BUILDING A CULTURE OF TOLERANCE

Citizens for Peace has initiated a Youth for Peace progamme which engages the youth of Mumbai on issues of identity, secularism and peace with the primary aim of building an active, responsive and cohesive youth response to the violence in our times.

The urgency to intervene in defense of democracy, secularism and justice has never been more pressing than in the conditions prevailing in the country today. The rise of terrorism and communalism has emerged as a threat not only to the immediate victims but to the very fabric of our society today. In this milieu it is invariably the young that are most vulnerable whether it is getting swayed by misplaced notions of justice or becoming victims of police brutality.

It is critical to engage with this group in order that they are able to make sense of the social, political, religious and economic forces pushing them in order that they take mature and socially responsible decisions.

Citizens for Peace has started working with a few colleges in Mumbai to foster a healthy debate on such issues. Please call to join in or email gulan@citizensforpeace.in

Citizens for Peace and SAHER come together to launch

The programme is envisaged to bring together youth from different profiles to work together as they begin a journey of exploring the 'self', discovering each other and building relationships. The idea is to establish a process model for young people who go through intensive processes of building perspectives around social issues and peace building so that they can initiate active citizenship action with other young people.

Broad Objectives:

At the end of the process, 25 Youth Facilitators will be enabled to:

* Explore themselves and reflect on individual actions and their impact on people around

* Develop perspectives around issues of social relevance and citizenship action

* Analyze causes of conflict and conflict handling modes to be able to react and respond to situations sensitively

* Develop competencies to take youth along in processes of peace building through collective action

Youth Profiles

* College going youth from: Burhani College, Mazgaon, Ismail Yusuf College, Jogeshwari, Tolani College, Andheri

* Community Youth: Young people who have been out of the ambit of formal educational systems, passionate about social change and leading peace-building initiatives in their communities.


Core Programme Elements

Starting July 2010, young people involved in this programme will go through a 8 months long module comprising sessions, workshops, exposure camps, training in instructional design and facilitation skills, designing and organizing campaigns and developing action plans for future work on building peace through citizenship action.

Students learn about violence in Bastar

Students of Burhani College listened spell-bound to Himanshu Kumar of Vanvasi Chetna Ashram, Bastar, Chhattisgarh, when he addressed them on the issue of Naxal insurgency, police atrocities and the ground realities faced by the people of Bastar. Himanshuji, whose Gandhian Ashram was demolished by police security guards, explained the daily problems faced by the Adivasis in the region, their struggle for survival and some of the underlying causes for violence in the region.

This talk was organized by Citizens for Peace, as part of our on-going initiative to create awareness and understanding amongst the youth with a view to orient them to issues and work for justice and peace in their own spheres

PEACE INITIATIVES: Extempore Speaking Contest

September 24 2009: As part of the process of engaging with the youth on issues of peace and harmony, Citizens for Peace collaborated with students of Burhani College for an Extempore Speech Contest.

Citizens for Peace and students of Burhani College at the Festival of India, Kala Ghoda

30th October and 1st November: Students recited poems and Urdu nazms on the theme of unity and non-violence.

PEACE COUNTS - an exhibition on Peace Builders around the world

Organised by CfP in collaboration with Burhani College, Mumbai, INSAF-India and Institute of Peace Education, Germany.
July 13-19, 2009

Celebrated actor Faroukh Sheikh inaugurated the exhibition and spoke about the roles and responsibilities of the youth, the choices they have and the future they need to build. Dolly Thakore, CfP trustee, talked about the organization, and how we started our journey to build peace.

Bhau Korde, social activist from Dharavi who has been doing path-breaking work to build communal harmony narrated some of his experiences and was truly inspiring.