Founder of Peaceful Schools lauds Lester B. Pearson School Board’s dedication

Pearson is the only board in North America to fully adopt the anti-bullying philosophy

Karen Seidman
The Gazette
Monday, May 25, 2009

Lester B. Pearson School Board officials may have been proud recently to receive a Peaceful Schools flag from the founder of the movement, Hetty van Gurp, but it was van Gurp herself who was proudest that an entire school board had adopted her philosophy.

It is the only school board on the continent to have done so.

Schools mostly sign up for the Peaceful Schools initiative individually, but the Pearson board embraced van Gurp’s ideology from the beginning in 2002 and encouraged all of its West Island schools to participate and to become peaceful schools.

So when van Gurp presented Pearson officials with one of the organization’s flags for its head office in Dorval, she did so knowing that it was the only school-board headquarters in North America that would have one of her flags flying.

Continue reading LBPSB Raises PSI Flag →

October 26, 2008

Saint Mary’s University granted an Honourary Doctorate of Civil Laws to General John de Chastelain at its October, 2008 Convocation. In his address to the graduates, General de Chastelain emphasized the important role education plays in the resolving conflicts and promoting peace.

“If negotiation is an integral part of conflict resolution, education is an integral part of conflict avoidance,” he said. “It is my feeling, from what I’ve seen over the years, that education is key in this regard.”

As an example, he acknowledged the valuable work done by Peaceful Schools International. Saint Mary’s is the first university both nationally and internationally to have met Peaceful Schools International membership criteria. The organization is dedicated to the development and implementation of conflict resolutions skills and programs within more than 270 different schools locally, regionally and internationally. Dr. Hetty van Gurp, who received an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Laws from Saint Marys in the fall of 2005, founded the organization.

“The whole concept of conflict resolution in all its aspects is a simple one, teaching those who are in difficult situations to care,” said General de Chastelain. Peaceful Schools International has been doing this for a number of years. In recognition for the conflict resolution work done by Saint Mary’s University and its ongoing support of Peaceful Schools International, General de Chastelain, a member of the organizations international advisory board, presented the university with a Peaceful Schools International flag.

Saint Mary’s University Student Association President Chris MacDougall accepted the flag on behalf of the university. The flag will become part of the universitys permanent flag collection displayed at all convocations. General de Chastelains emphasis on promoting peace and a civil society throughout the world was a message well suited for the graduating class that included more than 100 students from countries other than Canada. (Source: SMU Press Release, October 26, 2008 www.smu.ca)

Logan MacGillivray, a ten year-old boy from Bedford, Nova Scotia, worked with CDPeace and Peaceful Schools International (PSI) in collaboration with the ViewFinders International Film Festival for Youth to seek donations of items and money to help with the construction of schools and the cdpeace centre for the education of young people in seven northern communities in Sierra Leone. A donation box was set up at the Empire 17 Cinemas in Bayers Lake, Halifax during the ViewFinders Film Festival to collect these much needed supplies, which were sent over by a shipping container to Sierra Leone.

View photos of the unloading of the container

After a visit to Serbia in 2001, Hetty returned home determined to do something to help the teachers with whom she met. The challenges they faced on a daily basis, after the war made daily school life a struggle. Following discussions with the Serbian Ministry of Education and Group Most, the Canadian Bureau for International Education (CBIE) and Peaceful Schools International (PSI) applied for and received funding from the Peacebuilding Unit at the Canadian International Development Agency (CIDA) to implement a school-based peace education project with six schools in Belgrade, Pancevo, Leskovac, Nis, Novi Sad, and Backa Palanka. The project was strongly supported by the Serbian Ministry and NGO Group Most and was officially carried out from September 2002 to December 2003.

Continue reading Peaceful Schools in Serbia →