Spring/Summer, 2007
The Center for Mediation, Peace, and Resolution of Conflict -
International is pleased to present its e-Newsletter.
In this issue, you will find:
- The World is Your Classroom: Conflict Resolution Study Abroad
- Life-long Learning
- From the Executive Director
- You are needed: Taste of Latin America
- President's Letter
- CEMPROC Patrons
The World is Your Classroom: Conflict Resolution Study Abroad[image: Study Abroad group with American Ambassador Linda Jewell] Studying international conflict resolution, filming documentaries and experiencing a Latin American country – all at once??? Between May 15th and June 5th, 2007, CEMPROC Ecuador, in conjunction with the University of Georgia (UGA), hosted an intensive, three-week study abroad program for 12 undergraduate students from UGA and Drake University. The American visitors were joined by three host fellows from Universidad de San Francisco, Quito, who not only added greatly to the academic content of the program, they also introduced the students to all facets of life in Quito, from cultural excursions to nocturnal festivities. The seminars, taught by Dr. Patricia Sullivan (UGA) and Jeff Pugh (CEMPROC), looked into a range of issues, from international conflict and ethnic civil war to negotiation and mediation techniques. Guest lecturers included negotiation expert Andrés Quintero from Colombia; Randy Borman, leader of the Cofan indigenous people of Ecuador; Dr. Alvaro Galindo from Universidad de San Francisco; and Yolanda Kakabadse, former minister of the environment and current chair of the Scientific & Technical Advisory Panel of the Global Environment Facility. A visit to the American Embassy in Quito, where students met with Ambassador Linda Jewell and the embassy staff, highlighted the role of United States foreign policy in Ecuador. In conjunction with the seminars, students dedicated their time to internship projects of direct relevance to CEMPROC’s work. The results were impressive, including an activity booklet to accompany CEMPROC’s courses on conflict resolution for children and a survey study on attitudes towards Colombian refugees among Ecuadorian university students. Two groups produced video documentaries on environmental conflict and the socio-political situation of the Afro-Ecuadorian minority. But it wasn’t all work! Sight-seeing, salsa lessons and a visit to the indigenous market of Otavalo added to the variety. A weekend trip took the group to Papallacta and Baeza, site not only of the spectacular San Rafael Waterfall and luxurious hot springs, but also of intensive oil exploration with devastating environmental consequences. This first study abroad program hosted by CEMPROC and UGA was deemed an all-round success by the participants. One student wrote, "I have gotten to see and experience things that I never imagined I would in my life. I have done things I always dreamed of and have learned about a part of the world I never would have come to otherwise." CEMPROC is looking forward to introducing further groups to the culture, conflicts and controversies of Ecuador and the region in the future.
Life-long Learning“Thanks for caring about us and our feelings. It helps us to remember that we are still alive.”
At CEMPROC, we are continually being reminded that our work goes beyond formal teaching, beyond the mere transmission of technical tools, facts, and course material. While this instruction is important, the human relationships, the touching of hearts and minds, often mean so much more. In December 2006, CEMPROC Ecuador was invited to hold one of its workshops in a Social Security center for the elderly in Quito. One workshop soon spiraled into a project of several months, during which Diana Palacios conducted two workshops for 80 elderly members of the center as well as sessions for 100 employees, including janitors, nurses and doctors working at the center. This was an entirely new situation for our experienced instructor: to deal with a group of people who, according to some, had stopped learning, indeed who had lost the capacity to listen and learn a long time ago. How to get our message of peaceful conflict resolution across to them? Would they even show interest in the kinds of skills we set out to teach? How would they react to the exercises and simulations? The experience was a surprising one: the workshops were received with great interest, lively participation and above all a vivacious appetite for learning, to the point where some participants attended both workshops offered. At the same time, however, the courses demanded that the instructor put in practice what is always being taught in theory: the art of listening. As much as the participants appreciated the conflict resolution classes, knowing that someone was paying attention and lending a compassionate ear to their stories and worries meant so much more to the elderly participants, many of whom are ill or suffering from the worst illness of all, from loneliness. Age is no barrier to learning. And what’s more: as much as we set out to teach, it is often the participants who teach us so much more.
From the Executive Director
Dear Friends,
In a time when the world is filled with conflict, it is refreshing to be a part of something that is working to build durable, sustainable peace. This has been a year of growth for CEMPROC, and I am excited about our conflict resolution training programs in Ecuador and the United States. In Ecuador, we have moved into our new office space, which has a beautiful view of the Quito city skyline. With the hard work of our staff, partners, and volunteers in the U.S. and Ecuador, CEMPROC has trained over one thousand people already this year. This sets the record for the most people we have been able to serve in any one year, and 2007 is only half over! In the early part of the year, Diana carried out a successful series of trainings for senior citizens and staff at the Social Security medical center in Quito. In May and June, things were humming in Ecuador, as we inaugurated our partnership with the University of Georgia with a fantastic first International Conflict Resolution Study Abroad Program. Thanks to Dr. Patricia Sullivan, the UGA faculty program director, as well as all the students who attended and made the course great! One of the most innovative elements of the program was the participation of three Ecuadorian host fellows from the Universidad San Francisco de Quito. These students enriched the program with their insightful comments in class, their help in the internship projects, and friendship and social interaction. We look forward to a terrific program again next May—interested students can monitor the study abroad web page for application details as they become available: www.cemproc.org/ugaconflictstudyabroad.html. Finally, in keeping with our commitment to quality training with sufficient follow up, we continued again this year training children in two Quito schools where we have worked before, as well as training over 200 parents of the children in one of the schools. In addition to training over 600 children, CEMPROC also provided a follow up refresher course for the seventh graders who went through the training last year. Finally, I want to recognize and applaud the hard work of our Ecuador director, Diana Palacios, and our program intern, Karoline Popp, whose valuable contribution to the organization helped make it possible for us to reach the scale and quality of services that we have been able to provide. During this time of exciting growth in CEMPROC’s peacebuilding work, I hope that you can take a moment to think about how you can support peace in this Hemisphere. Please consider supporting CEMPROC financially, donating silent auction items for the Taste of Latin America dinner in September, as well as planning to attend the dinner. Best wishes, and have a great summer!
Peace,
Jeff Pugh
Executive Director
You are needed: Taste of Latin AmericaBased on last year's highly successful Taste of Ecuador fundraising dinner, which raised over $3,000 and brought together over 120 people from 9 different countries for an evening of fun and culture, CEMPROC is expanding the event this year to include cuisine from all over Latin America. The Taste of Latin America will be held on Saturday, September 15 at Cane Creek Farm in Cumming, GA. In order to make this event as successful as possible and to allow it to support CEMPROC's ongoing peacebuilding work in the U.S. and Latin America, we need your help! Donations are needed for the silent auction, which could include crafts, gift certificates, time share packages, services, and much more--use your imagination to think about ways that you can support CEMPROC with your gifts, talents, and resources. Also needed are volunteers to help staff the event, as well as local cooks who can prepare traditional dishes from Latin American countries (preferably their country of origin). Of course, financial contributions and corporate sponsorships are welcome as well, and we are happy to recognize publicly those who support the event. In order to contribute to the Silent Auction, please contact Scott Hitch at s.hitch@comcast.net. To volunteer to cook, contact Eduardo Stevens at esteve02@gmail.com. To sign on as a volunteer for the event, to make a financial contribution, to explore corporate sponsorship options, or for other general questions, contact Jeff Pugh at jpugh9@jhu.edu. You can stay posted on the details of the event as information becomes available by visiting the website at www.cemproc.org/dinner.htm. We look forward to seeing you in September!
President's Letter
It is exciting to review the progress and the accomplishments of CEMPROC this year as we look toward the challenges and opportunities that lie ahead of us. What an opportunity for the students of the Study Abroad program in Ecuador to sit down with the U.S. Ambassador to Ecuador and her staff to discuss US foreign policy in Ecuador, then meet with one of the leaders of the indigenous people in Ecuador with a key role in the conflict over environment vs. oil, and later with a former Minister of the Environment for Ecuador! This was combined with presentation of theory and concepts from professors and guest lecturers from a number of universities, and the students were able to conduct hands-on research and produce products from their class projects that will actually be used in CEMPROC programs. The school training programs are really gaining traction in Ecuador, as Jeff reports in his comments. We continue to work to leverage our experience in Ecuador for programs to be implemented in the US targeted toward Spanish-speaking people in this country. As emotions run high in the US over immigration issues, we are also beginning to explore whether we might be able to leverage our experience in Ecuador creating dialogue and improved understanding between Columbian refugees in Ecuador and Ecuadorian people, in order to improve dialogue and understanding between Latin American immigrants in the US and native-born US citizens. Stay tuned, or if you have ideas we’d love to hear them. Many thanks to all of our supporters who work to help us improve peace and understanding and our individual capacities to resolve conflict in positive ways!
Sincerely,
Chuck Pugh
President, CEMPROC International Board of Directors
CEMPROC thanks the following 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:Catherine Amos, Michelle Arevalo-Carpenter, Laura Barrett, Nell & Randy Benefield, Louise Birchfield, Ruth Brisbois, Cumming First United Methodist Church, Colegio Camilio Ponce, Equifax, Escuela Ciudad de Cuenca, Escuela Francisco Javier Salazar, Jim & Sheila Geist, Gary & Saundra Gotfredson, Stacey Gravitt, Rebecca Herring, Bob & Becky Hitch, Scott & Angie Hitch, Mary Jean & Rick Holden, Carolyn Hollis, Hosteria Cumanda, Hotel Baltra, Instituto Ecuatoriano de Seguridad Social, International Folkloric Group of Cumming, Martha Lappe, Van & Tim LeBlanc, Norma Malone, Carolyn & William Mills, Ministry of Education, Ecuador, Chuck & Lynn Pugh, Jeff Pugh, Jessica Pugh, Andres Quintero, Fredy Rivera, J.W. & Mary Starr, Any Stevens, Barbara Swartz, Ann & Dwight Tallant, The many people who attended the Taste of Ecuador Dinner, University of Georgia, Tricia Weaver, Myrtle West
To find out more about how to support CEMPROC, or to become a CEMPROC Patron, visit our Support page. We greatly appreciate all of our supporters.
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.
Fabiola Cuvi
Director of IECAM, a UN Focal Point,
former Undersecretary in the Ecuadorian Ministry of Health
Dr.
Brenda Vanegas
Mediation Coordinator,
CECIM, and author of Human Rights and Gender Equality in Mediation
Dr. Fausto Sarmiento
University of Georgia
International Board of
Directors
Chuck Pugh, President
Scott Hitch, VP/Secretary
Kathie Stasko, Treasurer
Nora Martinez
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
Executive
Director
Jeff Pugh
Director for Ecuador
Diana
Palacios
UGA Study Abroad Program Director
Patricia Sullivan
Program Intern
Karoline Popp
Children's Program Coordinator
Any
Stevens
Coming Events:
July 14
Pastors for Peace course with UM Women, Santo Domingo, Ecuador
July
Indigenous Community Leader Course, Pijal
August
Latino/Hispanic youth retreat session on conflict resolution, N. GA
September 15
Taste of Latin America Dinner Event, Cumming