Human Rights, Peace and Elections
Training of teaching and medical professionals is not the only form of training important for the rebuilding of Afghan capacity. The Afghan people want to learn and to grow. They frequently ask AIL for training that goes beyond schooling in the basics of literacy or income generating skills. They want to know how to improve their lives, their communities and their country. AIL provides human rights training, emerging leaders training and training in peace and leadership. In addition, many have received training in capacity building and information technology. AIL uses workshops, seminars and conference formats in its training program.
Also see the other training pages: Teacher Training and Leadership.
Also see the other training pages: Teacher Training and Leadership.
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Human Rights Training
Human Rights Workshops include the struggle to eliminate violence (of all types) against women in society by empowering women. Afghan women have learned how to advocate for their rights and to develop leadership skills with self confidence through these workshops.Women learn that religion does not condone violence against people, including within families. Women develop skills in communication and ways to prevent violence against themselves and the knowledge of how to effect positive change within their families and communities. AIL also developed workshops on children's rights for children and adults. All these workshops are very popular with people. Changing the mindset of an individual so that they can stand up for themselves is life changing for them. The the first step to achieving that is to give them knowledge of what is appropriate behavior and proper social values. So people learn about good citizenship, good governance and connect that to good family relationships and behavior. The goal is for everyone in society to reach their full potential so they can contribute fully to their family, community and society. |
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Love and Forgiveness Conferences
People are thinking for themselves and wanting more than the basics of knowledge. Afghans want to find ways to work together to promote love, understanding and forgiveness among people in order to return to a peaceful way of life; the way of their country’s history. AIL responded to these requests by holding its first International Conference on Love and Forgiveness in 2012. This event was shared throughout the country and internationally via film. This conference focused on the study of Afghan poets and musicians, particularly the work of Mawlana (Rumi). The Fetzer Institute supported the conference and it was attended by representatives from all parts of Afghanistan and many parts of the world. Poets, writers, Sufis, government officials and many others from all walks of life attended and were very pleased with the event. Interest in this project was far reaching and the conference received coverage in local and national press and even some international.
People are thinking for themselves and wanting more than the basics of knowledge. Afghans want to find ways to work together to promote love, understanding and forgiveness among people in order to return to a peaceful way of life; the way of their country’s history. AIL responded to these requests by holding its first International Conference on Love and Forgiveness in 2012. This event was shared throughout the country and internationally via film. This conference focused on the study of Afghan poets and musicians, particularly the work of Mawlana (Rumi). The Fetzer Institute supported the conference and it was attended by representatives from all parts of Afghanistan and many parts of the world. Poets, writers, Sufis, government officials and many others from all walks of life attended and were very pleased with the event. Interest in this project was far reaching and the conference received coverage in local and national press and even some international.
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The response to the first conference has been remarkable with many requests for workshops on the topics of love and forgiveness and peace. Requests have come from schools and youth and AIL now has an established program of love and forgiveness workshops with topics such as: the poetry of Rumi, peace, ethics, responsibility, justice, gender, violence, leadership and good citizenship. People want to know how to live together in peace and to recover an attitude of forgiveness and tolerance in society.
AIL has been able to hold a number of other Love and Forgiveness Conferences following the same format of the first one. The format involves invited speakers, small group sessions and interludes of traditional music, song and poetry allowing for times of reflection. All the conferences have been very popular. The media has given publicity to the events and local and regional dignitaries have attended and praised the work done by AIL in this area. Conferences are also broadcast live so many thousands more can follow along. |
"I learned that the word of peace means joy, happiness and prosperity that is granted in the life of human beings on the earth. The message of peace brings beauty to the world in which justice and freedom are developed. I learned every member of a community including men, women and children need to unite together for a happy and prosperous future because a life without peace is like a body without soul. No one enjoys their lives without peace. Peace brings meaning to human life. Without peace we no longer can exist. Before coming to this workshop I hadn't known these important points about peace and I regret for that."
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Peace Training "Today is a Good Day for Peace".
In the classes and workshops every day is a good day for peace. Since 1996, AIL has included peace messages in all of its classes and all of its workshops. It has focused leadership and peace workshops and these have an emphasis on how to discuss issues with others in a peaceful way. The participants are trained to work to resolve conflicts in their daily lives in a peaceful, non-confrontational way. "After participating in the Peace Workshop,I will try to bring a major change into my own personality and this will be the solution of interior problems within myself . Then I will try to solve the conflicts existing in my family, workplace and environment" . |
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"Following this workshop, when I face conflicts, I will try to solve them with patience, good skills of communication, preservation of the opposite side’s personality…. as I learned these skills from this workshop….my first step will be to work hard for the removal of rancor and negative perceptions which I have against someone … and then I will try to behave positively to everyone with a spirit of being in a peaceful environment. " by a participant in an AIL Peace Workshop.
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Again and again, AIL students find ways to help their Afghan relatives and neighbors to resolve family conflicts peacefully, to stop abuse, to convince male relatives that education is valuable and not harmful and that violence is never the answer.
You might ask, but how does that lead to peace? Where there are conflicts and different ways of thinking, even very small resolutions in a peaceful way are a model for peace rather than conflict. In the areas where AIL has worked over the last 15 years, community members, who are now educated and have improved health, are also learning to work together and to solve their problems peacefully. Most Afghans want peace, not conflict. As they work together in this way, their peaceful resolutions become a model for others and peaceful resolution to problems rather than conflict becomes the norm. "Peace is everyone’s need and it is everybody’s responsibility to work hard to bring peace" |
Election Workshops and assemblies
“I came…to eat lunch. I was not going to vote; neither was my family. After this assembly, my family and I are going to vote. Thank you for helping me stop ignorance.”
On April 5, 2014, 7 million Afghans, 35% of them women, courageously stepped out onto the street, in rain and insecurity, lined up at the polls and voted for the leaders. AIL was at the forefront of the get-out-the-vote effort and held election workshops, symposiums and conferences for over 10,000 women, men and youth. The purpose was to gather diverse members of society but especially youth and women and have them discuss topics such as: their problems, the problems of society as well as the significant issues of the country and the world, the importance of elections, the mechanics of how to vote, and, especially the responsibility of each person to evaluate the quality and character of each candidate and vote wisely. Even if the participants were educated, they still lacked knowledge about the election process and their right to be a part of it. People do not automatically see the relevance to their lives or their place and power in the process. Electing judges can seem more relevant to them as they or people they know come into contact with courts but not so with politicians. The conferences attracted media coverage with both TV and radio reporters attending and the messages of the conferences reached millions.
“I came…to eat lunch. I was not going to vote; neither was my family. After this assembly, my family and I are going to vote. Thank you for helping me stop ignorance.”
On April 5, 2014, 7 million Afghans, 35% of them women, courageously stepped out onto the street, in rain and insecurity, lined up at the polls and voted for the leaders. AIL was at the forefront of the get-out-the-vote effort and held election workshops, symposiums and conferences for over 10,000 women, men and youth. The purpose was to gather diverse members of society but especially youth and women and have them discuss topics such as: their problems, the problems of society as well as the significant issues of the country and the world, the importance of elections, the mechanics of how to vote, and, especially the responsibility of each person to evaluate the quality and character of each candidate and vote wisely. Even if the participants were educated, they still lacked knowledge about the election process and their right to be a part of it. People do not automatically see the relevance to their lives or their place and power in the process. Electing judges can seem more relevant to them as they or people they know come into contact with courts but not so with politicians. The conferences attracted media coverage with both TV and radio reporters attending and the messages of the conferences reached millions.
One participant said: “I liked the information we were given about elections. The speakers spoke so clearly with real life examples. They explained about the dignity of women and their role in elections. The lectures affected me and I felt a lot of motivation to take part in elections because before I had believed voting in the elections was sinful as I had not researched about the personalities and the future plans of candidates. AIL proved that it is my right and I have to vote for someone I think is the right person. Despite being educated I had always ignored finding out about civil affairs of the community. In this conference AIL encouraged me to feel a sense of responsibility and to help the community change for the better. I am going to research the profiles and programs of all candidates and vote for the one that has the best programs for women.”
In the last days before the election, AIL was invited to be part of an election assembly for 2,000 people in a rural village. AIL trainers spoke about the role of citizens in elections and the importance of the participation of both men and women so as to build a prosperous future for themselves and Afghanistan. They encouraged participants to allow women to take voting cards and to vote for the person they believe is a good leader.
In the last days before the election, AIL was invited to be part of an election assembly for 2,000 people in a rural village. AIL trainers spoke about the role of citizens in elections and the importance of the participation of both men and women so as to build a prosperous future for themselves and Afghanistan. They encouraged participants to allow women to take voting cards and to vote for the person they believe is a good leader.
Election song inspires voters!!
AIL supports Afghan youth at a private school and they produced an election song. This video and song went viral and continue to inspire people. See AIL blog page.
AIL supports Afghan youth at a private school and they produced an election song. This video and song went viral and continue to inspire people. See AIL blog page.
Ideation Symposiums
Another concept from AIL and the energized and engaged people who gather at AIL facilities is that of the Ideation Symposium. People, with widely differing backgrounds and levels of education, gather, interact and discuss human rights, peace, and culture such as prose and poetry. AIL's main office in Herat has a special gathering room called Behzad Hall where the first symposium took place. Many more symposiums have been held since and all were very popular. Everyone feels welcome and that their contribution is valued and listened to no matter their educational level. This concept is helping to knit together a society that has lost bonds of connection and trust between disparate people.
One of the participants said, "My name is Somaya. I am 20 years old. I am a university student. It was very interesting because it is the first symposium about democracy that I have ever attended. In the symposium I learned much more about democracy and its role in the development of Afghanistan. Before attending here I didn’t know all about democracy despite being a student, but now I know what democracy is and I am motivated to search about it and find good ways to build democracy in the community.”
Another concept from AIL and the energized and engaged people who gather at AIL facilities is that of the Ideation Symposium. People, with widely differing backgrounds and levels of education, gather, interact and discuss human rights, peace, and culture such as prose and poetry. AIL's main office in Herat has a special gathering room called Behzad Hall where the first symposium took place. Many more symposiums have been held since and all were very popular. Everyone feels welcome and that their contribution is valued and listened to no matter their educational level. This concept is helping to knit together a society that has lost bonds of connection and trust between disparate people.
One of the participants said, "My name is Somaya. I am 20 years old. I am a university student. It was very interesting because it is the first symposium about democracy that I have ever attended. In the symposium I learned much more about democracy and its role in the development of Afghanistan. Before attending here I didn’t know all about democracy despite being a student, but now I know what democracy is and I am motivated to search about it and find good ways to build democracy in the community.”
