VIEWS

Time to Do Our Peace Homework
A paper on how culture and arts are indispensable in peacebuilding.
presented at the "Forum on Culture, Heritage and Peace," Feb. 20, 2004, Adindanao: Mindanao Celebration of Arts at the Cultural Center of the Philippines (CCP)
By Lyndee Prieto

This paper takes the cue from the 1999 Hague Appeal for Peace international campaign promoting a "culture of peace" in the 21st century. This was also the first time I have understood what "culture of peace" was all about during the international peace conference in The Hague, Netherlands that launched the global campaign anchored on the theme "Time to Abolish War". It also served as a launch pad for other global peace initiatives on Small Arms Prevention, Banning Landmines, Action to Prevent War, Campaign for Peace Education among others. Moreover, this multi-stakeholder conference among global civil society organizations, international organizations and progressive governments alike, also draw mandate from the resolution of the United Nations General Assembly proclaiming 2001-2010 as "The International Decade for a Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World".

Culture of…what?

Strange it may seem but never did I once think of a "culture of peace"—an orientation to counter violence in any form which has been creeping into our own system, corrupting our inner psyche. And this "culture of violence" is a constant threat to our very existence, thus, we should not allow nor tolerate it to eventually decimate lives.

This has been debated as early as 1992 when UNESCO introduced its Culture of Peace Programme. In fact, Manila was even a host to the 1995 International Forum on Culture of Peace. It is unfortunate that I knew of it half a decade after it was introduced. Strange indeed.

Since "culture of peace" is a complex concept that is still evolving and growing as a result of practice, no one can claim sole ownership of it; hence, it can not be imposed from outside. As a movement it is compared to "a great river fed from diverse streams—from every tradition, culture, language, religion and political perspective" (UNESCO 1995 Working Paper).

That Hague Conference was a milestone in my transformation as a peacebuilder. But one thing that dawned on me in my peace quest is that I still remain a cultural worker. And every step in my journey strengthens my resolve that art practitioners and cultural workers are indeed builders of peace. Aren't we? We are part of the peace movement. And what we are doing on the ground is definitely peace work! In fact, we are peacebuilders long before this term has probably been coined... We should reclaim our space and make our presence felt in the growing peace movement. But, what really is in store for the culture and arts community in peacebuilding? "O, lagi pis adbokeyt ta..unya what constructs would guide us?" Of course, we do need to develop our own discourse on the matter. How can we relate culture in peace? Culture and conflict?

Culture and conflict

Culture, according to conflict resolutionists and peace analysts, is indispensably part in the whole dynamics of conflict. It is likewise intricately woven in conflict resolution and peacebuilding. According to Väyrynen, conflicts arise when there is a "breakdown of shared reality and people are unable to find shared meanings in it." He further states that conflicts are mostly culturally constructed because the main actors in a conflict are socially and culturally rooted groups. Conflicts, thus, arise due to varied interpretations of the socially constructed reality. In fact, an alternative language in studying conflict resolution takes into account a combination of the following: socio-cultural reality of individuals, how they interpret the reality, and, the relationship between individuals, social groups and cultures. Especially in a multi-cultural setting such as Mindanao, culture is a factor to be examined in order that understanding of various conflict situations be deepened. In analyzing conflict, culture should be studied together with ethnicity, resources, etc, as causes of conflict.

The "people" factor in understanding conflict is a vital element to reach effective conflict resolution. Because when we talk of people, we talk about relationships and the whole gamut of culture. And once we view conflict resolution from the cultural lens (we have to enter the consciousness of those who participate in conflict resolution and peacebuilding and of those who experience conflict themselves) we look at values, attitudes and aspirations. We have to deconstruct what makes the world meaningful for them.

Without which we will not be able to take a closer look at cultural nuances pertaining to aspirations and values of peoples that render them to make collective decisions and actions. Without which we will not be able to decode the "language" consisting of prescriptions explaining conflict and practice especially in resolving conflict. Without which we will not be able to develop more appropriate strategies in peacebuilding.

Cultural Work in the Peace Process

Art has traditionally been a means of affirming and celebrating culture; it is used as strategy for communicating social change. As art practitioners and cultural workers, we consider ourselves catalysts for change. Culture and arts have been used as tools for educating and uniting communities to work towards collective action or to facilitate community problem-solving within varous field of development. And we express it in a lot of ways—through our songs, plays, dances, poems, stories, bayoks, community theatre, streetplays, cultural actions, exchanges and advocacies. In fact, arts-based forms of expressions have been essential components of anti-war demonstrations and protests for social justice and equality. And since we are doing our homework in articulating and mainstreaming the cultural agenda, we have practically invaded the legislative arena, schools, LGUs and tourism programs as well. That's the expanse of our influence in development work. But what draws the line between development work and peace work?

The UN took notice of the role of the civil society in conflict prevention, are we taking on the challenge consciously as a sector? Where do we locate ourselves in the peace movement now? Are we able to assert our own space and reclaim it? Did we think about it hard enough as a sector?

Culture and arts contribute much to strengthening a tolerant, cohesive society by supporting an intertwined network of new ideas, interests and traditions. And specifically, we can note several best practices around the world even in those societies experiencing severe conflicts. The community arts-based processes in Boznia-Herzegovina have become an essential component of peacebuilding work; making it an effective tool to bring together identity groups through sharing common cultural experiences, raising awareness about past suffering, and engaging communities in creative projects. Arts made a significant impact on bringing together divided communities—like the community theater productions, mural projects and poetry groups in Northern Ireland, Africa, and the Middle East; inter-faith choir, community theatre and art therapy projects in Sarajevo.

If artists and cultural workers have been proactively doing peace education and facilitating conciliatory processes in historically divided communities in conflict zones across the globe, why can't we be active enough in implementing reconciliation and peacebuilding initiatives in Lanao, in the peace zones of Pikit or even in the evacuation centers of Pagalungan?

It is a hard fact that cultural workers have not enjoyed significant opportunities to reflect upon and theorize how our work may facilitate reconciliation among conflicting parties. Neither there is enough support in sustaining art-based processes in peacebuilding. Nor we are leveled off in our roles and perspectives as peace advocates.

Our longstanding homework

As we pitch in in the entire peace process as artists and cultural workers in Mindanao, we need to do some homework in order to effectively function as peace advocates. I am outlining a proposed homework on how cultural work is akin to peace work:

1) BROADEN OUR BASE. Recognize and reclaim that we are elements of "peace change" and peace culture. That once we collectively assert ourselves as stakeholders in the peace process, we should consolidate our own peace constituency from among our own ranks—artists, cultural workers, cultural managers and community partners.

2) PEACE AGENDA FROM THE CULTURAL LENS. Articulation of our own peace agenda from the perspective of the culture and arts community. This peace platform serves as our mantle from where we draw our mandate and vision as peacebuilders.

Re-tooling is very important. We have to encourage discourse development from our ranks and work for a more unified vision for peace in a multicultural setting. How do we view and value the various political options in settling the centuries-old conflict in Mindanao? We don't need to shun away from constructs that make us quiver at the thought of engaging in cold, hard and cosmic debates.

3) BASE OF SOCIAL PRACTICE. Immersion in community processes and lifeways of the lumad, moro and settlers in Mindanao will always remain to be arenas in peace process. It is from the communities that we draw our stories, cultural symbols and cultural practice that strengthen our identities and yearnings as distinct peoples. This is where we find our roles as enablers of the peace process which should be owned, practiced and breathed into life by the communities through cultural work and cultural action.

4) PEACE GOVERNANCE. We have to continually work on greater participation and recognition as stakeholders in the peace process and the entire peace movement. But this can be made possible if we include peacebuilding as one strategic direction in cultural work, most especially to those who are based in conflict-affected areas. Once we consciously and persistently promote peace thinking in our cultural programs, engaging other stakeholders in the peace process will just naturally follow. We can translate this in various ways, depending on our orientation and practical milieus.

Here is a shopping list of how we can best deal with and interface peace issues and concerns in our own work:

1. legislative theatre/advocacy ( advocacy on the peace talks, monitoring ceasefire, relief/rehabilitation, security, terrorism and other peace issues);

2. peace constituency and network-building (consolidation within the culture and arts sector and linking up with the broader peace constituency. Networking as a methodology in itself enhances changes in focus, cooperation and coordination among different stakeholders, i.e. evacuees/IDPs, peace groups, humanitarian NGOs, peoples organizations, tribal councils, civic groups, government line agencies, LGUs and even the donor community);

3. consensus building and discourse development (coming up with a peace agenda and a unified position on peace issues/concerns);

4. immersion in actual conflict environments (we draw wisdom through community processes reflective of the collective life and governance of grassroots. Community life serves as a wellspring of indigenous and community-based conflict resolution mechanisms and community justice systems have been proven to be effective in many tribal/clan conflicts);

5. local peace talks and community dialogues (using cultural action and popular education approaches in reconciliation activities, trust and confidence building within communities and between conflicting groups becomes a dynamic and creative interaction);

6. cultural and arts-based psychosocial therapy/intervention (this will be a welcome development for humanitarian groups engaged in trauma healing and psychosocial work among children of war, widows, war-shocked adults);

7. cultural and arts-based peace education and cultural dialogue (this program can be crosscutting in terms of sectors and can be multi-layered in terms of approach, i.e. pop-peace-ed, peace camps, caravans, concerts, sports events, visual arts exhibits, story telling sessions, peace radio dramas, etc);

8. capacity building towards conflict prevention (programmatic process of skills development and gaining insights, frameworks on conflict resolution and peacebuilding);

9. peace campaigns and lobby work (transforming peace mobilizations to get desired impact from concerned parties and the general public. That "peace activism" doesn't become confrontative, albeit issues are being socialized upon squarely. Policy advocacy is something we have to appreciate and focus our energies on since this is the vehicle for us to be heard and for us to influence policy decisions);

10. theorizing, synthesizing lessons learned and development of pedagogy of Culture and Arts in Peacebuilding

All of these will be held in a continuum of theory and practice—engaging people to come together through a creative process to help rebuild social relationships; raising awareness of the dangers of impending conflict and speaking out in favor of peace; helping people in vulnerable situations keep their humanity; and putting the war on the conscience of public and the world.

The task is daunting. Aside from the conflict environment that surrounds us, we still remain at the periphery from within. We criticize how other sectors and even the NGO community regard our kind of work. They remain silent or are confused as to how they can collaborate with us as equal partners and not mere "relief or entertainment" in their activism and peace activities. We need to have continuous reorientation process for them to appreciate cultural work in peacebuilding.

The overarching challenge in front of us now is helping foster interaction in divided societies, communities, and peoples and helping facilitate reconciliation and cross-cultural dialogue—building cultural solidarity towards promoting tolerance and multiculturalism in Mindanao.

Then, we can say peacebuilding fits us to a tee.

Lyndee Prieto is currently Board Chairperson of Mebuyan Peace Project, and member of EarthMusic Foundation, Inc. She has been a director, playwright, lead performer, stage manager, and production manager since her days with Kulturang Atin Foundation, Inc. (KAFI). She directed six major plays and a host of one-act plays from 1983 to 1996, and directed the "Re-build East Timor" Concert (Davao City, 1997). Her most recent work is co-Directing "Taytayan," written by Arnel Mardoquio, the Mindanao vignette of Hanas: Dalit ng mga Virtuoso, a performance tour project of the Committee on Dramatic Arts of the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA).

Lyndee co-founded the now defunct BAYI Theatre Collective, a group that focused on portraying women's stories and issues in 1993. She led the global education program of the Initiatives for International Dialogue where she also facilitated and organized the Children's Art Camp (1999), Children's Peace Camps-stress debriefing workshops for children of war (2000), and Caregivers Trainings for those engaged in psycho-social rehabilitation in Mindanao's war zones (2000). Lyndee has also trained participants of the United Nations Organization of Youth (UNOY) 2nd International Conference held in Vught, Netherlands in 1999. In early 2002, Lyndee organized Peaceweavers: A Cross-Cultural Dialogue aimed at discussing indigenous ways in conflict resolution and grassroots peacebuilding. She had a brief stint with the United Nations Multi-donor Programme (UNMDP-GOP3) as Component Manager for Culture of Peace and Advocacy.

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Time to Do Our Peace Homework by Lyndee Prieto