Image credit: Move This WorldFrom global to local: Move This World in the Philippines
In February 2012, Mr. Primitivo “Prime” Ragandang III, with three of his college students - Bibai, Dunna and Jorge - convened in a Bakery in Tagoloan, Mindanao. They talked about how they might sustain the peace-building project they had started the year before, on the International Day of Peace in September.
Prime later saw a post by Sara Potler, the Founder & CEO of US-based Move This World (then known as Dance 4 Peace). Selected as a new Philippines Director, he started the project with a small school in Tagoloan, Misamis Oriental, with 25 students and Bibai, Dunna, and Jorge as the first PeaceMovers.
Today, Move This World-Philippines is a fully-fledged affiliate of Move This World, Inc., a global nonprofit movement that uses creative expression to transform conflict, violence, and bullying in communities.
People involved
There are three groups of people involved in the programme: PeaceMovers, classroom teachers and community stakeholders.
PeaceMovers are the main actors. Youth volunteers, they conduct professional development training for teachers, go on site visits, and spearhead special events which help build the movement: for example, during the International Day of Peace and Mindanao Week of Peace.
Before being considered as an Accredited PeaceMover, a volunteer undergoes two-day training (the Philippine Director conducts the training), observes how MTW Classes are conducted, and leads a three-hour session with a group of other youn people, often in a university.
Second, classroom teachers form part of the supporting actors and actresses of the project. They implement the curriculum with their students. Teachers complete an initial training session and at least five more.
Third, community stakeholders also form part of the project. These include parents, guardians, Parent-Teacher Associations, student councils and local government. They are involved in movement building, especially during special events. With the parents, a special four-hour workshop is given to them as an orientation to explain how important their role is in the programming.
Financial resources
The organisation operates as a social entrepreneur, with local costs shared by each partner school.
When MTW started in February 2012, Move This World Global sent money to cover all the expenses of Move This World Philippines. After one year, with the growing number of partner schools, the organisation became 50% financially capable. By June 2013, working with over 2,500 pupils, the organisation itself had become 100% financially sustainable, thanks to the cost-sharing model through which partner schools contribute to the program. Generally, the organisation contributes 60% of the overall cost, while partner schools shoulders the remaining 40%.
Human resources
Continuous training for the young PeaceMovers, as well as exposure to other communities of learning, helps to empower and develop young people. This is one of the most successful contributions that the organisation has achieved so far, with young people resolving social issues in innovative and sustainable ways.
Beneficiaries
Direct beneficiaries of the project are the students who take part in the workshops. Indirect beneficiaries include the teachers who receive professional development training, while at the same time becoming part of a global netowrk of teachers commited to learning through innovation. Other beneficiaries include the Youth PeaceMovers themselves, who facilitate the entire project. They not only develop their self-confidence but also learn to acknowledge how team building and leadership at a young age can cause social change.
