International Youth Peace Workshop Tanzania 2010, Day 1

The International Youth for Peace Workshop “Sowing seeds together for a change” started on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 in Dar es Salaam/Tanzania with 28 participants from ten different countries. The participating youth are involved in GNRC activities in their home countries and will spend five days together to develop and strengthen their skills on Peace Building and Interfaith Youth work to later on share their new knowledge with the members of their groups in their home countries.

International Youth Peace Workshop Tanzania 2010, Day 1

The International Youth for Peace Workshop “Sowing seeds together for a change” started on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 in Dar es Salaam/Tanzania with 28 participants from ten different countries. The participating youth are involved in GNRC activities in their home countries and will spend five days together to develop and strengthen their skills on Peace Building and Interfaith Youth work to later on share their new knowledge with the members of their groups in their home countries.

International Youth Peace Workshop Tanzania 2010, Day 1

The International Youth for Peace Workshop “Sowing seeds together for a change” started on Tuesday, January 26, 2010 in Dar es Salaam/Tanzania with 28 participants from eleven different countries. The participating youth are involved in GNRC activities in their home countries and will spend five days together to develop and strengthen their skills on Peace Building and Interfaith Youth work to later on share their new knowledge with the members of their groups in their home countries.

mm/DSC_0997.JPG The Workshop started with an Opening Sessions where the participants got information about the schedule and they also got to know the facilitators of the Workshop. After this short briefing it was time for the participants to get to know each other. The youth did not only learn about the name and home countries of the others, but through various activities they found out about their hobbies, interests, thoughts, heroes in life – and through this experienced what they have in common with each other. After this, the participants planted their first “seeds”, writing down what they expect to take home from the workshop – in their heads, hearts and hands.

In the afternoon, the youth learned more about the activities they are doing in their home countries. Therefore the participants explained the situation of their mm/DSC_1179.JPG countries and the environments they are living in and how the youth groups are organized in their countries. Then they gave more details about their youth group activities, which topics play a big role in the meeting, which challenges they are facing and how the youth groups are involved in schools and communities.

mm/DSC_1257.JPGThe day ended the Opening Ceremony took place with the presence of the Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Community Development, Gender and Children. Peace Club Members from Dar es Salaam entertained the audience with music, dances and acrobatics.


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La Aecid y los periodistas

Jacobo G. García, de El Mundo, debe haber levantado ampollas con su crítica pública a los compañeros desplazados a Haití: Rosa María Artal, ex de TVE, por su parte, ha matizado esta crítica muy adecuadamente: si no queremos militarización de la ayuda, tampoco espíritu guerrero en las crónicas. Milagros Pérez Oliva se ocupa del tema como Defensora del Lector de El País, pero se limita a responder a las críticas sobre la publicación de ciertas fotos, sin entrar en otros debates de profundidad.

Desde el sector, Francisco Rey y Jesús A. Núñez, del Iecah, resumen muy bien la indignación de los que nos dedicamos a la cooperación y los conflictos por esta “barra libre para la solidaridad de todo a cien” en que se han convertido las radios y televisiones.

En una de las cosas que acierta el periodista de El Mundo es en plantear cual debe ser el papel de la Aecid o de las las diferentes agencias de cooperación en estos casos: ¿facilitar el transporte y el alojamiento a los periodistas?, ¿ procurar que aparezcan sus logos en las crónicas?, ¿no sería mejor asegurarse de que los periodistas saben algo de ayuda humanitaria y de políticas de cooperación, o que disponen de información alternativa a la previsible? ¿los gabinetes de prensa de estas agencias orientan su trabajo según las estrategias que ellas mismas marcan de sensibilización y educación para el desarrollo?

En las facultades españolas solo un par de posgrados forman en periodismo de conflictos y paz o en periodismo preventivo. La Estrategia de Educación para el desarrollo de la Aecid, establece como línea prioritaria la “sensibilización y promoción de la educación para el desarrollo entre los profesionales de los medios de comunicación”. La cobertura sobre Haití muestra hasta qué punto esta tarea es prioritaria y urgente.

La Aecid se plantea incorporar asignaturas especializadas en las facultades de Ciencias de la Información; organizar seminarios, talleres y jornadas dirigidas a informar, formar y orientar a los profesionales de la información; incentivar su participación en reuniones nacionales e internacionales relacionadas con el desarrollo; fomentar y organizar encuentros de agentes y medios de comunicación de países donantes y socios para estudiar fórmulas que hagan posible el fomento de redes de comunicación alternativas, y que la voz del Sur sea la protagonista de la información transmitida en los países donantes, o crear un programa de intercambio que permita que profesionales de los medios de comunicación o estudiantes puedan realizar estancias formativas o de intercambio en medios de comunicación de los países socios, y en organismos internacionales relacionados con la cooperación al desarrollo.

Sólo medidas como éstas permitirán a los profesionales sensibles especializarse o descubrir por qué las coberturas actuales de catástrofes son contraproducentes para cualquier tipo de desarrollo futuro, y por qué reflexiones como las de M. Riviere son más profundamente educadoras y útiles, que las miles de páginas de Internacional desaprovechadas estos días:

Statement on Haiti by Peace Club Members in Tanzania

We, the children and youth from Peace Clubs in Tanzania would like to say the following to the people affected by the earthquake in Haiti:

First, we would like to express our sympathy to all people who have been affected by the devastating earthquake. We also convey our condolences to all who lost their relatives and friends. GOD will help you all.

We call for the international organizations to center their efforts to help the people of Haiti, giving them humanitarian aid, and request these organizations to help rebuilding Haiti to help and assist the victims affected by the earthquake.


We would like to make a special request to the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF), World Health Organizations (WHO) and all organizations to look after the youth, children and women of Haiti, since they are the most vulnerable victims by such disasters in the world.

Also we would like to appeal to the citizens of Haiti to be tolerant while the United Nations and other organizations to proceed to find solutions to most effectively help the country and its citizens. GOD will help you to recover soon.

At last, we want to thank the organizations and partners who are there to help the victims affected by the earthquake of Haiti. Please know you are in our prayers everyday!

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