SOCSARGEN Peace Network invited 70 youth volunteers from
various schools, organizations and tribes mostly in General Santos City to
attend the Culture of Peace (COP) and Teambuilding seminar workshop on June 7,
2012 at a military camp transformed to a peace camp of the 73rd IB named
Fort Santiago.
LEARNING TEAMBUILDING
THROUGH PLAY
Fr. Angelo Buenavides facilitated teambuilding through
play like “breaking records” and “theory of evolution”. The learnings after the plays were shared by participants
who were further processed by the facilitator. The concepts and values learned
include the value of having good strategies before going to an activity, unity,
and excellence.
APPRECIATING PEACE THROUGH SONGS
MSU-Kabpapagariya
Ensemble, the official performing arts group of the Mindanao State University –
General Santos City, perform acoustics and entertained the participants peace and
environment songs like “Kapayapaan” and “Bathala”.
DEFINING PEACE
Participants
were asked to find an object that will symbolize peace. Some get balls, stones, slippers, broom stick
and some plants and construct a peace symbols.
Some themes that surfaced include playing football introduces peace to
the children, peace is unity.
Facilitators
Nova Masoco and Gina Misoles gave an input on peace. They shared that “PEACE means stillness and
calm, a sense of well being. Harmony and cooperation. A reality when societies are just and fair to
all. It exists in the society when
conflict are resolved non-violently and when there are practical efforts to satisfy
the basic needs of people in a fair and reasonable manner”.
TECHNOLOGY AND
PEACE BUILDING – SOCIAL MEDIA
Danny Sabino of SOCSARGEN Peace Network, shared how
technology and social media contribute to peace building like introducing and
re-enforcing various peace advocacies.
Social media was defined -“Social media includes web-based and mobile based technologies
which are used to turn communication into interactive dialogue among
organizations, communities, and individuals.”
Social media offers a good platform for the youth to
converge… knowing that majority of the populace is youth. The platform offers a good venue to share
good practices of volunteerism, generate informed decisions and get immediate
feedback.
“But at the end, it is also good to shut down the
computer and meet people personally.” says
the speaker.
UNDERSTANDING CULTURE: RESOLVING
PREJUDICES.
Youth
Volunteers were grouped by Tribes. The
composition resulted to groups of Illonggo, Cebuano, Ilokano, Tagalog and
Maguindanaon. Each tribe will be asked to put positive and negative traits
which they observed to other tribes.
Participants were then asked to explain why they write those traits and
asked each tribe to comments on the traits that were given to them. After the activities, the tribe somewhat lay
down their prejudices.
Nova
shared that “Culture is the way people think and behave. This includes the way they dress, the type of
food that they eat and the language they speak.
Example, Muslim eat halal meat, women cover all parts of their body.”
Furthermore,
the facilitator shared “Prejudice is a baseless and usually negative attitude
toward members of the group. Common
features of prejudice include negative feelings, stereotyped beliefs, and a
tendency to discriminate against members of the group.
RESOLVING CONFLICTS
Seven
volunteers were asked to hold each other with arms crossed. Everybody thought of a spot without talking
to each other. The workshop resulted to
a tug-of-war scenario where everybody wanted to go somewhere else and movements
were chaotic.
For the second
round, the volunteers were allowed to talk to each other and plan where they
want to go. The result were happy and harmonious movement where they plan to
go.
The facilitator
then gave an input, “That, conflict is natural.
An on-going and dynamic process.
That conflict can result to a positive change and that conflict is
embedded in all types of relationships”.
COMMUNICATION.
A message
relay was conducted. Participants formed
4 lines with equal members each. The
workshop were processed and consolidated with an input that “There is a good communication if one’s
thoughts, feelings, and needs to others are clearly understood. Communication is sending and receiving of
messages. A dialogue is knowing where
you stand and meeting each other and seeing what we can do together. “
“Negotiation
was introduced as a problem solving tool and MEDIATION is a satisfactory solutions
through facilitation of third party”.
CULTURE OF PEACE.
The whole
day activity was highlighted with an input on Culture of Peace (COP). “Culture
of Peace is the wholeness of life where every persons can live with dignity…
where there is an appreciation and respect for the integrity of all
person. A way of life that promotes the
well-being of all human beings, regardless of different cultural backgrounds
and historicity… where the group of people grow in dignity, self determination,
service and solidarity with their fellow human beings.
After the
seminar workshop, Lt. Sumbong of 73rd IB Community Extension
Officer, allowed the participants to move around the camp where peace messages
abound the landscape of the camp, bonsai can be seen all over the place, and at
an elevation and good angle, you can see the panoramic view of Sarangani Bay
and the mountains of Maasim.
Football
players from the participants played with the soldiers while waiting for the
transportation.
The venue
of the seminar was offered free by 73rd IB. LGU of General Santos City through the office of the city mayor, shuttled the participants from General Santos
City to Maasim and vice versa.
