Summer Program TCPN Baku, Azerbaijan

Hello,

Days have been busy since the end of May writing my thesis, preparing workshops, finishing a course on Peace Education and taking some time off with Paul in Sweden. After I came back from Brussels I continued writing the second chapter of my thesis, which is ready and just need some graphics, then I went to Baku for a workshop on Intercultural Education and then to Sweden for a three week holidays. Came back in the beginning of July to prepare a workshop in Paris on the Arigatou Learning to Live Together manual and now I am just back from Paris ready to start preparing another workshop in Sri Lanka and to continue working on my thesis.

This post is about my experience in Baku in the beginning of June. I went to give a course on Intercultural Education as part of a summer program called Transition from Conflict to Peace and Non-Violence organized by the Institute of Conflict Transformation and Peace building, ICP. One of my classmates and friends at WPA from Azerbaijan, Fakhrinur Huseynli (above), was the project manager and was the person who made this summer program happen. His dedication, determination, hard work and positive thinking were for sure essential for the success of this program. Thank you Fakhrinur for organizing the summer program and for the invitation to be part of it. I hope we will have the chance to work together again in the future.

The summer program lasted for two weeks and brought professors from Switzerland, Sweden, Mexico, two others from Canada and Colombia living in Switzerland and one Swiss living in Kosovo, on topics ranging from the Transcend method for conflict transformation, potential of conflict and conciliation of religions, dialogue facilitation, non violence, to the contribution of international law to peace and security, peace education and intercultural education. Each course had a duration of three full days and the 24 participants came from Azerbaijan, Ukraine, Russia, Georgia, Afghanistan and the US. You can click here to see a short video of the summer program.

It was a great opportunity to meet friends I made at WPA in Basel. Here with Fernando who was also lecturing at the summer program and with Fakhrinur.

My course was on intercultural education and aimed at giving a theoretical and legal framework on intercultural education and through practical exercises exploring and reflecting how culture, beliefs and identity are intertwined and can easily be used to fuel violence or create violent conflicts. Throughout the workshop participants had the chance to practice listening skills, put themselves in another's shoes and identify the key elements of intercultural education and its importance in building peaceful societies. They were also introduced to the Learning to Live Together manual produced by Arigatou International in close cooperation with UNESCO and UNICEF, as a tool for intercultural and interfaith education.

I had a wonderful group made of very talented young people, with a lot of ideas, very thoughtful and with the firm desire and willingness to learn more about peace and non-violence, even if the situation in their countries is not very favorable and they live in societies affected by violence, fear of the other and polarized views. It was great to share with and learn from them, get to know them and continue being inspired through social networks by their ideas, determination and leadership.

Iceberg Model of Culture - exploring the different layers of culture and the difficulties of understanding what is deep in a culture like values and beliefs

Activity about our beliefs and what we stand for - Reflecting about what shapes our beliefs

Putting ourselves in another's shoes and reflecting about its difficulties and challenges in real life situations

Role play about discrimination based on religion and culture - Putting ourselves in another's shoes

Role play about discrimination at working place based on ethnic origin - Reflecting about real life situations

Activity on participatory methodologies for intercultural education



With some of the participants of the Summer Program - Monument of the victims of 20 January 1990 when Soviet troops killed hundreds of civilians in an attempt to crackdown the Azerbaijani Independence Movement in Baku

The hotel where the summer program took place

Dinner with some of the participants

Two of the participants from Afghanistan having a traditional dinner from Azerbaijan

During one of the evenings we went out to a bar where they do belly dancing. It was a very different experience, even though I had seen belly dancing in Egypt, this was a different version and we also enjoyed the hospitality of people from Azerbaijan.

Before and after my course I had the chance to see Baku and explore a bit the city. Here are some of the photos with my reflections. It was my first time visiting a country in the Caucasus region and therefore, everything was new and amazing for me. Although I had a general understanding of the root causes of the conflicts in the region, I never had the opportunity to explore them in depth and reflect about their consequences in the society. The visit to Baku was eye opening for me and a great opportunity to reflect about violence and peace in the region.

This is a big banner of the former president of Azerbaijan, Mr. Heydar Aliyev, who was the father of the current president Mr. Ilhan Aliyev. I was very impressed about the amount of banners like this or smaller ones everywhere, like a kind of veneration to him. This somehow made me think about nationalistic views, the recent news about violation of human rights in Azerbaijan, the claims of fraud during the presidential elections, the restriction of freedom of speech and reunion, the anti-Armenia propaganda and alleged attacks to journalists. Is there any correlation between these factors? How do they affect the mentality of young people and their ability to act and promote non-violent actions and movements? How are all these factors weaved together and sowing in the minds of people a culture of violence instead of a culture of peace? How can a peaceful solution to the violent conflicts faced in the region be developed, when freedoms are restricted and military and antagonistic views are upheld? I don't have answers to all these questions, they are just pondering in my mind as I also relate them to the violent history of my country, Colombia. I guess the interactions with the youth from the course also made me reflect about the importance of hope in countries affected by violent conflicts, including my own, the importance of ongoing peace education programs and more participatory spaces for youth, like the ones who participated in this course, to take actions and promote non-violent alternatives.

Now a bit more about the city, at least the most touristic parts I visited. Here with poet Vahid (1896-1965). Scenes from numerous of his works are depicted on his neck and hair. The monument was sculpted by Rahib Hasanov and Arif Mansurov and unveiled in 1990.

In the old town!

The city center full of fountains, lights and a lot of space for pedestrians

The old Town

Having a delicious Sac Kabab



Me in front of the Nizami Ganjavi monument at the footsteps of the Fountain's square. Nizami Ganjavi was the greatest romantic epic poet in Persian's literature. This monument and the museum named after him shows the influence of Persian culture in Azerbaijan.

Nizami Museum of Azerbaijan Literature



At Baku Boulevard, it is a promenade that runs parallel to Baku's seafront

The Maiden Tower in the old town was built in the 12th century, as part of the walled city of Baku. It is part of the historic monuments that have been inscribed under the UNESCO World Heritage List of Historical Monuments. The legend tells that a young lady is pursued by a despotic local king (sometimes identified as her father), who reportedly imprisoned her in this Tower. According to the legend, rather than becoming his lover, she committed suicide by throwing herself from the Tower into the Caspian Sea. I didn't have the chance to go inside the tower but it houses a museum, which presents the historic evolution f Baku, and that for sure is a must see if you go to Baku.

Another beautiful fountain

At Fountains Square

A beautiful and dramatic sculpture in the old town. The old town was declared by UNESCO as a world heritage, which places great demands on the government of Azerbaijan to do constant restoration and preservation.

At Fountains square

At Fountains square

Also at Fountains square



With Rashid, one of my friends from WPA, from Azerbaijan. It was great to see him again, spend time together, talk about life, dreams, past, present and future. Thank you Rashid for your time and kindness. It was great to meet your beautiful family, receive their love and be welcomed with such a genuine hospitality. I really hope our paths will cross again and that we will meet each other very soon. I wish you all the best in your plans and endeavors.

Great dinner at Rashid's place!

This was my trip to Azerbaijan, the land of fire, as they call it. A great experience that has motivated me to learn more about the region and to visit Azerbaijan and the countries around again. I hope I will be able to do it and to work in the region once more.

Peace,

Malu