Ethics Education For Children

In Focus


Learning to Live Together, a resource material to nurture ethical values needed to learn to live together in plural societies, is now available for teachers and youth leaders.  Read more ...

Headline news

GNRC Africa Zanzibar Peace Camp, 2006


The Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC Africa) participated in the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) 2006 in July under the Children’s Panorama by holding its 2nd Peace Camp. The theme of this year’s Peace Camp was ‘Media, Ethics and Globalisation’ and the theme of the ZIFF was ‘Sails of History - Citizens of the Sea’. The report gives ideas on how to address globalisation processes, ethics around globalisation and media and the young peoples role as Peace Ambassadors in the Global Village.
Media, Ethics and Globalisation 
Sails of History - Citizens of the Sea
 
 
GNRC Africa Zanzibar Peace Camp, 2006
Dates:              16th – 19th July 2006
Venue:             Zanzibar
Platform:         The Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF)
Participants:   Zanzibar, Pemba and Dar es Salaam Children and Youth
Sponsor:          Trocaire, East African Regional Office
 
Background
The Global Network of Religions for Children (GNRC Africa) participated in the Zanzibar International Film Festival (ZIFF) 2006 in July under the Children’s Panorama by holding its 2nd Peace Camp. In this year’s Peace Camp which took place from 16th to 19th July, GNRC Africa dovetailed its camp’s theme of ‘Media, Ethics and Globalisation’ to that of ZIFF’s ‘Sails of History - Citizens of the Sea’. The objective of the Peace Camp was to introduce to the young people the issues and challenges of the globalisation processes, the media which provides the infrastructure for the ever increasing and intensifying globalisation processes, and the ethics around both globalisation and the media and the young peoples role as Peace Ambassadors in the Global Village.
 
This was accomplished by tackling and discussing various subjects; the three most important being Identity and Globalisation, the Media in a Globalised World and Media, Peace and Ethics.
 
The objectives of the Peace Camp were to;
  1. Introduce to the children and young people in the Peace Clubs the mass media and how they function,
  2. Empower the children and young people with knowledge on media and ethics,
  3. Enable the children and young persons to understand globalisation, globalising processes and its impact on their culture and identity as foundations to PeaceBuilding,
  4. Introduce the children and young persons to the forces that shape who they are and to explore how these forces are connected globally,
  5. Provide a forum for the children and young people to evaluate the activities in their Peace Clubs,
  6. Discuss, plan and strategize the activities for the Peace Clubs in the coming year in Pemba, Zanzibar and Dar es Salaam.
The Peace Camp had three components. The first component was the workshop in which two main subjects were discussed. These were discussions around identity and globalisation and on the negative and positive impact of the media and what should be done to incorporate social values in the media to enhance peace building. During the workshop, the activities by the Peace Clubs were discussed. Problems and challenges facing them were also discussed and solutions and strategies proposed.
 
The second component of the Peace Camp was the Peace Procession which was conducted on the last day of the workshop to create awareness in the Community of the children as Ambassadors of Peace. Concurrently the Children’s Panorama in PembaIsland focused on peace building among vulnerable children who are from single mothers, which constituted the third component of the GNRC Africa 2006 Peace Camp. This Camp was organized by the Authorities from the Ministry of Education and the ZIFF Organizers sponsored by GNRC Africa. 
 
Introduction
 
In her opening remarks, GNRC Africa Convenor Sr. Jean Pruitt underscored the need for different religious and ethnic communities in Tanzania to live together in harmony despite their different faiths backgrounds. Sr. Jean described the 2006 festival’s theme – ‘Sails of History – Citizens of the Sea’, as apt and relevant to the GNRC Africa 2006 Peace Camp, which highlighted the issue of globalisation, media and ethics; more so during this time when ideas and concepts of global citizenship needed to be imparted to the children and young people.
 
The Jahazi – (dhow) which has become an enduring symbol of the Zanzibar International Film Festival for the last nine years, was metaphorically used by Sr. Jean, who urged the participants of the Peace Camp ‘to   create their own dhows (Jahazi) and put inside every thing that did not harm human dignity and set sail in the sea of peace’. This was said in reference to the daily lives where people are urged to live and work together despite the difference they may have.
 
Addressing the assembled children and young people on the impact of the media, Sr. Jean asked them to take note of the destructive nature of the media, particularly those that have contributed to the abuse of children in society.

 
Identity and Globalisation
 
The contemporary forces of globalisation that shapes or influence identity, culture and society were introduced to the children and the young persons. Ms. Fiona McGain, an Educationist, took time to introduce the young people to the forces that shape who they are, and explored how those forces are connected globally.
 
Using various exercises and games to explain the concept of Identity, Ms. McGain helped the young people to understand their own identity and those of their peers and others. This exercise opened the horizon of the children on stereotyping and preconceived views held by themselves about themselves and the diversity of others including their skin colour, tribe, religion and cultural practices. 
 
The Peace Club leaders learnt more about each other’s identities and the world geography and they were encouraged to think about the perceptions of other people on them. Various issues such as preconceptions about nationality and race were discussed by the workshop participants during the Peace Camp. The children and young people learnt about values and acceptable behaviour in relation to others. Some of the exercises highlighted and demonstrated that much could be accomplished together in unity, and more benefits accrued in the community when working together rather than against each other.
 
The children and young people attending the Peace Camp were introduced to the concept and reality of Globalisation. Ms. McGain took the children and young people through various activities that enabled them to explore, visualize and appreciate the global influences on their lives. Using examples of food consumed, clothes and shoes used everyday, the Peace Camp participants were made aware that what they consumed and used everyday come from around the world.
 
Ms. McGain facilitated sessions in which participants identified who they are and where they come from, and learned the identity of others so as to bring about understanding and harmony in their societies and communities. Participants were reminded that ‘people come from different backgrounds, religious traditions, beliefs and cultures, and therefore respect to each other was important for maintaining peace’.

 
Media in the Globalised World
 
The role of the media in the globalising society, its positive and negative impacts, protection and promotion of ethics and what could be done to make the media more responsive to the needs of society were discussed by the Peace Camp participants, and these discussions were facilitated by the veteran British Broadcasting Corporation correspondent Mr. Ally Salleh.
 
In his introduction, Mr. Salleh explained to the children and young people various concepts and uses of media, touching on the media as means of change, destruction and peace. Mr. Salleh explained that the power of media to reach out could be used for peace building. At the same time, the power of the media to disseminate propaganda could be destructive if not addressed, the Peace Camp participants learned.
 
The ethical values raised and discussed by the Peace Camp participants ranged from respecting, understanding, caring, encouraging, and defending to correcting. These values, Mr. Salleh helped the children and the young people to understand, were seen in the media articles, in opinions, in pictures and in editorials. They discussed why there was lack of ethics in the media. The discussions centred on poor education and training, corruption in the media, political pressure, disregard for justice, poor taste and vindictiveness, as some of the reasons why lack of ethics in the media in Tanzania persisted.
 
Noting that the traditional roles of the media included that of informing, educating and entertaining, Mr. Salleh empowered the participants in the Peace Camp to understand other possible roles which the media could undertake to shape the society for the better. Exposing societal ills and malpractices and empowering groups and the civil society to articulate rights, ethics, freedom, respect, transparency and other positive issues could be handled well by the media. Jamal Waziri Hashim from a Zanzibar Peace Club contributed that ‘there should be freedom of media. The government should not threaten the media, in order for them to do its work and inform the public, said Mr. Hashim.
 
The Peace Club members discussed the negative and the positive aspects of the media whereby they stated that the media provide fora to articulate issues of public interest. Provision of a network, alternative views, giving voice to the voiceless, fighting corruption, expanding the democratic space and reflecting on the society were other positive contributions the media could make in the Tanzanian society.
 
Negative forces associated with the media discussed at the workshop centred on breeding contempt, disregard for the law, neglect, violation of privacy, censorship, impunity, lack of accountability and erosion of culture. Mr. Beba Msimbe, the sub-editor of the Guardian daily newspaper helped in shedding more light on how media could be used for the good and bad of the society.
 
Mr. Salleh gave examples of how the mass media aggravated the conflict in Rwanda between the Tutsi and the Hutu tribes, leading to and precipitating the 1994 genocide. The youth and children stressed in their discussions that the media such as the newspapers, magazines, radio and television programmes which promoted pornography and violence negated the African ethical principles. Mr. Issa Abdallah from a Pemban based Peace Club complained that ‘the media aggravated violence in Pemba during the election of 2000 and 2005’.
 
Such media content, Mr. Salleh said, were as a result of brutal commercialisation of the mass media channels and content that sought to sensationalize news and information in order to sell them. He added that lately, websites (the Internet) has been encroached, becoming yet another frontier in the media, resulting in moral corruption. Frank Richard from the Dar es Salaam based New Generation Peace Club stated that the “Internet is not effectively used. Most youth use the Internet for entertainment and accessing pornographic pictures’.
 
Mr. Richard, who has been at the forefront of training other Peace Club members on the effective and efficient use of the modern technology and the new media, particularly the Internet, stated that ‘most Tanzanians don’t [did not] have a tradition of reading educative newspapers and books’ and therefore were at a disadvantage in accessing and acting upon timely and relevant information. The young people at the Peace Camp agreed to be ambassadors in promoting positive use of media in the Peace Clubs and the community at large.

 
The Peace Clubs in Unguja, Pemba and Dar es Salaam Reports
 
During the workshop, Peace Club leaders discussed at length their activities and their impact, and what should be done to improve them. During the discussions, the Peace Clubs from all regions – Dar es Salaam, Unguja and Pemba were hailed for their good work of disseminating peace education to youth and children in and out of schools through dialogue, discussions, debates, drama, songs and poems.
 
Mr. Issa Abdallah of Shamiani Peace Club, Pemba sated that the ‘Peace Clubs have the role of disseminating peace information and addressing peace issues to children, youth and the community at large. We are peace ambassadors and everyone looking at us must see we work for peace building’, said Mr. Issa. Miss. Asha Juma Othman from Shamiani Peace Club in Pemba presented the report of the Pemba peace Clubs while Mr. Jamal Waziri presented Unguja’s report. Miss. Ashura Kayupayupa presented the report of Peace Clubs in Dar es Salaam.
 
The Peace Clubs reported that from July 2005 to June 2006, the following activities were carried out;
  1. Conducted debates
  2. Participated essay competition on peace
  3. Composed songs and poems and did a drama on peace in schools
  4. Enhanced cooperation among youth and children by visiting each other
  5. Did drawings on peace
  6. Disseminated peace education to children and youth in and out of schools
  7. Established new peace clubs, for example Mahambas and Mahonda Peace Clubs in Unguja
  8. Established tuition classes for the Peace Clubs in Unguja
 
The Peace Clubs posted remarkable achievements in the year 2005/06. Some of the achievements discussed during the Peace Camp were;
  1. Members have understood different aspects of peace and their roles in maintaining peace
  2. Some of the members in the communities have been reached with peace education
  3. Through poems, songs, dialogue and debates and networking through the Internet, some Peace Clubs have managed to reach out to other potential peace builders in the Great Lakes Region
  4. A network of young peace builders for the Great Lakes region called GYOPEN has been formed, and runs a website where members post messages and discuss issues, especially conflict and violence affecting the Great Lakes Region youth
  5. Cooperation among different Peace Clubs and members has been improved
  6. Some art groups have been providing peace education in schools and the community, for example MEYA Peace Club has been providing, and continues to provide peace education through traditional dances in Unguja
  7. Establishment of a committee called HATMO that consists of four Peace Clubs from Hamamni, Haile Sellasie, Tumekuja and Mombasa schools. Their main role is to facilitate establishment of new Peace Clubs in Unguja.
 
Challenges faced by the Peace Clubs
 
Some of the challenges raised and discussed by the Peace Clubs include lack of adequate resources such as computers and Internet connectivity, promotional items like leaflets and brochures promoting GNRC Africa and peace education, stationeries for Peace Club activities and training on peace building and peace education.
 
The Peace Club members said that there were insufficient funds to help them carry out all the activities and programmes they planned to. The Peace Clubs in Zanzibar stated that they needed more members of staff to interact with in Unguja and Pemba. There was also a feeling that communication and interaction between the Peace Clubs in Unguja, Pemba and Dar es Salaam was inadequate.
 
Recommendations
  1. The existing Peace Clubs should facilitate the establishment of new Peace Clubs in the areas where they are not yet in place
  2. Peace Club leaders should be creative in identifying and organizing peace activities. They should keep records; organize meetings and write short reports on activities performed by their clubs
  3. Peace Clubs should create good relationship with school authorities and the Ministry of Education, and its departments should be oriented on the activities of the Peace Clubs in schools
  4. Peace Clubs should make sure that peace education reaches more people in the community, and regular meetings between members should be conducted to enable members to share experiences, problems and achievements, and plan together
  5. More training to animators and teachers is needed for them to build the capacity for Peace Club members to enable them plan and run peace programmes more efficiently
  6. Peace Clubs should be facilitated in organizing and formulating peace and youth programmes to be presented on the radio and television stations
  7. Peace Clubs should plan and organize sustainable programmes in their areas where they will be able to mainstream other activities such as HIV/AIDS and education programmes
  8. In order to familiarize the members to different environment, GNRC Africa should make sure that peace camps and meetings are taking place in Dar es Salaam, Unguja and Pemba respectively
  9. GNRC Africa should support Peace Clubs with budgets, materials and equipment to enable them plan and implement activities more efficiently
  10. GNRC Africa should consider establishing an office in Unguja and Pemba, and employ another animator to work hand in hand with the current one
  11. GNRC Africa should develop formats that will be used by the Peace Club members, leaders and animators during implementation and monitoring of the activities of peace education
  12. GNRC Africa should facilitate building of more capacity for teachers who were providing peace education
  13. GNRC Africa should consider giving the teachers working with the Peace Clubs incentives, to encourage them perform their duties better
 
 
The Pemba Children’s Panorama
 
GNRC Africa together with UNICEF Tanzania sponsored the children’s panorama in Pemba which was held during the 2006 ZIFF festival and ran from 14th to 20th July. The workshop brought together 150 participants from formal learning institutions and another 60 who were out of school. Discussions by the children and young persons in Pemba’s panorama touched on the rights of the children and peace building, the challenges facing them and how to overcome them.
 
Young mothers and children in especially difficult circumstances, particularly those affected and infected by the HIV/Aids also participated in the workshop. One of the challenges discussed at the Pemba children’s panorama was the increasing rate of prostitution among young girls and children, who were not cared for. Particularly hard hit, it was discussed at the workshop, were children from divorced parents and the orphans.
 
Facilitators from UNICEF and from the Ministry of Youth, Employment, Children and Women Development helped the children and young people to understand their rights. Those in difficult circumstances were urged not to despair, and were encouraged to attend schools to get education. They were also educated on media and ethics, and cautioned on the dangers of engaging in drug abuse and prostitution.

 
The Peace Procession
 
A peace procession in Zanzibar was the climax of the ZIFF 2006 Children’s panorama, in which other children and young people joined GNRC Peace Clubs for a peaceful procession around Zanzibar town. In collaboration with students from HaileSellassieSecondary School, Darajani and KikwajuniPrimary Schools, the Peace Club members carried a dhow toy that was printed with messages urging media and journalists to protect and promote ethics. The peace procession started from Maili Saba where the workshop was taking place, to Kikwajuni.
 
During the procession, a national television channel - Channel Ten television, interviewed some of the Peace Club leaders. Their views were aired to the national television audience during prime time news. Miss Ashura Kayupayupa from Tazara Peace Club, Dar es Salaam said ‘the government of Tanzania and Zanzibar should promote and protect democracy and good governance’. ‘Lack of democratic space and poor governance has contributed to conflicts in Africa’ stated Miss. Kayupayupa.
 
Miss. Kayupayupa was quoted on the television saying that the ‘peace ambassadors should be facilitated to reach more people in the community as civic and peace education had not reached many people at the grassroots’. Miss Afida Ally Salim from Haille Sellassie Peace Club, Zanzibar was quoted by Channel Ten television saying that ‘children should be educated on peace in order for it to prevail in our country’. Miss Afida called on everybody to respect children’s views. She was quoted by a reporter   saying that ‘children’s views and opinions should not be ignored and children should be given a chance to talk’.
 
The procession ended at the PeaceMuseum grounds at Kikwajuni where it was received by the director of Drug Protection in Zanzibar, Ahmed Mohamed Awadh, and the Zanzibar International Film Festival Executive Director Dr. Martin Mhando, who both addressed the children and young persons gathered. Mr. Cassius Mlewa explained the achievements of the Peace Clubs in disseminating peace education, and described the objectives of GNRC Africa participation in the 2006 ZIFF festival.
 
The executive Director of ZIFF, in his address to the children and young people gathered, which was also carried on National TV, encouraged them to continue sensitising the community about the need for peace. He reminded the children that they were not participating in ZIFF but they were the future of ZIFF and an integral part of the aspirations of the Film Festival. He promised to work closer with the GNRC Africa in the coming festivals. Mr. Awadh, representing the Minister of Labour, Youth, Women and Children, congratulated the Peace Clubs and urged them to continue to disseminate peace education to all youth and children in Tanzania.
 
Peace Clubs members’ representative Miss. Asha Othman from Pemba used the opportunity to ask the government to ensure that the media was more educative, promote development while protecting the national traditions and culture. Miss. Othman pleaded with the government to help and ensure the media was free, and journalists were given more training. This, the Peace Club representative said would ensure that the media exposed corruption, child abuse, crime, and other vices afflicting the Tanzanian society. She also asked the government through the Ministry of Education, to facilitate the incorporation of Ethics Education in the schools syllabus.

 
Conclusion
 
The Peace Club leaders resolved to facilitate for the establishment of new Peace Clubs where they were not in place in order to enhance peace education to reach more children and young persons. They also developed strategies on how to strengthen the existing Peace Clubs and expand their activities. Capacity building, regular meetings, good leadership, strengthening relationship between members and the Peace Clubs were stressed as future strategies. Peace Club members were urged to be Ambassadors of Peace.
 
At the end of the workshop, the participants understood the lessons they were given. Children and young people from different backgrounds exchanged views and shared information during the camp. The Peace Camp was well covered by mass media throughout the three days it lasted thereby reaching to the national television audience in Tanzania. Local television and radio channels in Zanzibar also reported the event. The government was made aware about GNRC Africa peace building initiatives in Dar es Salaam and Zanzibar. The local community, particularly children from both primary and secondary schools were invited and joined in the Peace March at the end of the camp.
 
The workshop motivated youth programme presenters from Magic Radio to invite one of the Peace Club members to participate in a youth programme on 22nd July, where he took the opportunity to explain about the Peace Camp and the peace procession in Zanzibar. Efforts are underway to collaborate with Tochi ya Vijana Programme (Spotlight on the Youth Television Programme) of National Television Channel - TVT, to reach out to more children and young people across Tanzania. 
 
The 2006 ZIFF’s theme ‘Sails of History - Citizens of the Sea’ denotes movement, freedom, respect and living together; and is derived from the experience of people moving, sailing, migrating, sometimes pulling apart, in the name of ideologies, beliefs, ethics and sometimes, simply looking for better and peaceful life. The Sea remains today the only area free where there are no boundaries and one can experience freedom as did our ancestors who knew this freedom when they sailed the world’s oceans. Today, globalisation and the forces that shape and influence the human race globally and locally, means that children and young people must be empowered with timely and relevant information to enable them to appreciate and respect others who are different from them as they are citizens of the sea that has no boundaries.
 
‘Citizens of the World’ that appreciate the value of global peace,walk the path of peace, respect others, promote and participates in the intercultural and interreligious dialogue and are active in peace building, are the kind of citizens GNRC Africa would like to nurture. It is the ‘Global Citizen’ that is aware of, and is alive and aware of the facts about the positive forces that shape this world, and those that do so negatively, which GNRC Africa seeks to develop. ‘Children without Borders’ building peace in Africa are what GNRC Africa would like to empower. In this years ZIFF they learned how to fill their sails with the winds of Peace in order to become captains of their future together – that of a global citizen. See you in ZIFF 2007.
07/09/2006
Arigatou Foundation
Comments Post your comment
All sections | Sections | All articles | All languages | News | RSS news feed

Homepage | Site Map | Arigatou International | Subscribe | Contact us
Powered by Iwith.org