Dear colleagues and friends,

The year 2007 has been a key year of evolutionary change for UPEACE. Not only has there been a major revision of the leadership of our University, but there has also been a dramatic expansion of activities at our main campus and abroad.

We have managed difficult challenges as a team, and I believe this experience has made UPEACE a stronger institution. Our successes are multiplying here in Costa Rica and around the world. We should be proud of the fact that as an organization we are carrying our mission forward with impressive success.

As a New Year starts, we will continue these efforts. More than ever, we know that what we are doing is fundamental for the future of humanity. Our hope for a better world is constantly threatened; but our work is a key element in developing peace and mutual respect among countries and cultures.

I take this opportunity to thank all the members of the UPEACE family for your work and dedication, and I wish you and your families a peaceful and happy holiday season.

Best regards,

Jack Maresca
Rector

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UPEACE briefing held in New York.

As reported in the last Newsflash a series of meetings have been taken place with UN Ambassadors. Before the Geneva meeting, the Netherlands Ambassador to the UN, Amb. Frank Majoor hosted a luncheon in New York for UPEACE on 19 November 2007. More than 12 UN Ambassadors participated in the event.

The Rector gave a presentation on UPEACE, including funding needs, with emphasis on the responsibility of the UN member states, as well as the growing importance of UPEACE, and the objective of establishing an endowment ("The Future Leaders Endowment Fund") by 2010. There were some very positive comments, and good feedback.

This briefing was organized by the UPEACE New York Office.

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Sir Marrak Goulding

Sir Marrack Goulding is teaching until 20 December 2007 for students in International Peace Studies and Media, Peace and Conflict Studies and the subjects covered by him are “United Nations and the International Peace” and “The United Nations Governing Bodies and Their Procedures”.

Marrack Goulding is a British KCMG with a 26-year career as diplomat. From 1986 to 1993 he was United Nations Under-Secretary General for Political Affairs in charge of Peace Keeping Operations around the world. Last year he retired after eight years as Warden (Rector) of the Saint Antony’s College at Oxford University.

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Corporate Social Responsibility Workshop

The University for Peace Centre for Executive and Professional Education recently offered a three-day intensive workshop on Corporate Social Responsibility from December 10-12, 2007.

The workshop was designed for business executives and those interested in working with issues of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). The aim of the workshop was not only to address the incentives for engaging in CSR, but more importantly to introduce participants to the process of implementing a CSR strategy. The UN Global Compact was the principal framework explored in depth, supported by the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI).

The diversity of organizations represented by the 15 participants made the interactions particularly rich. The organizations represented included:

• Private sector - Mesoamerica, ArcelorMittal, Hacienda del Mar Resort Community, EcoGlobal and Grupo Holcim
• Nonprofit sector - Fundación Omar Dengo, Fundación Paniamor and Viva de América Latina y el Caribe.
• Multilateral agencies - UNDP (Trinidad and Tobago) and Inter-American Institute for Cooperation on Agriculture (IICA)
• Academic institutions - CATIE, Intercultura Language and Cultural Center and UPEACE
• Public sector - ICE, Costa Rica.
  

Five UPEACE students interested in doing their thesis in areas related to CSR also joined the course for the afternoon sessions.

This 1st workshop on CSR to be offered in Costa Rica by the Centre was seen to be a success judging from participant feedback. In the words of Laura Ellington, co-founder of a small for-profit academic institute, “This workshop solidified for me the justification and conceptual framework for CSR. Business and social development needs were expertly communicated, and participants were given the chance to implement their new knowledge in practical and effective ways”.

Human Rights activities at UPEACE

This year, as Human Rights Day drew near, members of the Human Rights Centre Student Executive Committee decided one day wasn’t enough to really examine the multitude of human rights issues at large in the world today. They decided, instead, to celebrate the Human Rights Week.

Tammy Andrejowich kicked off Human Rights Week on Monday with a brownbag session on Indigenous Women, Human Rights, and Social Neglect in Canada. Tammy is Master’s Degree student in International Peace Studies at the University for Peace.

Events were planned throughout the week, leading up to Human Rights Day on December 10. A brownbag session addressing impunity in the Mona-River Union (a case study of Sierra Leone and Liberia) was carried out on Wednesday. Also on Wednesday, students gathered with community members in nearby Ciudad Colon for a candlelight vigil, a presentation by a local high school student, and a speaker on human rights in Costa Rica.

Thursday featured brownbag sessions on extradition killings in the Philippines and Gender and Human Rights.

The culmination of the week — Human Rights Day — on Monday, Dec. 10. The university kicked off Human Rights Day with a panel of experts on Costa Rican human rights issues. The guest speakers included Daniel Camacho, Director of FUNDEHUCA; Luis Salas Sarkis, General Secretary of the INS (Instituto Nacional Seguros) Workers' Union; and Jason Glaser, Director of the documentary "The Affected." The panelists addressed labor rights issues that plague many Costa Ricans, from the health of banana workers to discrimination in the workplace.

After the panel, the university community gathered together for a potluck dinner, sharing foods from our many countries of origin. The potluck was followed by a bonfire in Peace Park, accompanied by the rhythmic beats of a local 13-member drum band. The evening marked a lively and reflective end to a week packed with human rights–related activities.


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Successful International Consultative Meeting on the Latin America and the Caribbean Programme at UPEACE

The International Consultative Meeting on the UPEACE Latin America and the Caribbean Programme successfully ended last Saturday, 8 December. This meeting took place from 6 to 8 December at the UPEACE campus.

A group of 25 Latin American and the Caribbean scholars and practitioners in fields of Social Sciences, UPEACE faculty members and representatives of the UN and the OAS, discussed during three days how to organize in the near future a relevant UPEACE academic programme for the region.

Departing from a concept paper, participants discussed the major problems that are faced by the societies in Latin America and the Caribbean in the current times. Participants described the programmes and activities that they perform and their corresponding organizations and had the opportunity to learn about the current activities of the University for Peace.

Based on that exchange, the last session of the meeting was devoted to outline a set of concrete proposals on what should be done for enhancing UPEACE’s operations in peace and conflict studies in Latin America and the Caribbean, in the following issues:

1. Social problems to be addressed by the academic programmes
2. Degrees to be offered
3. How to deal with the regional and subregional peculiarities
4. Official working languages
5. Type of research to be carried out
6. Higher training for leaders in society, both political and civil
7. Elaboration and dissemination of knowledge and tools
8. Potential partnerships.

UPEACE Latin American students participated in the discussions, which was opened by Rector John J. Maresca and closed by the Executive Vice Rector, Georges Tsaï.

The intellectual climate of the meeting was characterized by the practice of a full academic freedom: frankness, respect for the different points of view, and intelligent debate. The concept essay -prepared by Dr. Carlos Sojo, Costa Rican scholar-,the proceedings of the meeting and related documents will be included in one specialized and instrumental publication to be released during the first quarter of 2008, as a useful document to support the UPEACE activities in Latin America and the Caribbean.

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UPEACE Headquarters staff participates in the Year- End Party of El Rodeo School

The School Year-End Party of the UPEACE surrounding community of El Rodeo took place on Tuesday 18 December. Members of the staff participated in the activity, delivering Christmas presents to the children of the school. The gifts were kindly provided by various members of staff. This has been a Christmas tradition for the University and the children.