We here at MPI are very pleased to share with you the links below to various articles on peacebuilding. UI Shiori, an alumna from the MPI 2010 Annual Peacebuilding Training is a co-author of these publications. The second was co-authored with MPI Facilitator Miriam l. Suacito. UI Shiori recently shared these articles with us.

Building peace through participatory health training: A case from Cambodia.

Case Study of Grassroots Peacebuilding by Nagdilaab Foundation Inc., Basilan, Philippines

 Case Study of Grassroots Peacebuilding by PADEK, Siem Reap Siem Reap Siem Reap, Cambodia

The following article was written by Fr. P.C. Anto, a 2008 graduate of MPI.

North East Institute of Social Sciences and Research (NEISSR), the first MSW College in Nagaland initiated by the Catholic Church and affiliated to Nagaland University, was officially inaugurated on 8^th October 2014 at Christ Hall of Holy Cross Higher Secondary School Campus, Dimapur, Nagaland. The first MSW College started its journey on 1^st August’2014 with 45 students from different districts of Nagaland with a mission to contribute in building a new social order based on human dignity and social justice. Work with a preferential option for the vulnerable and exploited. Build a cadre of young professionals having a global perspective and a strong value based on compassion, personal integrity, moderation, tolerance and self-respect. Currently, the college is offering specialization on Youth Development, Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies and Community Development.

Since the 2013 MPI Annual Peacebuilding Training, I have undertaken a number of initiatives attempting to apply what I learned. In line with my proposed MPI Action, I first chose to look for tools that can facilitate peace analysis but have found none so far. Community identity is also a major factor causing conflicts in the Region in which I work. Even in a peaceful community, anything threatening community identity can cause tension. This notwithstanding, in these same communities there are pockets of peace and harmony and people urging peaceful co-existence. This creates a basis for peace workers to look for pillars of peace that remain standing even in times of conflict. Identifying the pillars by their category and type would provide scope on how to profile and scale them up enhancing peace. This is my current passion.

{videobox}https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FsDzNiL_9BQ||display=box, width=640, height=360, style="float: right; margin-left: 10px;"{/videobox}In the village Samirukun (Peaceful village), Christian and Muslim communities carrying sticks and torches meet in the middle of the village, both communities showing fierce faces toward the other. The Christian group is upset because someone attempted to poison their preacher. The Islamic community is angry becuse their donation box was stolen. A clash between religions was narrowly averted through the intervention of the religious leaders (Click on the image to the right to view the movie).

This is the scene from a short movie produced by an interfaith-community in a setting in Central Java province, Indonesia. They produced this film out of concern for the rise of intolerant acts in Indonesia. Along with the freedom of expression after the fall of the repressive regime in Indonesia, fundamentalist ideologies took the stage. Now they are spreading an intolerant ideology.