UPEACE celebrates Commencement 2006


The University for Peace (UPEACE) held its Commencement 2006 on Friday 30 June 2006 at 9.00 am at the National Auditorium in San José, Costa Rica.

A total of 96 students received their Master’s degrees in the fields of Gender and Peacebuilding, International Law and Human Rights, International Law and the Settlement of Disputes, Natural Resources and Sustainable Development, International Peace Studies, Peace Education, and Environmental Security. The students come from 36 countries, including, among others, Pakistan, Costa Rica, Nigeria, the United States, Canada, Chile, Bangladesh, Japan, Guyana, Kyrgyzstan, Cyprus, China, and Sierra Leone.

The key-note speaker of the ceremony was Dr. Franklin Chang-Díaz, a distinguished Costa Rican astronaut and scientist. In his commencement address Dr. Chang-Díaz said, “You can change the world, and the world does need to be changed”.

“We are convinced that the fate of our planet lies in our minds and hearts:  in the minds and hearts of men and women in all parts of the world, who will no longer accept living in fear, in poverty and in inequity. We are convinced that education is the way to provide the knowledge and skills as well as the determination for human beings to take control of their fate and use their immense talents to bring about a world in which peace is sustainable and sustained”, stated Julia Marton-Lefèvre, Rector of the University for Peace. (To read complete speech, click here)

Also present was Former President of Costa Rica, Mr. Rodrigo Carazo and other special invitees from the Costa Rican Governmentother special invitees from the Costa Rican Government, the Diplomatic Corps, and international organizations, as well as relatives of the students and the University’s staff.

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Students celebrate Graduation

aOn graduation night, students organized an informal party at the UPEACE cafeteria to celebrate their last day together. Thanks to the support committee of landlords and landladies of Ciudad Colón, the students danced to the rhythm of Costa Rican Caribbean music and also had the privilege of a performance by a 'comparsa' dance group.

aSpecial thanks to the Housing Support Committee for organizing such a great surprise for UPEACE graduating students.


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Reflections on Graduation 2006
By Nick Martin

It was such a treat to have my parents come and share the graduation festivities with me this past week. The energy of the students and staff and the enormous amount of work that went into the planning made for a truly memorable experience. Moreover, the variety of the speeches also provided our guests with the landscape of creativity and depth present here at UPEACE. I think I speak for all the peace educators in saying that our group enjoyed not only the final product and presentation of our song, but also the writing and rehearsals that lead up to the main event.

The graduation party was also wonderful and I think those who attended got a feel for just how special and diverse a UPEACE celebration is.  Congratulations to the students and staff.

 

  


Students from the MA in Gender and Peace Building graduate with Honours

Last Friday 30 June 2006, during the University for Peace Commencement 2006, the Gender and Peace Building MA programme graduated a total of 13 students from 10 countries, 10 of which are women and 3 of which are men.

The following students graduated with distinction, so far

  • Yunike Zulu from Zambia
  • Alex Sivalie Mbayo from Sierra Leone
  • Tomoko Ohtsuki from Japan
  • Abigail Stucker from the United States
  • Andrew Hicks from Guyana

Congratulations to the Gender and Peace Building honor graduates!

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Student life

One Year of Solitude
Nicolás Eliades Vesga

I’m sitting outside, at UPEACE Cafeteria’s porch. Tomorrow Lori is leaving. The next day someone else, and then someone else…after graduation we all leave. It’s the slow unraveling of a dream. I think you could call it nostalgia.

Victoria just sat before me. I think I may finally have an idea for my thesis. I think you could call it relief.

These two feelings have largely tainted the last few weeks at UPEACE for me. Our UPEACE.

So, before getting all soppy and such, I would just like to highlight one thing about this year. Many of you are familiar with the Colombian author Gabriel Garcia Marquez, who wrote Cien Años de Soledad(100 years of solitude). With this novel, Marquez exploded the concept of Magical Realism onto literature’s stage. The truth, though, according to the taxi drivers and fishermen of Costa Rica, to the farmers and midwives of Mexican villages, to the shoe polishers on the streets of Bogotá, the truth is that reality is magical in Latin America. I am sure you all have felt it. It’s kinda like a Dali painting.

This hyper-realism/magical air is incredibly clear even in the nature around us. Have you ever noticed the Bougainvillea bush parked outside the Rectora’s office. The purple/fuxia one. I have never seen such an intense colour, especially if you see it at sunset or sunrise. Then there is the rain. Rain has never felt quite as it does here, my clothes never smelt quite the way they do now, and my skin hasn’t been particularly good either. But the rain is intense. And I am a huge fan of intense. It is part and parcel of the magic real.

The people at UPEACE were intense. More magic real. Never have I lived in such proximity to such a collection of people. And you know what still amazes me? That my respect for each and everyone just grew and grew, NO exceptions. I may have not created a deep friendship with each one, but nevertheless I feel connected. I will leave a little part of me here, and I am taking so much more. Although perhaps facts were not the focus of the year, thought and spirit certainly were. The deepest truths I drew and gulped down thirstily came from the people around me, both in the classroom and beyond the walls. Every continent touched my soul this year. Not just one. In it, though, was always embroidered the magic real.

Thank you guys, I can hardly wait to meet up in some remote city, somewhere, someday. Remote, I mean Montreal, Tokyo, Johannesburg, Kigali, Paris, New Delhi, Katmandu, Caracas, New York, Beirut and maybe even San Jose. You are welcome where ever I stay. Until then, I will always carry the magical reality we shared, the latest foundation stone of who I am.