Experiential Learning Peacebuilding Expedition

Outward Bound Peacebuilding is a non-profit organization that inspires and challenges leaders in divided societies to work together to build peace. Outward Bound Peacebuilding uses experiential learning techniques to encourage compassionate leadership, develop skills in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, and foster respect and trust amongst a network of change agents from around the world. Please find below the details of the 2015 Practicum, and an attached flyer for dissemination to your community.

Please contact me if I can provide any further information at either pep@outwardboundpeace.org or 347-746-0461. We greatly appreciate your help.

Best regards,

Ana Patel, Executive Director

Practicum on Experiential Peacebuilding

Dates: January 2 – 11, 2015 (arrival on Jan. 1st)

Location: Piedras Blancas, Costa Rica Participants will fly into San Jose, Costa Rica (SJO)

What is it?

Designed for young professionals and students who want to get out of the classroom and apply their leadership and conflict resolution skills. PEP is a program that combines a unique outdoor experience with experiential learning techniques in a multicultural environment.

Resolving conflict needs a deep understanding of others and nature can create a safe space for experiencing different perspectives. Peace begins with me.

Birikit Terefe, 2013 PEP Participant from Ethiopia

What does the program include?

The 10-day experience will include hiking and backpacking through the Costa Rican rainforest, a homestay and service project with a local Costa Rican family, an overnight solo camping experience, waterfall rappel and conclude with a day at the UPEACE Centre for Executive Education, U.N. mandated University for Peace, in Costa Rica. Along the journey participants will learn and practice leadership skills, challenge their own perspectives, explore relevant peacebuilding topics, and develop meaningful relationships with participants who share similar commitments to peace and human dignity.

For more info, visit
http://outwardboundpeace.org/programs/practicum-on-experiential-peacebuilding/

Karpf Hahn Peace Grant

The Whales Have Won

On March 31st, the International Court of Justice (ICJ) made a decision in the case of Whaling in the Antarctic (Australia v. Japan, New Zealand intervening). In a vote of 12 to 4, the Court has found that Japan’s whaling program, JARPA II, does not conform with many rules of scientific research set by the International Convention on the Regulation of Whaling. The press release states that the Court “orders that Japan revoke any extant authorization, permit or licence to kill, take or treat whales in relation to JARPA II, and refrain from granting any further permits under Article VIII, paragraph 1, of the Convention, in pursuance of that programme.” Before the verdict, advocates were worried that the hunting of non-endangered whales would be permitted, but the ruling states that JARPA II must conform to the regulations for all whales. Read the full judgement here and more information about the decision from the view of conservation programs here!

Russia’s Arctic Oil Rig

The Russian government and the Greenpeace organization are arguing over the Prirazlomnaya oil rig in the Arctic. The rig is owned by Gazprom, a Russian state-owned company. The base of the rig is so heavy that it cannot be moved, and it sits about 20 meters (66 feet) deep on a seabed.

The issue with the rig is not its structure. Instead, it is the possibility of a spill in the Arctic waters. Campaigners say that “the nature here is unique,” as the animals, such as polar bears, walruses, and narwhals, have nowhere else to go if there is a spill. The arctic ocean has two narrow entrances to the remaining oceans: one by Iceland and the other by Alaska. Therefore, there is little mixing with other seas, causing oil spills to stay in the Arctic. Also, an oil spill would be catastrophic because of the low temperatures in the north. In tropical waters, oil becomes absorbed readily by bacteria and other microorganisms. These microorganisms do not live in cold waters, so the oil would stay in the Arctic for about 100 years. Companies also do not have the technology to collect spilled oil under ice.

Gazprom claims that they have extremely safe measures intact. The rig is in shallow water, enabling the wellhead to be inside the rig. There is also a cut-off system  that offloads the oil into tanks. There are detections on the tanks to detect movement, and if there is too much movement by a factor such as ice, oil stops flowing. The company also claims that they could clean up a spill under the ice by using icebreakers. Two icebreakers are near the rig, which would enable skimmers to enter the water and clean oil if needed.

The safety measurements are not enough for Greenpeace activists, who repeatedly attempt to climb the rig in protest. By climbing the rig, the activists are creating risk to the rig’s possibility of spilling. Workers have even started to spray the rig with fire hoses while the activists attempt to climb up, but the activists claim that the use of inflatable boats and lightweight ropes deters them from being a threat.

This year, when 30 Greenpeace activists attempted to climb the rig, the FSB, Russia’s federal security service, pulled the activists off, pointed guns at them, and opened fire onto the water. The activists are now in jail with charges of “piracy as part of an organized group.” The Netherlands, where the Greenpeace ship that went to the Arctic is registered, is currently challenging the arrests with an argument of the “Convention of the Law of the Sea.”

View the full article here.

Brandeis Institute for International Judges, 2013

Sixteen judges from thirteen international courts and tribunals attended the ninth Brandeis Institute for International Judges (BIIJ) in Sweden in July 2013. The institute was organized in partnership with the Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Human Rights and Humanitarian Law and the Lund University Faculty of Law. Attached is more information about the Institute.

Three undergraduate interns from Brandeis University provided support throughout the Institute: Rida Abu Rass ’14, Anastasia Austin ’14 and Alex Glomset ’14. Their thoughts are expressed here.

Student wins ASA award

Andrea Verdeja ’14, a Politics major at Brandeis University, was selected as the recipient of the prestigious Elise Boulding Award from the American Sociological Association, the highest Sociology professional association in the country. Verdeja, a Roosevelt Fellow, wrote the award-winning paper for the fellowship course on identity issues amongst Palestinians. Her essay was named ” “The Merging of Times: Refugee Identity within the West Bank,” and Professor Gordie Fellman recommended that she applied to the prize due to the paper’s outstanding quality. Prof. Fellman also won an award from ASA a few years ago for his distinguished scholarship. Verdeja was not only commended on the excellent quality of her writing, but was also invited to attend the ASA meetings  that will take place in New York City this August in order to receive her award in person and meet the committee that selected her. We’re very proud of Andrea for nationally representing Brandeis University and for all of her accomplishments!

Kathryn Davis passes away at age 106

Kathryn Davis, one of the United States’ most well-known philanthropists, passed away at age 106 at her home in Hobe Sound, Florida. Dr. Davis has made an everlasting impact at Brandeis University through her funding of the Davis Peace Projects. In 2007, for her 100th birthday, she pledged $1 million in order to provide 100 college students with the opportunity to develop peace projects that would be implemented throughout the world. She kept on providing grants for students all over the country since then. This year, Ardak Meterkulova ’13 and Mangaliso Mohammed ’13 were the recipients of the grant, and they will be implementing AIDS projects in Kazakhstan and Swaziland. Brandeis University is forever grateful for Dr. Davis’ generosity and kindness. Click here for more information regarding Kathryn Davis’ life and accomplishments.

Davis Peace Prize Winners!

Two Brandeis students have been awarded $10,000.00 each to spend this Summer working on their projects promoting peace.  The awards come from the Davis Projects for Peace.  Our Brandeis students, Mangaliso Mohammed and Ardak Meterkulova, entered the annual competition for this prestigious award.

Mangaliso Mohammed and Ardak Meterkulova both designed projects that address AIDS prevention in remarkably different ways.

Back to Basics: Food for Healing HIV

Brandeis senior Mangaliso Mohammed will implement his project in his home country of Swaziland. Mohammed’s project takes  a holistic approach to HIV treatment through fresh food with plans to reach out to HIV orphans in Nkwalini by engaging them in the creation of a vegetable garden and a free-range chicken farm at the area’s Health and Social Center. Mohammad also plans to extend the farming project to at least 20 homes in the area, promoting healthy eating and encouraging traditional methods of food production. This project will provide a stable food supply within a population struggling with poverty, filling the bellies of HIV patients whose medication’s effectiveness improves with regular healthy meals. In addition, extra food will provide a source of income to keep the project going and establish a Farmer’s Market.

HIV/AIDS Education

Ardak Meterkulova, a senior from Kazakhstan, who is an HSSP and Business double-major plans on raising HIV/AIDS awareness by creating a bilingual educational film, in Russian and Kazakh in the Almaty region of her home country. Meterkulova’s film will be used in summer camps along with exercises and texts, in order to enlighten 9^th graders as to the nature of the illness, ways to prevent it, and how to respond compassionately to those infected by it. Meterkulova plans to locate ten medical students interested in HIV/AIDS work and set them up with USAID training to help her implement the educational aspect of the project. There is expected to be a big impact from the film and educational program on Almaty’s heavily conservative Muslim community, which does not implement any type of sex education.

New Facebook Page!

Please take a look at our new PAX Facebook Page! Like, comment and let us know your opinions and suggestions.

KATHRYN DAVIS’ 106TH BIRTHDAY!

Kathryn Davis, the founder of Davis Projects for Peace, just turned 106th years old! Brandeis University is lucky to be one of the recipients from this project, awarding a prize every year for a Brandeis student.

Davis Projects for Peace is funded by Kathryn W. Davis, a lifelong internationalist and philanthropist (who earned a B.A. from Wellesley, an M.A. from Columbia, and a Ph.D. from the University of Geneva) who is now over 105 years old. She is the mother of Shelby M.C. Davis who funds the Davis UWC Scholars Program currently involving 90 American colleges and universities. Mrs. Davis feels some urgency to spark initiatives for building prospects for peace in the world and so is committing $1 million to fund these numerous $10,000 projects for peace. She believes that today’s youth – tomorrow’s leaders – ought to be challenged to formulate and test their own ideas.

Happy birthday to Kathryn Davis, and for more information, check out the website:
http://www.davisprojectsforpeace.org/