Building Peaceful, Sustainable Communities With A Different Kind Of Philosophy
By Jackielou Perez
Peacebuilders International’s Restorative Youth Circle Program is not only Toronto’s (and Canada’s) largest and busiest youth court, it is the only program in the city that offers an alternate method of delivering justice that helps disadvantaged youth succeed.
I had the chance to chat with Zoe Paliare, a volunteer who has been working with Peacebuilders International since its inception in the early 2000s.
Can you tell us more about Peacebuilders International?
Founded in 2002, Peacebuilders is an award-winning organization helping children and youth in conflict get back on track and become resilient, enterprising young leaders who see the value in contributing back to their communities. Based on a restorative justice philosophy, Peacebuilders has adapted, tested and established Peacebuilding Circles as a modern urban strategy to rehabilitate teens who have gone downstream from schools into the justice and detention systems.
Peacebuilders has now trained 100's of Circle Facilitators and also worked with hundreds of youth, helping them to identify their path to success.
What is your role in the organization?
I began as a volunteer, both organizing fundraisers and training new volunteers in Circle Processes. I later became staff at Peacebuilders, where I was the Director of Youth Programs and Development. Since leaving Peacebuilders to pursue a law degree two years ago, I have remained a volunteer. I help out wherever I can and am also a member of the Spring for Peace After Party Committee.
Can you name an experience that has stood out for you personally working through Peacebuilders International?
When I was working at Peacebuilders as the Youth Projects Coordinator, one of the programs I ran involved weekly discussion circles for boys in a downtown youth detention centre. The boys were always polite, courteous, and eager to participate. One week, however, a fight erupted between two of the boys in the circle. After the staff had dealt with the situation, they suggested that my program should probably be cut short. Before I could respond, the boys in the circle began to protest, saying that they should not be penalized for the poor behaviour of others in the group. They managed to persuade the staff to allow the program to continue. We were then able to have a very positive and productive discussion about the consequences of bad behaviour in the facility, not only for the individuals at fault, but for the others in the facility
What is it about your organization that makes it so successful?
Peacebuilders' most important ingredient is our staff and volunteers who care passionately about children and youth and are willing to go to great lengths to help them deal with their shortcomings, get back on track and back into school so that they can graduate from high school and become productive citizens.
Tell me about the events/programs that happen each year.
Our most important event is our annual Spring for Peace and After Party held at the Steam Whistle Brewery. They featured substantial food and cocktails as well as wonderful live, silent, and fine wine auctions. The two events together have been attended by almost 1000 guests!
This fall, during Restorative Justice Week (November 13 to 20), we will be hosting a panel discussion, "Our City and Graffiti: Street Art, Hate Crimes and Free Speech".
What are plans for next year?
Next year is Peacebuilders’ 10th anniversary. We are planning to reconvene conflict resolution representatives from our original founding countries: Bosnia, Cambodia, Colombia, Guatemala, Jamaica, Macedonia, Northern Ireland, South Africa and USA and we will invite others to join. We will also be publishing Circle-based lesson plans for school teachers as well as a manual detailing our Youth Court Restorative Youth Circles Program.
How can people get involved?
Volunteers can get involved in our fundraising activities including supporting the Spring for Peace and After Party Committees for our annual May special fundraising event.
Peacebuilders also runs monthly training sessions for new volunteers and to introduce them to our Peacebuilding Circle methodology, program values and philosophy.
