Imagine Creatively Ina Curic

Episode 2. Parenting for Peace: Reflections from a Peacebuilding Specialist
Juan Felipe Carrillo Gáfaro
Project Leader @ Education for Global Peace Comic Strip on Peace Education, Our Global Village and Peace Lesson Talks
Juan Felipe is both a peace education specialist and a father of two young boys so we connected what can we do as professional peace workers starting at home. He has many years of teaching experience at universities in Europe and Colombia, and enjoys giving seminars on his fields of expertise.

https://educationforglobalpeace.org/

More about Juan Felipe here: https://educationforglobalpeace.org/team/

Sound is low only for me, asking questions. Juan Felipe can he heard much better. We're still testing technology! Apologies!

We talked about the current global opportunity to develop empathy, collaboration and solidarity among people.

Questions we tackled, open for reflection:

* How do we teach children to be realists with a heart? 

* Do we teach the children about the world as is, including injustice, inequality, war, or we teach them about the world we can create every day with our actions? 

* How do we make the game enjoyable for all in the world, beyond enemy thinking?

* How do we use imaginative pedagogy with children? Installing the belief that justice and peace are possible.

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A few points in this episode:

Peace as wellbeing. A few aspects  connected to wellbeing for teaching children:

1. Connect- hear, talk, engage even with people, even if you do not like them.

2. Be active - be pro-active, engage in physical movement

3. Take notice - be curious

4. Keep learning always, open to new perspectives

5. Give - be generous with others, with your time and money.

Robin Edward Poulton is a scholar and practitioner in the field of peace and conflict. Since he started working with the United Nations in the 1970s - and later with many NGOs - Robin has published 10 books and more than 300 newspaper articles on peace and development issues, disarmament and terrorism, African life and politics. He was born Scottish, but raised African by his father who was a United Nations doctor in West Africa. Dr. Robin Poulton calls himself a "White West African" and a "Child of the United Nations”.
Robin has been interviewed many times over the years by the BBC World Service, Radio France Internationale, and various African radio and TV stations, especially ORTM Mali. He is also featured in three films on peace and disarmament.

I am honoured to start with him the Imagine Creatively podcast, pondering about the relevance of peace thinking for the wider mainstream.

Since Dr Poulton started university teaching in Virginia in 2002, he began writing about West Africa for an American audience, many of whom have West African ancestors - notably from the medieval Empire of Mali, which was founded by the original Lion King in the year 1235. Some of this is fact, and some is fiction inspired by African realities. His latest book is called SISTER CITIES, written with an African American historian called Ana Edwards, and celebrating twelve years of partnership and “citizen diplomacy” between Richmond in Virginia, and Ségou, the second city of Mali.

Key points in this episode:

* linking the macro-level of international politics to the micro-level of the family and marriage: what does it take to keep a long term partnership happy and healthy over many years: negotiation skills!

* what is peace and how can each contribute to peace? Inspiration from David Hume's "greatest happiness for the greatest number" principle. Always consider the benefits and consequences for all people involved.

* humour is a great tool for disarming people-oriented pro-war ( a field story from Cambodia). Might be something useful for disarming the mindset of people not directly participating in wars but holding on to a war mentality.

* potential benefits of the current global epidemics and lockdown, to balance the brain and see the advantages in any disadvantage: a return to "Small is beautiful" (Schumacher) in terms of economics that benefit the local communities; Air France managed to achieve in 3 weeks its target of reducing carbon emissions by cancelling most of its flights; the disruption of the criticized cruise ship business; eating food produced locally and rather on the other side of the globe. 

* link to Dr. Poulton's experience in West Africa - as a "White West African", committed to showing people their roots to be proud of and encouraging them to take ownership and tell their own stories.

* dismantling the hypocrisy of the 5 countries in the United Nations Security Council are also the greatest arms dealers in the world

* peace if more profitable to everyone, but not directly to those owning the weapons industry - creative ideas needed for how these industries might convert to peace-oriented business.



More storytelling for peace - bedtime stories for children and waking up stories for parents on Imagine Creatively: 

www.imaginecreatively.com