Peace Education and International Community
EDUCATION, 25 Sep 2023
Dr. Surya Nath Prasad – TRANSCEND Media Service
The Mahabharata tells us that the only secret which you have to know is that there is nothing higher than man (male and female both) in this world. But men exploit men. The common masses of every nation are exploited and oppressed by their masters whether they are dictators or democrats. Common people everywhere are poor and slaves. Even intellectuals are not free (excluding a few exceptions) from the organized authority of concerned institutions of the society. Their status is no better than illiterate people. Everywhere there is oppression, exploitation, poverty and injustice throughout the world including in our own nation which lead to naxalism, terrorism, violence and war.
Conscientization, which begins among the oppressed and exploited, is the main goal of peace education. Conscientization means awareness and awakening of people towards their oppressive and exploitative conditions and situation s to fight their liberation by non-violent means. According to Paulo Freire the term “conscientization” refers to learning to perceive social, political, and economic contradictions and take action against the oppressive elements of reality. The conviction of the oppressed that they must fight for their liberation is the result of their own conscientization. Conscientization enrolls men in search for self-affirmation. Conscientization, according to Mathew Zachariah, is more oriented towards change in material world to be brought about by militant group mobilization where as Sarvodaya (of Mahatma Gandhi’s Non-violent Movement) emphasizes social change by teaching individuals to change themselves or awakening of all. It means that the goal of peace education includes to conscientize oppressors and exploiters also bringing change in themselves to do good for the welfare and development of all fellow-beings.
Peace education views the world as one whole, single community a fellowship of human beings who have the instincts of hunger and sex, the same aspirations of generosity and fellow-feeling. People share a common origin and a common destiny: ekaiva masnusijatih (the human race is one). Hence the world should be based a communication of minds and hearts: Homo noia, of one mind.
Humanity is not a mere organization but it is a living organism united from within by those values which are inseparable from human dignity and freedom. When the sense of human community is absent, society becomes a riotous mob. Mahatma Gandhi said, “A fallen and prostrate India cannot be of help to herself or the world. A free and enlightened India can be of help to herself and the world. I want my country to be free so that one day if need be, she may die so that humanity may live.”
Homo sapiens is everywhere the same. Therefore, the basis of a scheme of peace education is cosmopolitan. Peace education helps people to become human. It develops a sense of belonging to humanity and strengthens it by connecting man with man. It helps people to feel more for other people, enable them to change the oppressive and exploitative society, and to create non-violent and just community. Peace education assures peoples peace. Peoples peace protects those who are afflicted with poverty, sickness, bereavement, unemployment, imprisonment, exile and oppression, and on the whole it protects the masses from all types of exploitation. Ivan Illich also said in his address to Peace Research Conference at Yokohama in December 1980,, “Peoples peace had protected thee commons. It guarded the poor man’s access to pastures and wood; it safeguarded the use of road and river by people; it reserved widows and beggars exceptional for utilizing the environment.”
Peace education develops in the minds of men and women that large inclusive vision of humanity through understanding and respect for differences and increase global awareness and cooperation in the ways of peace. It helps in developing an international community which will have in common science and technology, economic arrangements and political forms but it will also help the varied people of the world to develop their local customs, arts and literature to save the new civilization from monotony and destruction. And this international community will be radically different, which will be based on justice, non-oppression, non-exploitation and non-violence.
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This article is based on the paper of this author published as opening article in the University News – A Weekly Journal of the Association of Indian Universities on January 13, 1992.
Dr. Surya Nath Prasad, Former President, Executive Vice President & Secretary-General of the International Association of Educators for World Peace (IAEWP); associate professor of education emeritus, the Graduate Institute of Peace Studies, Kyung Hee University, Republic of Korea. Founder and editor-in-chief of Peace Education: An International Journal. dr_suryanathprasad@yahoo.co.in
Tags: Education for Peace, Peace Education
This article originally appeared on Transcend Media Service (TMS) on 25 Sep 2023.
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Dear Dr. Surya Nath Prasad, you are a wonderful writer and thinker. Thank you for telling so many truths!
I agree with what you say, tha “Peace education develops in the minds of men and women that large inclusive vision of humanity through understanding and respect for differences and increase global awareness and cooperation in the ways of peace.”
However, I also know that we can say exactly the same only changing the word Peace for War.
War education also develops in the minds of men and women. To start with, by Religions. Every Religion claims to teach the Truth, implying all other Religions lie. This is the starting point of divisions, hatreds and fighting.
Then we have the most CIVILIZED world of the War industry. They do share a “large inclusive vision of humanity through understanding and respect for differences and increase global awareness and cooperation in the ways of WAR. No war in the world can happen unless agreed in advance by the fighting parties.
A few days ago, in London, UK, we had DSEI, the International biennial Arms Fair. A true international community was their, for 4 days, all under one roof, eating and drinking together, people of ALL Religions, ALL nationalities, ALL Ethnicities, ALL political colours (from the extreme Left to the extreme Right), celebrating the multi million and multi billion dollar contracts that will result in thousands of dead, millions injured, millions of refugees, the destruction of families, communities, buildings, crops, natures, the pollution of our lands, seas and the air we breathe.
War scientists use a common science and technology, economic arrangements and political forms to help the varied people of the world to develop their own local fighting style. Local customs, arts and literature are taught to soldiers send away on killing missions foreign lands. Not for saving the fighters from monotony and destruction, but to encourage them to destroy as much as they can before they are killed.
I share you vision of an international community, based on justice, non-oppression, non-exploitation and non-violence, but I also know that this will never happen unless we first rid the world from Militarism and the Death Industry.
I hope you’ll be interested in attending the INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT FOR WORLD PEACE in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Details here: http://www.hufud.org
Dear Mr. Alberto Portugheis,
Thank you very much for your Comments in response to my article “Peace Education and International Community” published in Transcend Media Service on 25 September 2023.
I have gone through your comments. Here I am citing some of my articles and videos with their website links, and I request you to kindly read and hear and watch them, and I hope you will certainly get some answers, even if you will not be satisfied, and you will not get the proper answers, you may feel free to write me with your further queries. Below cited are my published articles and videos for your reference:
Peace Education: An Alternative to War Education
EDUCATION, 13 Jun 2022
Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service https://www.transcend.org/tms/2022/06/peace-education-an-alternative-to-war-education/
Integrated Science and Religion for Peace
SCIENCE – SPIRITUALITY, 1 Aug 2016
Surya Nath Prasad, Ph. D. – TRANSCEND Media Service https://www.transcend.org/tms/2016/08/integrated-science-and-reli
Keynote Expert Speech
Academic Trends in Higher Education for Tolerance
Part – II
By Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D. – TRANSCEND Media Service, 14 October, 2019
Expert Speech to the First Academic Symposium held from 9-10 October 2019 at the University of Malta, Malta
Organized by Global Council for Tolerance and Peace (GCTP) in Collaboration with University of Malta
https://www.transcend.org/tms/2019/10/academic-trends-in-higher-education-for-tolerance/
https://gctp2019.wixsite.com/athet
Nonviolence: More Fundamental than Disarmament
NONVIOLENCE, 8 Aug 2016
By Surya Nath Prasad, Ph. D. – TRANSCEND Media Service
https://www.transcend.org/tms/2016/08/nonviolence-more-fundamental-than-disarmament/
Focus Article
Peace and Nonviolence
By Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D.
Sang Saeng – Living Together Helping Each Other –
A UNESCO-APCEIU Magazine,
No. 27 Spring, 2010, pages 8-11 http://www.unescoapceiu.org/board/bbs/board.php?bo_table=m411&wr_id=57
YouTube-Video – Brief of Speech
Peace Education for Solution of
Terrorism and Other Forms of Violence
By Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D.
At the World Forum of Spiritual Culture, Astana, Kazakhstan on
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PsRrHInBMwo
On UCN News Channel – DVD Education – YouTube
A Dialogue on
Universal Peace Education: A Remedy for All Ills
By Surya Nath Prasad, Ph.D.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LS10fxIuvik
I am aware about the INTERNATIONAL SUMMIT FOR WORLD PEACE in Buenos Aires, Argentina. You also reminded ne about the World Peace Summit. I am interested to attend the Peace Summit, but I cannot attend it due to some personal reasons. However, I would like to send my thoughts on the theme of the Summit if the Organizers of the World Peace Summit will allow me to do so.
I send my best wishes for the grand success of the International Summit for World Peace.
With thanks and best wishes,
Sincerely,
Surya Nath Prasad