Wednesday, May 13, 2009



The Peace Cafe has been ISBN-ed and published!

Synopsis:

This Toolkit, appropriately titled First Steps, is the first of its kind
in Malaysia. It is a resource book to bring gender mainstreaming to
biodiversity management – a subject that is becoming increasingly
vital with the current emphasis on sustainable development.

This publication by Malaysian Environmental Non-Governmental
Organisations (MENGO) is a useful and handy guide to enable
implementers, project coordinators, community organisers and
facilitators to present workshops and conduct sessions on gender
mainstreaming in biodiversity management in Malaysia.

First Steps contains background materials, support modules and
simple activities that could be used by groups to build a heightened
awareness of gender. This reader-friendly book with a graphic-
design format includes materials on Values, Confict Resolution
and Biodiversity.
The Peace Cafe in the news!!!

Regional collaboration in mainstreaming gender and peace in biodiversity conservation promoted at Curtin-MENGO Symposium

Miri – 12 May, 2009 – Biodiversity experts from Malaysia and Australia who gathered for the Curtin-MENGO Symposium 2009 at Curtin University of Technology, Sarawak Malaysia (Curtin Sarawak) on 28 and 29 April 2009 have pledged to heighten regional collaboration in mainstreaming gender and peace in biodiversity conservation.

The symposium was co-organised by Curtin University’s Australian and Sarawak staff with Malaysian Environment NGOs (MENGO) and The Peace Café to develop a cross-cultural approach of peace that represents both female and male values in biodiversity conservation.

According to Beena Giridharan, Curtin Sarawak’s Dean of Foundation and Continuing Studies and on-campus coordinator of the symposium, the event brought together practitioners of diverse cultures and backgrounds including indigenous leaders, representatives of non-governmental organisations and university researchers.

MENGO Project Leader Dr Sundari Ramakrishna, meanwhile, said the event raised the importance of sharing knowledge through broad participation in planning and implementing management approaches.

The symposium was launched by Professor Joan Gribble, Deputy Pro Vice-Chancellor of Curtin Sarawak, who highlighted the need to pay urgent attention to the global environmental situation, saying that it would require active participation by both women and men.

Peace ecologist Dr Ratna Malar Selvaratnam said the focus on peace helps people understand the different voices that need to work together to conserve our biodiversity heritage. She also outlined the importance of understanding the power of values in determining the success of biodiversity conservation. ... read more