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Fellows globally expand their Salzburg Global-inspired educational program to promote pluralism in Asia
The CMP has demonstrated significant impact, fostering pluralism, democracy, and thoughtful leadership among youth in regions scarred by mass violence.
Eighty years have passed since the horrors of concentration camps in WWII-era Europe, but in places like Bosnia, Cambodia, and Rwanda, ideological and ethnic mass violence are fresh scars of the recent past. From 2010 until 2017, Salzburg Global Seminar held the multi-year program series Holocaust Education and Genocide Prevention to connect peacemaking individuals and NGOs worldwide to work towards eliminating mass atrocities.
At one of these programs, Fellows Tali Nates and Freddy Mutanguha devised the Change Makers Leadership Program (CMP); they have since collaborated with many others including Mduduzi Ntuli, Jamila-Aisha Sanguilla, Tshegofatso Ramatsetse, Catherine Boyd, and Kasumi Moritani, to name a few.
CMP draws on the Holocaust, the genocide against the Tutsi in Rwanda, and other historical ordeals to educate and develop young leaders on resisting extremism and instituting change. Following successful pilots in South Africa and Rwanda, the CMP has expanded to Nigeria, Mozambique, and nine other African countries. Now, CMP celebrates another milestone after its successful launch in the Philippines.
Launching a sustainable and instructive program on a different continent was no easy task, but the CMP team is no stranger to versatility. “Nothing was set in stone. We were changing it for every country,” explained Tali Nates, Founder and Director of the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre in South Africa.
Indeed, to reach audiences across the rich diversity of Africa and Asia, the contents of the CMP must be tailored to the history and culture of each recipient country, and the CMP was well-poised to do so. “The framework and the structure are so well thought out and well put together that it can work anywhere,” added Mduduzi Ntuli, Program Facilitator at CMP Asia and JHGC Educators and Development Head.
Structured as a 3-day interactive workshop, the CMP looks at lessons from the past to educate the youth of the present. By discussing and reflecting on historical mass violence, participants seek alternative paths to prevent similar atrocities.
With ample experience in Africa, the team was eager to expand into Asia, but the question of exactly where in Asia soon arose. The answer became clear in September 2022 when Tali met Jamila-Aisha Sanguilla in Salzburg through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum. As the founder of Women Empowered to Act for Dialogue and Peace in the Philippines, Jamila’s experience and contacts in local peacebuilding and education were crucial entry points into the country, and with funding from the Nippon Foundation, everything fell into place.
In preparation for the CMP in the Philippines, the team developed a new case study on the Cambodian genocide. “An Asian case study was really important… to go from a very global example to a more local example of genocide,” explained Catherine Boyd, Program Facilitator at CMP Asia and JHGC Head of Education. This paid dividends as the team welcomed Cambodian participants who brought their own unique perspectives that added another layer of richness to the program.
In addition, the team also had to adapt “global examples”, such as the Holocaust, to fit a more local context. “We looked at the Philippines and the people of the Philippines, and their role, their connection to the Holocaust,” Catherine continued, “and we introduced the people of the Philippines as upstanders and rescuers of the Holocaust”.
Tshegofatso Ramatsetse, who works with Tali at the Johannesburg Holocaust & Genocide Centre, reiterated the importance of connecting program participants to the history on a more personal level, “We can’t just take the African case studies and take them to the Philippines. We have to make them relevant to the people.”
Adapting content was crucial, but to stick the landing, the team also had to alter the way they facilitated the programs. Catherine alluded to the simple things, such as having participants introduce their own icebreakers, leading prayers and blessings at the beginning of sessions, and even the size of the room; everything was meant to bring participants together.
As the team reflected on the highlights during their time in Manila, it was clear that their efforts paid off. The groundwork was laid for participants to freely exchange their knowledge and expertise. Mduduzi recalled the friendships and heartfelt connections built, “the participants getting to know different personalities… I enjoyed seeing people, especially by the third day, open up and be more expressive”.
Catherine appreciated the depth of discussion made possible by the extensive experiences brought forward by participants, especially “the way they engaged with the topics… they were exceptional in making the links and the connections between the case studies, as well as connecting to their own selves”.
Witnessing the success of CMP in the Philippines, the team has become motivated to further expand the program in Asia. “We managed to prove that you don’t need large funding… a very small amount of funding can create a huge amount of change and bring in pluralism, democracy, and thoughtful thinking of leadership,” said Tali.
Having already established networks of Asian peacemakers, the team has made the crucial first step towards nurturing young leaders in the region as they continue to launch new programs in both Africa and Asia.
Watch more about CMP in Manila here: