Encouraging the interfaith youth to create a peaceful world is one of the strategies that Peace Place Pati training center does for Creating a Culture of Peace and Justice. January 27-29, 2023 Peace Place Pati invited the training alumni to deepen the skills of basic AVP (Alternatives to Violence Project) facilitation and to practice preparing the Power of Goodness (PoG) agenda. The training for trainers was attended by 22 participants. Most of them are students from Yogyakarta, Semarang, Kudus, and Pati, as well as two people from the Rumah Relawan Remaja Banda Aceh.
Risa, who is currently an intern working to become a Power of Goodness trainer for teenagers, said, “At first, I felt doubtful about myself when I got an offer to train as a facilitator. But I was interested, and it was a challenge for me to try new things. In training, I learned and practiced how to build a cohesive team, pay more attention to the situation and atmosphere of the training, and practice being on time, being calm, and being confident in my own abilities. I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to participate in this training and hope that it will improve my life skills and that I will be able to share with others.”
Farid, who is an apprentice facilitator for the Power of Goodness for teenagers, admits that the practice of being a trainer helps him to be more confident, learn to understand new situations, understand the fellow friends, and see the needs of others. “Hopefully, I can share more with others in realizing peace,” he says.
Ista said, “I want to learn and practice how to be a facilitator. I want to challenge myself to try new things, such as practicing speaking in front of many people and being able to join friends in Yogyakarta supporting the movement to Create a Culture of Peace through the Power of Goodness stories. While the training felt really heavy, draining my energy and mind, especially during the night session, this training makes me more confident. I can learn how to control my emotions and think first, when I’m feeling emotional. Being a trainer does not mean to patronize. Before this facilitator training, there were several tools that I did not understand. I am very grateful for having the opportunity to train as a facilitator in front of the alumni.”
Wiwit said, “The training for the trainers’ alumni has really helped me to sharpen my AVP approach, so that I can reflect it in my life. The training, which included two new participants from Aceh and one friend from Korea, built an atmosphere that supported deeper intimacy. In this training, we shared and got to know each other better through reflection on the life experiences of each participant. We also shared about the challenges of practicing this material in real life. We agreed to train ourselves and create a peaceful environment.”
Erina, through the training and the live and livelies, “learned about how to build peace, starting with myself and then making peace with others. I got a lot of new material that I didn’t get before such as how to prepare the Power of Goodness agenda and facilitate the AVP training. Another important thing is the opportunity to remember and train together, so that I can understand more deeply about CCPJ (Creating Cultures of Peace and Justice) tools and how to create a training.”
Developing peace by working with interfaith youth is a strategy to reach young people in realizing peace. They have the energy, enthusiasm, and opportunity to share the seeds of peace in their communities. The challenge is that students who have been trained do not all live in the same place, so it takes perseverance and consistency to reach out to new students and to support alumni who are consistent in implementing and introducing the Creating Cultures of Peace and Justice approach in new places. Peace is possible.