CENTRE FOR PEACE STUDIES AND DIALOGUE (CPSD)

CENTRE FOR PEACE STUDIES AND DIALOGUE (CPSD)

The Centre for Peace Studies and Dialogue is the result of the collective experience of faculty and students associated with service learning programs. The Centre at Union Christian College is the first of its kind in Kerala. The Centre materialized due to funding for faculty training in peace Building at the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute, Philippines by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia (www.unitedboard.org).

The Centre for Peace Studies and Dialogue at Union Christian College is a pioneering peace education centre in south India. In tune with the cultural ethos of Kerala, CPSD strives towards a process of interfaith dialogue and interreligious understanding for peace building. As part of this, small but systematic exercises were given to students in the value education classes to achieve appreciable results in peace making.

A project which was initially funded by the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia encouraged the teachers to develop an alternate curriculum for teaching history, a new history of peace and peace efforts. The difference in perspectives offered by the alternate curriculum can lead to marked changes in the values of college going youth in the long run.

Key Facts

Established on 23 March, 2017

Director:              Dr. Jenee Peter, Department of History (2017 onwards)

Members:           Dr. Malini R, Department of Psychology (2017 onwards)

Dr. C. Jacob George, Department of English (2017-18)

Dr. Sunil Abraham Thomas, Department of Economics (2017 onwards)

Twenty Six student volunteers from various departments

Major Activities in 2017-18

Orientation Seminar for the Volunteers

Session 1: Dr. Jenee Peter

Session 2:,Ms. Syna Soosan Abraham

Session 3: Dr. Malini R.

Session 4: Dr. Sunil Abraham Thomas

Session 5: Ms. V K. Subhadra

Nagasaki Day and International Peace Day Commemoration, 7 August, 2017 in association with

National Service Scheme

Extra mural Lectures

Ms. Kashka Artemiuk, Poland on Refugee situation in European Union in  association with Department of Psychology. Ms. Kashka  Artemiuk  from Poland has fifteen years of voluntary work in education and the integration of refugees behind her. She has worked in Ethiopia, Eritrea and recently in South Sudan. She specializes in language training and intercultural relations. Ms Katarzyna Artemiuk is  associated with Office for Repatriation and Aliens, Jesuit Refugee Centre, and Society for Intercultural Education, Training and Research in Poland.

Dr. Akinori Uesugi, Japan on How Peaceful were the Harappans?

National Peace Convention, Cochin

Attended by Director and two student volunteers; January, 2018

Gandhian Leadership and Contemporary Issues: Student’s Workshop

Fourteen volunteers of CPSD from the departments of Psychology, Computer Science, Botany and Economics participated and won first and third prizes in this workshop organized by the Centre for Gandhian Studies, Alphonsa College, Pala in February, 2018.

                National conference on youth and values at Holy Cross College, Tiruchirappalli

                                Dr. Jenee Peter presented a paper in this conference titled Value Education and                                                     Peace Building:  Dialogues with youth  in December, 2017.

Travel for Peace Discussion

In association with UCC Archaeological Museum

PEACEMAKERS: DESIGNING CURRICULUM AND METHODOLOGY IN PEACE STUDIES

Executive summary of the proposal (100 words)

The need to start academic program in Peace Studies emerged from the collective experience of a group of teachers associated with the Service Learning Centre, and faculty trained in Peace building programs at MPI, Philippines. We seek grant to launch Certificate Programs i) Fundamentals of Peacebuilding, ii) Interreligious Dialogue & Understanding for select students on campus and online by Centre for Peace Studies & Dialogue. CPSD can start wider academic programs in successive years. The program covers field visits to peace and conflict situations. The Program has to be well designed to suit local needs for meaningful social action. Hence, workshops on designing curriculum and devising appropriate methodology shall be conducted. In near future with emerging technology solutions in the campus the course is designed to be offered online which will also be discussed in the curriculum design and methodology workshops. The workshop was held in March, 2018.