Education for non-violence

Non-violence does not come “naturally” to human beings; nor does violence. Both are learned through experiences, imitation and ultimately trial and error.

Both the World Health Organisation, which has declared violence an emergency in the field of health and UNESCO are encouraging the development of programmes for a culture of peace and non-violence at all levels.

We consider that Violence can be: Physical (wars, terrorism, aggression, violent crime, corporal punishment, torture), Economic (poverty, exploitation), Psychological (destruction of people’s self-esteem, manipulation through fear, bullying), Racial (exclusion, discrimination), Religious (intolerance, fanaticism), Sexual (abuse, degradation, genital mutilation, rape), Ecological (water and air pollution, water appropriation, green-house effect), Discrimination on the grounds of age, physical aspect, lifestyle, height, intellectual capacity, neighbourhood, continent, brand of trainers, obesity, etc…

Dehumanisation, also known as objectification, is the element common to all forms of violence.

Retaliation or a violent response to injustice or aggression always leads to an escalation of violence. We often discover that the values of the violent world in which we grew up are already in us, therefore simply willing violence to go away may not be enough. It may be necessary to do a little work…

In this framework we propose the Campaign of Education for Non-Violence as a way of bringing techniques to overcome violence to larger and larger numbers of people.

Violence is difficult to eradicate because it is complex and multi-factorial. There are personal and interpersonal factors as well as global factors to study and correct.

The campaign consists of a series of workshops to be reproduced in cascade to create networks committed to the practice and dissemination of non-violence.

Information: info@centreofcultures.org.uk