page with Robert Theobald, “Creativity in Turbulent Times,” The Futurist, September-October 1989, pp. 25-28

4) Sex, Music and Videotape (Diane Scanlon - USA) How can popular culture be used to promote women's human rights? Can mainstream media be a force to combat violence against women? This workshop will present a case study on Breakthrough's use of popular music along with two music videos on violence against women one of which became a chartbuster in India. The videos reached millions through television broadcast and have now become a popular tool used by social justice groups globally to raise awareness about women's human rights. Through discussion and demonstration, the workshop will explore how culturally specific popular culture can transcend boundaries and reach youth and the general public globally. It will also explore how collaborations with mainstream media can be wrought to promote women's human rights and social justice.

5) Critical Approach to Conflicts, Conflict Resolution, Education for Peace and Education for Democracy ( Benny Birnbaum - Luxembourg) This is an invitation to a critical reflection on our roles as academics, psychologists, facilitators or educators in the process of social change. We can decide to be committed to human liberation in the work we do, and in every moment of our lives. An invitation to propose that another life is possible, a different society, more just, more equal, more free, with the alternative of permanent solidarity, caring, happiness, for all human beings. The basic assumption will be that we have all the possibilities and alternatives, there are in our decisions and choices, we will learn how to be what we have chosen to be. It’s not magic, it’s not nature, it’s not any kind of divinity, we, and only we, define and create the conditions to be friends or enemies.

Concurrent Workshops G

 1) Poetry for Everyone: A Medium for Building Positive Peace ( Doris Brosnan - USA) “You take my arm and say something will happen, something unusual for which we were always prepared”(M. Strand, 1984). People often feel that participation in the arts is limited to those labeled as “artists.” However, poetry, which I define as “art with words,” is an accessible medium through which anyone can express thoughts in a meaningful way. Poetry allows us to view our world and share our understandings in unique and powerful ways. In this workshop, beginning and more seasoned writers will have the opportunity to read, recite, compose, listen to and share poetry related to concepts of Peace Education and peace building (Reardon). We will develop the sensitivities cultivated in “aesthetic education” as taught by Maxine Greene, that is, listening and creating to expand our understanding of the human experience and the human journey. Activities will include the basic practice of emulation in beginning poetry composition as well as free verse writing, with flexible degrees of support for participants. This workshop is designed to be easily replicable for participants to take back to their formal and informal educational settings.

2) Teaching What Matters: Curriculum Development for Social Change
(Laura Hilger-Rector - USA) what the research shows in regards to best practices for learning. Working in small groups, we will investigate what we know, and what we want to know with curriculum development. We will then look at some examples of how to connect education standards that we want our kids to know and be able to do with valuable thematic lessons. As a result, we can look at the ultimate need: Peace/Human Rights education as a content area focus for our schools. Essential Questions: What process is my organization using for curriculum development? What do kids need to know and be able to do in the area of peace/human rights education? What connections need to be in place between the learners and their world in order for social change to take place?

3) Drafting a Peace Education Vision (Cabby Tennis - Egypt) This workshop will give a brief overview of the peace curriculum study group initiative at CAC and the Sri Lankan library relief project and invite others, educators or not, to contribute their thinking/experiences. A possible goal for those present might be to draft a set of essential steps/reminders for peace educators considering a curricular pilot or concrete project.

4) Integrating Global Education, Language Learning and Multiple Intelligences (Cindy Tisdall-McPhee - Japan) In this workshop participants will explore the integration of global education, multiple intelligences and language learning. Following a brief introduction, participants will be guided through one global education activity. This activity will serve as a springboard for teachers to encourage their students to share their perceptions and understandings of the multiplicity of peace, including possible, preferred, probable and alternative futures. This activity can be easily adapted to meet the needs of a variety of age groups, linguistic abilities and multiple intelligences. The workshop will close with a guided imagery exercise for the reflective practitioner.

5) COSMIC DANCE (Pat Mische – USA) This workshop will explore Cosmic Creativity through ritual and movement . It will engage participants in considering their roles in the further stages of planetary evolution and peace building (see plenary description on day 2 for more information).