Tutu Inspired Peace At Youth Symposium
U.S. Students Inspired to Peace Leadership by Tutu, Peers From War-Torn Countries
Disney Institute Youth and Peace Symposium Teaches American Teens How to Make a Difference
Young people who have survived wars and repression in countries around the world offered American teenagers valuable lessons in how to resolve the conflicts in their lives and their communities during Disney Institute's Youth and Peace Symposium held December 7th.
Five remarkable young people from some of the world's major war zones, along with Nobel Peace Laureate Archbishop Desmond Tutu and other notable adult peacemakers, inspired more than 200 Florida high school students and educators to realize they have -- or can develop -- the capacity to bring about real change and harmony in their communities. Disney Institute produced the event in collaboration with the United States Institute of Peace. It was one of the first of a series of Disney Institute symposiums that will explore and debate social issues between now and the end of 2000.
Tutu drew on his years as an Anglican cleric to assure the American teenagers that young people have long held the power to influence events. Citing Bible stories, he reminded them of the boy David felling Goliath and the Philistines, the young Joseph advising the pharaoh, and the teenage Virgin Mary.
"Did you ever notice how often God uses young people to carry out good?" Tutu asked the attendees. "And even if you don't believe in God, he believes in you."
Serving as further inspiration to the American students were:
- Dilia Lozano Suarez, a 15-year-old Colombian whose efforts for non-violence in her country earned her organization, the Children's Peace Movement, two Nobel Peace Prize nominations;
- Kimmie Weeks, 18, of Liberia, founder of two children's peace organizations and architect of a campaign to disarm child soldiers;
- Ylber Bajraktari, 20, of Kosovo, who worked under cover as an interpreter and field producer for ABC News during the Serb-led ethnic cleansing hostilities earlier this year;
- Nadja Halilbegovich, 20, of Bosnia, whose published diary and music performances helped raise hopes among her countrymen; and
- Hafsat Abiola, 25, of Nigeria, who carries on the human rights and democracy campaign started by her parents. Her father, M.K.O. Abiola, was elected president of Nigeria in 1993 but was imprisoned and died before he could take office. Her mother, Kudirat Abiola, was assassinated while engaged in organizing strikes and peace marches.
All but Lozano Suarez now live in the United States, some under grants of political asylum.
Sometimes, the American students were told, a single moment or event can propel someone to get involved as a peacemaker. For example, Hafsat Abiola admitted that, despite her father's victory in the polls, she only began working for international peace six years ago while attending Harvard University.
At the time, she was feeling isolated -- depressed that her American classmates apparently had no idea about the grinding poverty and misery in her country, or that American weapons were being used in the conflict. One day she noticed students urging people to sign a petition.
Another frivolous cause, Abiola thought. But to her amazement, the students were protesting the incarceration of her own father! That night, she launched her own campaign, accepting an invitation to speak about the situation in Nigeria. "So begin with where you are," she advised. "I would never have become involved if I hadn't met those American students."
Peacemaking begins with small steps, Weeks observed. In his case, the war that started when he was 10 years old left Liberians not only fearful for their safety but also hungry, susceptible to disease and filled with despair and hopelessness. As a young child, Weeks began his peace initiative by urging other children to simply pick up rubble and debris in their neighborhoods, and later, do errands and chores at bomb-damaged clinics. "The smallest idea can grow into something big," he said.
As Kimmie's activities expanded, so did his influence. He was invited to speak over Liberian radio about how the war affected children. He published a report on the training of child soldiers, putting his own life in jeopardy. More recently, he spoke before the United Nations, in Washington and in Northern Ireland. Today, in the wake of a ceasefire, democratic elections have been held in Liberia, and a fragile peace has ensued.
In addition to hearing the young peacemakers' stories, the American students -- along with educators attending the symposium -- took part in workshops designed to show them how they, too, could become peacemakers and resolve conflict in their communities.
During the "Leadership and Conflict" workshop, former New England Patriots tight end Lin Dawson used simulation and role playing to help a group understand the skills it takes to become a leader who can help defuse an everyday conflict at school.
Dawson, now chief operating officer for the National Consortium for Academics and Sports, urged the students to adopt the traits that mark effective leaders in sports, business and peacemaking:
- Select only those causes about which you feel passionate, rather than get pulled into others' disputes;
- Collect information and educate others to build consensus;
- Keep focused on the problem (not the participants);
- Find a course of action everyone can agree to without losing face; and
- When the immediate problem is resolved, maintain peace without grudges.
Another group, attending the "Peacemaking Simulation" workshop led by specialists from the United States Institute of Peace, saw first-hand how difficult it is to find common ground among factions with strongly held beliefs, much less resolve the issues that divide them. Students were assigned roles representing various interest groups in two mythical African countries whose borders are shifting because of a river's changing flow.
The students, seated around a large bargaining table, argued their cases vehemently. But in the end, they could not resolve the dispute. (Even during the lunch break, some of the students continued to debate the merits of their points.)
The United States Institute of Peace was created by Congress in 1984 to strengthen the nation's capabilities to promote the peaceful resolution of international conflicts. United States Institute of Peace is an independent, non-partisan organization governed by a 15-member board of directors appointed by the president and confirmed by the senate. It supports peacemaking activities in the United States and around the world through grants, research, fellowships and scholarships, training and education.
"Peace won't happen overnight," Dianna Morgan, senior vice president of public affairs and Disney Institute, told the group. "But it won't happen at all unless we get started."
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-- Posted December 16, 1999
Source: Company Press Release