YOUTH AS PEACE AMBASSADORS. Rotary Club of Downtown Davao spokesperson Alstair Tecarro announces the upcoming Mindanao-wide Peace Bodies Organization for Change which aims to train youth leaders as peace ambassadors. (Robby Joy Salveron/davaotoday.com)
By Robby Joy Salveron, Intern
DAVAO CITY, Philippines — The Rotary Club of Downtown Davao and the Tecarro College Foundation Inc., will host the first Mindanao-wide Peace Bodies Organization for Change training for youth leaders in communicating peace.
Rotary Club spokesperson Alstair Tecarro said Monday at the Kapehan sa Dabaw press conference that they aim to strengthen the capacity of youth leaders “to become effective peace builders and communicators” as those in the front line of promoting peace.
“We have different problems in our country nowadays, how do we resolve these problems without violence? How do we resolve these in a good and a nice way without resorting to force and without bloodshed?” Tecarro said.
The peace project will be participated by 50 selected Rotaractors or the younger members of the Rotary Club aged 18-30.
Tecarro said participants will be mostly composed of presidents and secretaries of the club from different areas of Mindanao namely Davao, Tagum, Koronadal, Butuan, Surigao and General Santos City.
He said that the number of participants is limited since this is just the initial launch of the project. Tecarro said the OPAPP and the Rotary Club will be going to Visayas next year for another series of the activity.
Members and officers from Mindanao who will finish the training will be sent to Cebu to conduct seminars for peace talks, he said.
The project, composed mainly of seminar-workshops and trainings, will teach the participants about violence, non-violent conflict resolutions, gender and peace.
Tecarro said it will also provide “creative tools in communicating messages of peace and connecting and collaborating with others for social change.” He also stressed the use of social media in promoting peace among the youth.
Tecarro also said that starting next year, they will be promoting Youth Ambassadors for Peace where 10 Rotaract members will be selected to act as promoters and speakers of peace nationwide.
The activity is in partnership with the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process (OPAPP) and will be held at the Brokenshire Hotel and Resort Convention on December 3-4, this year. (davaotoday.com)
