Reducing conflict and building peace
By the Global Focus Youth Advisory Team: Amanda Edwards, Amina Lafraie, Erin Young, Lisa Woods, Yadana Saw & Paul Zoubkov
Everybody needs to work together to achieve peace.
Realise that you can do plenty!
- While keeping an open mind, be sceptical of mainstream media.
- Find out more about peace and conflict (if you can, use the internet!).
- Talk to your friends and whanau about issues.
- Organise an event or a campaign to raise awareness of war and the importance of peace building. It might be a concert, a public talk or a demonstration.
- Shop sensibly – support ‘fair trade’ companies that are not linked to war and conflict
- Lobby the government and your local members of parliament. If you’re 18 you can vote or stand in elections.
- Volunteer with an organisation like Amnesty International, support campaigns like ‘Ban Landmines’, or join a global networks of concerned and active young people like takingitglobal.org.
- Think about your own attitudes and practice principles of peace in your own life.
- Remember, that journey of a thousand miles begins with a small step!
Check out these websites!
A Case Study: From small beginnings
Despite their country’s hefty military budget and compulsory military service, five young men in Paraguay decided to act and set up the Military Objection Movement.
Within a few years over 25,000 fellow military objectors had flocked to their cause. By advocating for basic human rights and adequate spending on health, education and housing they have forced a number of positive changes in their country.
What’s happening in New Zealand?
NZAIDNgaHoe Tuputupu-mai-tawhiti
NZAID is a government organisation committed to helping reduce conflict among our Pacific Island neighbours.
It does this by promoting and strengthening the ability of Pacific Islands to govern themselves.
Approximately 40 percent of NZAID’s assistance in the Pacific supports programmes in governance. Examples of current work include:
- Funding projects to promote peace-building and conflict prevention
- Allocation of aid funding for humanitarian and conflict resolution
- Funding for domestic violence programmes, local police and support for women’s refuges
- The development of legal and court systems.
This article was written as part of Global Focus a collaborative project of Tearaway Magazine and the Global Education Centre. It was first published in Tearaway magazine and is reprinted here with their permission
