IDEAS, INSPIRATIONS, AND ACTIONS
OPEN SPACES DIALOGUE (synopsis)
September 16, 2007
THE FOLLOWING ARE THE IDEAS GENERATRED AT THE DIALOGUE. COMMITTEE ACTIONS ARE LISTED FIRST . YOU CAN CLICK ON A SPECIFIC COMMITTEE TO GET TO THEIR PROGRESS AND ACTION PLAN (IF CREATED).
- Accept Diversity Committee
Get Montgomery County and City of Dayton commissioners to approve an anti-discrimination ordinance to guarantee the LGBT community; all the rights the rest of us have.
- Conflict Management for Dayton Public Schools Committee
Formed to support the pilot project underway to implement Ohio’s comprehensive conflict management program in the Dayton Public Schools.- -
- Peace through Sustainability Committee
Education, empowerment through ownership; sustainable neighborhoods, edible schoolyards, nutrition, sustainable energy, river power, wind energy, solar, compassionate communication.
- Peace Economy Committee
Peace can be a community-wide protocol for economic development. This committee is researching the possibility of linking peace to the overall economy and then creating a program to take to the business, professional and governmental sectors to elicit support.
- Integrity Peace Committee
This non-violent communications protocol is the individual's responsibility to think or say what he or she needs because of the anger currently or previously elicited within them.
- PeaceWriters Committee
Write and share inspirational stories, poems, plays, and novels about peace issues.
THE FOLLOWING ARE IDEAS WITHOUT A COMMITTEE OR COMBINED WITH ANOTHER COMMITTEE.
- Peace: The American Dream Idea
Make peace the new way we look at the American Dream, which entails not only housing but also wellness, environmental sustainability, et.
- Successful Reentry (prison population) Idea
Coming together through successful self-direction and positive awareness of self and others.
- Peace is a whole world dream Idea
Members: Rebecca Beasley, Ramzieh Azmeh, Wayel Azmeh, Assam Khawaja, Saeed Bezra, Bill and Marina Shaw
- Community Reinvestment Institute Alumni Association Idea
- Department of Peace Idea
- Peacemakers Worldwide Idea
Identify them, write about them, send them a training & negotiation materials
- Peace Bridge Idea
Publicize and develop 3rd Street Peace Bridge
Members: Chris Dull, Joy Schwab, Essam Ostaffa, Shelly Sinclair, Joe McClendon, Robin Sussenberg, Sam Vacca (Sept 24, 6:00 p.m.)
- Dayton, City of Neighbors Idea
No Daytonian a stranger, many roads to peace, various initiative help
All are pieces of the puzzle: intergenerational, health, hunger, gun control, recycling, music downtown, criminal justice, arts and activism, youth and schools, diversity, Martin Luther King and MLK Dialogue, sustainability, drastic alteration of Dayton mindset, Golden Rule, Random Acts of Kindness, careful not to take up causes, personal transformation, importance of one-on-one relationships
- Read “The Chalice and the Blade” by Rane Eisler Idea
- Downtown Youth Center Idea
Concern about safety downtown from destructive youth groups; provide a gathering place where they can interact with and meet other youth after school; provide snacks; walls lined with inspirational thoughts for personal development; provide supervisory personnel committed to guidelines for peace and cooperation; encourage discussion; recommend wholesome reading and televiewing; the importance of selective friendship and conduct
- Democracy for America Idea
1. Get out of Iraq 2. Healthcare for all 3. Equal rights for women 4. Save the environment 5. Community
Patricia Olds: coordinator 767-8181 patricia.olds@wright.edu (film club on Wed. 7:00) Heather Brown (weatherbell5@yahoo.com
- Ethnic Diversity Idea
Poverty in Appalachian population; crime due to job loss; hunger; Job training; more government grants for poor. Job loss due to outsourcing; need outreach to Appalachian; mass media images of us vs. dream; refuse or deny poverty in the U.S.; illusion of grandure in U.S.; improved education for self-esteem
- Gun control: Proliferation of guns and escalation of gun violence in the city of Dayton
- Suburbs for Peace Idea
At first glance, Dayton seems to be isolated from its suburbs and suburbs seem to be standalone towns. If we can engage people, cutting across not only religious, race, etc. grounds, but also locations in the wonderful initiatives that we’ve been hearing of, we can move towards making Dayton a city of peace.
- Implement Virtues in School Curriculum Idea
Start at the Head Start level; use Virtues book by Linda Pappov. If children are given this foundation, many forms of violence will be eradicated; Examples are respect, truthfulness, tolerance, honor, cleanliness (June McFate 218-251-6219)
- Immigration incorporation Idea
Whatever their status, into our communities
Prevent stigmatization and marginalization
Members: Carol Alexander (937-572-3898; cjalexander2340@aol.com; 937-610-5949); Sr. Jeanette Buehler (jbuehler@preciousbloodsistersdayton.org; 837-3302); Louise Van Vliet (vanvlit@muohio.edu; 298-2086); Theo Majka (theo.majka@notes.udayton.edu; 278-1979) Jim Hagan (jhagan2689@aol.com)
- Strength through Peace programs Idea
Communication training for law enforcement, educators, health care providers
- Family Violence Prevention Idea
Sheriff and police take specialized courses to properly identify aggressor
- Neighborhood peace initiative Idea
Five Oaks, Santa Clara
- Healthcare for All Idea
SPAN Ohio, like Medicare for all; healthy people are happy people, which makes peaceful people
Dan Whorton (dl_whorton@hotmail.com
- Visualize the Reasons to become PeaceMakers Idea
Support religious groups in making it a moral imperative to act for peace; make the concept of peace tangible, spiritual, achievable; inspire hope; MVVUF; peace labryinth (mvuuf.org)
- Peace Visibility Idea
Completion of a highly visible peace sculpture at I-75/I-70 intersections
COMMITTEE MEETING INFORMATION BELOW:
CONFLICT MANAGEMENT
A citizen’s group that formed at the “Dayton City of Peace Open Spaces Dialogue” on September 16 met on Saturday, September 22 at the House of Bread to discuss how citizens can best support the pilot project underway to implement Ohio’s comprehensive conflict management program in the Dayton Public Schools. Our group is also considering synergies between the conflict management program and work done by The Values Project. The project aligns with the initiative to build upon Dayton’s legacy as a City of Peace.
The Conflict Management Project
The group noted that peace through effective conflict management is at the core of Dayton’s peace legacy, rooted in the Dayton Peace Accords held here in 1995. We seek to honor that legacy, reduce violence, and improve the climate in which our children learn, by helping to implement a comprehensive conflict management program in the Dayton Public Schools that will provide our students with effective conflict management tools, including peer mediation and early intervention truancy mediation. Our vision is to help make the Dayton Public Schools a recognized leader in teaching and using effective conflict management skills, as evidenced by reduced confrontations and violence, and an improved school climate in which students can better learn.
Where we stand
The project began in early 2007 with the formation of a core group comprised of Dr. Donnell Gregory, the Dayton Youth Coordinator; Willie McGrady, the Executive Director of the Dayton Public Schools; Tom Wahlrab, the Director of the Dayton Mediation Center; Marc Levy, the CEO of the United Way of Dayton; Lisa Kloppenberg; Dean of the University of Dayton Law School; Sarah Wallis, the Director of School Programs for the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management, and Susan Chema, NCR’s Chief Litigation Counsel (Susan is also the volunteer Project Director and the Convenor of the Citizen's Group). Three elementary schools – Wogaman, Van Cleve, and Rosa Parks – were selected for a pilot project to implement the Ohio Commission’s Comprehensive Conflict Management Program, including peer mediation and potentially early intervention truancy mediation.
With seed money from the Estabrook Foundation of Porter, Wright, Morris & Arthur LLP, the United Way of Dayton, the Dayton Foundation, and the University of Dayton Law School, fifteen school teachers, administrators and staff members, and five volunteer University of Dayton law students, attended a three day training session in Columbus at the end of August 2007. There, the schools devised implementation plans for integrating at least 25 conflict management exercises from the Ohio Commission’s Resource Guides into the curriculum for the 2007-2008 school year. The schools also developed plans for 16 hours of in school training for teachers and staff, and for student peer mediation training where desired.
Two law students presently are assigned to each school team to assist with climate surveys and program implementation; another 15 law student volunteers will be trained in October and will assist.
City of Peace Citizen’s Group
The Citizen’s Group that formed at the City of Peace Open Spaces Dialogue met at the House of Bread on September 22 and discussed how it can help. The group identified the following areas in which it can assist:
* Community coordination
* Parent coordination
* Fundraising, including drafting and submitting grant proposals
* Communications and speakers
* Success measurement
* Subject matter expertise
* Alignment with related endeavors (i.e. The Values Project)
* Peer mediation
* Early intervention truancy mediation
We are looking for volunteers to join the group and help in one or more of these areas.
Next Steps
If you are interested in participating, please come to our next meeting on Saturday, September 29 at 10:30 at the House of Bread (west over 3rd street bridge, right on Edwin Moses Blvd., left on Negley, on the corner of Negly and Orth; phone 226-1520)
Members: Sue Chema, Wayne Wlodarski, Mary Kudhn, June McFate, Jackie Hagan, Betty Darst, Kate Johnson, Tony Lutz, Bill Evans, Amy Jones
You can also send an email to susanchema@aol.com <mailto:susanchema@aol.com> for more information and to let us know you plan to join the group. We hope you will join us!
New Posting:
Dear All: We have had quite a bit of activity since our last core team meeting on September 17. Here is a quick update:
* The UD law team met and received climate surveys for the pilot schools;
* The UD Law School agreed to fund the cost to copy letters to parents explaining the conflict management pilot underway in the three schools;
* Law Students Chad Koop and Adam Dale worked with the Rosa Parks school team to administer the climate surveys to Rosa Parks students (the Ohio Commission will assist to evaluate the survey results);
* Wogaman Elementary School trained 29 students and 4 adults in peer mediation during a two day training session that Damon Deal provided last week (Damon is one of the three Ohio Commission certified trainers who provided the 3 day training in Columbus in August);
* Wogaman's entire staff will receive five hours of conflict management training during the school in-service day on Friday (UD Law Students Ryan Beck and Megan Rehberg will be helping to administer the climate survey there after this training);
* The Dayton Public Schools issued a press release regarding the project;
* A citizen's group formed during the "City of Dayton Open Spaces Dialogue" to support the project; approximately 15 citizens are actively participating in the group, which has met twice and formulated a support plan that has been or shortly will be posted on the "Dayton City of Peace" website (under "Open Spaces Dialogue" "action plans");
* I have joined Kate Johnson's education committee at the Dayton Peace Museum to best coordinate our efforts;
* I have joined a Dayton Peace Museum committee that will be developing a signature annual fund raising event for the Dayton Peace Museum; I will work to ensure that a portion of the funds raised support conflict management in the Dayton Public Schools;
* A distinguished member of the citizen's group, Federal Public Defender Cheryll Bennett, has agreed to second-chair for me at our core team meetings to help coordinate when and if I am out of pocket (Cheryll's email address is caben5@earthlink.net);
* Our budget is being finalized and will be available prior to our meeting on Monday;
* The UD Law Student team is scheduled to meet again next week on Wed. Oct. 17 at 7PM (we plan to meet after our core team meeting each month to ensure the student team is aware of what we have discussed).
Regarding our Oct. 15 core team meeting, I've received confirmation that Sarah, Tom, and Beverly will attend, as will Cheryll and I. Willie McGrady will be out of town until the end of the month. I've asked him to send someone else to represent DPS at the meeting if possible. Donnell: If you are unable to attend, can you identify someone else to represent the City of Dayton at the meeting? Mark Coltrain, who is our volunteer accountant/bookkeeper, has a conflicting meeting a 4PM on Monday for the next few months. I will coordinate with him before and after our meetings.
I look forward to seeing you or your representative on Oct. 15. Please let me know if you have any questions or concerns before then. All the best, Sue
New Posting:
Citizen’s Group Meeting September 29, 2007
Dayton Public School Conflict Management Program
The Conflict Management Program for the Dayton Public Schools citizen’s committee met on September 29, 2007 at the House of Bread to further refine plans for
supporting conflict management pilot project the schools have undertaken. Our membership includes Mary Kheune, Jackie Hagan, Wayne Wlodarski, Betty Darst, Kate Johnson, Tony Lutz, Bill Evans, Amy Jones, Debra Wolf, Cheryll Bennett, Kelly Watts, Stephen Kyman, and Sue Chema (convenor).
Debra Wolf introduced a training manual she has prepared entitled “Peaceabilities” that contains nine exercises designed to develop conflict management skills.
She will provide us with a copy, then we will compare those exercises with the materials the pilot schools are using now and discuss how we might integrate them into the
pilot project.
We identified the following actions we can take to further engage parents and the broader community:
• Liaison with existing parent/teacher organizations
• Children’s breakfast at House of Bread
• Workshops at Peace Museum
• Add citizen members to school conflict management teams
• Liaison with pilot schools regarding best gatherings to reach parents
• Through employers (for parent support programs)
• Coordinate with other groups already involved in these schools
• Media coverage
• “Chat & Chews” initiated by children with issues they wish to discuss
Each of those present at the September 29 meeting identified areas in which they will focus their efforts or otherwise assist. We will meet again to review our progress on
Saturday, November 10 at 10:30AM at the House of Bread. Any who were not present but wish to participate should contact Sue Chema at susanchema@aol.com.
Please join us!
ACCEPT DIVERSITY COMMITTEE MEETING
SUNDAY, SEPTEMBER 16, 2007
DAYTON CONVENTION CENTER
PRESENT: LARRY AND CLARA REZASH
1141 SMUGGLERS WAY
CENTERVILLE, OHIO 45459
435 2269
LJCKR@JUNO.COM
JEFF MOORE
41 GROSVENOR AVE.
DAYTON, OHIO 45417
262 3104
CHAMPNET@CONSULTANT.COM
ANN AND ERVIN ANDERSON
348 WEATHERSFIELD DR.
DAYTON, OHIO 45440
431 9769
EANDER2917@AOL.COM
Individual stories were shared.
Equal opportunity for gays/lesbians in the workplace has been voted down by the Montgomery County and City of Dayton Commissioners. The committee unanimously agrees that this should not be.
Ohio Equality, a statewide group interested in justice in Ohio, will be meeting Tues., Sept. 18 at the Miami Valley Fair Housing offices on E. Babbitt St. Larry, Clara, Jeff and Ann will attend their 6:30 meeting. It is hoped that the Commissioners can be persuaded to vote otherwise.
Ann Anderson, Recorder
PEACE THROUGH SUSTAINABILITY COMMITTEE
From: JstGrtFood@aol.com
Sent: Sunday, September 23, 2007 5:13 AM
Subject: peace through sustaibability
Members: Kathleen Foley, Ralph Dull, Christine Dull, Amin Drinks, Erin Friel; Ruth Moevdyk; Rowena Jordan; Brian McGee; Jeff Moore, Robin McGee
Friends,
We are grateful for your interest once again and look forward to being the
change with you. A quick recap of our sharing from Sunday.
We briefly discussed empowering through:
(please find further info. and inspiration at the links below for each of
the listed topics)
1. The Edible Schoolyard
Bringing in organic whole foods into the school system
2. Inner-city Urban Gardens
Community, front yard, rooftop and/or vacant space conversion for gardening
which can be used to educate, feed and sell at the farmers market.
3. Inner-city Environmental Clean-up, Education and Leadership Skills
Provides hands-on education, environmental training, professional experience, and leadership skills for disadvantaged young people between the ages of
17-25 years old.
4. City Wide Wind, Solar and Rainwater Collection Etc.
Is it possible to line the river downtown with wind turbines to harness the
same winds of change the Wright Bros. did? But this time to bring peace by
reducing the need for foreign oil.
Solar arrays on top of our skyscrapers. Rainwater collection to supplement
the cities use in graywater instances. Harness the rivers flow for
Hydropower.
5. Compassionate Communication
This is what we will need in order to encourage peace and cooperation for
all of the above. Compassionate, empathic communication. Its purpose is to
strengthen our ability to inspire compassion from others and to respond
compassionately to others and to ourselves. NVC guides us to reframe how we
express ourselves and hear others by focusing our consciousness on what we
are observing, feeling, needing, and requesting.
1. School garden project
http://www.edibleschoolyard.org/howto.html
http://www.ota.com/news/press/115.html
(Click> Scroll to bottom for organics in schools)
http://www.theorganicreport.com/pages/65_o_kid.cfm
2. Urban gardens
http://www.myownbackyard.ca/about.html
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dJypFEA33lU
http://www.greentreks.org/allprograms/roughterrain/urbangardening/index.asp
Rainwater collection
http://www.rainbarrelguide.com/
3. The Earth Conservation Corps
provides hands-on education, environmental training, professional experience, and leadership skills for disadvantaged young people between the ages of
17-25 years old.
http://www.ecc1.org/
4. Wind energy, Solar + (info. on the Dull farm)
http://www.greenenergyohio.org/page.cfm?pageId=102
http://www.freeenergynews.com/Directory/River/
5. Compassionate Communication
http://www.cnvc.org/
http://www.nonviolentcommunication.com/index.htm
Dr. Marshall Rosenberg Video
http://www.bigpicture.tv/videos/watch/1ff1de774
Brian McGee
Senior Designer
LPK
Building Leadership Brands®
TEL 513/241-6401
www.lpk.com
PEACE ECONOMY
Forge alliances with the City's business, educational, and non-profit organizations to consider the "regional peace economy" as key to Dayton, City of Peace.
Members: Andi Eveslage 3970799; Tom Whalrab tom.wahlrab@cityofdayton.org (333-2349); Fred Arment; Charlotte Paugh 832-6347 mhweber@aol.com; Rich Wlodarski
INTEGRITY PEACE COMMITTEE
Committee: Heather Brown; Contact: Integrityspeace@yahoo.com
Action plan:
1st Protocol: Anger ----> "I need __________" = peace
felt (thought or said repeatedly over and over and over again until the felt anger dissolves. And it does disappear. Equaling p e a c e) It takes need to take in the emotions.
This NonViolent Communication Proctocol is the individuals responsibility to think or say what he or she needs because of the anger currently or previously elicited within them.
I have been teaching this protocol by word or mouth with animation to various people since 2006 and have brought it to the open spaces dialogue citizens convention for Dayton: City of Peace, September 16, 2007, where I proposed it to the "conflict resolution at the dining room table committee."
Hope to present this to more people. Ideas and proposals welcome.
PEACEWRITERS COMMITTEE
A new PEACE WRITERS group is now forming in Dayton. Participants are invited to write and share inspirational stories, poems, plays, and novels about peace issues in a positive and peaceful writers group. Writers of all genres are welcome. The first meeting is Saturday, October 20, 2007, from 4-6pm at Panera Bread Community Room on Brown Street near UD. Everyone is welcome. Refreshments will be served. Send email to daytonpeacewriters@yahoo.com for more information
Contact: JIM HAGAN, DAYTON PEACE MUSEUM 22-PEACE
EMAIL ADDRESS: daytonpeacewriters@yahoo.com
SYNOPSIS (BY BETTY DARST)
Ideas presented on Sunday – September 16th at the Convention Center
A world authority on peace museums (Dr. Peter van den Dungen) spoke as a kick off. He noted that Japan has more peace museums than any other country. There are meaningful museums in Holland and Guernica, Spain where Picasso immortalized through art the destruction of the Basque shrine.
Dayton is recognized as having the only peace museum in the United States – Philadelphia is known as the city of love, and Atlanta is making strides to be known as a city of peace.
Ideas presented
A young lawyer has been piloting in 13 Dayton City Schools a program dealing with conflict management.
Jean Woodhull would like to see the Peace Bridge across Third Street – have banners with the word peace in different languages flying.
SPAN – opportunities for health care for all
Incorporate recent immigrants into our communities and our institutions – stimulating a new neighborhood in the area of boarded up homes.
Peace through sustainability
Education
Ownership
Gardens
Teaching children nutrition
Alternative energy
Education of Compassion
Martin Luther King events year round not just one month
City at Peace – Youth Project
New York – city youth creating their own vision – developing theatrical productions telling their stories.
Create a sculpture – at 70 and 75
T shirt – had a Wright Flyer with a dove on the elevator
Training to deal with Family Violence
Namaste – honor the divine light within you
Implement virtues in school – this was offered by a Native American who described how the community helped the education in the schools on the reservations – she has recently moved to Dayton.
Peace Writers Club –
Positive messages – if there is an empty billboard – place something meaningful on the board.
The House of Bread
Conflict resolution at the dinner tables
Sit down – have a meal and have a cup of coffee – will lower tensions.
Peace labyrinth – 3700 prayer flags in a Buddhist tradition is at the Miami Valley Unitarian Church
Ethnic Diversity – concern – Appalachian population not prepared to meet today’s job market
Families – hunger
The majority population is in trouble –
Concern for the number of jobs that have left Ohio
Economic Development – corporate ownership – helps them to recruit people to want to come to Dayton through meaningful brochures
Peace can be an Economic Development Tool. |
