Thirty
two students
from Saint
Patrick’s
High School,
Eastern
Shore District
High School
and Oxford
School
in Nova Scotia,
Canada and from
Elphinstone
Secondary School
in British Columbia
have come together
to form “Students
for Teaching
Peace”,
a youth-driven
organization
that will attend
a student-run
peace conference
in Belgrade,
Serbia during
the period of
March 11-21,
2005.
 |
The
students
were
inspired
by the
Triad
Films/NFB
co-production
Teaching
Peace
In a
Time
of War,
directed
by award
winning
film
maker
Teresa
MacInnes.
The
film
focuses
on Hetty
van
Gurp,
president
and
founder
of Peaceful
Schools
International,
and
her
recent
work
in the
former
Yugoslavia.
With
the
help
of MacInnes
and
local
filmmaker,
Kent
Nason,
the
students
will
also
learn
about
documentary
filmmaking
and
film
their
experience
in order
to make
a documentary
of their
own.
|
Teaching Peace
In a Time of War
is the third installment
of a trilogy.
The first two
films in the series,
Waging Peace
and Learning
Peace have
been packaged
into an educational
toolkit for teachers
and students called
Peace@School,
created by van
Gurp and MacInnes.
Peace
education can
be a challenge
at the best
of times. It's
even harder
in a post-war
atmosphere where
the education
system suffers
from weary staff,
overcrowding
and lack of
resources. Despite
these challenges,
educators Nena
and Irena are
won over by
Hetty van Gurp’s
brand of conflict
prevention and
resolution,
the ultimate
goal of which
is to teach
strategies that
empower children
to more positively
shape their
destinies.
Ultimately,
Teaching Peace
in a Time of
War shows that
triumphs like
the progress
of Nenad and
of student representative
Gordana, who
helps organize
the school's
first-ever dance,
offer a sense
of optimism
that even schools
in the most
troubled circumstances
can become beacons
of peace.
“Student
for Teaching
Peace”
is a project
of Peaceful
Schools International
and is supported
by National
Film Board,
National Crime
Prevention Strategy,
Sea to Sea Films
and ViewFinders:
International
Film Festival
for Youth
– a presentation
of the Atlantic
Film Festival.
Students
from
Nova
Scotia
Eastern
Shore
District
High
and
St.
Pat's
High
School
|
Cindy
Reid,
Sarah
Doherty,
Abi Kellett,
and Caitlin
Reid from
the Sunshine
Coast,
British
Columbia
|
The
success of this
project is entirely
dependant on
the energy and
dedication of
the teachers
and parents
supporting the
Students for
Teaching Peace.
Thanks
also to the
CBC for their
support. |
