Engaging student withReal World Projects

Running for peace in solidarity with Syrian refugees

Run This Way school activities program for peace and Active nonviolence Anne Farrell – volunteer program manager

Providing ways for students to built empathy and solidarity for others

Showing real world situation Study factors that maintain violence in daily life and

in society. Propose active roles. Creating opportunity to act with others for collective

achievement in society. Increasing awareness and understanding of cultural

diversity. Developing a personal ethic

(picture : student from Diderot2 school in Montreuil, Paris, France October 2015, translation: ‘I run for peace and nonviolence)

Showing real world situationCreating awareness on various forms of violence in society, in

relationship and in oneself

A. Denouncing violence as fundamental problem of the present moment in history:

• Economical violence : poverty, exploitation

• Physical violence : wars, torture, terrorism, assassinations, assaults & physical punishment

• Racial violence : discrimination, exclusion, segregation

• Religious violence: fanaticism and intolerance

• Psychological violence: bullying, manipulation, lost of the meaning of solidarity, lost of trust, of friendship and peer appreciation.

Showing real world situation2. Study factors that maintain violence in daily life and in society

B. Factors that maintain violence

• Personal factors: tensions, lack of self-esteem, impulsiveness, compulsions, painful memories, contradictions.

• Relationship with our environment: individualism, competition, resentments, isolation, lack of communication in the family, at school (among peers, with teachers, etc.), social fragmentation.

• Global: dehumanized social values, unreachable models of happiness, the cult of celebrities, social injustice (increasing inequalities), discrimination, loss of cultural roots, wars, unbalanced international force, increasing of refugees (more than 60 Millions), terrorism, wars and climate changes.

Showing real world situation3. Propose active rolesLessons & workshop practice for student to learn to resist violence ; workshop on personal experience of violence, learning nonviolent problem solving strategy,

• Relaxation, breathing, body postures, personal virtues & self-esteem

• Taking active roles in school and in community.

• Collective activities addressing global violence and real world situation – presenting the refugees crisis of Syrian students running away from wars and persecutions

• Learning more Syrian students situation running away from persecution & war.

• Using medias as tool to learn more on theses various realities : Web conference with various classrooms, chat, UNHCR & UNICEF You Tube channel)

Showing real world situation4. Creating opportunity for collective achievement

• Students from school in France, Canada, Ireland and others countries organizes with teachers a race, a walk for peace and nonviolence in solidarity for Syrians refugees students

• Students organizes with teachers human peace & Nonviolence human sign.

• Well-being practices (to reduce fears & anxiety that students are carrying in daily activities and is eating away the mental energy ; student are relaxing and visualizing suggested images allowing themselves to keep in touch with their emotions and sending good thoughts to others students; such as Syrian students refugees, student in France after terrorist attack on November 13)

(picture Cardinal Léger School, Montreal, Canada, October 2015)

Showing real world situation

5. Increasing awareness and understanding cultural diversity

• Sharing various project – pictures and ideas• Web-conference in classrooms with various schools in Run

This Way school activities programm

(picture: Cardinal Léger School in Montreal, Canada, Arts project birds for peace and diversity)

Showing real world situation

6.Developing a personal ethic• Exploring the Golden Rule from Various cultural & religious background

« Treat others as you would have them treat you”

• Baha ‘u’ llah, tablets of baha ‘u’ llah 71 (Bahá'í); Guru Granth Sahid (Sikhs); Talmud, Shabbat 31a (Judaism), Mahavira (Jainism), Matthew 7 v.12 (Christian), Prophet Muhammad (Muslim), Taoism, (school of thoughts), Confucius (school of thoughts) the Buddha (Buddhism), Mahavira (Jainism), Mahabharata XIII (Hinduism) XIII :114, Silo (Universal humanism schools of thoughts)

Showing real world situation

6. Developing a personal ethic• Positive aspects : positive reflection will give student a better sense of proportion

with respect to their failings, and it will help them to overcome difficulties. It is common in peer relationships to be based on criticism. (it is expected that student will put each other down in order not to be left behind). In this way all students fear of what others think of them and unfortunately positive qualities go unrecognized by peers and teachers.

• Harmony between thinking, feeling and doing: we realizes that many time students are divided between what they think, feel and do. On the other hand, they understand that if they manage to do something  in harmony with theirs ideas, feeling and actions they feel good and probably would like to have similar experience every day.

Showing real world situation

• Helping students to make connections with today world Complexity

(picture: Diderot2 School in Montreuil, Paris, France October 2015 )

Showing real world situation

Picture: Cardinal Léger school, Pointe de l'Ile de Montréal school board. Course Défi Non-violent and launching Vers le Pacifique program October 2015

Showing real world situation

Walk organizes by students and teachers in Montreuil Paris, France, October 2015

Thanks you

For more information please visit website : www.runthisway.ca

Email: planetepeace@gmail.com

Twitter: @planetepeace

Facebook: Run This Way Run This Way school program Activities was launch in 2011 by the NGO International Humanist Network in collaboration with the international organization World Without Wars and without violence