National Workshop on Peace and Reconciliation for Teachers under JEA held on 15, 16 February 2020 at Indian Social institute, Bangalore.

28 Apr, 2020 by admins

Print this article Font size -16+

A National Seminar on Peace and Reconciliation for teachers under JEA was held on 15, 16 February
2020 at Indian Social Institute, Bangalore. The workshop was organized by Loyola Institute of Peace
and International Relations (LIPI), Kochi, the Nodal Agency for Peace and Reconciliation of the
South Asian Assistancy with support from Indian Social Institute-Delhi. The aim of the workshop was
to promote peace and reconciliation in schools in response to Decree 1 of the General Congregation
36, to the JCSA recommendation to work towards peace and reconciliation at all levels of the Society,
and also to the Universal Apostolic Priorities of the Society of Jesus.

The workshop was formally inaugurated by Fr Joye James, SJ (Secretary, JEHASA). The dynamics
of the workshop were explained by Fr. Dr. Binoy Jacob SJ, the Coordinator of the Nodal Platform,
which was followed by a presentation by Fr. Dr. Siji Noorokariyil SJ (Assistancy Development
Director) on “Peace and Reconciliation: The Emergence of A South Asian Network.”
An array of eminent resource persons led the sessions in the workshop. Prof. Dr. M.P. Mathai
(Dean, LIPI, Kochi & Adjunct Professor, Gujarat Vidyapeeth) delivered the keynote address on
“Promoting Peace and Reconciliation in Today’s Context.” After giving a comprehensive definition
of peace, he highlighted the concepts such as justice, non-violence, and reconciliation. In the second
session, Dr Paramjyot Singh (Chairman, Centre for Peace and Justice, XLRI Jamshedpur) dealt with
“Human Rights Education in Schools.” He presented a historical review of the development of the
idea of human rights, right from the ‘Magna Carta’ in 1218. He also brought to light the contemporary
significance of child rights with special reference to the Universal Declaration of Human Rights
(UDHR) and the Constitution of India.

A panel discussion on “The Practical Ways of Promoting Peace” was held in the evening in which Fr.
Joseph Kalathil SJ who is a pioneer in promoting peace and harmony among students of Indian and
Pakistan, and Dr. Neil Tannen (Assistant Professor, Department of Political Sciences, St. Joseph’s
College, Bangalore) participated. The panel was chaired by Fr Joye James SJ.
The second day began with a session on “Peace and Social Harmony” by Dr Denzil Fernandes SJ
(Executive Director, ISI-Delhi). He shared the experience of ISI-Delhi organizing peace clubs in
various schools and communities of different states. Based on the sessions, the following questions
were culled out for group discussions and presentations: What are the creative ways of promoting
peace in your own schools? How do you envisage setting up peace clubs? How would you integrate
the human rights concepts with the subjects you teach? The sum and substance of the discussions
were formulated into certain guidelines for future action.

In all, forty participants from various provinces of India attended the workshop. They were declared
‘Ambassadors of Peace’ to promote peace and reconciliation in their schools and in their
neighbourhood.

admins

More articles by admins