Category: Education

Education is an ornament for the prosperous, a refuge for the unfortunate –Democritus (ca. 4th century BC)

POSTPONED: 2020 UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination — Cross Cultures

POSTPONED: The Cross Cultures UN Day will be rescheduled for a later date

Gehan Sabry writes:

due to the current situation, I am putting the event on hold, and hoping to re-schedule as soon as the corona virus pandemic subsides, at which time we hope that you will consider attending

take care

Gehan

Silent/Silenced | Niemoller's poem "In Germany, the Nazis came for the Communists, and I didn't speak up because I wasn't a Communist..."

Open Invitation

Come join us and be part of our TWENTIETH annual commemoration of the

UNITED NATIONS INTERNATIONAL DAY for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination

Saturday 21 March 2020
A full day public event noon to evening at Kitchener City Hall

Discrimination requires dialogue and education.

We do not limit the day to racism.

We invite presentations that address any forms of discrimination.

Confirmed so far:

  • Two international award winning special needs theatre productions coming to Kitchener

    It gives me great pride to include two international theatre productions — one from Egypt and one from the Sharjah (United Arab Emirates) who include a cast of special needs individuals allowing them to flourish and share their incredible talents — the productions are internationally acclaimed, they are award winners and have been honoured by many entities including the UN, professionals in the field from Europe and many others.

    (sign language and English subtitles provided)

  • Anti racism in education

  • Anti racism and Yoga meditation

  • KADAPUL

    55 minute film followed by an interactive discussion

    It is more than just a film. It is a medium and the impact of cinema that we can ascertain positive mindsets especially towards women. It deals with the real identity of women — through trials and tribulations — we still stand strong and powerful. It is a true validation to self. It is a movement of mindset — that defines beauty.

    Be it Puri (Odisha) or North America — the problems and the movement is the same.

Sponsor if you can !

Your assistance in connecting me with people who wish to be involved would be greatly appreciated!

  • Panelist on specific topic
  • speaker on specific topic
  • Cultural, ethic, artistic presentation, visual art show, music, instrument, group dance during the evening’s Peace Concert
  • Showcase your talent, skill, culture
  • Promote your organization / business
  • Have an information table
  • There is also an opportunity to sponsor in the printed program

And so much to come… stay tuned

Please contact Gehan Sabry if you wish to be part of the day’s events: crosscultures@bellnet.ca, founder, editor, publisher of Cross Cultures Magazine

Promoting mutual respect since 1991 as well as a radio show Cross Cultures on CKWR 98.5 FM, the local community radio station that has celebrated 46 years on the air !

2020 UN International Day for the Elimination of Racial Discrimination — Cross Cultures

Letter to Interfaith Grand River

Thank you for organizing the Interfaith Community Breakfast. It was good to hear many talk about peace, love, love for animals and so forth.

Many of us are respectful of people’s choices to provide sustenance and mostly do not comment about the food offered. However quite a number of people have chosen to live a vegan lifestyle to inflict as little harm to animals and the environment as possible and sadly there was very little
choice available at this breakfast. My wife refused to come to the breakfast as being diabetic she knew there would be nothing much to eat.

The fresh fruit, especially the berries where particularly welcome. None of the food was labeled as vegetarian, vegan or gluten free. I had no idea what the granola (?) was and I could not partake, as there was no alternative such as soy or almond milk. No protein for vegans.

So I only had fruit and cucumber for breakfast. Here is a simple U-Tube showing seven vegan breakfasts

At the end of the day there was lots of scrambled egg, which I don’t eat, but no more fresh berries when I went back for a possible second. Here is a viewpoint from many vegans about eggs.

The eggs are produced in horrendous conditions on factory farms where the male baby chicks are suffocated or ground to death alive. The milk and milk products are produced from cows who are raped to keep them pregnant (needed to produce milk) and whose lifetime is cut short to four or five years when they stop producing milk at commercial rates. The mothers cry for days after their babies are removed forcibly within a couple of days after birth.

After your $25 breakfast I needed to return home for a bowl of oatmeal, raisins and berries and to enjoy my coffee with soy milk. Quite disappointing.

I am sure the kitchen could have provided other alternatives such as beans on toast that do not involve animal suffering. With all the talk of peace and love for the creatures on this planet and the environment, one would have thought the breakfast itself could have been a testament to God’s love.

James Sannes

Canadian Representative for

Unitarian Universalists Animal Ministry

 

Basilian Volunteer Teaching Corps

At the KWPeace Potluck Meeting on 19 January 2017, Dwyer Sullivan introduced us to the Basilian Volunteer Teaching Corps

Basilian

Building Community, Educating Those in Need

Basilian

Basilian Volunteer Teacher Corps (BVTC)

The Basilian Volunteer Teaching Corps

The Basilian Volunteer Teaching Corps
Growing In Faith Through Service

Breaking the cycle of poverty through education
Basilian Volunteer Teachers give direct service to communities oppressed by circumstances of poverty by working as tutors, classroom teachers and campus ministers

Teach or tutor in under-served areas of the inner city of Detroit
Volunteer placements include possible teaching opportunities at Detroit’s Cristo Rey High School, Holy Redeemer Elementary School, and Southwest Solutions, a community organization.

Basilian Volunteer Teacher Corps (BVTC)
Basilian Volunteers bring hope to their students while at the same time gaining valuable skills friendships and professional development.

Detroit Cristo Rey Students
The goal of our program is to provide opportunity for talented and creative College graduates to teach or tutor in under-served areas of the inner city of Detroit

We must restore hope to young people, help the old, be open to the future, spread love. Be poor among the poor. We need to include the excluded and preach peace.

The Basilian Volunteer Teaching Corps is committed to providing opportunity for talented and creative college graduates to teach or tutor while living simply in community. Identified sites are located in under-served areas of inner city Detroit and on the partially devastated Caribbean island of Montserrat.

The Basilian Fathers

The Congregation of St. Basil is a vibrant community of priests, students for the priesthood, lay associates and parishioners. Founded in France in 1822, the community currently ministers in parishes and schools in Canada, Colombia, France, Mexico and the United States.




 

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© 2015 Basilian Volunteer Teaching Corps. All rights reserved.
Contact: Victoria Koivu-Rybicki | vicki@bvtc.org
Phone: 313-303-7970

Peace Camp Workshops: A huge success!

Peace Camp is an initiative housed in the MSCU Center for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College. The 2016 Directing team is made up of Kaitlyn Skelly, a current University of Waterloo student going into her 4th year of Speech Communication and Peace and Conflict Studies and Rebekah DeJong, a recent University of Waterloo Alumni of Peace and Conflict Studies.

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The Peace Camp Team is happy to share that we have completed another successful workshop season! The Peace Camp 2016 season resulted in 101 peace education presentations facilitated at 30 different schools across the region, reaching an estimated 3235 students. Throughout the hour long workshops Rebekah and I had the chance to work with youth in elementary schools ranging from Grade 3 to Grade 8. It was a wonderful opportunity to explore ideas of social justice and peace building with youth and to empower students to use their abilities to have a positive impact on their communities.

Our activities ranged from Peace Postcards that became random acts of kindness to team building activities that challenged participants to complete a bridge building task without verbal communication. Junior students experienced a Circle Process that explored the impact our words have on the feelings of those who hear them. Intermediate students tried their hand at conflict analysis to understand the root causes of problems and create solutions that turn conflict into a peace building opportunities. These activates highlighted the workshop participant’s peace building skills and demonstrated how each individual is capable of being peace builders in our communities.

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We loved seeing students experience “aha!” moments when ideas and concepts we were discussing clicked for them, especially when talking about how we can apply peace building to our everyday lives. It was exciting to witness the creative ideas students had to solve problems, express themselves and the depth of understanding for peace and compassion they demonstrated in our sessions.

Students we worked with were enthusiastic and engaged with the topics of social justice and peace building. In our feedback from teachers we were told that,

“the students were highly receptive and reflective based upon the ideas discussed”

and that they were impressed with the level of engagement their students showed while participating in the workshop. Another teacher said that “the message is positive and important and having it come from young adults is great”. Educators were pleased with the connections their students could make with local university students, “Thank you, so impressed with the many programs coming out of the University of Waterloo”. Rebekah and I are glad to hear about the positive impact this program has had on students and are grateful to the educators who welcomed us into their classrooms.

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Throughout the 2016 workshop season one of the questions students ask us most often was “Is there a real Peace Camp in the summer?”, and the answer is YES! We have a week long day camp in August for youth ages 11-14. The camp is located on the University of Waterloo Campus at Conrad Grebel University College. This summer’s theme is ‘Peace In Action’ and the goal is to show campers that whatever their interests may be, whether it is art, music, math, engineering, business or even fashion, be they can use them to pursue peace. Registration is still open and we have a few more spots available.

Click here for more information or to register for Peace Camp

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Peace and Justice — Saturday, 5 December 2015

Found on the University of Waterloo events calendar:

Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Peace and Justice: Part Three

Join us for Session Three presentations by Shakil Choudhury, Educator and Consultant, Anima Leadership, Nancy Kelly, retired Lutheran pastor, and Louisa D’Amato, a news reporter from the The Record and member of the local Jewish community.

Free parking at Renison.

Host: Renison University College

Event website: SI Events

Cost: Free but registration required

Location:
REN – Renison University College Map
Room 1303
240 Westmount Road North
Waterloo, ON N2L 3G4
Canada

Welcome to the new home for KWPeace

KWPeace logo
KWPeace
Thanks to the sponsorship of Educators for Justice and the generosity of web hosting provider CCj/Clearline the KW Peace blog has moved to a new site at http://kwpeace.ca/.

An initiative of the Kitchener Waterloo Peace and Social Justice Community Symposium, the new site gives more flexibility to add things like a comprehensive calendar of all Peace and Social Justice events in the Kitchener–Waterloo area, and mailing lists for the KW Peace groups to coordinate those events.

Thank you for joining us on our new site!

–Bob Jonkman,
KWPeace Blog System Administrator.

Social Justice Workshops for Teachers — Friday, 17 January 2014

Found this on Eventbrite:

A Day of Professional Development
Waterloo Region Occasional Teachers Local
Friday, January 17, 2014 from 10:00 AM to 3:30 PM (EST)
Kitchener, ON

The Equity and Social Justice Committee for the Waterloo Occasional Teachers Local is pleased to present a Day of Professional Development. We are pleased to provide two workshops; you may choose to attend either workshop or both! If you choose to attend both workshops, lunch will be provided.

Workshop #1 (10:00am to 12:00pm): An Arts and Literacy Approach to Address Bullying presented by Larry Schwartz. This interactive workshop will invite K-8 teachers to explore and integrate the Arts into literacy approaches to address bullying issues. Participants will be offered drama and arts strategies that help students to respond reflect and consider healthy relationships while recognizing that everyone is capable of showing positive actions.

Workshop #2 (12:30pm to 3:30pm): Social Justice Begins With Me presented by Jeffrey Wilkin. This workshop introduces members to the Social Justice Begins with Me resource kit, designed to help teachers address issues of equity and social justice in their classroom and assist students in developing awareness and understanding of these issues. Lesson plans for K to grade 8 are linked to Ontario’s curriculum. The workshop will show teachers how to engage diverse learners and create classroom environments that are safe and inclusive.

Have questions about A Day of Professional Development? Contact Waterloo Region Occasional Teachers Local on Eventbrite

Peace Camp at Conrad Grebel University College, 29 July to 2 August 2013

@PeaceCampGrebel holds a week-long Peace Camp from 29 July to 2 August

Sarah Klassen, the Camp Coordinator for Conrad Grebel Peace Camp writes:

Peace Camp July 29 -- August 2, 2013
Peace Camp Poster

Peace Camp is a week-long day camp for youth ages 11-14, where youth can participate in games, activities, sports, crafts, and drama similar to what  you would find at any other summer camp, but with a focus on peace and social justice. We use educational activities, engaging guest speakers, and exciting field trips to empower youth to work for peace in their homes, school, neighborhoods, communities, and country.

This summer, our theme is “Local Actions with Global Impact” and we will be looking at actions that we can take locally that will have a peaceful impact on our wider national and global communities. We have some great plans in the works for activities, guest speakers and field trips surrounding this theme that we think youth will really enjoy. Peace Camp 2013 will be held on July 29th to August 2nd from 9 am to 4 pm. The cost is $175 per camper, lunch included, and there are some subsidies available. We still have spots available for interested youth!

Note that the registration forms have to be in by 28 June 2013!

Here’s the press release:

Peace Camp aims for Global Impact with Local Actions

WATERLOO, ON—Conrad Grebel University College’s third annual Peace Camp is a memorable and meaningful summer camp option for youth aged 11-14. This week long day camp, starting on July 29th, is action-packed with exciting new activities, crafts, games, and field trips that will encourage youth to inspire lives, strengthen ties, and make peace happen all over the Waterloo region.

Last year a camper came away from Peace Camp saying: “I’ve learned so much that I’d like to remember my whole life. I’ve made so many great friends and counsellors I’ll never forget. I’ve learned that sometimes being sad because of a story makes you remember it even more. This camp really made me care about things and made me try harder to make the world better. I really want to come to this camp again because here, every game or story, or person you meet, means something. In this camp I’ve learned to stand up for what I believe in and NEVER give up no matter what!”

Equipped with a 5-year grant from the Lyle S. Hallman Foundation and on-going sponsorship from the Mennonite Savings and Credit Union and Josslin Insurance, Peace Camp is embarking on a voyage of learning and discovery where youth will collaborate with people in different neighbourhoods to help ordinary citizens do extraordinary deeds.

Peace Camp partners with the peacebuilding organizations of Interfaith Grand River and House of Friendship, as well as organizations committed to reversing the effects of violence – Working Against Youth Violence Everywhere committee (WAYVE) and the Canadian Mental Health Association (CMHA). Peace Camp is fortunate to be able to draw on the experience and expertise of these organizations to include people from all walks of life in peacemaking in Peace Camp’s programming.

Peace Camp Coordinator, Sarah Klassen, noted that “this summer’s theme ‘Local Actions With Global Impact’ will allow youth to participate in and experiment with arts, crafts, games, and sports that will not only teach co-operation and respect for others in the local community, but in the global community as well.” Youth will learn about actions that can be taken at home that can have a peaceful impact around the world.

Registration is now open! Peace Camp will be run from Monday, July 29th to August 2nd, 2013 from 9:00 am to 4:00 pm, and lunch is included. Peace Camp is committed to providing a low-cost program to make sure all interested youth can participate. The total cost per camper is $175.00.

Register at www.grebel.ca/peacecamp
Twitter: @PeaceCampGrebel
Facebook: Conrad Grebel Peace Camp – Waterloo, ON – Education

Peace Camp at Conrad Grebel University College, University of Waterloo.
Inspiring lives. Strengthening Ties. Making Peace Happen in the Waterloo Region

 

Contact:
Sarah Klassen — Peace Camp Coordinator
140 Westmount Road North
Waterloo, Ont. N2L 3G6
519-885-0220 x24291
www.grebel.ca/peacecamp
peacecamp@uwaterloo.ca

Suubi Youth Dance and Drum Troupe, 22 and 30 May 2013

Eleanor Grant writes:

An exciting upcoming event on Thurs May 30:

In conjunction with Dream for Uganda, Neruda Productions is pleased to present the Suubi Youth Dance and Drum Troupe from the Cambridge Secondary School in Eastern Uganda on May 22 at Gallery Momo in St Jacobs, and on May 30 in the Rotunda Gallery at Kitchener City Hall.

Suubi Youth are the stars of the drama club at the Cambridge Secondary School which provides refuge, counseling, and an education free of cost to 400 children impacted by war, poverty and AIDS.

“The enthusiasm and joy of these young people who have faced such great adversity has a lot to teach us about the healing power of dance and music,” explains Isabel Cisterna, Neruda Productions’ Artistic Director. “Their music and their joy is inspirational.”

Suubi Youth will spend time with students at Rockway Mennonite School in Kitchener and will also visit high school students in Tobermory and Lion’s Head between performances in Waterloo, Toronto and London.

In Uganda, education is not free so the Cambridge school motto, “nothing without struggle,” applies not only to its students, but also to those who founded and operate the school.

Suubi Youth are touring Southern Ontario on a cultural exchange from May 18 to June 1, visiting schools, performing, and raising funds to purchase a biofuel stove for their school in Kyengera, just outside the capital, Kampala. The biofuel system will provide enough clean burning gas to power stoves and eventually lights, making the school more self-sufficient and able to give up the dirty charcoal brazier that requires cutting down trees to fuel.

Performances by Suubi Youth in Waterloo are by donation, or ‘pay what you can’ (PWYC, suggested $10).

For more information or an interview contact Isabel Cisterna, Artistic Director, Neruda Productions at: isabel@nerudaproductions.com or +1-519-502-9677

Dream for Uganda: Suubi Youth
When: May 22, 2013 – 4:00pm
Where: Gallery Momo – The Mill, 1441 King St. North, St. Jacobs, ON

Dream for Uganda: Suubi Youth
When: May 30, 2013 – 6:00pm
Where: Rotunda Gallery, Kitchener City Hall

For more information visit:
nerudaproductions.com
dreamforuganda.com
www.cacoskyengera.org/
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Eleanor Grant writes a semi-regular e-mail newsletter on social justice issues. You can contact Eleanor at eleanor7000@gmail.com