The
Peace Centre
Situated at 11 Mile, Nawng Nang, Myitkyina, Kachin State, by the riverside of Irrawaddy River, the life of Myanmar, Peace Centre (Human Resource Development Centre), donated by the People and Government of Japan under Japan’s Grassroots Grant Assistance Scheme.
Objectives
1.The Centre as a sign of a deepest honour dedicated to the leaders of the country, ethnic nationality leaders and mediators for their effort/struggle for peace, and those who love peace;
2.To become a centre that sows the seed of peace for new generations;
3.To become a place that makes people realize their potential as peacemakers and thus commit themselves to maintain peace;
4.To become a place to pass on the Knowledge of Peace to generations for national unity;
5.To become a place to carry out trainings/workshops on Peacebuilding, Holistic Development and Prevalence of Law and Order;
6.To become a place as a symbol of the patriotic spirit of national races by sharing and exchanging cultural patterns, concepts and heritage, as well as national characters; and
7.To become a place for relaxation by experiencing the essence of Peace.
Activities at Peace Centre
Ideally, Peace Centre is to be a place for SF’s organized trainings/workshops, and seminars. Every institution, organization, NGO and individual and group, regardless of religion and nationality, is welcomed to visit and hold any of its activities. By 2004, SF will offer short-term (three and six months) certificate course on Conflict Transformation at the Peace Centre.
Also, the Peace Centre is open to every individual, couple, and group to stay over a day, a week or a month for any purpose, except unlawful means.
Request for financial assistance: SF highly appreciates the People and Government of Japan for their financial support for Peace Centre buildings. However, some buildings have not been completed due to inflation rate, unexpected situation and some minor difficulties. We therefore need further financial assistance. Your support will always be highly appreciated.
Programmes
Trainings/Workshops: SF offers a series of trainings/workshops in the fields of:
- Peacebuilding
- Peace and Reconciliation
- Conflict Transformation and Resolution
- Mediation and Negotiation Skills
- Dialogues
- Training of Trainers (TOT)
- Parliamentary Procedures
Facilitated by Shalom Training Team and external resource persons, these are primarily targeted at the people at the grassroots level and religious leaders, but later will broaden to the people at all levels, especially those who are interested in the subject and engaged themselves in peace work.
Mediation/Negotiation and Dialogues
The Students Movement in 1988 can be marked as the most obvious political transition era in Myanmar after independence as the Army over government power in order to restore Law and Order. Many of the insurgency groups that emerged in 1940s and 1950s have reached cease-fire agreement and exchanged arms for peace with the Military Government of State Law and Order Restoration Council (SLORC), and then been taking responsibilities for regional development in their respective regions.
There are still some movements of insurgency groups in some parts of the country. As of the current situation, the most powerful insurgency groups are Karen National Union (KNU) and Kayinni National Progressive Party (KNPP). Through mediators, negotiation between the government of State Peace and Development Council (SPDC) and the armed groups is currently underway. SF is not directly involved in such mediation and negotiation, but engaged in providing financial supports, if requested, advice and in organizing workshops and trainings on mediation and dialogue skills for the mediators. In addition to this, SF has formed the Myanmar Ethnic Nationalities Mediators’ Fellowship in May 2002, which is composed of different ethnic mediators who were/are engaged in mediation works, from different parts of the country, in order to strengthen mediation and peace work.
As of the current political situation, there is neither talk nor dialogue between the military government and armed groups, which have exchanged arms for peace and reached cease-fire agreement, to reform the political situation, apart from jointly initiating regional development programmes and fighting against narcotic drugs activities. In a lawful and recognized way, SF, as a mediator, has been trying to bring both groups together to have dialogues in which the current political situation of the country would constructively be taken into account to consider as a national concern.
