DAVAO CITY (MindaNews/07 May) – A hundred and twenty peacebuilders from around the world will arrive here for the 15th Annual Peacebuilding Training of the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) on May 12 to 30 at The Ritz Hotel, Garden Oases.
The annual training has been attracting peacebuilders from all over the world.
This year, participants include peace workers from Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Cambodia, Cameroon, Canada, China, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Germany, India, Indonesia, Japan, Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Myanmar, Nepal, Nigeria, Pakistan, Papua New Guinea, the Philippines, Sierra Leone, South Korea and the United States.
MPI’s trainings are grounded in the Mindanao context, using models developed and adapted for and by Asians. It was established in 2000 by the Catholic Agency for Overseas Development (CAFOD), Catholic Relief Services (CRS) and Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) to bring together peacebuilders of diverse cultures from the Asia-Pacific Region to join in its annual peacebuilding training.
MPI’s press statement quoted MPI Director Christine Vertucci as saying that the facilitators of the annual training “are extremely qualified and form a committed, high-caliber team.”
“They come from diverse backgrounds and countries, but are all professionals who have worked in the field, thus being both grounded in practice and skilled in facilitation,” She said.
This year’s training builds on the theme of MPI’s anniversary: “15 Years and Beyond – Building Just Peace for All.”
MPI’s regular courses include peace education, non-violence, negotiation skills, trauma healing and peacebuilding and the arts.
This year, three new courses are being offered: Conflict Sensitive Economic Governance: Peace-Enabling Approaches in Complex and Fragile Contexts; From Understanding to Action: Theories and Tools for Designing Effective Peace and Development Interventions in Fragile; and Unpredictable Situations and Resource-Based Conflict: Indigenous People’s Perspectives and Approaches.
“Unpredictable Situations” is being offered in cooperation with MPI’s Resource-Based Conflict and Peacebuilding Training Program in Northwestern Mindanao.
More details are available at www.mpiasia.net. Testimonials from participants in previous trainings can be read at http://www.mpiasia.net/testimonials.html (MindaNews)