News

fShare

Tweet

The following piece was on the published by International Alert on their Facebook page.

We are honored to have known Mastura Arimao, a volunteer teacher in Matanog and Parang, Maguindanao, and member of our youth network Movement of Young Peacebuilders’ in Mindanao. We thank him for his warm and affectionate manner, his intelligent enthusiasm and sense of humor, and his quiet strength and sense of purpose. We tip our hats to his crucial contribution in increasing the political participation of young people in the Iranun Corridor.

Mastura first participated in International Alert Philippines’ and the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute’s (MPI’s) Youth Political Leadership Training (YPLT) in 2016 with other youth from different conflict-stricken areas of Mindanao. Here, they sharpened and improved their leadership capabilities to influence positive change in their communities. This led Mastura and two other youth leaders to initiate a research on youth involvement in rido (clan wars) in the Municipality of Matanog, as their change project. The research explored the reasons, causes, and effects of the involvement of young people in clan feuds, the results of which were presented to the LGU of Matanog, religious leaders, community leaders, and Alternative Dispute Resolution Teams. Because of this research, local leaders realized the importance of youth participation in solving problems in the community. This resulted to the institutionalization of the Youth Reconciliation Council in the LGU of Matanog, a council managed by the youth that helps resolve conflict involving young people.

fShare

Tweet

“Composing the music, playing the instruments and performing the dance” is how Jeanyline Alvarado describes her work in peacebuilding and her need to multitask in implementing the projects in which she is involved. Jeanyline is an alumna of MPI’s 2013 Annual Peacebuilding Training, having taken the course Strengthening Peace Education Training Skills. She works at Southern Christian College (SCC) in Midsayap, Cotabato, as the Community Development Coordinator under the Office of the Vice President for Research and Extension in the Office of the Director for Extension. 

Jeanyline has been very involved in the SCC Peace and Tri-People Dialogue Project. She has worked with Agenda 1: Transformative Education and Peace, which focuses on the youth. These youth come from SCC partner communities and organizations, such as the Mindanao Peoples’ Peace Movement and Balay Rehabilitation Center.

fShare

Tweet

Kenya is a youthful nation, with approximately 65 percent of the population under the age of 35. Frustration with unemployment and lack of education and opportunities for political participation and governance are among the numerous problems that Kenya faces. These challenges pose great threats to the youth and make it more likely that they will be involved with criminal and extremist groups. Kenya is a breeding ground for radicalism and terrorism. Groups involved in such activities are recruiting from among the youth. Being unemployed and uneducated means they can easily be indoctrinated into these groups’ version of “jihad.” They have misinterpreted jihad, which means “to struggle” in the Muslim faith^1, and have been successful at increasing the number of young terrorists. Establishing a caliphate is the main goal of their jihad. In 2013, one such group carried out an attack on a mall where 68 people died², and in 2015, 148 students lost their lives in an attack on a university^3.

fShare

Tweet

The Interfaith Cooperation Forum has published the maiden issue of the ICF e-newsletter with a new name, pdf The Peacebuilders (962 KB) . They write:

We are all called to be peacebuilders - whatever our faith tradition, class, race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, age, and nationality, among others. As peacebuilders, we know that we cannot have genuine and enduring peace if there is no justice in all dimensions of our lives - be it social, political, economic, and religio-cultural. These are all intertwined. Moreover, our lives are inevitably interconnected with the Earth and Earth rights. There is no community apart from Earth community, which is the context of our peacebuilding efforts. Yet, peacebuilders must also do self-criticism and examine our complicity in bringing unpeace and injustice to our communities though our prejudices, language, behaviors, and lifestyles. Faith must be translated to actions towards the realization of peace. "The Peacebuilders" is deemed an action-oriented name, and also one that keeps us challenged.

Download Volume 1, Number 1 of The Peacebuilders here.