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The Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict -
International is pleased to present its e-Newsletter.
In this issue, you will find:
- Seeds of Peace: Conflict Resolution Program for Hispanic
Children
- The Importance of Peacebuilding: A Perspective from Ecuador
- From the Executive Director
- Colombian-Ecuadorian Community Conflict Research
- President's Letter
- CEMPROC Patrons
Seeds of Peace: Conflict Resolution Program for Hispanic Children in
Forsyth
County, Georgia
The Seeds of Peace program has gotten off to a good start in Georgia, as
instructor Any Stevens has been
conducting a pilot course for a small group of Spanish-speaking girls in
Cumming. Thanks to the generous
financial support of Target and the North Georgia Council of the United
Methodist Church, we have been able
to bring our successful conflict resolution program for children to the
United States, focusing especially on the
Spanish-speaking children in Forsyth County. This program, based on the
English-language curriculum
developed by Dr. Pamela Lane-Garon, teaches children the importance
of nonviolence, sharing, listening, open and clear communication,
mediation, and other conflict
resolution strategies using innovative and fun techniques like dramas,
songs, active participation,
and a conflict resolution 'wheel of strategies'. Thanks to Any Stevens
for her hard work, and we look
forward to expanding this program in the coming months as we seek to
serve many more children in the Forsyth
County community. Meanwhile, CEMPROC's well-established series of
children's programs in Ecuador has continued in
full swing. Katie Windle presented a workshop for children in Ibarra,
which included several children of
Colombian refugees and immigrants. Diana Palacios presented a program
for over forty children in Quito very
recently, encouraging the children's teachers to observe the program in
order to be able to incorporate the
lessons into the classroom on a consistent basis.
The Importance of Peacebuilding: A Perspective from Ecuador
by Diana Palacios
We live in a fractured world, where violence often forms the daily bread,
and the central message in our environment is conflict, war and destruction
of others. Ecuador is no exception to this, so during the time that CEMPROC
has been working here, we have been able to reach many diverse types of
people: children, youth, and adults of all ages and social conditions. We
have taught these individuals about peaceful conflict resolution as a new,
often unknown alternative for solving problems (despite the fact that
mediation has been recognized in Ecuadorian law since 1996). Within this
process, participants in our courses have learned not only to resolve their
problems through peaceful methods, but also to use effective communication
as a principal tool, creating out of this a new style of life. Our greatest
reward is to see in people a light of hope, to listen to the opinions of
children and to hear them say how they want to share everything they have
learned with their parents. It is to know that using the conflict
resolution tools and processes we teach, homes, relationships, friendships,
and even businesses can be saved and rebuilt. We certainly have not lacked
for difficult moments, when we have felt helpless or like we are swimming
against the current. When this happens, however, we remember the faces of
happiness on the people we have reached and we know that we are doing the
right thing, that our work is like seed sown in fertile ground, and that
regardless of the time it takes, sooner or later it will flower and produce.
With this confidence, we continue forward.
From the Executive Director
Several weeks ago, I celebrated with a married couple who had
successfully reached an agreement in mediation
to give their relationship a second
chance, having inflicted
much pain on each other. When we had first begun the mediation several
months before, one of them stalked out of
the session in despair. The person declared that there was no purpose in
continuing, that the hurt and distrust
was too great to salvage the marriage. I was discouraged that I seemed
unable to help them.
Over a month passed, and then out of the blue, the couple scheduled
another session. During the interim
period, they had thought about the issues that had been
hashed out during the first session, reflecting on some of the feelings
that came out during that
heated discussion. After working
through all of this, they had decided to try again, living together again
as they rebuilt their shattered marriage. Session after
session, the process of mediation
allowed them the opportunity to communicate their feelings, share their
basic needs and insecurities,
and build a plan to repair their relationship. When they finally put the
very detailed plan into writing
and signed it, the relief and hope on their faces was obvious.
Peace is not usually a fluffy, cute, cuddly
phenomenon that is achieved easily. Finding resolution to conflict can
be the result of
a long and difficult process of trustbuilding and reconciliation.
Rebuilding a devastated marriage can be a complex and
tough, but ultimately rewarding, process. Likewise, CEMPROC approaches
global peacebuilding as an ongoing process of
development and capacity building. We are
here for the long haul. By training individuals in personal conflict
resolution skills, we are creating
peacemakers...one person at a time. This in turn strengthens the
capability of the broader society to
deal with conflict in an effective, peaceful, and just manner. It took
time
for the couple to
think about what they had experienced in that first unsuccessful session
and
decide to make a real commitment to
finding a solution. Peacebuilding in the international context often
follows a similar path. When CEMPROC programs
teach a child appropriate and nonviolent ways to communicate frustration,
we
are planting seeds. When we empower neighbors to overcome
stereotypes and engage in meaningful dialogue with each other, we are
planting seeds. When we help
instill in college students (future world leaders)
a deep respect for peaceful and
just approaches to resolving conflict, we are planting seeds, even if it
may
take quite a bit of time for them to bear fruit. Having planted these
seeds of peace, the exciting part is to watch them grow!
Best wishes,
Jeff Pugh
Founding Executive Director
Colombian-Ecuadorian Community Conflict Research
CEMPROC uses a service research model to measure attitudes among
Colombian refugees and immigrants and the
Ecuadorian host community with respect to their perceptions of conflict,
sources of tension between Colombian
migrants and Ecuadorians, and effective conflict management mechanisms.
Using a combination of focus group style
open forum, informal interviews, and survey questionnaires, this project,
which has received funding from the
Johns Hopkins University Program on Latin American Studies and others,
seeks to explore how community-level
conflict dynamics are filtered and mediated through public messages,
stereotypes, the media, and politicians at
all levels to affect national-level policy toward Colombia. See the
Research Page to view a PowerPoint presentation with some of the
preliminary results from this project.
President's Letter
The CEMPROC International Board of Directors recently had a strategic
planning session in which we evaluated progress against the objectives we
set for CEMPROC in a 5-year plan that was developed 3 years ago, then
brainstormed ideas to update the strategic plan to look forward for the
next 5 years. It was exciting to see that almost all of our initial 5-year
objectives were accomplished within the first 3 years. The community-based
training programs in Ecuador have grown and matured, and Diana Patacios,
who we hired one year ago as our Ecuador Director, has done a great job
extending and growing the services we offer in that country. Current
efforts under way to build an advanced training program in mediation and
conflict resolution in partnership with a local Ecuadorian university
professor hold great promise. The next natural step would be to enhance
our capabilities to offer mediation and conflict resolution services at
the
community level for the benefit of those receiving the services and to
provide practical experience for those completing the advanced training
program. Our University of Georgia/CEMPROC International Study Abroad
Program to begin this May builds on a very successful pilot effort last
year. We believe it offers a wonderful opportunity for North American
university students to learn the theories and experience the practical
issues and aspects of conflict and peace in a beautiful real-world
setting,
with the chance to dialogue with renowned practicioners in the field. Our
new children's program in Forsyth County Georgia also has great potential
to change lives...to present new models of resolving conflict and
mediating
disagreements with alternatives to violence and domination.
Our focus during the first years of CEMPROC has been on Latin America and
Spanish-speaking people in the US. Perhaps one of the more exciting things
to come out of our strategic planning session was the challenge from one
of
our board members to expand our vision to a global one. Not to dilute our
efforts so as to become ineffective, but to broaden our vision so that at
the right time we can take our lessons learned, our programs, and our
experience to apply to the same problems that exist in other parts of the
world. We already have some contacts that present the possibility of work
in Africa. Stay tuned to see how that unfolds.
Thanks to all of our supporters for all you do to enable what we do.
Chuck Pugh
President, CEMPROC International Board of Directors
CEMPROC thanks the generous individuals, organizations, and corporations
whose contributions of time and resources this past term make possible
its programs to
reduce destructive conflict in Latin America and the United States.
Together, we are creating peacemakers...one person at a
time. CEMPROC would like to recognize in particular the following
individuals as CEMPROC Patrons:
CEMPROC Patrons:
- Bob & Becky Hitch
- Scott & Angie Hitch
- Chuck & Lynn Pugh
- Jeff Pugh
- Myrtle West
- Carol White
Other supporters and volunteers this period:
- Alberta Boulware
- Cane Creek Farm
- Ciudad Educadora, Municipal Government of Ibarra
- Equifax
- Paul & Judith Greear
- Mary Jean & Rick Holden
- Johns Hopkins University Program on Latin American Studies
- Rachel Kassel
- Olive and Owen Kellum
- Annabelle Powell
- Andres Quintero
- Deana Shuman
- Angela Stevens
- Any Stevens
- Francisca Stevens
- Ann and Dwight Tallant
- Target
- Joel Tinjaca
- North GA Conference, United Methodist
Church
- University of Georgia International Academic Program Development
Fund
To find out more about the CEMPROC Patrons program, or to become a Patron,
visit our Support
page.
We greatly appreciate all of our supporters.
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Creating Peacemakers...One Person at a
Time
Dr. Salomon Cabezas
Bishop of the United
Methodist Church of Ecuador, former Vice-Rector of the Central University
of Ecuador
Dr.
Edward J. Larson
Pulitzer Prize winner, Professor of History
and Law at the University of Georgia
Dr. Fausto Sarmiento
University of Georgia
International Board of
Directors
Chuck Pugh, President
Scott Hitch, Secretary
Sam Bagwell, Treasurer
Kathy
Bryson
Eduardo Stevens
John Cromartie
Board of Directors
CEMPROC - Ecuador
Jeff Pugh, President
Dr. Roberto Contreras,
VP
Dr. Diana Palacios, Secretary
Jack Rodriguez,
Treasurer
Monica de Contreras
Founding Executive
Director
Jeff Pugh
Director for Ecuador
Dr. Diana
Palacios
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