Education For Peacebuilding The Programs Of The Cwwpp 2008 09

Coalition for Work with Psychotrauma and Peace www.cwwpp.org [email_address]

Education for Peacebuilding The Programs of the CWWPP

The Coalition for Work with Psychotrauma and Peace

In Croatia
M. Drzica 12
32000 Vukovar
+385-32-441975 (telephone and fax)
E-Mail [email_address]
In The Netherlands
Ds. S. Tjadenstraat C81
9663 RD Nieuwe Pekela
+31-5976-45790 (telephone)
+31-5976-46319

Registration
► In The Netherlands as a non-profit non-governmental organization (“ stichting ”) equivalent to 501(c)(3) status in the USA.
► In Croatia as a foreign organization.

THE MISSION OF THE CWWPP
Education in the methods of psychological assistance, civil society, non-violent conflict transformation, human rights and related fields;
To give psychological and related medical assistance to groups and individuals as well as to give assistance in the areas indicated above;
To carry out activities related to the transformation, prevention and recovery from violent conflict;
To carry out research relevant to our work;
To carry out any other activities that will encourage and/or assist our work.

The Region in Which the CWWPP Works

History and Geography Before 1991
Culture 6,000 years old, including the Neolithic Vu čedol culture and the first calendar in Europe.
Northeast border of the Roman Empire.
Meeting point for many cultures: before 1991 more than 25 ethnic groups and more than 10 religious groups.
Important economic and cultural center .

Vukovar, 1608

Vukovar, About 1900

Vineyards Originally Planted by the Romans

Vu čedol

The Vu čedol Orion – The Oldest Calendar in Europe and the Vu čedol Dove

The Independent Croatian Republic (NDH) as was a part of the Axis Powers during the Second World War. There are still disputes among ethnic groups about the history of this period.
1945-1991: Independent Communism under Josip Broz Tito: Brotherhood-Unity
Greatest welfare within the Communist world
High level of freedom
Relative freedom of speech
Suppression of ethnic differences: the concept of being “Yugoslav”. This was not totally accepted, and such phenomena of the Croatian Spring of the 1970s took place.

The Most Recent War

1990: Croatian elections in April and May. The old Yugoslav constitution gave equality to all ethnic groups. In the new Croatian constitution, ethnic Croats were superior. At this point, discrimination against minorities began.
1990-1991: Increasing polarization between Serbs and Croats. Villages and cities are barricaded. There is increasing ethnic violence.
2 May, 1991: The “Battle of Borovo Selo”, the first major engagement of the war.
August, 1991-November, 1991: The destruction of Vukovar and continuing polarization of ethnic groups in other places in Croatia.

September, 1991: Osijek comes into Croat hands definitively.
November, 1991: Vukovar comes into Serb hands definitively.
January, 1992: International recognition of Croatia.
May, 1992: War starts in Bosnia-Herzegovina.

May, 1995: Operation Flash in Western Slavonia.
August, 1995: Operation Storm in Western and Southern areas.
August-October, 1995: Joint Croat-Bosniak push in Bosnia-Herzegovina.
November, 1995: Dayton Accords for Bosnia-Herzegovina and Erdut Agreement for Eastern Slavonia.
January, 1996-January, 1998: United Nations Transitional Administration for Eastern Slavonia, Baranya and Western Sirmium (UNTAES).
March-July, 1999: NATO bombing of Serbia in conjunction with Kosovo.

Current Problems of the Region

Some General Problems
Transitions.
Socialism to capitalism.
Totalitarianism to democracy (both relative terms).
Welfare to poverty.
Relative unity to ethnic and religious division.
Weak religion to strong and ethnically and politically connected “religious” feeling.
Human rights and discrimination against minorities.
Segregation: schools, caf és, medical care, bureaucracy, etc.: written law vs. practice.
The economic situation.
Landmines.
Cultural Revisionism.

Some Specific Problems
Civil Society and its lack of development.
Democratization.
Non-Violent Conflict Transformation.
Mental and Physical Health.
Reconciliation.
Politics – local, national and international.
Local Media.
Interest by the “outside world”, in particular by (potential) donors and the “external” media.
The way that donors work.

Some Specific Problems of Education
At primary and secondary levels
Segregation by ethnicity.
High levels of traumatization of pupils, teachers and parents.
Little innovation in teaching methods.

For people who left school early and for non-formal education.
High numbers of people who did not complete secondary and even primary school.
Few opportunities for completion of secondary school.
Few opportunities for evening or part-time education in any area.
Few opportunities for other than formal academic education such as the North American Community College system.

For higher education.
Expensive in relation to standard living expenses and income.
Only full-time – few opportunities for part-time or informal education.
Barriers such as entrance exams exist.

For people wishing to learn about post-conflict areas.
Most international relations and other programs are highly theoretical and have little to do with the reality on the ground.
Most programs are top-down, that is, they deal with governments and institutions rather than with people. They consider grassroots/ taproot work as highly peripheral.
Most programs do not give skills.

The Work of the CWWPP in General

Types of Programs
Direct assistance
Education
Being a Presence and Standing up for a Point of View
Writing and Publicity
For the Future: Research

The Work of the CWWPP in Education

Local Education – the Core Course – the Basis of the CWWPP Program
Directed at (potential) field workers.
Aims
Increase in capacity.
Increase in professionalism.
Adapted to specific groups in time and content.
Highly participatory.
Approximately 120 hours at 2 hours/week although other formats are possible.
3-16 participants per group.
Tested at the end of the course.
Certificate issued by the CWWPP.

The Content of the Core Course Includes
Inter-Personal and Group Communication
Work with groups
Psychology
Basic psychological processes
Specific psychological problems
Trauma
The problems of specific groups
Introduction to counseling

Self-Realization
Civil Society
The concept of civil society
The role of civil society
How to run a non-governmental organization
Nonviolent Conflict Transformation
Introduction to Human Rights.
Introduction to Teaching Methods.

Methodology of the Course
Introduction, in which the participants relate their experiences since the previous session. The material here may become the subject of this session.
Much discussion of the material as it is given.
Much discussion of actual – but disguised – cases.
Subjects may be taught out of the formal order of the course, depending on the interest and the needs of the participants.
The curriculum may be modified depending on the needs of the participants.
Much practice of methods.
“ Self-realization” sessions – in effect group therapy – have been added, as virtually every group asks for them at some point.
Number of sessions not specifically limited.
About two hours with a break has been found to be an optimal learning time.
Sessions given weekly rather than as an intensive course (with exceptions) to allow participants to process the material.

Groups and Individuals to Whom the Course is Given
Individuals who have the potential to work in the field.
Workers in existing NGOs who wish to gain new insights.
Members of church groups – to this point mostly Protestants, who are in a small minority in the areas in which we work.
Members of vulnerable groups – youth, former soldiers, sufferers of domestic violence, families of people suffering from mental illness, refugees, etc.
Professionals – social workers, psychologists, physicians, etc.
The course is being used as the basis course in an academic program that we are developing.

Results of the Core Course
Increase in capacity in skills, knowledge and attitudes of people already working in NGOs and as professionals.
Increase in the number of people able to assist others and to spread the knowledge, skills and attitudes further in a region where there is a very severe under-capacity in such basics as civil society and psychological counseling and self-help groups.
General change in the lack of positive attitudes toward initiative and the view of helplessness common in the region.

Perspective for the Core Course
The course will be translated into online format for use in post-conflict, conflict and inner city areas as part of the CWWPP Project on Education, which is currently being developed (to be discussed later)

The CWWPP’s Approach to Post-Secondary Education
The aim is to provide education to people who would not otherwise be able to obtain it because of
Time (not being able to devote full-time to a degree or other education, also because of having to travel to it).
Cost.
While this applies primarily to conflict, post-conflict and developing areas, it also applies to specific groups of people in the West.
Another aim of the CWWPP’s approach is to relate theory and practice. Most programs concentrate on theory and take a top-down approach, considering bottom-up approaches “peripheral”.

Higher Education
The CWWPP program is in the first stages of development.
Aims
to provide a BA and an MA program in Human Development that relates theory and practice with an emphasis on a bottom-up approach. and is specifically directed at people (who will be potentially) working in the field and/or concerned with the direction of field programs.
to ensure that the program is affordable for the participants with a cost scale that is differentiated according to need.
to make it possible in terms of time for people to complete the program, depending on their own circumstances.
to provide interaction between people from different regions thus providing exchange of experience and creating networks among field workers.

Groups at which the program is directed
Field workers
Potential field workers
Those who will direct field operation
This means that the primary group at which the program is directed is in affected areas.
A secondary group is thus people in “developed” countries wishing to be involved in peacebuilding work at some level.

Content of the BA Program
7 core courses
2 regional study courses
17 courses from various concentrations
An internship of 390 hours
A final project
Content of the MA Program
10 additional core courses
A course in Conflict Transformation
2 courses from various concentrations
An internship of 320 hours
Thesis

Education Resident Education for People from Outside the Region
Problem of war tourists, blightseers and vacationers on the one hand and serious students and other interns who don’t know the language or the culture and who think that they can do a meaningful project in a month or two.

Our solution has been a Summer Program and Short Programs throughout the year, with an emphasis on the reality of post-conflict areas vs. the theory.
Includes talks by local politicians, religious leaders, NGO workers, etc. with later discussion designed to teach participants critical thinking about these issues.
Also includes an optional 6-week project period and a language course.
During both periods, we arrange additional talks and interviews as desired by the students and as required by issues that arise.
The emphasis throughout the program is on critical thinking and on how to react in an area such as the one in which we are working.

We also offer short- and long-term assistance to MA and PhD students in a wide variety of academic areas thorough provision of office space, arranging logistics, guidance in culturally appropriate techniques, arranging interviews, etc.

Conclusions and Perspectives

There must be new solutions to education of people in conflict, post-conflict and “developing” areas with regard to capacity building for peacebuilding. Through new initiatives such as the recently announced O3b program the problems of penetration of the Internet can be solved and thus online provision of such education seems to be the method of choice.
Such online education for field workers also can provide for exchange of experience and for networking.

New methods of obtaining academic education at an affordable level and taking into account the working times and other constraints on people in conflict and post-conflict areas is essential for the development and recovery of such areas.
Programs for field workers and academic programs must relate theory to practice in both directions to obtain a maximum effect.
It is important for people from the “developed” world to actually see the effects of war. Thus, programs in the areas themselves are highly relevant.

Epilogue

Some Views of Vukovar

CWWPP Staff

A Partisan World War II memorial and its replacement by a modern fascist hero, the current “father of the nation” Franjo Tudjman

Memorial at the Mass Grave at Ov čara

No One is Normal Here

Coalition for Work with Psychotrauma and Peace www.cwwpp.org [email_address]

Education For Peacebuilding The Programs Of The Cwwpp 2008 09

by guest3ddc62 on Sep 13, 2008

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Education For Peacebuilding The Programs Of The Cwwpp 2008 09 — Presentation Transcript