Building Bridges for Peace Denver: Training Tomorrow's Peacemakers
Mission:
Building Bridges for Peace Denver (BBfP-Denver) is the newest program of Seeking Common Ground (SCG) in partnership with Denver Public Schools and in consultation with the national organization Facing History and Ourselves. SCG is a Denver-based nonprofit organization founded in 1994 whose mission is "to empower individuals to change the world by creating peaceful communities through integration, socialization, communication and leadership development." SCG's flagship Building Bridges for Peace (BBfP) program, now in its 14th year of continuous operation, is a multi-year leadership development and peacebuilding opportunity designed for American, Israeli and Palestinian teens ages 16-19. BBfP is the basis for all other SCG programs and the BBfP methodology has been successfully adapted to serve young adults from the U.S., Israel, Palestine, Northern Ireland and South Africa.
Program Description:
BBfP-Denver is an international leadership development and peacebuilding program for Denver teens. Based on SCG's flagship BBfP program, BBfP-Denver trains diverse high school students to communicate, cooperate and cohabitate with the 'other.' The program begins with a residential weekend intensive held in Colorado designed to build interpersonal communication skills and foundational relationships among the group. After the weekend, students meet regularly for additional skill-building retreats, workshops and seminars leading up to the international component of their training: an enhancement trip to a post-conflict/conflict region of the world such as Northern Ireland, South Africa or Israel/Palestine.
In the spring of 2007, 17 participants traveled to Northern Ireland where they had the opportunity to explore the complexities of the Northern Ireland conflict focusing on sectarianism, the historic 1998 Multi-party Agreement, transitional justice and the role of young people in transforming society. Participants met with community members including their peers; visited religious, historic and other sites important to both the Protestant/unionist and Catholic/nationalist communities; and engaged in collaborative cross-community activities with their peers. When participants returned home, they applied their new skills and insights in their local community through service-learning projects. The spring 2008 trip is to South Africa. In South Africa participants will travel to sites in Cape Town and Johannesburg, study the legacy of Apartheid, explore health and environmental issues, and collaborate with their South African peers on service projects.
Rationale:
SCG and Denver educators believe there exists an urgent need to provide American young adults with the tools to become change agents in creating a more just and peaceful world, beginning at home. BBfP-Denver meets this need by providing participants with the opportunity to:
- Acquire and hone communication and dialogue skills
- Learn to empathize with and see the humanity in the 'other'
- Explore issues around identity, perspective and conflict
- Gain a broader world view through enhanced understanding of international conflict
- Develop cross-cultural competence through collaborative relationships with peers from diverse backgrounds
- Recognize within themselves the capacity to effect change in their community
- Take on new leadership roles in their local community to build bridges between groups and be an advocate for the civil and human rights of all community members
Criteria:
The 2006-2008 pilot BBfP-Denver program opened to students from East and South High Schools. Students were selected on the basis of their commitment to SCG's mission and to the program, their interest in gaining new communication and peacebuilding skills, and their willingness to collaborate with students who come from backgrounds different from their own. Some students will also receive academic credit. In the future, SCG hopes to open the program to high school students throughout the Denver metro area.
Logistics:
Three weekend retreats are held in Colorado throughout the school year. The international enhancement trip takes place during the Denver Public Schools spring break from the middle through the end of March.
For more information about SCG and the BBfP-Denver program, please visit www.s-c-g.org or call 303.691.2393.
|
