"Floating off on a Life of its Own"

Patricia Spaulding

Every year we receive applications from all over the world. Peacebuilding practitioners are hearing about our program...and they want to come. People who are drowning in every imaginable kind of conflict situation are feeling the need for training. They need to come.

Every year we have to say "sorry" to many of our applicants, people who are fully qualified, experienced peacebuilding practitioners, who are out there trying to solve some of humanity's basic, yet most difficult, problems. Many send their applications with no idea where the money will come from. They've heard about CTP and seen what we have to offer. "If only I could take these courses and be a part of this learning communityÐit would help me; it would help my world. It could make peace attainable."

But, often the due date for course fees comes and goes and they are not able to find the funding. Sometimes they do find the funding, but their travel visa is denied. These are two common reasons why people have to cancel plans to be in our program. We often think, "If they can't come to CTP, it's too bad CTP couldn't go to them." We get requests from various regions of the world. We recently received this request from Asia, "Is it possible for you to come and teach or send your professors...?"

Someone in an African country suggested, "Maybe now that SPI (CTP's Summer Peacebuilding Institute) has had a few years of experience and a network of graduates all over the world, they could start thinking about "franchising" (for lack of a better word)..." A good idea, but at this point in CTP's young life, we're not quite able to expend that kind of energy—and, there is another way. As one CTP professor has put it, our program, it seems, "is floating off on a life of its own."

Summer 2000 saw the birth of the Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute (MPI) in Davao City, Mindanao, Philippines. Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) have sponsored about a dozen people to attend SPI over the last three years. Now, some of these "trainees" are serving as "trainers". MCC, CRS and the Agong Network offered an experience similar to SPI to a much greater number of people who are involved in the pursuit of just and lasting peace in the Philippines—and the wider region of Southeast Asia. Participants, totaling 101, also came from Burma, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, and several from the United States and Canada.

For two weeks, a wide range of people with vast experience, knowledge and skills in peace-related work came together. The Institute drew upon the experience of both the participants and the facilitators to increase their skills, build their commitment, and strengthen their capacity. The time was also crucial in maximizing opportunity for interaction, networking and building linkages between all those who participated.

"A success" describes MPI 2000. Six classes, ranging in size from 23 to 33 participants each, were conducted. The evaluations for each class and the entire experience were very favorable. Teams facilitated the courses and each team included at least one person with CTP experience. Seven facilitators were past CTP or SPI participants and two were instructors. Nancy Good Sider, an assistant professor in the Conflict Transformation Program, was a facilitator for two of the courses.

The MPI courses were not offered for credit, however that is a possibility for the future. Much was learned through the experience, not only by the participants, but also the facilitators and other staff. Lessons were learned both inside and outside the classroom setting. The organizers gained many insights into how to provide a better structure. Plans are already underway to make MPI an annual event with an ever-expanding resource base of trained, knowledgeable and highly skilled facilitators in the region.

One of the obvious key advantages of holding a peacebuilding institute in Southeast Asia is that participants who are actually working in that context are able to gain practical insights from the courses that are immediately applicable to their situations. As more practitioners attend CTP courses and return to their homes, we're excited about seeing the learnings of CTP floating off on a life of it's own.

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