Network's Activities
Peace Soirée
This event took place on Wednesday, November 18th at McGill University's Redpath Hall. The Soirée acted as the launch event for the Canadian Peace Grantmakers Network (CPGN), and was the first time that grassroots organizations doing constructive work for peace and non-violence have worked so closely together on an outreach event.
More than 200 individuals participated in the Soirée, including 140 supporters and 67 representatives from 24 organizations. Focusing solely on positive, practical and productive initiatives, the event was the CPGN's first step in its efforts to create a more peaceful and non-violent society. The evening ended on a memorable note with live performances by Oliver Jones and Robert Charlebois.
For more details,
see the Peace Soirée Programme (PDF document)
See article on page 17 of the Westmount Independent.
The following organisations were present to promote their grassroots peace initiatives:
- Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution
CANADIAN INSTITUTE FOR CONFLICT RESOLUTION Canadian Institute for Conflict Resolution
www.cicr-icrc.ca
613-235-5800CICR works with NGOs, communities and governments to develop capacity in resolving conflicts and establishing peace practitioners. Its community-based methodology has proven to be a powerful tool in helping conflicted parties discover their common ground and live with their differences. CICR's program impact includes building conflict resolution capacity in local multi-cultural social housing developments, helping aboriginals and non-aboriginals in Northern Ontario and Hutus and Tutsies in Rwanda create peaceful communities together.
- Centre de formation sociale Marie-Gérin-Lajoie
CENTRE DE FORMATION SOCIALE MARIE-GÉRIN-LAJOIE Centre de formation sociale Marie-Gérin-Lajoie
www.centremgl.org
514-276-4853The centre for social education Marie-Gérin-Lajoie has become unavoidable in matters of communication, peaceful conflict resolution and non-violence because of its expertise, its community involvement and its dynamism. Peace education remains at the core of its mission. How is this done? Through many trainings offered in various environments (community, cooperatives, institutional...) the centre contributes and provides people with skills to face their conflicts in a constructive way, encouraging tolerance and creative discussion.
- Centre de ressources sur la non-violence
CENTRE DE RESSOURCES SUR LA NON-VIOLENCE Centre de ressources sur la non-violence
www.nonviolence.ca
514-272-5012The Centre de ressources sur la non-violence was an essential actor to initiate conflict resolution programs in schools, community mediation programs and international preventive accompaniment services in Québec. Identifying, experimenting and promoting innovative peace and nonviolent actions are milestones to fulfill the Center's mission.
- Centre de services de justice réparatrice
CENTRE DE SERVICES DE JUSTICE RÉPARATRICE Centre de services de justice réparatrice
www.csjr.org
514-933-3737The Centre for Services in Restorative Justice creates an environment where victims and offenders can give testimony about the consequences of crime in their lives. This innovative approach helps free participants from negative and destructive emotions in a peaceful and respectful way. It facilitates accountability, mutual understanding and shedding of harmful prejudices. Participants see the walls of their personal prisons break down, thereby restoring social ties.
- Civilian Peace Service Canada (CPSC)
CIVILIAN PEACE SERVICE CANADA (CPSC) Civilian Peace Service Canada (CPSC)
www.civilianpeaceservice.ca
613-721-9829Civilian Peace Service Canada (CPSC) is currently piloting a program which will accredit civilian Peace Professionals, based upon an assessment of Core Values and Key Competencies. Like doctors, lawyers, engineers and soldiers, peace workers need to be assessed and accredited for competence and professionalism. Thousands of organizations are doing excellent work in training and research for viable alternatives to military responses to conflict. CPSC is the first to develop a standardized methodology for accrediting « peace professionals ».
- Dalaï Lama Foundation Canada
DALAI LAMA FOUNDATION CANADA Dalaï Lama Foundation Canada
www.dalailamafoundation.ca
514-316-4545The Dalai Lama Foundation Canada (DLFC) works to advance education for ethics and peace in formal and non-formal learning environments. Our work is to educate the public on our collective capacity for ethics and peace. Collaborating with educational, cultural, artistic, and professional organizations, we set out to help build a culture of peace, endowed with an ethics of compassion, community, and non-violence.
In October 2009, the DLFC sponsored the very successful visit of the Dalai Lama to Montreal. The foundation is currently reviewing projects that focus on:
Science and Ethics / DLFC website development / A teacher resource website / A film project for youth
- Equitas
EQUITAS Equitas
www.equitas.org
514-954-0382Equitas offers education and training programs in Canada and around the world that reinforce peaceful coexistence and help rebuild communities torn by conflict. In Canada, the Play it Fair! program reaches an average 40,000 children per year across the country, helping children aged 6-12 develop positive values such as respect for diversity, inclusion and collaboration while learning important skills in peaceful conflict resolution. Overseas, our programs equip grassroots educators with tools to build a culture of human rights in such places as Haiti, Indonesia, Iraq and Kenya.
- Éblissements verts Brundtland (EVB-CSQ)
ÉTABLISSEMENTS VERTS BRUNDTLAND (EVB-CSQ) Éblissements verts Brundtland (EVB-CSQ)
www.evb.csq.qc.net
514-356-8888 # 2904Picture the world we want to live in and find a way to build it that's what the Brundtland Green Schools (BGS-CSQ) movement is all about: youths and adults joining forces, rooted in the hope of a better world, trying to make our dream a reality day by day.
Joining the BGS-CSQ movement means getting youths and adults to start thinking about the world around us. It means trying to understand and decide together what we want. But above all, it means developing discerning, responsible citizens who are capable of taking action to create a world that fulfils their aspirations. In other words, it's a place were people take concrete and ongoing action to help build an environmentally friendly, peaceful, united, and democratic world.
- Initiatives of Change
INITIATIVES OF CHANGE Initiatives of Change
www.ca.iofc.org
514-364-9808Initiatives of Change works toward building trust between individuals, communities and countries. Peace, based on forgiveness and reconciliation, is at the heart of its philosophy and action. Peace Circles are being initiated in several provinces. A Caravan of Dialogues for Peace, in partnership with people from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds, will travel across the province of Quebec in 2010 in order to promote a culture of dialogue and of peace.
- Institut Interculturel de Montréal
INSTITUT INTERCULTUREL DE MONTRÉAL Institut Interculturel de Montréal
www.iim.qc.ca
514-288-7229Since 1963, IIM has been offering intercultural tools to social actors in order to prevent inter-racial, inter-cultural and inter-religious tensions both at local and international levels. Institute's research-action projects, intercultural education and training programs, as well as its intercultural resources and services (InterCulture journal, specialized library, data-bases, referral and individualized consultation services) have contiguïté in developing an integrated approach to intercultural dialogue and understanding as the foundation for social cohesion and peace.
- Institut Pacifique
INSTITUT PACIFIQUE Institut Pacifique
www.institutpacifique.com
514-598-1522 # 223Pacific path institute : promoting peaceful behaviors among youth
The Pacific Path Institute offers, since 1998, efficient solutions to counter violence in schools via its intervention center (Mariebourg Center), its social mediation services and its violence prevention tools The Pacific Path program and Different but not indifferent.
The Pacific Path program allows the children, from kindergarten to secondary school, to develop their social skills in order to communicate, manage their anger and show respect towards others. The program is recognized by the Unesco as an organization promoting peace and has been awarded the 2002 Annual Peace Medal by the YMCA of Montreal.
- InterWorldView
INTERWORLDVIEW InterWorldView
www.interworldview.org
514-343-2164InterWorldView's mission is to increase the global capacity to teach peace through interworldview dialogue. Through our workshops, we train and equip educators with the necessary understanding, tools and skills to teach peacebuilding and practice the art of interworldview dialogue and cooperation wherever they may be living. We foster community spaces where people belonging to different religious and cultural traditions, as well as ideological perspectives, share their stories, values, opinions, and experiences to strengthen cooperation to promote peace and justice.
- LOVE
LOVE LOVE
leaveoutviolence.com
514-938-0006LOVE is a national violence-prevention organization. Using its unique Media Arts program, LOVE educates and empowers youth ages 13 to 18 to stop the cycle of violence in their lives. LOVE Youth find their voice, discover their personal value, and learn about tools and methods to use as an outlet for expressing themselves in a positive, productive, and non-violent manner.
As the program progresses, they also gain marketable skills, and they reach out into their own communities to share their stories, knowledge, and learning.
- Maison de l'Amitié
MAISON DE L'AMITIÉ Maison de l'Amitié
www.maisondelamitie.ca
www.marcheduluth.com
www.vertduluth.org
514-843-4356Our Peace Festival celebrates peace and debates on issues relating to peace with people of our neighborhood. Our Community student residence promotes social action and the learning of communication and conflict resolution skills through training sessions and intentional community life. A project in the making is the development of a peace education component integrated into our second language classes.
- Mise au jeu
MISE AU JEU Mise au jeu
www.miseaujeu.org
514-871-0172 / 1-877-571-0172Mise au jeu encourages a culture of participation through games and theatre interventions to confront apathy and encourage empowerment.
Our mission is to bring together youth and adults of diverse communities to work on common, unresolved conflicts. Through active research and creative process, we create the conditions and space needed for all to become actors of change in their milieus.
- Montreal Dialogue Group
MONTREAL DIALOGUE GROUP Montreal Dialogue Group
www.dialoguegroup.org
514-483 5763The MONTREAL DIALOGUE GROUP brings Canadians of Palestinian, Israeli, Arab, Muslim, Christian, Jewish and other identities together in dialogue. By focusing on active listening and structured, facilitated dialogue, we strive for understanding and empathy within and between our communities. We build trust through open communications and friendships and alleviate fear through transparency and working towards common goals. Through joint activities we seek ever new ways to thrive together in the communities and society we share.
- My class zone of peace
My class zone of peace
This program helps develop a language that supports compassion and empathy, both towards oneself and others. It introduces a process of literacy in feelings/needs that helps develop affective vocabulary and communication skills. Teachers and children discover what supports empathy and respect whilst acquiring tools to manage and resolve conflicts. This allows to co-create a safe environment and to develop a culture of respect, trust and co-operation.
- Peace Brigades International (PBI)
PEACE BRIGADES INTERNATIONAL (PBI) Peace Brigades International (PBI)
www.peacebrigades.org
613-237-6968Peace Brigades International (PBI) makes space for peace. Since 1981, PBI's international volunteers have effectively deterred human rights abuses in areas of civil conflict. Perpetrators of human rights abuses don’t want the world to know their actions. Dedicated to non-violence, our teams, at the invitation of local organizations, provide protective accompaniment and bring international presence to threatened human rights workers. PBI provides protection to over 45 organisations in Colombia, Guatemala, Indonesia, Mexico, and Nepal.
- Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala
PROJET ACCOMPAGNEMENT QUÉBEC-GUATEMALA Projet Accompagnement Québec-Guatemala
www.paqg.org
514-495-3131In the aftermath of 36 years of civil conflict and despite the signature of the 1996 Peace Accords, peace remains elusive in Guatemala. Activists and members of civil society who struggle to achieve justice are subjected to constant pressure from powerful groups linked to former repressive apparatuses, in the form of intimidations, threats and assaults.
PAQG sends international observers in the field to offer a conspicuous physical presence to human rights defenders who undergo threats aimed at silencing their voices and inhibiting their activities. This presence works as a dissuasive element against potential attackers. We support organizations engaging with human rights issues in a non-violent way; we strive to enable them to pursue their activities by providing them with the level of security they need to do so.
- Regroupement des Maisons de Jeunes du Québec
REGROUPEMENT DES MAISONS DE JEUNES DU QUÉBEC Regroupement des Maisons de Jeunes du Québec (RMJQ)
www.rmjq.org
514-725-2686Peace initiatives in Youth Center
The « Youth Center project » is a project of society making it possible to the teenagers to develop skills to live harmoniously in company. The Youth Center project is founded on several values which are very related to peaceful attitudes: respect, democracy, solidarity, justice, help, , etc...
Some exemples : natural mutual aid by the pars; Peace Ambassadors; international cooperative projects.
- The tolerance foundation
THE TOLERANCE FOUNDATION The tolerance foundation
www.fondationtolerance.com
514-842-4848The Tolerance Caravan, an awareness-raising workshop, is the Tolerance Foundation's flagship activity. Presented as a travelling exhibit, it includes photos, texts and videos. The Caravan comprises three modules that deal with prejudice, all forms of discrimination and the extreme consequences of intolerance, namely the genocides of the 20th century. A team of facilitators accompanies the Caravan and uses it as a medium to encourage interaction among the participants and to raise awareness of the values of respect, non-violence and tolerance.
- YOUCAN
YOUCAN YOUCAN
www.youcan.ca
613-230-1903 / 1-888-496-8226YOUCAN is committed to focusing on peaceful conflict resolution, the prevention of violence and consensus building through youth led initiatives. Through our Peacebuilder Program, YOUCAN assists youth in exploring the connection between conflict resolution and violence prevention. This, combined with training workshops, forums and national conferences provide youth with the skills and knowledge to make a real difference in our communities.
- YMCA
YMCA YMCA
www.ymcaquebec.org
514-849-8393 # 740The YMCAs of Québec promote the values of the International Mission of the YMCA worldwide movement by informing and educating people in international issues, and by working in solidarity with partner YMCAs in developing countries in the focus areas of youth leadership, gender equality, volunteerism, citizenship-building and local community development.
For the past 25 years, YMCAs across Canada have urged people to « Think it. Say it. Do it! »; to become peacemakers. Since 1987, the YMCAs of Québec have presented Peace Medal awards to Québec individuals and groups whose vision, creativity and commitment make our communities, our country or our world more peaceful and just.
- Le Y des femmes de Montréal
LE Y DES FEMMES DE MONTRÉAL Le Y des femmes de Montréal
www.ydesfemmesmtl.org
514-866-9941 poste: 429Our reason for being is to promote and enhance the overall well-being of women and girls. Drawing on our varied experiences, we have cultivated a dynamic and holistic approach to all we do. Our innovative programs and community trainings are developed to empower and raise awareness: We build solidarity, encourage self-expression, confidence and self-worth, teach the fundamentals of authentic communication and, most importantly, we work with girls and women to prevent the violence with which they may be confronted.
