CIRCLESGRAEME STUART

WILL PRESENT THE 2/9 AUGUST COMMUNITY

CIRCLE AVP-I EDUCATION

COMMITTEE IS INVITING

AVP FACILITATORS TO

SHARE THEIR ONLINE

EXPERIENCES WITH THE

AVP COMMUNITY. THIS

IS AN OPPORTUNITY TO

NETWORK, SHARE

TECHNIQUES AND

MATERIALS, REFLECT

AND OFFER FEEDBACK.

FOR MORE INFORMATION ABOUT

THESE CIRCLES AND HOW TO REGISTER AND APPLY TO PRESENT ONE

SEE PAGE 5.

A VP INTERNA TIONA L EDUCA TION COM M ITTEE BULLETIN

VOLUME 3, ISSUE 7 15, JULY, 2020

ht tps://avpeducat ionnetwork.org 1ht tps://avp.internat ional

A VP INTERNA TIONA L EDUCA TION COM M ITTEE BULLETIN

(imag

e by

Reb

ecca

She

rric

k

Im agineBy Lyn Ungar

(written before Covid19)

Imagine with me for a moment--don?t worry, I?m not saying it?s real.Imagine, if you can, that there has beenNot a calamity, but a great awakening.Pretend, just for a moment,That we all so loved our threatened earthThat we stopped going on cruises,Limited international flights,Worked on cherishing the places

Where we already are.In this fantasy, everyone who possibly canStops commuting. Spends the extra timewith their kids or pets or garden.We have the revelation that everyoneNeeds health care, sick leave, steady work.It occurs to us that health care workersare heroes. Also teachers.Not to mention the artists of all kindsWho teach us resilience and joy.Imagine, if you will,That we turned to our neighbors in

mutual aid, trading eggs for milk,Checking in on those who are elderlyOr alone.Imagine that each of usFelt suddenly called to wonder

In this moment, what does the world need from me? What are my gifts?

Yes, I know it?s just a fantasy.The world could never changeSo radically overnight.But imagine.

(seehttp://www.lynnungar.com/poems/).

IN THIS ISSUE: IMAGINE PAGE 1

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH AFRICA PAGES 2-6

- EDUCATION COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTS PAGES 6-10

- NEW GROUPS TO PRESENT UPCOMING

COMMUNITY CIRCLES -6

- NEW MENU BUTTON MAKES LIBRARIES EASIER THAN

EVER TO FIND -7

- LIBRARY WEB PAGE OFFERS TUTORIALS AND

MORE -7-8

- LOCAL GROUP ACTIVITIES -9

- POEM BY CELINA GARCIA -9

- RESEARCH TEAM HIGHLIGHTS MALAYSIA 10

- DEBRIEF FROM THE JULY COMMUNITY CIRCLE -10

- 2020 CALENDAR: JULY-DECEMBER PAGE -10

IN THIS ISSUE: IMAGINE PAGE 1

COUNTRY SPOTLIGHT ON SOUTH AFRICA PAGES 2-6

- EDUCATION COMMITTEE HIGHLIGHTS PAGES 6-10

- NEW GROUPS TO PRESENT UPCOMING

COMMUNITY CIRCLES -6

- NEW MENU BUTTON MAKES LIBRARIES EASIER THAN

EVER TO FIND -7

- LIBRARY WEB PAGE OFFERS TUTORIALS AND

MORE -7-8

- LOCAL GROUP ACTIVITIES -9

- POEM BY CELINA GARCIA -9

- RESEARCH TEAM HIGHLIGHTS MALAYSIA 10

- DEBRIEF FROM THE JULY COMMUNITY CIRCLE -10

- 2020 CALENDAR: JULY-DECEMBER PAGE -10

2

SPOT LIGHT ON SOUTH AFRICA

AVP South Africa has been conducting

workshops primarily ineport In the Eastern

Cape, Free State/Gauteng, KwaZulu-Natal, and

Western Cape.

AVP East ern Cape (operates under the

umbrella of the NGO Southern Africa

Development, Research and Training Institute)

and works with community leaders, community

groups, at-risk youth, youth leaders and

schools.

Free St at e: This group is not yet formally

established but is working with AVP Gauteng.

Gaut eng Province: Works through Phaphama

Initiatives, a

registered NGO

(the word

?phaphama?

means ?awaken

yourself? in the

Nguni

languages), and

the South

African

Quakers

working with

schools,

community groups and community workers.

KwaZulu-Natal: AVP-KZN Facilitator Network

(registered NGO) with a focus on schools,

tertiary post-graduates, youth and community

groups, as well as prisons.

West ern Cape: Works through two registered

NGOs, Embrace Dignity (which assists women

to exit prostitution) and the Quaker Peace

Centre, and focuses on schools, community

groups and prison inmates.

Over t he past few years, Eastern Cape has

been working with the Department of Basic

Education; German Association for

International Cooperation (GiZ); Southern

African Development, Training & Research

Institute; The Safety and Peace through Urban

Upgrading programme of the Mandela Bay

Development Agency which is funded by the

KW German Bank; Rotary; Hogsback Police

Forum; Masifunde Youth Development Agency;

Nelson Mandela University, Umzi Wethu

Wilderness Foundation; Assumption

Development Centre, Grahamstown. Gauteng:

Mennonite Central Committee; Claude Leon

Foundation; Department of Community Safety;

Community Works Programme; Seriti Institute.

KwaZulu Natal: Mennonite Central Committee;

Pietermaritzburg Agency for Community Social

Action; Ncome Department of Correctional

Services Spiritual Director; Phoenix Rising (NGO

working with prisoners and their families);

Durban University of Technology: Department

of Conflict Resolution and Peace Studies,

Family Literacy Project; Liyafezekalphupho

Rural Development Project; Department of

Basic Education and Training ? Schools, Learner

Support Agents. Western Cape: Pollsmoor

Prison, Beth Uriel Youth Centre, Worcester

Concerned Community Group; Family and

Marriage Society of South Africa;

(Continued on Page 3)

South African Police Services; Metro South

Education District; various high schools,

Services Sector Education and Training

Authority; the Gratitude Foundation and

Gender Equity International.

One st ory t hey share f rom East ern Cape:

Our 2018 GiZ-funded project training teachers

in six schools extended the reach of AVP in Port

Elizabeth and gave development opportunities

for our facilitator team. Here is a sample of the

many positive comments we received when

doing follow-up interviews with teachers who

had done an AVP Basic: In answer to the

question ?Did t he AVP workshop change t he

relat ionship w it h your learners in any way?

If so, how ??, a female teacher mentioned how

the workshop had made her aware that her

learners are from different places and spaces,

some of 2 / 4 which are very negative which

makes them vulnerable (often unlike the places

and spaces from which the teachers come) and

her colleague agreed that the AVP workshop

had made her determined to make her

learners feel at home in her class. She said that

since the workshop she responds to her learners

more gently when they are disruptive instead of

becoming annoyed and responding with anger

especially since they expect harsh words as this is

what often happens in their home environment.

She had noticed that a gentle response defuses

potential conflict and encourages them to

reflect on their behaviour. A male teacher also

said that the workshop had changed his

relationship with his learners, especially learners

who were being negative with one another. He

said that AVP had made teaching in his

classroom easier and helped him to manage

the conflict situations because he shared what

he learnt from AVP with the learners. One of the

female teachers said that she used to believe that

the way to discipline a child was through using

harsh punishment but that AVP had taught her

that it is not necessary to punish learners in a way

that will make them feel uncomfortable.

Gaut eng: Achievem ent of service provider

accredit at ion and nat ional qualif icat ion st at us

for AVP (Phapham a); training community workers

who mentor school learners; positive responses

from community workers. Magdeline of

Bekkersdal provides the following testimony which

(Continued on Page 4) 3

(Continued f rom Page 2)

demonstrates how they, as mentors, use their

basic AVP skills to change their lives and build their

communities: ?Presently I?m mentoring children at

Siqalo. I?m learning how to work, respect, feel and

listen to different aspects of life and how to resolve

many conflicts and problems. I?m happy to do

mentoring

because I found

out that I?m not

alone and I can

achieve my goals.

My mentees can

also achieve a lot

in their lives in

the future.

Mentoring is an

eye opener, a

discipliner and a

goal achiever. I?m

trying my best to

understand what I?m taught and to give back to the

community.? KwaZulu Natal: The past three years of

funding from the Mennonite Central Committee

(MCC) enabled us to run Peace Clubs

and AVP workshops for school

learners, and for some parent

communities. MCC has again

approved funding for 2019-2022. We

conducted AVP Basic and Advanced

workshops in Ncome Prison in 2018.

We also trained 12 Peace Club

learners in T4F and three of these

learners have co-facilitated in Basic

workshops as apprentices.

West ern Cape: We continue to do

regular AVP workshops in Pollsmoor

prison (two Basic, one Advanced -

every month) where the lead facilitator, an

ex-inmate of the prison, has created an AVP

culture by doing workshops in four prison centres:

1) Minimum Centre - adult men with sentences of

less than two years; 2) Medium Centre - adult men

with sentences of 2-10 years; 3) Maximum Centre -

adult men with sentences of 10-25 years; 4)

Female adults.

Anot her success st ory: we have a new strategy

that is proving effective: we conduct a Basic

workshop in two communities in violent,

gang-ridden areas and then bring the participants

of these two workshops together for an Advanced

workshop. At these Advanced workshops we also

include recently released inmates to assist with

creating community networks different from their

pre-prison life.

Challenges: East ern Cape: Funding is always a

challenge but we are gradually becoming better

known and gaining the respect of potential

funders. GiZ who funded us last year have

indicated that they are interested continuing the

collaboration. One recent challenge was to finance

at least 10 of our

facilitators to attend our

3rd AVP National

Gathering which was

scheduled for Cape Town

in 2019. To address this

challenge, we created a

fundraising campaign on a

local platform called

BackaBuddy ? see our

page here 3 / 4

Gaut eng: Our main

challenge is the lack of

(Continued on Page 5)

(Continued f rom Page 3)

4

is the lack of funds to support our facilitators who

are eager to spread AVP in their communities. It is

very difficult to implement volunteerism in our

current economic climate because our facilitators

need paying jobs in order to provide for their

families.

KwaZulu Nat al: We have a challenge keeping our

wider membership (facilitators) involved ? they

lose interest when they do not get a chance to

facilitate, so everyone

needs to create more

workshop opportunities

and not just rely on a

coordinator to do that. Our

main challenge is

fundraising for the

Network, so as to run

workshops and have a

vehicle as it is difficult to go

out in rural areas. We have submitted some

proposals for workshop funding, and we are trying

to update our facilitator database and rebuild our

Network.

West ern Cape: At the moment our main challenge

is giving our current team of 14 active facilitators

enough exposure to ensure their development as

we do not always have enough funding to ensure

constant workshops. We attempt to partially

address this challenge by holding monthly training

sessions.

Keeping Facil i t at ors Involved: Many hold

monthly meetings for all AVP facilitators and have

a WhatsApp group as well as a Facebook page. We

also use email, cell phone and sometimes Skype

with other AVP groups in South Africa. Gauteng

meets quarterly to share different facilitation skills

and new exercises as well as different ways of

dealing with conflict. KwaZulu Natal shares

information and highlights from workshops as well

as invitations to events.

Getting our facilitators together is not always easy as

some live far away and the cost of transport can be a

challenge. However, all our facilitators are invited to

our monthly meetings which build facilitator

community as we do them AVP-style and we have

recently begun to

incorporate short training

sessions. We also

sometimes invite a guest

consultant in another field

(e.g. leadership or

financial literacy) to share

expertise with us and

further increase the

personal development

component of our meetings. We usually have a

potluck lunch together afterwards.

In Gauteng they find their mentorship programme

to be the most effective means of attaining our

community building objectives. In KwaZulu Natal

they do not have enough funds to sponsor

facilitator transport to meetings, so facilitators

need to cover this cost themselves. This has

resulted in low turnout.

Program m e Evaluat ion: All the participants of

our AVP workshops complete evaluation forms

which we summarise for our records and we take

participants? feedback into account when planning

4 / 4 workshops. When we do workshops for

specific funders, we include a more

comprehensive evaluation component e.g. in our

recent project for GiZ, we interviewed volunteer

(Continued f rom Page 4)

(Continued on Page 6) 5

teachers 3-6 months after their AVP Basic

workshop, asking three questions: 1) Did the AVP

workshop change the way you view conflict

situations? If yes, how? 2) Did the AVP workshop

change the way you handle conflict situations? If

yes, how? And 3) Did the AVP workshop change

your relationship with your learners? If yes, how?

The interviews were audio-recorded and the

results summarized in our final report for GiZ. In

Gauteng Province they get participants to fill in

assessment sheets before and after each AVP

session. They also conduct follow-up reflective

sessions for participants from specific work

environments to assess their relationships with

their colleagues. For example, they have done

reflective sessions with AVP trainees of Crystal

Fountain who work with vulnerable youth and

children and observed how they teach them to

deal with conflict and violence in their

community. They also receive feedback letters

from the prison authorities who want to make an

AVP workshop compulsory for inmates before

they are released. Ot her Achievem ent s: Some

of our facilitators have also undergone

Masculin it y (Imbadu) training and participated

in a Gender Reconciliation workshop, both of

which have helped them to integrate core AVP

principles. As a way of following up in schools

where we have conducted an AVP Basic

workshop for teachers, we endeavor to establish

teacher-mentored, learner-led Peace Clubs. We

can learn from AVP-Gauteng and AVP-KZN in this

regard. Gauteng: We have expanded our work

beyond AVP by doing Peace Clubs in schools and

training community members as mentors who

promote peace and non-violence. We work with

Gender Equity International to facilitate Gender

Reconciliation workshops.

(Continued f rom Page 5)

EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING HIGHLIGHTS 12 JULY

NEW GROUPS TO PRESENT COMMUNITY

CIRCLES IN SEPTEMBER & OCTOBER

6/13 August - Graem e St uar t f rom AVP

Aust ralia w il l present an overview of

facil i t at ing an AVP Basic On-line.

In May, AVP in Newcastle and Perth (Australia) conducted a full 20-hour Basic workshop via Zoom over 4 weeks. In this community circle they will demonstrate and discuss how they ensured safety, built community and adapted exercises to the online context.

This presentation is designed for facilitators who are thinking about developing an on-line workshop.

The four facilitators of the original workshop were: Selene Moonbeams and Jim Thom from Western Australia, and Graeme Stuart and Rob Duncan from Newcastle. The community circle will be facilitated by Selene, Graeme and Rob (at the second session).

This workshop will be presented 6 August and repeated at a different time on 13 August to meet the facilitate participation from a variety of time zones.

4/5 Sept em ber - Nadine Hoover f rom Conscience St udios w il l present an Int roduct ion t o Facil i t at ing a Traum a Inform ed Basic Workshop.

This workshop will be presented at two different times approximately 7-8 hours apart to facilitate maximum participation from a variety of time zones.

3/4 Oct ober - Maji Pet erx of AVP Caravan w il l present .

We apologize to any who tried to get into the last Community Circle and were locked out. Please watch your email for invitations to these events listing your local time. We are asking that you register in advance of these events.

6

JULY Com m unit y Circle Highlight s & Debr ief

We want to thank Maji Peterx and the AVP Caravan for the excellent session they led the first weekend in July.

AVP Caravan has been developing and facilitating continuing learning workshops for AVP facilitators.

Unfortunately they were forces to limit registration for that session. In the future we will ask for registration of participants so we can accommodate more participants if necessary.

We are also working with the Research Team to develop an evaluation form for these events.

Agendas and handouts from these workshops are available in the Continuing Learning Library (RED) on the AVP International website.

If you are int erest ed in par t icipat ing in any of t hese Com m unit y Circle Sessions please cont act Dawn & Kat her ine at educat ion@avp.int ernat ional.

New Menu But t on on t he AVP Int ernat ional Hom e Page for On-line Librar ies

This new location should make it easier than ever to access the on-line libraries.

Just a click on the "On-line Libraries" button and it will take you to the web-page (page 8 in this bulletin.)

There is a button for each library with a button below

each library to take you through a tutorial for using each individual library.

If you are interested in finding articles that have been written about AVP and research assessing the effectiveness of AVP programs, click on the Research Literature Collection button. The Manuals and Publications button will take you to the collection of AVP manuals and other publications available to help facilitators.

The Education Network button will take you to the AVP International Education Network website where you will find an abundance of facilitator resources.

Local Group Updat es

- In the US, a new facilitator is starting up face-to-face workshops with at risk kids in Jacksonville, Florida

- Online workshops have worked well in Nigeria . its easier to find facilitators and its cheaper than travel.

- Sydney, Australia is looking forward to starting up face-to-face workshops again. They are also planning an on-line basic, experimenting with rolling weekly sessions. Many don?t want to miss facilitating for an entire year.

- Kenya keeps checking in on facilitators to keep in contact. No workshops yet. Kenya is just opening up. They need some uplifting. There is lots of pressure on individuals.

- Mexico is in need of new energy. 7

WORKSHOP ACTIVITIES (BLUE) CONTINUING LEARNING (RED)

RESEARCH LITERATURE

COLLECTION

MANUALS AND

PUBLICATIONS

EDUCATION

NETWORK

TUTORIALWORKSHOP

ACTIVITIES (BLUE)

TUTORIAL

CONTINUING LEARNING (RED)

ONLINE LIBRARIES

8

(Continued f rom Page 7)

No puedo respirar

Celina García, Costa Rica

No puedo respirar,

Gritaba el hombre

A la imaginaria enfermera

De un hospital imaginario

De un planeta imaginario

tomado todo por una fiebre viral.

El virus insertado en

En cada una de las células

Y el hombre moría.

He visto esos hombres

en miles de celdas construidas

solamente para ellos.

Sé que debe existir un hospital,

En alguna parte,

Pensaba él en sus últimos instantes.

Debe haber misericordia

En mi pueblo natal.

No puedo respirar,

Suplicaba Jorge

Mientras la bota,

cargada del virus mortal,

le apretaba la garganta sin piedad.

Nadie me lo narró,

Yo lo grabé en mi celular.

No, no puedo respirar?

Mientras el sonriente virus

se burlaba de la muchedumbre.

I can?t breat he

by Celina García, Costa Rica

I can?t breathe,

Yelled the man

To the imaginary nurse

Of an imaginary hospital

Of an imaginary planet

Subdued by a viral fiber.

The virus had taken over

Each one of his cells

And the man was dying.

I have seen those men

In thousands of cells

Built just for them.

I know there must be a hospital?

Somewhere..

Thought the man in his last seconds of life.

Mercy must exist

In my hometown!

I can?t breathe?

Begged George

While the boot

Loaded with the deadly virus

Ruthlessly squeezed his throat.

No one told me about it

I recorded the scene with my cell phone.

No, I can` t breathe?

While the smiling virus

Mocked the crowds.

9

AVP I Manual Wr it ing Has Begun

A team of manual writers is assembling each Wednesday/Tuesday to begin the review process necessary to update and create a more concise virtual manual. They are aiming to produce a manual that is culturally sensitive and inclusive on all levels of learning.

If you are int erest ed in par t icipat ing in any of t hese Educat ion Team s and Work groups please cont act Dawn & Kat her ine at educat ion@avp.int ernat ional.

REVIEWERS ARE NEEDED

With all the many manuals versions available we need reviewers to read over exercises that might be better suited for the new manuals. Over the past month the manual writers have looked at no less than 12 versions of Broken Squares. They have been narrowed down and evaluated for differences in purpose and style of presentation. Having the voices of many reviewers are needed to make collaborative manual writing a reality.

AVP Int ernat ional Research Team Meet ing Highlight s: Malaysia

Malaysia is a multicultural society of about 32.6 million people. In Malaysia there has been a history of colonization that has led to a breakdown of the social integration in a "divide and conquer" mentality. where prejudice, discrimination and suspicion are manifested.

AVP Malaysia has written as grant to help kick start AVP in Malaysia, with programs themed around unity and diversity.

This is not meant to be a formal research project. It will draw participants from a wide range of ages and be open to all different groups. Language will be a challenge. It is a very small grant with no money for translation built into the budget.

The aim of this training sequence is to empower individuals with skills to resolve conflict and embrace diversity through affirmation, trust building, communication, empathy, and cooperation.

© P

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10

Educat ion Online Present at ion Tem plat e

The AVP International Education Committee is excited to create this meeting space on the second Sunday of each month.We invite AVP online facilitators to organize and run a two hour AVP workshop segment that will showcase the work they are doing to transition AVP exercises into an online environment.This is an opportunity for these online groups to share ideas and online facilitation techniques and offer feedback to each other.

To help us promote your event we need to receive the following information at least two weeks prior to the event date;

o Them e/ focus of subject matter

o Present at ion Descr ipt ion

o What t ype of workshop?

- Could this be part of a core workshop? - If yes, which one?- Would this be considered continuing

learning for facilitators training?- Would this be considered a specialized

topic workshop?

o Target populat ion

o List of facil i t at ion t eam and where are they from

and/or brief bio to be used in the invite.

o Agenda (Include a copy of agenda)

o Technical assist ance (describe any assistance you

will need from us)

o Handout s (send handouts you would like distributed prior to the workshop)

·Education will host your event in our zoom room

·Can you come to the Education Committee Meeting (3 weeks prior to your presentation- 2nd Sunday of each month) to discuss resource needs?

·Would your team like to set a time to use the Education Zoom room to rehearse prior to the workshop?

·Would your team like to meet 1 hour early.

·Katherine & Dawn will be available 1 hour prior to the workshop and 1.2 hour after the workshop ends to support and assist in any way.

This form is a word document to make it easy for you to complete you responses and send back. Send this completed form to education@avp.international.

NEW GROUPS TO PRESENT UPCOMING COMMUNITY CIRCLES

2020 A VP-I Education CA LENDA R / July-December

JULYSunday, 26 July Kiswahili Community Circle

AUGUSTSunday/Monday 2/3 August Community Circle Discussion (in English) by Keeping Facilitators Involved. Presenting an AVP Basic On-line by AVP Australia.

Monday, 3 August Research Committee Meeting

Sunday, 9- August AVP International Education Committee Meeting

Sunday/Monday 9/10 August Community Circle Discussion (in English) by Keeping Facilitators Involved. Presenting and AVP Basic On-line by AVP Australia. (repeat)

Sunday, 30 August Kiswahili Community Circle

SEPTEMBERSunday/Monday 6/7 September Community Circle Discussion (in

English) by Keeping Facilitators Involved. Presenting Intro to a Trauma Informed Basic by Conscience Studios. (repeated 7-8 hours later.)

Monday, 7 September Research Committee Meeting

Sunday, 13- September Education Committee Meeting.

Sunday, 27 September Kiswahili Community Circle

Saturday/Sunday, 3/4 October Community Circle Discussion (in English) by Keeping Facilitators Involved. Presented by AVP Caravan.

OCTOBERMonday, 5 October Research Committee Meeting

Sunday, 11 October Education Committee Meeting.

Sunday, 25 October Kiswahili Community Circle

Sunday/Monday, 1/2 November Community

Circle Discussion (in English)

NOVEMBERMonday, 2 November Research Committee Meeting

Sunday, 8 November Education Committee Meeting.

Sunday, 29 November Kiswahili Community Circle

DECEMBERSunday/Monday, 6/7 December Community Circle Discussion (in English)

Sunday, 13- December NO EDUCATION COMMITTEE MEETING IN DECEMBER

Sunday, 27 December Kiswahili Community Circle

Manual Writers are meeting regularly on Wednesdays/Thursdays.

CONTACT: education@avp.international for further information about these meetings.

Meeting Times: look at the calendar on the Education Network for the local meeting time in your area.

10