“UNITING NATIONS TO CHANGE A LIFE”
New model for prevention of violence and building a Culture of Peace
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Background Citizen Security in the "northern triangle" of Central America: El Salvador, Guatemala and Honduras is in an accelerated deterioration that threatens to become the main challenge for these companies in this decade process.
Similarly, but in different proportions, the deterioration extends to different cities in Mexico, the United States and Canada. Multiple factors determine the situation of violence and insecurity currently facing in the sub region: drug trafficking, has moved and expanded its operations increasingly the sub region strengthened efforts to evade national and international police in Mexico, Colombia and Caribbean; the culture of violence that is installed on every level of society; youth gangs and their impact on criminal activities, including killings and extortion.
The results of these factors are clear: Honduras, El Salvador and Guatemala are the first, second and eighth in rates of intentional homicides in the world in 2011, with the aggravating circumstance that - given the high impunity - those responsible for crimes violence are rarely brought to justice; Also, according to the Center for the Study of Women, Guatemala and Honduras have the first and second highest rates of domestic femicide in Central America, as more women become victims and victimizers of drug violence and organized crime.
In response to these challenges, the Central American governments are making efforts to improve the level of coordination of approaches, policies and activities to address the problems of public safety.
In the area of regional integration process, the Central American Integration System (SICA) launched in June 2011 with the support of the United States, Mexico and Colombia and other countries and multilateral organizations, a comprehensive strategy that included 22 projects to address insecurity, where four principal dimensions include: prevention, combating crime, social rehabilitation and institutional strengthening.
In addition, governments in the region are exploring new approaches to address the problem more comprehensively, articulating approaches to prevention, control, institutional reforms. Also are exploring ways to involve citizens in the design and implementation of public security policies at different levels of public action, and especially at the local level, recognizing the important role that civil society, the private sector and political parties can play in strengthening democratic processes and public safety.
In this context, the active participation of civil society and the private sector have begun to identify various ways to address this issue, but in an uncoordinated and isolated manner, by implementing interesting projects that can contribute to empower youth and motivate them to become agents of positive change for society, but with limited impact.
In this regard, it should be noted that the interest and support from various organizations representing the Diasporas from these countries, mostly from El Salvador and Guatemala, who reside in the United States is also highlighted in this effort. This involvement is not casual; if you consider that the city of Los Angeles is considered the first in the world where the largest number of youth gangs is. Moreover, in this city reside about 1.2 million Salvadorans; statistics suggest that one in three Salvadorans have a family member, acquaintance or friend gang related. The two most dangerous and fastest growing are the "Mara Salvatrucha" and "Barrio 18", which have expanded in the United States, at least 13 states of the Union, including Washington DC and New York where they live close to a million Salvadorans.
Bearing in mind the complexity and multidimensionality of this phenomenon, last May 14, 2015, CG Global Consultant organized a meeting at the offices of South-South News in New York, with a view to presenting some 20 civil society organizations of this city, the project led by FEPADE, entitled "Solutions".
This project was created in 2012 under an agreement of $ 20 million from USAID El Salvador and leverage $ 22 million additional dollars from the private sector, for a total contribution of $ 42 million is expected, which will be invested in 5 municipalities and 55 communities in El Salvador. "Solutions" is an alliance of five major Salvadoran foundations, which have joined forces to prevent crime and violence, in support of the target 11 of "Partnership for Growth", are them the Business Foundation for Educational Development (FEPADE); Salvadoran Foundation for Economic and Social Development (FUSADES); National Development Foundation (FADE); Salvadoran Foundation for Health and Human Development (FUSAL); and Glasswing. Of these institutions, FEPADE is the administrator of the partnership and liable to USAID, for all the technical, financial and administrative aspects of the project.
Together the five organizations of the alliance have the knowledge and experience in the areas of education, health, economic development, research, prevention of crime and violence, and youth development to join forces and work on prevention of crime and violence El Salvador, through the following components:
1. To strengthen the prevention of crime and violence at the municipal level.
2. Increase social investment by the private sector in El Salvador to prevent crime and violence.
3. Research, publish and disseminate research on strategies and best practices for the prevention of crime and violence.
Moreover, from January 2011 to May 2014, the Centro Escolar Distrito Italia, located in Tonacatepeque, El Salvador has been promoting a series of initiatives and programs to prevent violence and build a "Culture of Peace" with the support of the Permanent Mission of El Salvador to the United Nations in New York, through its "Art Inspiring Action" (2010-2014)
In this program, we were able to mobilize and motivate non-governmental organizations both in New York and El Salvador, and the Office of Economic and Cultural of Taipei in New York to support and / or implement various initiatives, taken as a together they have created the necessary conditions for significant changes related to the prevention of violence and building a culture of peace in that school.
Among the most notable achievements was the construction of the "pool for Peace", making the Centro Escolar Distrito Italia the unique public school in El Salvador, which has its own pool facilities. Additionally, they were created and / or strengthened paint and drawing, music, theater, visual health, a computer room with 50 computers, solar cookers, bakery, farming tilapia, jewelry, pottery, home gardening, education of the brain and the STEM program, among others.
Considering these experiences gained in the field, and coupled with the development vision promoted by the United Nations, particularly from the perspective of the implementation of the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and the progress in defining the Agenda Post-Development 2015;and the collective vision developed by the various organizations attended the workshop from May 14, 2015, in South-South News, the conditions were created for the CG Global Consultant (New York), SOAR Method (San Francisco) and the Mayan Foundation (Los Angeles), to schedule an event entitled "A Day in LA, East meet West", to be held on September 12, 2015, at UCLA (University of California, Los Angeles).
However, in light of a broaden support received by several organizations and individuals in New York, it was decided to have the launching of this initiative in August 12, 2015 at the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in New York (TECO) under a new umbrella that were flexible enough to host several groups and nationalities...the Global Program "Uniting Nations to Change a Life" was born.
General Purpose:
To contribute to the prevention of violence due to illegal gang activity and the creation of a culture of peace everywhere, through the development of new models to heal the social wounds caused by violence, and the promotion of ecosystems to change the fibers of local communities. Specific
Objectives:
• Show the advantages and the broad impact of the reproduction of the ecosystem to change the fibers of local communities, through a pilot project on a small scale, prevention of violence and the creation of a culture of peace, using a format style show Los Angeles, California, also connecting New York and El Salvador, in a first stage, but with a view to multiply everywhere, to create a chain reaction that can "unite nations to change a life" and finish together with the violence.
• Strengthen links between civil society, the private sector and local governments in the United States, Canada, Mexico and the countries of Central America and the Caribbean, who are interested in this project, in order to move together the implementation of new models to heal the social wounds caused by violence, among others, derived from illegal gang activity, and creating a culture of peace at local, national and regional level.
Ecosystem to change the fiber of local communities:
The idea of implementing an ecosystem to change the fiber of local communities is based on sacred geometry (fractal expansion) and critical mass, ie the importance of addressing prevention of violence through a multidimensional approach to building bridges between communities
They are threatened by transnational organized crime, youth gangs and violence, in the United States, Canada, Mexico, Central America and the Caribbean; and in any other place on earth. In this context, the two main characteristics that should be taken into consideration for the effectiveness of this model are:
• Concurrency
• Comprehensiveness
Annex
