Introduction

PeaceTech is “process-focused,” not “issue-focused”. The specific issue that participants learn about is not as important as their coming together to learn about that issue!

The issue that we are currently focusing on is religious conflict. However, in the future we may embrace any issue, as long as it generates enough interest for people from different groups to want to come together.

PeaceTech’s main event is the mass videoconference, which links thousands of people across large distances. These events give people the democratic opportunity to express, listen and unite over concerns about their future and their country’s future. They also expose participants to perspectives they otherwise might not hear. Through these mass-events, people discover what they have in common with people from other religious, ethnic and social groups.

The mass-videoconference is likened to a talk show, the difference being that the audiences are linked in more than one venue through satellite or cable. The audiences are able to see and speak with one another through large video screens.

The mass-videoconference is PeaceTech’s hallmark activity. But it is complemented by an array of programs, which include: classroom videoconferences; high school classes; workshops; community projects and; an on-line community.

All activities reinforce each other and result in program sustainability.

Our Subject Matter

PeaceTech programs present common challenges facing young people in different regions. They then provide solutions for overcoming these challenges.

1. CHALLENGES
   1. Ignorance
      • Cultural
      • Religious
      • Community
   2. Prejudice
      • Misperception
      • Stereotypes
   3. Discrimination
      • Cultural
      • Religious
      • Educational
      • Socio-economic
      • Ethnic
   4. Prejudice
      • Misperception
      • Stereotypes
   5. Violence
      • Armed Conflict
      • Terrorism
      • Torture
      • Abduction
   6. Poverty
      • Education
      • Employment
      • Development
2. SOLUTIONS
   1. Leadership
      • Ethics
      • Responsibility
   2. Information CommunicationsTechnology

Our Program Design

PeaceTech uses a three-step process to fulfill its objectives. Theoretically. the following components form a self-reinforcing process: Education sparks Communication, which results in Action, which further supports Education and so on and so forth.

1. STEP 1 - EDUCATION PROGRAM

   Overview: People of different backgrounds, interests and convictions are bridged through the following channels:

   • video conferences (mass and school)
   • workshops (formation, sustainability & mini) that focus on facilitation skills training, technology training and community project implementation.
   • classes (standard and online) that teach information communication technologies
   Goal: For participants to learn the following:
   • The benefits of understanding and tolerance for building better futures; and
   • How to use Information Communications Technology (ICT) for building more prosperous communities.

   The Education Programs consists of:

   • Mass Videoconferences
   • Classroom Videoconferences
   • Workshops
   • High school classes

     Each of the components within the Education Program reinforces the other:

     1. Workshop Students practice skills in Mass Videoconferences;
     2. Videoconference Participants then create resolutions to be refined at Workshops;
     3. Workshop Graduates then implement the resolutions as Community Projects in communities or schools;
     4. Communities and schools are open to Community Projects because Videoconferences have already introduced them to peace education; and
     5. High School Students appreciate PeaceTech classes more because of the Mass Videoconferences they participate in.
   1. MASS VIDEOCONFERENCE

      Title: “Build Understanding through Technology.”

      Current Focus: Building understanding between youth of different religions throughout Southeast Asia.

      Goal: To build awareness and understanding on a mass-scale.

      Number of Participants per videoconference: 3,200

      Target Participants:

      • Youth 95%
        • 16 to 21 years old
        • Students
        • Out-of-School Youth
      • Adults: 5%
        • Former Insurgents
        • Soldiers
        • Victims of Conflict
        • School Teachers and Administrators
        • NGO workers
        • Local and National Government
        • Private Sector

      Current Objectives:

      1. Understand how Islam and Christianity are religions of peace;
      2. Understand the commonalities between Islam and Christianity;
      3. Understand the reasons for and effects of prejudice;
      4. Understand the security, educational and economic benefits of understanding and tolerance;
      5. Obtain a better understanding for people in different communities;
      6. Experience empowerment through having a national voice;
      7. Experience the benefits of ICT; and
      8. To conclude with resolutions, which workshop participants will implement as Community Projects.

      Subjects:Each videoconference is tailored to the needs of the participating cities.

      Common subjects are the following:
      1. Overview of prejudice and conflict in participant communities with emphasis on ethnic and religious tensions;
      2. Social and economic costs of discrimination for all groups;
      3. Benefits of diversity, pluralism and tolerance;
      4. Methods for increasing tolerance and understanding: universal religious principles; ICT; self-initiative and responsibility; and
      5. Sustainability: Community Projects that participants implement after videoconferences.

      Program: Each Mass Videoconference is approximately four hours long.

      We use the following techniques to engage participants:
      1. Guests: We use guests on both sides of each videoconference. Guests have compelling stories epitomizing the videoconference subjects. Guests recite their stories, speak with the hosts, participate in round-table discussions with other guests at both sides of the videoconference, and interact with all audiences;
      2. Resource People: We use resource people on each side of the videoconference to give commentary on what the guests are saying;
      3. Hosts: We use two hosts in all videoconferences – one host in each of the participating two cities. Hosts are professional, informed and entertaining;
      4. Videos: PeaceTech plays several short videos throughout each videoconference to educate and entertain participants. Some videos are made by the youth participants;
      5. Small Group Discussions: All audiences are divided into small groups of ten participants, including one youth facilitator. Small groups process what they are learning in two separate sessions;
      6. Art: Young actors open the videoconference with a skit epitomizing the videoconference theme. We also work with musicians whose music relates to the videoconference subjects; and
      7. Youth Participation: Youth participate throughout the videoconference through question and answer periods, interactive games linking the two audiences, and conversations with one another. They also participate in designing resolutions from the videoconferences, which become Community Projects.

      Sequence: Each videoconference is designed so that participants leave feeling empowered. We begin the videoconference with the challenge. The youth participants end the videoconference with a resolution for overcoming the challenge in their communities.

      Section 1: The Challenge
      • Presentation of prejudice and discrimination between different religious and ethnic groups.
      • Methods:
        • Skits relating to videoconference theme
        • Story- telling by guests who are victims or perpetrators of discrimination or violence
        • Background information from resource speakers relating to discrimination and conflict
        • Short videos on the issues, including videos made by participants
        • Small Group Discussions where participants process what they are experiencing
        • Interactivity between videoconference cities and interactive games
      Section 2: Benefits for Overcoming Discrimination and Conflict
      • Participants explore why overcoming prejudice, discrimination and even violence is in all peoples’ interests and not just in the interests of those directly affected. We enable people to see what is in it for them if discrimination is reduced.
      • Methods:
        • Similar methods as above plus:
          • Promotional Speaker
          • Round Table Discussions between guests and resource people
          • Question and Answer periods for audiences
          • Music: songs by pop singers relating to the theme
      Section 3: Methods for Overcoming Discrimination and Conflict
      • Participants experience how they can reduce discrimination and violence in their communities. Subjects they explore are:
        • ICT as a conflict resolution tool
        • Self Initiative and Volunteerism – encouraging audiences to take action and responsibility themselves.
        • Universal principles.
      • Methods are similar to the methods used above.
      Section 4: City Resolutions
      • In this final section, participants propose their own resolutions on what they will do to reduce discrimination and violence in their schools and communities:
        • In each city, the audience is divided into approximately 150 small groups of ten people. There is one facilitator who is responsible for each group.
        • Near the videoconference’s end, the 150 facilitators summarize how their small groups want to redress discrimination and violence. The facilitators do their summarizing in a closed-door session while the videoconference is happening.
        • After the closed-door session, two representatives from each city summarize the facilitators’ suggestions.
        • Finally, the two representatives from each city go before everyone at the videoconference and present a resolution on what their city will do based on the videoconference.
        • These resolutions are refined into Community Projects at upcoming workshops.
   2. CLASS VIDEOCONFERENCE

      PeaceTech is beginning classroom videoconferences between high schools. We welcome teachers to direct these events.

      Classroom videoconferences have the following advantages:
      1. They enrich class curriculums by enabling students to learn directly from one another;
      2. They provide teachers with new methods for teaching;
      3. They provide participants with a more “personal” experience than Mass Videoconferences because of the smaller numbers of people involved; and
      4. They can be held regularly.

      Current Focus: These videoconferences focus on either of the two following subjects depending on teachers' interests:

      1. 1)An Introduction to Peace Building; or
      2. 1)ICT for Understanding.

      Objectives:

      1. To deepen understanding between small groups of students on a regular basis;
      2. To enrich class curriculums;
      3. To deepen ICT understanding; and
      4. To further involve schools.

      Program: Schools decide on the length of a classroom videoconference. They typically last for one 60-minute class.

      Sequence:

      1. Introduction.
         • Teachers from both sides of the conference introduce the theme
         • Students then introduce themselves to the other side
      2. Presentation
         • Teachers present the conference topic
         • Short PeaceTech videos on the topic are available for showing
      3. Group Activity
         • Students from both sides participate in an interactive exercise, which relates to the conference theme
      4. Question and Answer
         • Students ask the other side questions on how they are impacted by the conference theme
      5. Closing
         • Led by the teacher
   3. WORKSHOPS

      We hold workshops for smaller numbers of young people in our program cities. They are designed to reinforce lessons learned at Mass Videoconferences at a deeper, more sustained level.

      All workshops teach skills that are relevant to local needs. They are similar to short courses and take place over several weeks before and after the Mass Videoconferences.

      Content: Workshops provide participants with theory and skills-training in the following areas:

      1. Peace Building and Facilitation;
      2. ICT; and
      3. Project Implementation

      Objectives:

      • Deepen lessons from videoconferences for smaller groups of youth;
      • Translate videoconference resolutions into projects that can be implemented on the ground in participating communities; and
      • Support program sustainability

      Workshop Types:

      We provide three kinds of workshops:
      • Formation Workshops: Five Days long. The focus is on peace-building skills, facilitation skills and ICT Training;
      • Sustainability Workshops: Four Days long. These workshops train youth on how to sustain project lessons on their own. The focus is on developing videoconference resolutions into Community Projects, which youth then implement at community levels. Other skills-training include: ICT and fundraising.
      • Day Workshops: Half-Day and Full-Day Workshops. These trainings give small groups of youth an overview of peace building and ICT. They can be done on short notice with minimal resources.

      Apply for a workshop.

   4. HIGH SCHOOL CLASSES

      Background: PeaceTech is widening its influence by working with high schools.

      The Philippines’s Department of Education and PeaceTech have designed the following lesson exemplars to be incorporated into school curriculums:
      1. "Moving from Conflict to Understanding – An Introduction"
      2. "Overcoming Prejudice and Discrimination"
      3. "Women in Conflict and in Peace Building"
      4. "Indigenous Approaches to Peace Building"; and
      5. "Youth and Children in Armed Conflict."

      Each of these exemplars is approximately one to two hours long.

      Each exemplar comes with one PeaceTech DVD on the topic. DVD’s capture highlights from mass-videoconferences.

      Order DVDs.

      Support: The Philippines' Department of Education and PeaceTech provide teacher-trainings for the exemplars to support teachers.

2. STEP TWO – COMMUNICATION PROGRAM

   Overview: By utilizing www.peacetech.net, people can build relationships, deepen knowledge and enhance their skills for peace-building. This is the phase where youth can virtually interact through chat rooms, blogs, forums and video calls.

   Purpose: To enable web users to build on lessons they have learned through on-line communication.

   Objectives:

   1. Build an on-line community for peace building; and
   2. Hold moderated chat sessions on program subjects.
3. STEP THREE – ACTION PROGRAM

   Overview: The final step emphasizes sustainability. This is where people implement what they have learned through their own peace agendas. By living out the PeaceTech lessons, young people can initiate and/or contribute to community projects that address local issues.

   Purpose: To provide program participants with the support they need in sustaining program lessons in schools and communities.

   In the Action Program, PeaceTech gives participants the opportunity to implement what they have learned in the Education and Communication Programs by giving back to their schools and communities. They do this through "Community Projects." In this way the Action Program is a win-win for all parties:

   1. It increases sustainability;
   2. It allows participants to practice skills learned in the program; and
   3. It benefits communities and schools.
   There are two kinds of "Community Projects":
   1. Youth Workshops where workshop graduates give their own workshops to other young people in the community. Workshops are based on program lessons; and
   2. A Project; or Advocacy in a school or community that is based on videoconference resolutions or on program lessons.

Our Target Results

EDUCATORS	High Schools Universities
NGOs	Program Support Networking Research
International Organizations	Program Support Information Communications Technology Networking and Solidarity
Governments	Support for peace building Support for education programs Support for ICT programs
Education Departments	Peace Education ICT Communications between schools
Defense Departments	Community development Communication with alienated communities Public relations
Local Government	Federalism Program support
Insurgent groups	Communication Participation
Private corporations	Marketing Product testing Promotion CSR
Religious leaders	Spiritual support Education Public relations
Artists	Spiritual support Promotion Social responsibility