2024 NARPI Summer Peacebuilding Training - Minamata and Miyazaki
We are excited to announce the 2024 NARPI Summer Peacebuilding Training will be held from August 12-21, 2024 in Minamata and Miyazaki (Kyushu, Japan). Below are details about courses, facilitators, program fees, scholarships, and the application process. We ask applicants to read the 2024 NARPI Summer Peacebuilding Training information package before applying.
Applications are now closed for the 2024 NARPI Summer Peacebuilding Training. We look forward to your participation in 2025.
Field Trip | August 13-14, 2024
NARPI provides a two-day field trip where participants visit various sites and meet people who have experienced historical, political, social, and cultural conflict, injustice, and peace. The field trip takes place in the region where NARPI is held — this year in Minamata. The field trip in Minamata will address the history of environmental pollution and efforts for restoration.
The city of Minamata has a history of environmental pollution in which people lost their lives due to mercury contamination from factory wastewater in the mid-20th century. The perpetrator company, Chisso, had built hydroelectric power plant dams and factories in the Korean Peninsula (North Korea) in colonial time (1932) Japan. The factory is still used in DPRK. The structural violence of environmental pollution divided and traumatized the community in the name of developing the business and state. In response, nonviolent social movements and a culture of restorative justice were nurtured to revitalize the region. The field trip will highlight environmental justice as a common challenge for the contemporary Northeast Asia region by witnessing, hearing, and learning from local community members. It will provide the opportunity to ponder the continuities between the past colonialism in WW2 and the present social issues.
Day 1: Learning from the past
History of the Minamata Disease and conflict and struggle; site visits, storytelling from victims and families.
Day 2: Seeking a future together
Learning about justice and reconciliation efforts by local organizations and residents; stories and lessons over time.
Course List | August 16-20, 2024
1. Conflict and Peace Framework
2. Optimizing Peacebuilding by Increasing Trauma Awareness
3. Exploring Gender and Sexuality in Conflict and Peacebuilding: An Arts-based Approach
4. Restorative Justice: Healing our Society and the Planet
5. Creating Peacebuilding Programs
Evening Activities
This year our hostel in Miyazaki is located near the ocean. Participants are welcome to enjoy the beautiful scenery in the evenings. The hostel also provides a spa. On Day 4 (August 19), during the week of courses, Culture and Talent Night will be held during which participants and facilitators share their cultures through song, dance, photos, calligraphy, and more.
