IJB Thinks #18A

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The Editors noteWe are a global movement

by IJRs 2011-2012

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We should all have ownership of and responsibility to our organization. Not as individuals but together as a supportive global community.

We are all JBers who want the best for the organization we love. We want to use this space and time to be productive and positive. To develop solutions and create an IJB in which we all

belong and all feel proud.

How do we move forward in a positive and inclusive way?”

These words were posted on the third full day of our International Junior Branch Conference (IJBC) this summer, and summarised the feelings of many informal discussions and topics which had taken place informally throughout the meeting. Many participants and members of JB had many questions, concerns and opinions about the current nature of JB, such as what is the role of regions, why and how do we cooperate and what unites us a global movement? To address these issues, the final day was devoted to productive discussions and planning, and think of ways to work on cooperation and think about our global identity in the coming year.

In a wider context, not only IJB is going through a stage of evaluating our identity and purpose, but CISV International is experiencing change too. The ongoing ‘organisational review’ is looking at how CISV works through its meeting, committees, resources, admin and volunteers, and a report will be published soon outlining areas where we could improve. 2012 should see not just the launch of our new CISV website, but many changes proposed and maybe approved which could change how we work.

At times of change, we have an opportunity more than ever to focus on our purpose, and why we do what we do. We have the chance to adapt how we work to better achieve this. However, we also need to understand what our purpose is, and what our values and identity are.

These reasons are why we’ve decided to dedicate this edition of IJB Thinks to the theme ‘A Global Movement’, to offer a space where you can share your ideas about this topic that has been central to many discussions this year. We’ve asked for someone from each regional team to write something about what they’re thinking about these topics, so check out Ana, Elyse and Francisco’s articles. Since this topic is about cooperation, we’ve also included the ‘International Guidelines on Regional Cooperation’ (IGoRC), which was written in 2005 and directs how we work and relate to each other in regions. We’ve also asked Maru to publish a note she wrote for the IEC elections in 2010 on this topic. But this is just the start; we hope you get ideas from this, and that you can take and make them happen - be part of the change!

Enjoy reading, and we’re looking forward to great changes in 2012,

Mateo & James 2

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International Guidelines on Regional Cooperation (IGoRC)

The following are relevant parts of a

larger document written in 2005.

1. What is a JB region?

Goal: (Same as responsibility 3 of IJB, see O-15

revised)

■ Cooperation and communication

among member JBs to achieve the

following:

A. Perpetual JB development of member

JBs (meaning: improving the quality and

increasing the quantity of JB projects and

JB volunteers' work and improving the

efficiency and effectiveness of the JB

administration).

B. Inter-JB projects that achieve the goals of

JB in ways that a single JB could not do

alone.

Definitions

A region, in the IJB context, is a community of

cooperating JBs that develops according to the

needs of those member JBs and that is

recognized as a region by the IJB. Currently,

there are four regions recognized by the

I n t e r n a t i o n a l J u n i o r

Representatives:  ARM  (Americas Regional

M e m b e r s ) ,  E J B  ( E u r o p e a n J u n i o r

Branch),  JASPAR  (Juniors Asia Pacific Region)

and JEM (Juniors Eastern Mediterranean).

■ Regions have Regional Coordinators

(ReCos), who have the duties of

coordinating and facilitating the member

JBs towards the goal of the region. They

take care also that regions accomplish

their responsibilities.

■ A participating JB of a region is a JB active

in pursuing the goal of that region by

having juniors doing tasks for the region

(including running for positions), observing

the events of the region, communicating

with the region, participating to  Regional

Meeting  or hosting meetings. JBs may

participate in as many regions as they feel

that they can effectively.

■ A member JB of a region is a JB that has

voting rights upon issues decided by the

region. Only a participating JB may become

a member of a region; a participating JB

does so by making an explicit request to that

region's ReCos before each regional decision

making session (supposedly every year). This

statement does not require any approval by

the region—it is self-approved. A JB

participating in more than one region could

be member of all of them.

Responsibilities

1. To promote and to consolidate JBs, in

cooperation with Organizational Development

Committee (ODC).

Rationale: Regional Coordinators and the regional

structure as a whole are close enough to be capable

of giving the necessary support and advice to

struggling or new Junior Branches. Cooperation

with ODC is very important to achieve the goals of

CISV within the region / NA: juniors can promote

CISV by starting JBs and with the help of ODC,

from a JB an  NA  can be developed or in

an  NA  with no JB,  ODC  should help with the

creation of Junior Branch.

2. To encourage juniors to use the External

Relation Committee's Non-Governmental

Organization Relations team (ERC's  NGO-

relations Team) to find and to cooperate with

NGOs that works within the region.

Rationale: We should not double the CISV Int.

structure but use the tools that are available.

3. To share experiences.

Rationale: Since there is a very broad range of

JB’s in IJB, it is hard to provide useful and

specific sharing of day-to-day-work experience.

Therefore we will benefit the most if the regions

focus more on the concrete experience sharing

and the IJB on more philosophical issues.

Experience sharing is a way for the regions to

strengthen the less developed JBs with the help

and experience from the strong JBs (that will also

naturally develop from this process).

4. To record participating JBs list and member

JBs list annually.

Rationale: It is important to keep an historical

record of how regional cooperation develops for

any future changes to the structure.

5 . T o i n f o r m a b o u t r e g i o n a l

m e e t i n g s ,  w o r k s h o p s , a c t i v i t i e s ,

projects, minutes and reports the whole of IJB in

a timely fashion.

Rationale: It is important that the whole IJB is

aware of what is happening in every region so

that everyone has the possibility to gain from

other regions' experiences.

3. Cooperation Between Regions

In this section there are some strategies that will

guarantee relevant communication and interaction

between the regions.

■ Regions decision making procedure regards

just internal regional issues. In any other

circumstance IJB moderates the discussions.

Rationale: Problems regarding IJB or other regions

should be addressed by the proper representatives

since the work will affect them in the long run.

■ Being participating JB of a region is open

and encouraged to any JB and any

individuals.

Rationale: It’s important that a global perspective

is always considered in every CISV project: the

awareness of what is happening in other regions is

very important for regional / international JB

development and it a way to stifle possible

tendency to become too territorial about your own.

Thus every opportunity of having juniors from

other regions involved on a regional project should

be profited encouraging this way the cooperation

and sharing of experiences between regions. Even

if, especially in taskforce works sometimes is better

having small groups, observers will not disturb the

development of the idea and their inclusion is

much more profitable than their exclusion.

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What’s inside? The Editors notes: We are a Global Movement p03 by Mateo Vélez & James Pattinson

“Only from the heart can you reach the sky” p06by Ana Maria Cueva

How does IJB works in Regions? p07by Francisco Pavão

What comes after the video greeting? p09by Anna Forrest

The difficulty of being ‘one’ p11by Fanny Sarraf

Regionalism is dead: A reflection on how we perceive & elect our leadership p13by Maru Ayam

Why not use art to have a global impact? p16by The Inside Out project team

Maybe we can learn something together: Volunteering a global movement p17by Bianca Monti

‘Hey CISVers, tell me: What unite us?‘ p19by Lars Riegel

Global Movement: Limit or Possibility? p21by Elyse Powell

Just ask Google p22by Grace Bleaney

Change the organisation p23by Juanma Oviedo

Check out time: 12:00 o’clock p27

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“Only from the heart can you reach the sky”- Rumiby Ana Cueva - Ecuador

"Only from the heart can you reach the sky" – Rumi

I read this quote a while ago and it got

me th ink ing about the way our organization approaches participants. There are many reasons why I love CISV. When I was small I always acknowledged the fact that CISV brought me to my closest and friends I most cared about, but as I grew older I started appreciating all the small things CISV taught me and I didn’t see when I was small, like acceptance, the way I approached conflicts, the way I saw my society, and the

way I treated myself and the people around me.

I started being an active junior in the Junior Branch when I was 17, and I guess that’s when all the things I learned in CISV made sense, but most of all that’s when I applied all the knowledge I had gained during all those years.

JB works from the heart of each and every junior, parent, participant who has ever been involved. It gives us the necessary tools to reach not only for the sky but for the universe. We work in our community making life bearable for those who have a tough time (at least for a day), we

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approach people around us the way we would like to be approached, we are part of big events that allows us to spread our philosophy, we are able to work together with people who don’t live near us, and most of all we are able to analyze the problems and the situation our city, country, region, world.

It’s because of all the things we do that makes JB and CISV part of a global movement; a global movement because we work not only for us but for the whole community, because we are able to make an impact with every activity we have,

because we are capable enough to act upon the things that concern us, and mostly because we work together with other countries that will always be able to support, help and join us in the cause.

There are no limits, there are no boundaries; we are just people willing to contribute, help and inspire the rest of the world with our message of justice and peace education.

Ana Cueva ARM Team 2011-2012

How does IJB work in Regions?by Francisco Pavao - Portugal

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It is interesting to think how different we all are from each other. These differences are normally related to background, beliefs, values, points of view and so on. CISV as organisation is very aware of these differences and takes them into consideration in all the work we do. If you think all our educational programmes are based on the differences between cultures.

We also use the fact that we deal with more than 60 countries, all of them with very different cultures, as a strategy to develop as organisation. If you think, the fact that we have 5 different regions in CISV is obviously connected with geography but it is also related to the different cultures you can find in each one of these different regions.

In IJB we also strategise about the support and development of Local JBs using the region system. We work in three different regions, each one of them with 4 neighbourhoods. These neighbourhoods were created according to cultural d i f f e rence s , d i f f e ren t needs and geographic situation.

Dividing the three big regions (APJB, ARM, and EJB) in small hoods is not something that happened with no purpose. The fact that we allocate countries with similar cultures, needs, and that are close to each other in a hood is a key factor in the development of this area o f t h e r e g i o n . T h e s e v e r a l J B Development Workshops that we have around the world are happening mainly

because of the similarities between the JBs that participate in these workshops.

The Balkans are a very good example of this cooperation between different JBs with similar needs and culture. At the end of October I was in the RTF in Austria where I meet the Trustee and some JBers from Bosnia, Croatia and Macedonia. These three countries are still on their process of starting and improving CISV and they are all very willing to start a strong JB in their countries. So, in order to push them towards better CISV horizons we agreed on running a training, happening in January, that will aim for a good and healthy start of Junior Branch in this region.

Last but not least it is important not to forget, as I said before, that CISV International  also works with regions. Each one of these regions have a Regional Coordinator who is responsible for the support and development of NAs and PAs in this region. What I want to stress is that we are not alone in JB, we are a very important part of CISV and our main goal, in my opinion, is to foster CISV work in many different ways.

Regions are surely one tool we have to do this and the cooperation of both ReCos and JB Regional Teams is a key factor for the development of regions. Lets love regions and use them as a tool that can benefit our work in the local and national level.

Francisco - EJB Team 2011-2012

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by Anna Forrest - Denmark

Currently on my wish list: Horten and Freires book ‘We make the Road by Walking’, a membership of Louisiana Art Museum, a children’s encyclopedia and a guide on how to feel a part of a global movement.

I go to a meeting, inspiration is born. I go home, inspiration dies. I assume most of us know the drill. We know that we are a part of a global movement, we know that there are many many people around the world working towards the same goals, having the same beliefs. But some times we just don’t feel it, the global movement.

Sitting on the floor of my not-so-fancy dorm room, staring at my book shelf with the many oh-so-fancy titles, I wonder if there among the obscure amount of random books out there, is one called: ‘How to feel a

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part of a global movement’. To be honest, I would not be surprised to stumble upon the title in an airport somewhere.

If there was one and if it was written by one of the currently active JBers, I am sure the content would look, something similar to this:

Step 1: Make a video greetingStep 2: Challenge someone in your

movement and make a video greetingStep 3: Share video greetings that other people in the movement made with your local part of the movement (and make

sure to comment on them a lot)

And it works, for the short five minutes the video last. You do realize, that there are others out there. But in some way, it seems like the people in the videos are looking (and some times yelling) for the global movement as well, more than feeling a part of it.

So, as for the book, the pages are still blank.

A while back many of us got asked to fill out a survey on Online Volunteering. At first I thought, online volunteering, is that even a thing? But going through the questions I came to realize how incredible it is, that we as an organisation can even function without being in the same place, without being paid, without having labels telling us exactly what our task is, and what our task is not. Something which I took completely for granted suddenly seemed quite impressive.

Think about the video greetings again. A dozen of nationalities, a broad variety of

languages, several different scenarios, young people, old people, many people, one person - and all this in less than five minutes. It does sounds pretty impressive. But then, how come I do not feel the global movement watching them? Maybe the same goes for the videos as for the online volunteering. I am used to seeing and hearing a diverse group of people sharing their passion. I know many of the people in the videos (and the rest I am sure to know within maybe 3 degrees of separation). And I have seen a lot of  videos.

So maybe, I am so much a part of a global movement, that I take for granted all the small things which goes together with feeling a part of a global movement. Maybe I always do feel a part of a global movement, it is just so natural to me, that I do not notice. And maybe, this does not only go for me, but for many of the other active JBers out there, who are so deeply involved in the global movement, that they (and here comes a danish expression) can’t see the forest for all the trees? Maybe.

What is left is just to wonder what will make us feel like a global movement, when the video greetings don’t do the trick anymore. And oh, if anyone has a copy of How to feel like a global movement among their oh-so-fancy titles, please feel free to give it to me for my birthday.

Ps. Back in 2008, when I was introduced to the global movement concept by Maru Ayam, this is what she showed us: Carlton Draught - It’s a big ad! This was at the same time, when the idea of JB faces arose, causality? I think yes.

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The difficulty of being one (1)by Fanny Serraf - France

I have always said to myself:   “Make a contribution! Be an example for your JBers!” but I have pushed back things. I have always thought “I have time to do this later” or worse “someone else will do it anyway”. I have let myself down and let others around me down by spreading the word “action” and content myself in inaction. So here is an article by me for you, hoping this will make an impact of any sort.

In CISV I try to motivate others in taking actions with talking or thinking about

issues, but have rarely experienced a change in others and certainly not in myself by doing so. Don’t get me wrong I am not saying it is not an effective way to change because little things makes you look at the big picture differently. It’s those small things, or single individual that change the world. It’s that person who got the idea of posting an event on Facebook for a demonstration in Tahrir Square that got all of Egypt fighting for their rights. It’s the courage of one woman for sitting wherever she wanted in the bus that demonstrated to all the need for equality. It’s the madness of one man that got

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nearly 68 millions people killed in 6 years. It’s the creativity of one man that revolutionized our generation and how we interact with each other. It’s because someone got a lollipop that she stayed in college. It’s because I have accepted to represent my country that I owe them to accept any challenges that come up to me, regardless of the time, the tiredness and social pressure I am facing. So now that I am asked to ta lk about “Global Movement” I am taking the chance to expose what it means to me. Global Movement starts with a promise you make to yourself. A promise of trying things out, for better or for worse because “almost everything you do will seem insignificant, but it is important that you do it” if you want to see change… be the change, as my great friend Gandhi would say. If we are volunteers it’s because we have accepted to change things on a big scale. In CISV we strive for tolerance, equality, friendship, education we try to make the adults of tomorrow Active Global Citizens. If I am a volunteer it’s because I am driven by a cause that is bigger than myself and I believe I can inspire and educate people for a more just and peaceful world. By doing small things, such as writing this article, I hope to be an example for some people and that it might give them the desire to do things by and

for-themselves (maybe by writing an article for the next issue?)! We shouldn’t think of ourselves as inapt of making change for the greater good because it is impossible to do it alone. I am not a professional writer, but a student filled with exams and papers due this week, but I decided to make the time. If many single 1 were doing the same good thing, mathematics has taught us that if they are added together their sum equals a whole. Yes it is scary to start something alone, but get friends along with you to do it. Be an example and people will rapidly follow. It works like Fashion; somebody does something good everybody likes it and does the same. We often don’t believe of ourselves as capable of doing things that can change but “the difference between what we do and what we are capable of doing would suffice to solve most of the world’s problems” again my friend Gandhi is right. So let’s all get started. I have a dream, that instead of looking down, concerned, indifferent, mad or tired in public transport or while walking down the street people would SMILE, and that smile would be so contagious that it would get on the other people’s face and spread like a virus all over the world. It would be in that sense a Global Movement of happiness started by YOU.

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Yes! soon will be the time of the year when you have to start thinking of potential IJR candidates *want to find out more about IJRs? check it out

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It requires a little effort, but I can take my mind back to the second grade of primary school.   This is when we were first exposed to simple-sounding, yet in reality quite complex ideas, such as: colonialism, independence, leadership, s t a t e - bu i l d i n g a n d n a t i o n a l i s m .  Nowadays, we are in touch with these concepts every day on the news, at the workplace, during university lectures and in movies – but if we think about it, it all began back in the second grade.   First grade: we can read and write.   Second grade: let the mess begin!

The shape these ideas adopt might vary according to setting – for instance, I was born and raised in Buenos Aires.   A textbook Latin American nation: in Argentina we were taught all about how some mean people decided to govern what was rightfully ours, and how the bravery and courage of certain leaders inspired our people to break free of the chains of colonialism.

Wow.  This sounds like quite an old school approach, doesn't it?   But there's even more to it.  We were taught to admire the

Regionalism is dead A reflection on how we perceive & elect our leadership

by Maru Ayam - Argentina

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leaders of these revolutions: the caudillos.  The caudillos were the populist leaders that influenced the course of history in Latin America.  Their leadership style was heavi ly defined by a charismatic component, widespread support and a lobbying for their particular community's wealth and interests.  Not to mention that they had their own personal armies and personal networks of people who worked for them.

Before this turns into a History of Latin America lesson, I'll stop right here.  And I'll deliver my main point in the paragraphs that follow: Regionalism Is Dead.  Or at least, it should be.

In CISV we have plenty of international elections.  Every year we have some brave souls who put their names out there and run for IJR, as well as positions in regional leadership teams.  And every 3 years, we have even more candidates who run for the five spots that make up the IEC (International Executive Committee).  Luckily for us, we always have people willing to take on roles of great responsibility in our organisation.  Given the diversity our candidates bring to this process, choosing our leadership looks like an interesting and challenging mission.

Something that never ceases to shock me is that we still might hear comments like " w e n e e d t o b a l a n c e r e g i o n a l representation at the IEC", "if you're from such region, vote for that region's IJR candidate", or "we need more of this r e g i o n ' s p e r s p e c t i v e i n C I S V International".

how active global citizenship defeats regionalism

I am always quite puzzled when I hear this kind of comment in a CISV context.  Firstly, because what we set out to do is to promote Active Global Citizenship, through Peace Education programmes.  I don't see the role that regionalism plays out in our global community: how could someone's geographical origin be put before that person's potential?   Same could be said about other parts of people's identities: favouring young/old, male/female, Central American/Northern African... or native Swahili speakers.  These are all characteristics that people can't choose for themselves, and that don't give a full picture of what candidates could potentially accomplish if elected.  Therefore, rooting for people from certain regions is an argument that I find, to put it mildly, quite simplistic rather than simple.  Active global citizens should be able to interact and support all regions, regardless where they are originally from.

how a different perception could defeat regionalism

I believe that it's necessary to de-mistify leadership.  My first submission for IJB Thinks, in 2008, was in fact called "Killing Our Heroes" – and it was a call for reflection about the way we perceive, elect and become leaders.  

The leadership I envision for CISV International –and the one I think we're certainly moving towards– is open, approachable, effective and transparent.  I would like people to know what it is that the chapters, the Board of Trustees, the EEC, the IO staff, the committees and the IEC do.   How do they work towards Active Global Citizenship?  How can I approach them?  Why would I approach

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them?  What input could they use from me, and what support could I get from them?   Ideally, our volunteers would feel comfortable enough to ask themselves these questions, and to easily find satisfying answers for them.

In this scenario of openness and collective contribution, now I choose to ask myself one question:  Would we elect someone who will cater for our interests, or would we rather build organisational stability that would ensure we'll always be heard, no matter who the leader is?

some last wordsIf we strive for this even more open and transparent organisation, where everyone's contribution is valued, welcomed and encouraged, I believe Regionalism is just... outdated.   Expired, out of style.   By

writing these words, I'm not implying that this is one of our biggest problems, because it isn't.  What I am hinting at, though, is that we need to be consistent in our acts and our purpose as a global movement.   Because in an organisation where we strive for Active Global Citizenship, we should move past those characteristics that define people in ways they can't choose, and look at those that they developed as individuals within a group.  These are the ones which will be more valuable when putting together a team of people who will strive to compose a t ransparent , c lear-minded and approachable leadership.

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WHY NOT USE ART TO HAVE A GLOBAL IMPACT?

This is the idea of the artist JR, and CISV is joining him on his project. Watch him at: TED talks or here.

This global art project transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work.

Here is the purpose of the participation of CISV in the Inside Out Project:

WHY| To raise awareness of the unheard voices (the theme we choose), be part of a

global movement and give to our communities.

HOW| Transforms messages of personal identity into pieces of artistic work.

WHAT| Take a portrait using our theme and share with the JB community the stories

of our unheard voices.

We're a group of juniors working with the creator of this great project and his team! More info will come soon in an INFO-PACK that we're currently developing (with ideas of activities to introduce the project in your JB, how to work with LMOs, tips to make the project successful, etc.)

Feel free to contact the coordinator of your region if you have any questions..

APJB| Damo – damo.yorg@au.cisv.orgARM| Nicky – nicks.alexander@gmail.comEJB| Me – lucie@lepine-fr.com

Find us also on facebook: CISV participate in the Inside Out Project (here)

Can’t wait to have an art impact with all of you!

Lucie on behalf of the Inside Out CISV Team

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After CISVing in a couple of camps as a leader and staff, it was my moment to be a delegate. With the best opportunity ahead, I went to the IPP (International People’s Project) Amazonia representing my country, Argentina.

For those three weeks I got to experience better the impact of working in a real community as a volunteer. Beyond IPP's goals, I've been in contact with the school of the little kids from the community where the program was held, and I saw a real need there.

As a woman who grew up in a big city, the differences from my childhood were huge in both, positive and negative aspects, specially in terms of education structure, I was deeply moved  and I thought, ‘maybe we can learn something together’.

I developed a sustainable educational project for them and presented it to FAS (Amazon Sustainable Foundation) the Partner Organization (PO) from the IPP, they would approve it, then pay for my ticket to go back to Manaus, (Amazon's state capital). Lucky me :) they said yes, and one month ago I moved to Tumbira, a riverside community located in the biggest reserve of the Brazilian Amazon forest.

The project, based in Howard Gardner's Multiple Intelligence Pedagogy, was ideal for these kind of schools, where students from 2 to 12 years old are attending the same class, share the same room, and with only one teacher.

However, life is not that easy, and even with the best intentions the project had to be developed in a secondary layer. This

Maybe we can learn something together by Bianca Monti- Argentina

Volunteering: a Global Movement

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school was working without any support from the community, nor the families, andeven with only three students being able to read, the teacher would take more than ten days off in less than three weeks.

As it almost always happens when dusting the library, a deeper need appeared, and it was the urge of changing the base of the educational conditions of all the schools in the reserve. This includes the interaction of communities, families, schools, teachers and students.

Last saturday I led the first meeting, a three hour activity with 12 teachers from different communities, we started working together on this important issue and it was awesome. CISV's know how was applied with these amazing people, making it so perfect and giving us great indicators and material to continue working.

I am not saying that the fact that I laid my eyes on this little school in July made this whole change happen, but I like to think that

I helped to start it.

We, human beings, are so particular, that we would do really hard work with so much passion without being paid! And even if the work to be done is very big, it would still be wonderfully worth it.

That is called volunteering; a global movement based in an uncertain reciprocity that is being more and more common nowadays.

To be a volunteer is to be open to change.To be open to change yourself, to change your plans, to change your life conditions and to change your life, to take the chance of maybe changing something.

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“Hey CISVers, tell me: ‘What unites us?’” – At first, that sounded like a simple question. I mean, after all, I’m a part of CISV since I was eleven.  So surely this had to come naturally! Well, that was my expectation - a straight forward, convincing answer – but eventually I realised that this wasn’t going to be all that easy-peasy.

I started to think – which is generally a good thing, I suppose – but none of the ‘general points’ that I came up with really pleased me.   ‘We all love energisers!’ sounded too simplistic. Too little detail, not enough depth, I thought. Another option was a weighty, semi-smart response à la ‘We all believe that CISV promotes a

peaceful world by educating tomorrow’s future to respect and honour the value of different cultures and beliefs.’ But nope, that didn’t satisfy me either.

I mean, don’t get me wrong: These answers are not false – in fact, the latter one actually sounds like something you would read on cisv.org – but neither of them seemed ‘complete’ to me. So what is it then, this one similarity that unites us?

Well, of course we all believe that CISV changes and inspires and hopefully it does that for a life time. Nevertheless, I feel that there is a more basic level at which we share something so essential to our character that it truly makes us CISVers.

‘Hey CISVers, tell me: What unite us?’

by Lars Riegel - Germany

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In my eyes, this ‘something’ is hidden somewhere in our attitude: CISVers want to be challenged; they want to come out of their own comfort zone, eventually being able to look back on things and say rightfully that they have learned from each other; and they want to achieve this progress with nothing more than a natural commitment to the power of happiness and fun. (Okay – admittedly, sometimes it is hard work too).

As CISVers, we truly love what we do, but we also love ‘how’ we do it: We use the

simplest, most basic stuff that one can imagine – stuff that everyone likes, such as having fun with energisers or singing lullabies – and we create an atmosphere where everyone enjoys him/herself, independent of nationality, religion, gender, age… as you probably know, the list goes on and on.

In the end, we all believe that this rather simple system works – and that is what unites us!

Video CornerSit back and relax

Chaplin’s one of the greatest speeches ever made

Jeremy Gilley -One day of Peace TED talk

The story of a single day on Earth

Pandas Everywhere!

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I attended my first IJBC this year and it really surprised me. I did not expect the conference to be so dominated by regions competing with each other. I did not expect all the politics. To me JB, and CISV, has always been about trying to move beyond the limitations society has set. It has been about saying ‘I believe it can be different; I believe it can be better’. Not only that, JB and CISV have been about putting those beliefs into practice. If we can’t make our own movement reflect our belief in a better world, who can? I felt like we had lost sight of what we wanted to achieve together. So I ask, what values do we, as a global movement, want to have?

Personally, here is what I want.I want people to be judged for their character and their actions, not by where they are from. Let’s move beyond geography. I want people to stop asking ‘what can I get from this’ and start asking ‘what can I give to this?’ Let’s help each

other, on all levels, local JBs to CISV International. I want positions to be seen for their responsibilities, not their power. Let’s move beyond politics. I want people to take responsibility for their own actions. Act for yourself, don’t wait for someone else to act for you, and reflect on your choices.

But most of all I want us to stop seeing the limits and start seeing the possibilities. Let your aspirations shape the world, don’t let the world shape your aspirations. Think critically and but think positively. What do you want? What ideals do you really hope for in your international junior branch? In your wider world? Now live them. Why not? Let’s live our dream world. Let’s use that to bind us as a movement. After all, there is nothing more powerful than a dream shared.

Elysse - APJB Team 2011-2013

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Global Movement:limit or possibility?

by Elysse Powell - Australia

by Grace Bleaney - Canada

Just ask Google

Growing up as kids of the technology generation we all know how to use Google. We also know that Google usually has the answer to a question, so when I read the topic of “A Global Movement” for IJB Thinks I decided to ask Google what a global movement was. When I typed in “the definition of a global movement” and hit search the first result was “CISV- Global Movement”.

Seeing this made it seem even more obvious to me what my answer was in this case because after all Google is pretty much all knowing. Now Google may know that CISV and JB is a global movement but it doesn’t know why. It doesn’t know about why we are a global movement and doesn’t know about some of the amazing new international projects which help to make us a global movement.

These are projects like “One Day One Dance,” which lead to Juniors from all of the world making dance videos and posting them for everyone to see, or the challenges Juniors initiated with each other like JB Mexico challenging JB Hungary and JB Philippines to eat 16 hamburgers between 4 people in the least amount of time possible! We also can’t forget the amazing new “Stop Talking Start Walking” workshops that are beginning to pop up around the world. Juniors realized the need to educate each other about sustainability and I have no doubt that these workshops will be running in every country soon! On top of all of this, Juniors have also initiated the “Inside Out Project”.   Allowing Juniors to express themselves through art can only further help to share the global movement that is CISV.

Knowing all of this leaves no doubt in my mind that JB is a global movement!

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Change the organisationChange the world

by Juanma Oviedo - Clombia

It is only through ourselves that we really can have an impact in the world we live. There is not a “typical” member of CISV, and there should not be one. All individuals in the organisation try their best to remain unique in every sphere of work. What makes us unique is that we all have dif ferent l ives and dif ferent approaches to society, we are lawyers, accountants, writers, philosophers, artists, and so on.

CISV allows people to develop themselves in any possible arena. What we are as individuals is what makes us special in the organisation. We use our skills within the organisation and we expect people to acknowledge those skills.

The best example is when one staffs a programme. One will always expect to have a musician, a doctor and an engineer within the leader team. The more diverse the group is, the more successful a programme will be. Also the individuality of the members of our organisation makes us open to new things.

The story here is for those thousands of children that our organisation has educated during its 60 years of existence. People around the world believe that a better world is possible. A world where all individuals are equal and men and women have the same rights. Along came the Junior Branch (JB), which was born within CISV as a youth movement. Do you remember the phrase “by the people, for the people” which defines democracy?

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The idea of JB is not very different from that statement: by the juniors, for the juniors. Except that JB is still part of a bigger organization that puts people into international programmes.

The story comes down to that little eleven-year-old boy that attends a village and at the end of only four weeks he realises he never wants to forget all the people he has met and the experiences he has had. During the camp the little boy realises a better world can be achieved and this is true; we do change people´s minds, we do change individuals and we do have an impact in the world. We have thousands of people believing a better world is possible and believing that CISV contributes to it.

The little boy in story will grow up and become a member of JB. Junior Branch is the only structure within CISV capable of calling itself a global movement, and they are right in calling themselves that. Members of CISV want to have an impact in the world and the best way to do that is to mobilise our efforts in a united way. Junior Branch allows people to plan and run activities with the goal of being part of something bigger.

Many times the little boy will attend and will not understand the amount of people in the world doing the same as him: either dancing to a song unrelated to peace that says “Doris Allen” in the middle of it, or he will arrange a movie night with the people in his community to raise awareness o f cer ta in topic . The explanation for those local activities is not really all of the programmes, in fact it is the Junior Branch: a structure capable of m a k i n g t h i n g s h a p p e n g l o b a l l y, continuously and within a community. JB works towards certain goals and after

many years of being involved with JB activities I must say that we work for i n d i v i d u a l s t o g row w i t h i n o u r organisation. We develop those skills in people´s mind that will allow them to, as Ghandi once said, be the change we want to see in the world.

Is the organisation evolving fast enough in the rapidly changing world?

During the last Annual International Meeting a group of volunteers presented a ‘CISV in 60 year’; session and after this, all I could think of was: are we doing enough?The current world has many problems worth mentioning: economic crisis, unprotected democratic rights, increasing drug consumption, high rates of inequality, to name only a few. What people do not realise is that many of these things actually happen every day. In our day to day lives we often live in a bubble, forgetting that the aforementioned situations are taking place all around us. We cannot afford to wait before acting to make the world a better place, changes need to start today. The stories that we hear (for example about conflicts, starvation etc) are not here one day and gone the next, as in the newspapers, they have long-ter m and far-reaching consequences.

I had the chance to attend a workshop given by CISVers from Egypt who came to Norway to give a firsthand perspective on how it is to be in a country going through a revolution. Even though I was proud and very encouraged by the actions being taken by all of my friends in Egypt, I was shocked by the reaction of “that could never happen here” from the

Norwegian participants when they were enlightened to how the real world is. It made me realise how often we see ourselves in front of a TV, we see the news and think: I’m glad I am not in that situation. Of course we all feel sorry for others, some people even do more than just feeling and decide to contribute to a cause, some even travel to a little village in Guatemala to interact with children. The truth remains that the world needs a change and we should not go to bed pretending that everything is fine.

Over the last 5 months CISV Norway and CISV Colombia have been developing a project called “I have a mango: Think – E d u c a t e – A c t f o r S u s t a i n a b l e Development”. During this project we have realised that the current world is not really sustainable. The system is in crisis and it will not last long before we all realise we have to move to another planet. Of course this is something already said in the news, by some politicians and today it is popular to be ‘green’, but we as humans are not doing enough. We are wasting the world´s resources and we are creating a very unclear future.

Is CISV doing enough to be sustainable? I think we can do better! We all have to act sustainably. We all need to look at the amount we buy every day, the amount of waste we produce, and more importantly we need to acknowledge that it is time to change the system. I know it sounds very idealistic but the truth is that we can have an impact. We can stop consuming so many goods, especially imported ones.

CISV already has over ten thousand volunteers around the globe, JB is the one making those monthly activities; It is time to take action and let’s make all those activities sustainable. I am not talking about going back to zero or to become people we are not, but to have an impact we need to be aware of our actions. I like to dream and think of CISV as an organisation that took the lead and started a real global movement to change the way we act towards the world. It is the year 2011 and it’s time for CISV and JB to take a step forward and start making things happen. We can teach our children how to not waste the world we live in but instead to cherish it, because after all is the only one we have.

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Want to read more about the ‘I have a mango’ project? Go to: www.cisv.no/mango

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Chec

kout

tim

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before we leave...

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For this year’s Peace One Day celebrations, JBs worldwide accepted the One day One dance challenge! Check the video here

Find more about Peace One Day hereRemember to read about the Global Truce 2012: The biggest call for peace the world has ever seen!

Are you doing any projects with LMOs? Do you know anyone doing great work as an active global citizen? Let us know! email: marietta.moehlen@de.cisv.org

Feel like doing some cleaning? well now you can help us clean JB Pedia... How? Check it out here

A big Thank you to:Ana, Fran, Maru, Anna, Fanny, Lucie, Bianca, Lars, Elysse, Grace and Juanma for contributing to this IJB thinks issue. to Angela for her Photoshop tricks! and thank YOU! for taking the time to read it.

I am part of a lost generationand I refuse to believe thatI can change the worldI realize this may be a shock but“Happiness comes from within.”is a lie, and“Money will make me happy.”So in 30 years I will tell my childrenthey are not the most important thing in my lifeMy employer will know thatI have my priorities straight becauseworkis more important thanfamilyI tell you thisOnce upon a timeFamilies stayed togetherbut this will not be true in my eraThis is a quick fix societyExperts tell me30 years from now, I will be celebrating the 10th anniversary of my divorceI do not concede thatI will live in a country of my own makingIn the futureEnvironmental destruction will be the normNo longer can it be said thatMy peers and I care about this earthIt will be evident thatMy generation is apathetic and lethargicIt is foolish to presume thatThere is hope.

And all of this will come true unless we choose to reverse it .

Now read it again in reverse.

Lost

Gen

erat

ion

Jona

than

Ree

d 09

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Watch video here!

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