Defining global peace

Defining global peace

ROTARY GLOBAL PEACE FORUM
KAI NESTMAN/SPECIAL TO COAST REPORTER
Published, COAST REPORTER: Friday, February 08, 2013 

http://www.coastreporter.net

Aung San Suu Kyi received the Hawaii Peace Award from Rotary International President Sakuji Tanaka 

of Japan at the recent Rotary Global Peace Forum in Hawaii.

David Livingston Photo

Peace can be described as a lifetime journey that individuals travel through in the quest to achieve harmony — a personal expedition in search of harmony that could extend to the cosmos, our environment, the relations between each other and harmony with oneself. Peace could include a world free from violence and suffering, full of tolerance and love.

In a world that has become clouded with the complexities of globalization and a consistent fight between regions, cultures, religions, ethnic groups and communities, we must look to our own life to encourage change through peace.

Hawaii extends the “spirit of aloha” as a tolerance for strangers and a welcome without conflict. What can we learn from another culture? How can we incorporate friendship, understanding and healing among groups in struggle?

Youth offer us this hope.

I was fortunate to participate in a Rotary Global Peace Forum in Honolulu, Hawaii, recently where the forum placed a heightened emphasis on young people as catalysts for peace. Workshops brought together participants from around the world to discuss and engage in peace education, technology, intercultural understanding, peace through humanitarianism and world peace through personal health, among many other topics. Young people offer us the greatest opportunity to move towards world peace.

Aung San Suu Kyi, a Nobel Peace Prize recipient and member of parliament in Burma (Myanmar), was the keynote speaker.

“Young men and women should not need to think about peace. If they need to think about peace, there is something wrong with society; there is something wrong with their family situation or their social situation,” described Daw Suu Kyi when I asked, “What encourages people to believe in peace and especially youth in this process?”

Suu Kyi continued in her response, saying, “The young must also understand the sedative for peace and the drive for peace … and because there is so much turmoil in the world we live in, that more and more young people understand the value of peace.”

Youth must gain access to the opportunity to broaden their horizons and cultural understanding through experiences such as a Rotary Youth Exchange. Rotary International sends more than 8,000 secondary school students each year to over 80 countries where students live with host families and bridge international friendships over a year-long exchange.

There are many opportunities for young people to study abroad, live in another country with host families and engage in a new culture and language. These experiences through high school or during college and university develop international relationships between two similar yet different cultures. These exchanges precipitate peace.

As Aung San Suu Kyi stated, “We depend on our young people to take us forward.”

This could be significant in the quest to achieve world peace; however, we must look to organizations such as Rotary International and educational institutions to promote this shift in international experience and ensure greater accessibility. Everyone has a role in peace, but we must empower youth to grow as peacemakers.

NOTE: A similar article appeared in Rotary Voices: Stories of service from around the world, entitled Everyone has a role in peace, posted on February 1, 2013.

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An introduction to Aung San Suu Kyi

An introduction to Aung San Suu Kyi
ROTARY GLOBAL PEACE FORUM
KAI NESTMAN/SPECIAL TO COAST REPORTER
Published, COAST REPORTER: Friday, JANUARY 18, 2013 

http://www.coastreporter.net

Aung San Suu Kyi will be the keynote speaker at the Rotary International Rotary Global Peace Forum in Hawaii Jan. 25. Sechelt’s Kai Nestman will be attending through a partnership with the Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast.

Photo courtesy peaceforumhawaii.com

Aung San Suu Kyi is known by many people for having spent much of the past 20 years under house arrest in Myanmar. As the chairperson of a pro-democracy party, Suu Kyi is a symbol in her efforts of non-violence and peace while engaging with the repressive military-backed government in Myanmar, also known as Burma.

In 1991, she was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for her “non-violent struggle for democracy and human rights” — a prize that was accepted by her two sons and British husband. Suu Kyi was held under house arrest in Burma and could not risk leaving the country to claim her prize.

She was released from house arrest in November 2010, following bouts of freedom and detention, but full restrictions on Suu Kyi’s movement and associations were not relaxed until 2011.

Last year in a landslide by-election victory, Suu Kyi was elected to sit in parliament along with other members from her National League for Democracy Party. This marked significant progress for a military power that had denied Suu Kyi’s previous victory as a member of parliament. The military junta has enforced a strong influence over the country since its 1962 coup d’état.

Myanmar has experienced significant change over the past year. Canada’s foreign minister visited the country in a first-of-its-kind stopover, and most notably U.S. President Barack Obama became the first U.S. president to visit Myanmar following a preparatory visit by U.S. Secretary of State Hilary Clinton in 2011.

Obama’s visit marked progressive announcements by the government of Myanmar to ease border conflict, allow the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) greater access to prisons, and investigate political detainees. The change of pace in Myanmar brought forth statements by the governments of Canada and the U.S. to begin slowly easing strict sanctions meant to apply political pressure to Myanmar and its military-backed government.

Conflict has been ongoing in Myanmar and most recently has continued in the northern state of Kachin where internal struggles have existed between ethnic minorities and the government.

Suu Kyi continues her work to build peace through non-violence. She recently wrote, “Myanmar remains firmly under military rule” when she described the conflict in Kachin.

Rotary International, though its work in humanitarian and volunteer service, has also focused on peace. Each year Rotary sponsors up to 110 Rotary World Peace Fellows who study peace and conflict resolution at one of six Rotary Centres for International Studies located around the world.

On Jan. 25, in Honolulu, Hawaii, Rotary International will host its second Rotary Global Peace Forum, the first of which was held in Berlin, Germany, at the end of November. A third forum will be hosted in Hiroshima, Japan in May. The forum will bring together more than 800 participants from around the world — many of them youth. I will have the honour of attending the forum through a partnership with the Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast.

The Rotary Global Peace Forum will include workshops that look to Hawaiian culture and peace while highlighting the special importance of conserving and protecting shared environmental resources, and encouraging young adults to be catalysts for peace. The forum looks to empower a new generation’s vision of world peace — peace that could extend to conflicts such as that in Myanmar. Suu Kyi will be the keynote speaker.

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Building leaders through volunteerism

Building leaders through volunteerism

CANADA WORLD YOUTH
KAI NESTMAN/CONTRIBUTING WRITER

Published, COAST REPORTER: Wednesday, October 22, 2011
http://www.coastreporter.net

Kai Nestman, originally from Sechelt, participated in Canada World Youth’s 2009/10
Youth Leaders in Action program in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec and Allada, Benin.

For 40 years Canada World Youth (CWY) has enabled 34,000 youth aged 15 to 29 to participate in international co-operation programs hosted by 11,000 families in more than 67 countries.

This week (Oct. 17 to 23), the work of these volunteers and the significant impact these experiences have had on thousands of youth around the world will be celebrated. Forty special events will be held in 40 different cities, and more than 130 municipalities have officially proclaimed Canada World Youth Week, including Sechelt.

CWY offers young people the opportunity to learn new languages, embrace diversity, and improve awareness and appreciation for other cultures. CWY participants cultivate skills to become involved in community-based projects related to the environment, health and equity. For many of the youth volunteers, the experience is life-changing. CWY shapes who they are and who they will become.

As an organization, CWY contributes to the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals and trains new generations of youth to become active global citizens. CWY participants volunteer more than one million hours every year by building youth leadership in Canada and around the world.

Enriching the lives of young Canadians has never been more important. This past September, Canada’s youth unemployment rate stood at 14 per cent. This means that more than 400,000 Canadians aged 15 to 24 were still looking to enter the job-market. CWY offers youth a bridge to other countries when other avenues are closed to them. At its best, CWY offers youth the chance to apply their skills and passion in a meaningful experience, at home and overseas. Youth are empowered through these experiences.

The Sunshine Coast has embraced CWY over the years through hosting local groups such as the current Canada-South Africa team, as well as supporting local participants.

Beyond the national events of the 40th anniversary, CWY is committed to broadening its approach to youth leadership. Programs must be accessible. As the value of volunteerism and community engagement grows, CWY will reach out to young people from First Nations, Inuit and Métis communities, as well as youth from rural areas, with a goal to engage youth from every socio-economic group, even those not accustomed to turning their sights overseas.

Canada has some two million citizens living abroad. Many do fabulous work as volunteers. Organizations like CWY focus on young people from all parts of Canada, giving them a platform and opportunity to volunteer abroad. They represent the leading edge of this country’s soft power and a huge advantage for Canadian business and Canadian citizens.

Editor’s note: Kai Nestman, originally from Sechelt, participated in Canada World Youth’s 2009/10 Youth Leaders in Action program in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec and in Allada, Benin. He is also a member of the CWY board of directors.

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Youth volunteerism builds leaders

Youth volunteerism builds leaders
Organization turns 40 with celebrations across the nation
by Kai Nestman
Published, The Powell River Peak: Wednesday, October 19, 2011 9:54 AM PDT
http://www.prpeak.com/articles/2011/10/19/community/doc4e9e0cb6d0b61295790009.txt

HELP ON THE GROUND: Pablo McDonald [left] and Kai Nestman of Canada World Youth 

volunteer with a local Pineapple Cooperative in Allada, Bénin. Kai Nestman Photo

For 40 years, Canada World Youth (CWY) has enabled 34,000 youth aged 15 to 29 to participate in international cooperation programs hosted by 11,000 families in over 67 countries. From October 17 to 23, the work of these volunteers and the significant impact that these experiences have had on thousands of youth around the world will be celebrated. Forty special events will be held in 40 different cities, and over 130 municipalities have officially proclaimed Canada World Youth Week.

CWY offers young people the opportunity to learn new languages, embrace diversity and improve awareness and appreciation for other cultures. CWY participants cultivate skills to become involved in community-based projects related to the environment, health and equity. For many of our youth volunteers, the experience is life-changing. CWY shapes who they are and who they will become.

As an organization, CWY contributes to the implementation of the UN Millennium Development Goals and trains new generations of youth to become active global citizens. CWY participants volunteer more than one million hours every year by building youth leadership in Canada and around the world.

Enriching the lives of young Canadians has never been more important. This past September, Canada’s youth unemployment rate stood at 14 per cent. This means that more than 400,000 Canadians aged 15 to 24 were still looking to enter the job market. CWY offers youth a bridge to other countries when other avenues are closed to them. At its best, CWY offers youth the chance to apply their skills and passion in a meaningful experience, at home and overseas. Youth are empowered through these experiences.

Powell River has been an outstanding host community for CWY and will again host a Canada-Vietnam group this coming December.

Today, as it moves beyond the national events of the 40th anniversary, CWY is committed to broadening its approach to youth leadership. Programs must be accessible. As the value of volunteerism and community engagement grows, the organization must reach out to young people from first nations, Inuit and Métis communities, as well as youth from rural areas. It wants to engage youth from every socio-economic group, even those not accustomed to turning their sights overseas.

Canada has some two million citizens living abroad. Many do fabulous work as volunteers. Organizations like CWY focus on young people from all parts of Canada, giving them a platform and opportunity to volunteer abroad. They represent the leading edge of this country’s soft power and a huge advantage for Canadian business and Canadians at large.

Kai Nestman, originally from Sechelt, participated in Canada World Youth’s 2009-2010 Youth Leaders in Action program in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec and Allada, Benin. He is also a member of the Canada World Youth board of directors.

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Future politician reports on African experience

CANADA WORLD YOUTH

Future politician reports on African experience

CATHIE ROY
ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER
COAST REPORTER
http://www.coastreporter.net

CATHIE ROY PHOTO--Kai Nestman, CWY alumni, gave a presentation to the Sunshine Coast Rotary Club on March 4; here Rotary president Darcy Long thanks him. His colourful shirt is indicative of Béninois clothing.


What do you do if you want to become fully fluent in French? If you’re Kai Nestman, you find a way to fully immerse yourself in the language and help humanity at the same time.

Nestman, a young Sunshine Coast man, recently returned from the African country of Bénin where he was part of an exchange sponsored by Canada World Youth (CWY).

On March 4, he updated the Rotary Club of the Sunshine Coast on his adventures with CWY. Along with many other groups on the Sunshine Coast, the Rotary Club had contributed to Nestman’s participation in the youth program.

CWY is based on a six month program. For the first three months, the Canadian youth and their counterparts from various foreign countries spend their time in Canada. The following three months are spent in their partners’ homelands. The emphasis of the program is volunteer work and community building.

Prior to going to the impoverished African country on the Atlantic Coast, Nestman spent three months in Salaberry-de-Valleyfield, Quebec. The city of roughly 40,000 is situated on an island in the Saint Lawrence River.

While in Quebec, Nestman and Timothée, his Béninois counterpart, spent time with the rest of their group working on environmental projects, the primary one being a community idle-free plan, where signage and education were aimed at average citizens to convince them to cut down on idling their vehicles. Provincial and federal funding helped the CWY group achieve their objectives.

While in Quebec, Nestman and Timothée stayed with a family of five — three children and two adults. All day-today living was conducted in French, an excellent learning opportunity for Nestman, who hopes to be a federal politician one day. He was also fortunate to be able to go to Ottawa with the CWY group. And while he has taken two years of political science at the Ottawa University, so this wasn’t a first visit for Nestman, he was proud to show off our Parliament to his African mates.

Bénin was an eye opener for the Canadian youth. The county of about nine million people is ranked 187th in the world in terms of quality of life. The average life expectancy is 59, and only 48 per cent of men over the age of 15 can read and write. The statistic for women is even more dismal — only 23 per cent are literate.

The official language is French. Religions practiced include Islam, Christianity, Voodoo and various tribal beliefs. Growing pineapples is a prime industry in the poor country. The average wage is $2 per day and in the pineapple juice-manufacturing sector, it’s nothing for women to work a mind-numbing 12 hours a day, six days a week putting labels on bottles. As a community job, this didn’t sit well with the Canadian contingent of the CWY.

Culture differences in Canada and Bénin were most pronounced in regard to women, according to Nestman.

He told of the treatment of the grandmother of his host family in Bénin. The woman, a counsellor of some repute, was regularly approached by men in the town for answers to their problems. Yet, Nestman said the men would not look the woman in the eyes.

“It was as if they were ashamed to talk to a woman for advice,” he explained.

While in Bénin, Nestman saw several instances of Rotary help.

One project was a large ferryboat that took children to school every day. One hope there is for the Béninois is to change their pineapple farming from the present chemical-dependent style to organic, a concept that would require a complete 18-month growing season with no product to market — a tough sell in a desperately poor country.

Over the past six years, Nestman has travelled extensively on both humanitarian and personal development. A Rotary exchange student with the Sechelt Rotary Club in 2004, Nestman spent almost a year in Thailand, a country he said bore similarities to Bénin in the farming style. He has also spent a year in France as an au pair learning French.

Right now he’s looking to become a project leader in the Katimavik program. Similar to CWY in scope but national rather than international, Katimavik concentrates on dispersing Canadian youth to areas in Canada to help with social programs. And currently he plans to return to university in the fall.

Should his future plans in government materialize, it’s safe to say Nestman’s constituents will be in well-rounded hands. Read More!