Están en proceso de coordinación hacia la creación de una Fundación para apoyar la Universidad de la Paz: Fundapaz. El objetivo prioritario de la Fundación será: Apoyar a la Universidad de la Paz a nivel académico y económico. ¿Cómo se puede apoyar esta iniciativa? Financiar la matricula a los estudiantes de zonas rurales y barrios pobres de Barrancabermeja y Bucaramanga que han aplicado para ingresar a la Universidad de la Paz. La matricula por semestre tiene un costo de 200 dólares. Se acepta también el apoyo para libros, transporte y materiales académicos. Con urgencia se necesita la donación de computadores para instalarlos en la sede de la Universidad de la Paz y facilitar el contacto de profesores y estudiantes de Boston, y de las grandes ciudades Colombianas, con estudiantes de la Universidad de la Paz del Magdalena Medio. Decenas de estudiantes han ofrecido ser mentores. Es importante establecer un puente de comunicación entre los directivos de Universidades de Bogotá, Medellín y Cali con el Padre Francisco de Roux y los directivos de la Universidad de la Paz. Esto con el fin de apoyarlos en el diseño de programas académicos, materiales, tutores Colombianos, seminarios de profesores colombianos para estudiantes y profesores de la Universidad de la Paz. Estudiantes de post-grado de las universidades mencionadas pueden ser profesores de la Universidad de la paz por un semestre o un año como práctica profesional. Si usted quiere más información o quiere ofrecer algún apoyo comuníquese con: María Cristina Caballero unipaz-colombia@universo.com ¿Qué es la universidad de la paz? "El Instituto Universitario de la Paz, Unipaz, is a public institution created by Decree 0331, on November 19 1987 (Santander Assembly.) The Institution is in economic crisis because the students cannot pay the tuition ($200 dollars per semester). The Municipality of Barrancabermeja has not been contributing money to the University, leaving people without options to study." Unipaz offers: " programs to educate teachers and nurses, Zoo-technical and veterinary Medicine, agronomic engineering, production engineering, environment and sanitation engineering, hygiene and industrial security technology... 4000 jóvenes provenientes de las zonas en conflicto y barrios pobres (estrato uno y dos) han aplicado para ingresar como estudiantes a la Universidad de la paz... Ninguno puede pagar la matricula..... ($200 dólares por semestre.) Los estudiantes que han aplicado le han dicho al padre de Roux que ellos quieren estudiar también: -- Medicina y enfermería -- Ingeniería electrónica y mecánica -- Ciencias naturales -- Matemáticas - Ciencias sociales con énfasis en derechos humanas , resolución de conflictos y desarrollo Mensajes de apoyo I have been very moved by your efforts and by Father Francisco de Roux's vision and success. I believe it is important that he is able to demonstrate success through education and peace in the dynamic that Colombia finds itself in today. Especially in the Magdalena Medio which I know is one of the epicenters of the violence. I would very much like to contribute to your efforts. Here is what I have to offfer: I would like to introduce you to the Principals of ePals. I have contacted them already and they offered their support immediately. They are willing to lend their services and infrastructure to UniPaz and to all of the people that are interested in helping Father de Roux. ePALS is a leader in virtual community building and knowledge sharing. They are multilingual and reach 4 million students and educators internationally. Below are links to their Web site: http://www.epals.com/solutions/index_en.html#edu_gov_management http://www.epals.com/ I would like to set up a meeting in Boston with ePals at your earliest convenience. Also, I am very interested in finding a way to provide UniPaz free or subsidized Internet access. My father was President of Occidental in Colombia for 8 years and he is going to help me find sponsors from the Oil sector. I also have other ideas for providing computer hardware and Internet Access. Looking forward to speaking with you soon. Sincerely, Carlos Quinones * COLOMBIA'S HUMANITARIAN CRISIS IS WORSENING EXPONENTIALLY. This weekend 118 civilians, 45 of them children, were killed when home-made mortars slammed into a church in the village of Bojaya, Choco, located 225 miles northwest of the capital of Bogota. More than 100 peasants were badly injured. ---AMAZING RESPONSE FROM HARVARD STUDENTS AND PROFESSORS WHO ATTENDED THE ARCO FORUM EVENT DEDICATED TO COLOMBIA, AND NOW ARE VOLUNTEERING TO HELP COLOMBIA IN SOME WAY. MANY HAVE OFFERED TO SUPPORT FATHER FRANCISCO DE ROUX?S (LAST WEEK'S MAIN GUEST SPEAKER) UNIVERSITY TOWARD PEACE--- PLEASE JOIN US! * It would be a privilege to mentor a young Colombian student from the University toward Peace. Colombia is near and dear to my heart as I am in the coffee business and used to buy LOTS of coffee from Colombia. Let me know how can I help. --- Julie W. Barrett/ KSG -- MC/MPA 2002 * I am interested in joining this initiative in some way. I am looking into going to Colombia?but I .I will let you know if I can make the arrangements. -- Terry Mcgintylaw, KSG MPA2 * You can count on me! I am willing to help Father de Roux?s University toward Peace. I don?t know exactly how could I help? I would like to talk more about this. ---Kenny Mendiwelson, MBA Harvard Business School. * I am studying international Education Policies, focused on the use of technology in developing countries. I would like to join this initiative. I will begin contacting some organizations that are focused in implementing educational technologies. I will initially propose them to donate some computers; then, I volunteer to begin a program to use those technologies in the University toward Peace. --- Claudia Orjuela, Master?s candidate/ International Education Policy/ Harvard Graduate School of Education * Camila Rodriguez, MPA-ID student, decided to write a paper about the Magdalena Medio?s University toward Peace. * "I am interested in this initiative. Please let me know how I may become more involved and informed." --- Dan Wagner/ Kennedy School/ MC/MPA * I am amazed about the development projects that Father de Roux is leading in Magdalena Medio, confronting very diverse circumstances. I would like to help the 40000 young Colombians who applied to be students at the University toward Peace. I feel that I need to get deeply involved in this initiative! --- Natalia/ Master?s Candidate/ Harvard Law School * I am a Phd candidate in the Earth Sciences Department. I am very interested in supporting programs than enhance peace and social equality in Colombia. You can count on me! I would like to support the projects of Father de Roux. I am designing a curriculum about environmental risks and natural disasters, topics that must be studied and addressed in countries like Colombia. I offer myself to go and teach seminars about these topics at the University toward Peace. --- Freddy Corredor, Harvard University/ Structural Geology and Tectonics Group Dept. of Earth and Planetary Sciences ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- "Providing alternatives and hope to young Colombians who are willing to study and to dedicate their professional lives to this convulsed country's development would be one of the best ways to help Colombia," Father Francisco de Roux ----------------------------------------------------------------------------- More volunteers: * When the ARCO Forum on Colombia took place I was in Brazil, working on my dissertation. I would like to help the Colombian University toward peace. I volunteer to be a mentor of a student. I would also like to donate some money. Please keep me informed about how can I help. -- Arturo Ardila , Phd Candidate, MIT * Professor Marshal Ganz (KSG) expressed his interest in getting more detailed information about what would be the best way to help; he is interested in joining the initiative. Professor Ganz is even considering the idea of going to Magdalena Medio? * "I would be interested in receiving more information on this initiative", Kelly Peterson/ Kennedy School Student * Kennedy School Professor Barbara Kellerman (Center for Public Leadership) expressed her interest in the proposal to help the University toward Peace. She considers that the ARCO Forum event on Colombia was "splendid" and that the Harvard student?s initiative to support the University toward Peace is a "careful and creative follow-up... I am certain we will be in touch and I look forward to continuing the connections. * We could organize events to get funds for Father de Roux?s University toward Peace? We could organize a party! I would like to support the mentoring initiative but we could also contribute raising funds! --- Marcela Renteria, Colloquium- Harvard and Mit Colombian students * Thanks very much for following up the ARCO Forum event with an action email!. I'm researching a reconciliation program. --- Adriana Paasche Dakin/ Master in Public Policy, 2003/ KSG --------------------------------------------------------------- PROPOSAL/ SUPPORT TO MAGDALENA MEDIO'S UNIVERSITY TOWARD PEACE ------------------PLEASE JOIN US!------------------------------- -- Father Francisco de Roux is leading an amazing development project in Magdalena Medio, one of the most convulsed Colombian regions. De Roux has succesfully coordinated more than 90 development projects in 29 municipalities. -- Father de Roux received a Phd in Economics from La Sorbone (Paris), a master degree from the London School of Economics, degrees in Philosophy, Economics and Theology from Los Andes University, and Javeriana University (in Bogota, Colombia.) "After so many years of study I finally realized that the key issue is to empower people, through education and development", he said during his recent visit to Harvard. --Considering the concrete results he has achieved, he was the recipient of Colombia's National Peace Prize, and the European Union recently approved 30 million dollars to expand his development project. -- One of the projects he is supporting in the Magdalena Medio is a "University Toward Peace" (UNIPAZ.) It's goal is to contribute to the regional development, overcoming poverty (70 percent of the population lives in poverty), and improving not only the economic but the social and cultural situation of the local population. UNIPAZ's key goal is: "to educate women and men for peace and harmony with their fellow Colombians, and with Colombia's natural resources". -- Father de Roux is a member of UNIPAZ's board of directors. This University is already offering the local inhabitants bachelor programs to become teachers, nurses, veterinarians. It is also offering studies on: environmental and sanitation engineering, and agronomy. Many young Colombians from rural regions and poor urban zones are hoping to be accepted as students at this University. According to the Roux, they have received more than 4,000 applications... -- The candidates have expressed de Roux that they would like to study: how to enhance economic development, how to manage people and businesses, how to professionalize and streghten the local and regional judicial systems; how to achieve the protection of human rights; what have been some of the conflict resolution methods and strategies in countries addressing complex conflicts; how to promote leadership. Some of the candidates have expressed that they would like to become doctors (medicine). There are Colombian teenagers interested in learning about every field... -- UNIPAZ is in critical economic situation because almost no-student can pay any tutition. Nevertheless, about 700 students have personally expressed Father De Roux that they don't want to stop their studies; that they want to be professionals dedicated to achieve peace and development in the region. -- A group of Harvard students, who attended the ARCO Forum event, has proposed to create a mentoring program. Others have propose d to create a fund in order to finance the tuition of at least 1000 os the young Colombians who applied, and arre hoping to become students of the University toward Peace, but don?t have how to pay the tuition. According to Father de Roux, the individual tuition per semester is: 200 dollars per student. We wonder if you would be interested in joining this initiative? It would be great to support young Colombians willing to progress. -- Any idea from volunteers (Professors, fellows, students, any professional or non-professional willing to help) would be welcome. Just as examples: * You can become a mentor occasionally explaining concepts, trends, theories... to the local professors/students * The mentors could occasionally send the professors/students some up-dated materials related with their field of study; the mentors could, perhaps, share experiences. * You could also (if possible) help them finance some books, and/or tuition (just 200 dollars per smester.) * You could organize a seminar in any field. They are willing to learn about different fields? The seminar could be organized in Barrancabermeja (Father de Roux would coordinate everything about security?the Colombian oil company has headquarter there?extremely well protected.) If you prefer, the seminar could also be organized in Bucaramanga (small city relatively close) or Bogota, the capital of Colombia. * ... Every idea would probably be well received by the students/professors of the University toward Peace. They are really struggling to study and progress in the middle of very adverse circumstances. Certainly, they need and deserve help. -- JUST A PROPOSAL: There could probably be installed some computers with internet access in UNIPAZ; and the mentoring process could begin by internet and/or telephone... Would you like to donate some money toward this goal? -- We sincerely hope that you would be interested in joining this initiative! If you are interested in joining this initiative, please send me an e-mail. I had the opportunity to talk with Father de Roux yesterday. He asked me to say hello to all those who attended the ARCO Forum event and/or who have expressed interest in Colombia. He also told me that it would be really great to receive support for the University toward Peace. "Providing alternatives and hope to young Colombians who are willing to study and dedicate their professional lives to this country's development would be one of the best ways to help Colombia," he said. -- To reiterate, if you are willing to help the University toward Peace in some way (any way) please send me an e-mail: maria_caballero@ksg01.harvard.edu Thanks again, Maria Cristina Caballero Edward S. Mason Fellow MC/MPA John F. Kennedy School Harvard University * Enseño literatura latinoamericana y si en Unipaz les interesan las humanidades podría pensar en ir a enseñar un semestre. Brandeis University, donde enseño, tiene un programa de Peace and Conflict Resolution. Uno de sus proyectos es enviar estudiantes a hacer pasantías en lugares en conflicto con organizaciones que trabajen por la paz. Podríamos pensar en que un estudiante de Brandeis vaya a trabajar por un semestre a UNIPAZ, enseñando ingles por ejemplo. Gracias por comunicar esta iniciativa. profesora de Brandeis University Soy docente e investigador aquí en México especializado en asuntos de derecho internacional, particularmente derechos humanos y derechos indígenas... Tengo muchísimo interés en apoyar los proyectos del Padre de Roux, UNIPAZ específicamente, y de difundir estos proyectos aquí en México. Cuenten conmigo, a titulo personal y ojalá en términos de enlaces institucionales... Mi publicación mas reciente es como co-editor y co-autor de The Poverty of Rights: Human Rights and the Eradication of Poverty (Zed Books/Comparative Research Programme on Poverty, CROP, 2001). Agradecería mucho que me incluyeran en la red de apoyo que propones, y que me hicieran llegar algún canal para poder comunicarme directamente con la UNIPAZ o con los otros proyectos . Mil gracias y saludes, y felicidades por lo del Foro ARCO, CAMILO PEREZ BUSTILLO Juris Doctor (J.D.), May 1981, Northeastern University Law School, Boston, Massachusetts/ Member of Massachusetts Bar (since 1982)