Welcome to CPACS’ inaugural Newsletter.
To-date, 1998 has been an important year for the Centre, with a number of projects on the launching pad about to catapult us, if all goes according to plan, into the realm of international stardom, let alone raging national and domestic success. Indeed, the intensity of activity at the Centre these days, with six offices working to full capacity, has resulted in the need for a regular Friday afternoon meeting of the management committee in order to maintain a sense of cohesiveness. At the first of these meetings it was decided that, in an effort to keep our membership up to date with all of the 'goings on', we should produce a newsletter to fulfil this requirement. So here it is, our first effort to keep you in the picture, so to speak, and to remind you that we never loose sight of the important value of our membership.
Work with the Conflict Resolution Network

As a part of the development Of Our new postgraduate programme in 'Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution' (see below), the Conflict Resolution Network (CRN), has Generously sponsored the development of one of the new units, 'Peacemaking through the Media'. The donation of $12,000 will pay for the employment of a Research Assistant who will be responsible for developing the unit. We are immensely grateful to the CRN and its vision in sponsoring what will be an invaluable contribution to the degree programme.
The Sydney Peace Prize

The Sydney Peace Prize is a CPACS initiative in collaboration with members of the Sydney community, such as bankers, journalists and Sydney City counsellors. The prize will be a biannual award in recognition of creative endeavours that enhance life in all forms: multicultural and multi-denominational, crossing religious, ethnic, political and legal divides, regional and national boundaries. The first Sydney Peace Prize will be awarded to Muhammad Yunis on 27th November 1998. Muhammad Yunus is the founder of the Grameen Bank in Bangladesh which empowers rural communities by lending money to the poor - to women in particular. His humanitarian achievements have been recognised worldwide. The ceremony will be the feature of a fundraising dinner for CPACS in the Great Hall.
Other Research Projects
  • Our big news in the research field is that our Research Officer, Lynda-ann Blanchard, in conjunction with the Koori Centre, has been awarded a grant by the Crime Prevention Division of the NSW Attorney General's Department. The funding is for an Aboriginal Night Patrol Support and Evaluation Project. Lynda will begin work on the project next month and it will be administered through the Centre.
  • But that's not all... Jo Morgan has been short-listed for a grant from the Crime Prevention Division. If successful (and we hope to tell you that in our next issue), the project will examine the Conferencing Model in schools. Jo will work on the project at the Centre (from where it will be administered) two days a week.
New Graduate Programme in 'Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution'

As noted above, the teaching unit, 'Peacemaking through the Media' to be developed in conjunction with the CRN, will become one of the units offered in the new 'three-tiered' graduate programme developed by our Director, Professor Stuart Rees with our Director of Teaching, Leanne Piggott. The programme consists of a Graduate Certificate, Diploma and Master of Arts in 'Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution'. While the programme awaits Faculty of Arts approval (it will be provided through the Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Sociology), the core unit of the programme will be offered through SWSPS in the second semester of this year as a part of the already established Master of Arts and Master of Social Work offered in the Department. The unit, entitled, 'Peace and Conflict: Understanding the Issues', will be taught by Stuart, Leanne, George Morgan, and Mary Lane. It is planned that the programme will be developed in a Distance Education mode in order to make it available nationally and internationally. Another unit to be taught as a part of the new programme is also well under way, having been developed by George Morgan, a member of the Centre. It is anticipated that this unit, entitled 'Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King and Aung San Suu Kyi - Non-Violence and Social Change: Legacies of the Twentieth Century', will be offered through Continuing Education later in the year as a four week course, to be taught jointly by George and Stuart. For more information on the Graduate Programme in 'Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution', please contact Leanne on 9351 3971.
Other Teaching Projects

Following successful negotiations with a number of universities in Japan, the Centre will be conducting its first 'P.E.A.C.E. Summer School' for Japanese students in August this year. (P.E.A.C.E. stands for Peace Education and Cultural Exchange). It is anticipated that about 20 students will participate in the programme which will go over 10 days. The aim is to provide students who are studying English as a second language to engage in the ideas of 'peace with justice' and the values inherent within cultural exchange.
International Conferences

Most exciting has been the sponsorship by the Toda Institute for Global Peace and Policy Research (Hawaii) for a conference to be hosted by CPACS in November. The conference, entitled Globalization, Employment and Quality of Life will form part of an international collaboration research project on Human Security and Global Governance (HUGG) which has been initiated by the Toda Institute. The outcome of the 3 day conference - which will consist of 'structured conversation' between up to 20 delegates - will be the production of a book to be edited by Professor Don Lamberton and published in the HUGG book series. The conference coordinator is Antonia Stephenson.
Student Placements

CPACS welcomes the 3 placement students from the Department of Social Work, Social Policy and Sociology. In conjunction with the Human Rights Commission, Carole, Sophie and Don are working on the human rights of new migrants.