FOLLOW US
Peace Education
Building Broad-based Coalitions in Russia
Written by UPF- Russia
Tuesday, May 6, 2008
Russian Ambassadors for Peace decided to conduct in 2008 in Moscow and other cities and regions of Russia a series of public events under the motto “Peace in the Heart - Love in the Family – Peace on Earth,” to facilitate a sustainable civil-society coalition that can provide national leadership to promote peace, democracy, patriotic and family values, living for the sake of others, civic accord and reconciliation, inter-ethnic and inter-religious cooperation, and dialogue among cultures and civilizations, through arts and culture, sports, service, and education.
Symbolically, the Russian government proclaimed 2008 as the Year of the Family. So our goals and objectives are to concentrate public attention on the ideals of living for the sake of others, true family, peace and reconciliation in society, with the goal of setting up sustainable and effective civil coalition. We need this in order to facilitate dialogue between civil society and the state bodies within the framework of the Millennium Development Goals and to involve state bodies in public peace efforts, resulting in efficient mechanisms of social partnership. Such a coalition is to consolidate isolated peace and service efforts for the sake of joint positive development and the Universal Peace Federation/Ambassadors for Peace activities in Russia in 2008 and beyond.
Keeping this in mind, we started campaigning to develop a broad civil coalition. To consolidate public effort in support of the Year of Family in Russia, we are facilitating a public discussion on human development issues, linked to the celebration of the 15th anniversary of the Constitution of the Russian Federation, in order to highlight the Constitutional rights of women, children, and family. We also advocate humanitarian and service activities to benefit families with several children, orphans, poor people, and senior citizens.
Our academic and educational activities include conferences, symposiums, and round table discussions on peace, public diplomacy, human development, and human security, as well as debates on issues of religious education in the Russian schools and actions in support of the Russian language and Russian culture, independent publishers of educational literature, etc.
Our international activities aim at sustaining inter-ethnic, inter-cultural and inter-religious dialogue, to promote tolerance and transparency. To celebrate the 60th jubilee of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, present the draft UNESCO Convention on Peace Education, and offer activities to highlight the UN International Decade of Culture of Peace for Children of the Planet are also on our agenda.
But common people are more attracted by culture/arts and entertainment than by abstract debates. So we are also planning folklore exhibitions, competitions, and shows in support of Russia’s indigenous people and Russian traditional culture, and also for youth activities such as meetings and rock concerts to support patriotic education and volunteer service.
And, of course, we are paying special attention to sports. Our sports cluster includes:
• Youth Super-Marathon “Golden Ring of Russia - Children Pro Sport Against Drugs”
• International Peace Super-Marathon “Moscow-Astana-Beijing”
• International Super-Marathon to celebrate the Russo-French alliance in World War II
• International Federation of Martial Arts activities
• Play Football Make Peace
We began on March 1 with the International “Moscow Super Family” competition. We envision a major ceremony coinciding with the official wrap-up of the Year of the Family in Moscow and other cities and regions of Russia.
We think that to involve a broad civil society coalition is more important than to do it by ourselves. Thus, our participants and stakeholders include government and non-government organizations, public commercial and non-commercial organizations, institutions, movements, and individuals representing various strata of civil society, academia, culture and arts, media, and sports, as well as different religions and denominations.
We are encouraging Ambassadors for Peace to volunteer and coordinate core activities. Public organizations and individuals interested in the activities in Moscow and other cities/regions of Russia approved our Conceptual Framework and agreed to plan and carry out their own 2008 activities within this framework.
Our partners will coordinate their planning and organizational activities to prepare for and to conduct core Festival activities, in accordance with the broad coalition/network principles. This means that they are authorized to independently attract and consume financial resources, in order to carry out core activities.
To conclude, we are attempting to arrange this as ongoing public campaign rather then a single event. This will help us to further promote the UPF ideals and core principles in Russia and throughout Eurasia.
If you find this page helpful and informative please consider making donation. Your donation will help Universal Peace Federation (UPF) provide new and improved reports, analysis and publications to you and everyone around the world.
UPF is a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization and all donations are tax deductible in the United States. Receipts are automatically provided for donations of or above $250.00.
|
Donate to the Universal Peace Federation: Your donation to support the general programs of UPF. |
Donate to the Religious Youth Service (RYS): Your donation will be used for service projects around the world. |
Donate to UPF's Africa Projects: Your donation will be used for projects in Africa. |
Related Articles
Australia
UPF-Australia Convenes Mutual Prosperity Summit
Melbourne, Australia—The Mutual Prosperity Summit focused on “Rethinking Our Economic Models.”