Tuesday, September 16, 2008

Personal Reflection on 2008 Summer Regional School

1-Introduction
The Summer Regional School is a course of Master of Arts in Inter-Asia NGO (MAINS), which is a collaboration program between Inter-Asia Graduate School of NGO Studies (IGSONS), SungKongHoe University, and Aisan Regional Exchange for New Alternatives (ARENA). In 2007, the theme of the first Summer Regional School was “Democracy and Democratization in Aisa”. In this year summer regional school had raised themes on “Rural Regeneration in Asia” held from August 23-28, 2008 at Kapyeong-gun, Kyonggi-do (Future in Us) and Green-Eco Touring Village, Mul-An Gol in Bukyiri, Chuncheon City, Kangwon-do.

Organizers

SungKongHoe University is located in Seoul, South Korea, was founded in 1914, for the purpose of providing education. During the Korean War, Japanese was occupation in South Korea; University was closed and moved several times.
Nowadays the university is supporting second generation of MAINS program and on going 7 departments and 4 facilities.

(Asian Regional Exchange for New Alternative)ARENA is a regional network of concerned Aisan scholars-academics, intellectuals, activists, researchers, writers, and artists founded in 1980s. ARENA is was based at SungKongHoe University.

The May 18 Memorial Foundation is a non-profit organization working on Human Rights, Peace and Democracy, was found in August 30, 1994 by the surviving victims of the 1980 Gwangju Democratic Uprising, the victims families and the citizens of Gwangju. The foundation is not only working in South Korea but with solidarity in several countries like USA, Germany and Asian countries at aims to keep the memory May 18 Democratic Uprising and contribute the struggle and solidarity of Gwangju citizens to other international issues, especially in Asia. Since its establishment, the foundation had conducted programs such as Gwangju Price for Human Rights, Gwangju International Peace Forum, Gwangju Asian Human Rights Folk School, International Exchange Programs, Grant Project and Provide five scholarship for human rights activit have a chance to study in MAINS at SungkongHoe University.

Facilitators

Mr. Cho Sei-Hoon: he has been a member of Wonju Producers and Consumers Cooperative since 1997. He was elected as executive director of Council for Consumers Cooperative Movement in Wongju in 2007. Currently, he is also working as executive director of the Center for Promotion of Eco-friendly Meal Service.

Mrs. Espallardo, L.Lea: director of the Women’s Theatre Programme of the Philippines Education Theatre Association (PETA) before she moved to Bangkok as an Artist-teacher and program director of the PETA Mekong Partnership Project.

Ms. Hikita Mitsuko, she used to work in the Pacific Asia Resource Centre (PARC) in Japan as full time staff during the 1980s. two year ago she founded “Shirataka-Nora-no-kai” a farmers’ group that produces vegetables, rice, beans and processing to make various products such as pickles, soups and cakes. She is also Co-chairperson of Alternative People’s Linkage in Asia (APLA).

Mr. Mazhar, Farhad: he is managing director of the Dhaka-based research organization, UBING (Policy Research for Development Alternatives) and an organizer of Nayakrishi Andolon.
Ms. Sit Tsui Margaret: she is lecturer of the Department of Sociology of East China Normal University, Shanghai, China.
Takahashi Kiyotaka: Associate Professor, Faculty of Human and Social Studies, Department of International Social Studies, Keisen University, Teaching peace studies, civil society movements, and NGO/NPO studies.
Supa Yaimuang: Work with small farmers and the rural communities on the concept of sustainable development. Strengthens farmers’ organization to solve their own problems and develop their own communities.
Won Hyeok-Jong: He is a farmer. Three years ago, He visited Cuba to learn organic farming. Currently, he is director of Wonju Producers and Consumers Cooperative.
Yoon Geum-Soon: She is one of the founders of the Korea Women Farmers Association(KWKA). She has been working as an International Coordinating Committee for Via Campesina of Southeast-East Asia, a permanent representative of Women Corea Solidarity, and a managing committee member of Corea Institute for New Society.
Yoshizawa Mamiko: in 2000, she had been taking charge of quality supervision of Balangon Bananas products from the Philippines. Later, she moved to Japan Committee for Negros Campaign (JCNC) in 2007, a parent NGO of ATJ.JCNC closed its history within the past two decades, and Alternative People’s Linkage in Asia (APLA) was launched in May of 2008. At present, she is working as Executive Director of APLA.

Participants

In this program, was joining by 15 students from SungKongHoe University, Master of Arts in Inter-Asia NGO Studies (MAINS). Prof. Lee Young-Chae, Graduate School of Human and Social Studies Division of International Social Studies, and Ms. Kawaii from Keisen University, Japan. And 10 participants from the May 18 Memorial Foundation.

Focus and Objectives

“2008 Summer Regional School: Rural Regeneration in Asia” focused on four specific themes relevant to the subject:
- Land: access to land and food security/sovereignty
- Sciences: organic farming and resources planning
- Gender: women’s contribution and leadership
- Culture: cooperatives and popular participation

At the end of this course students will be able to:
- Reflect on human relations to the land/nature
- Bring “Rural Regeneration” back into the global social movement
- Develop greater insights on people’s participation
- Examine the role of NGOs, the rural communities, and the civil society in mobilizing the people to act for social change.


2- Interested point on guest sparkers and program activity.

After Picnic and Solidarity night of 2008 Gwangju Asian Human Right Folk School (GAHRFS), which was finished on August 22, 2008, I, Ria, Pete, Lynn, Mr. Chanho Kim and Senior Level participants in GAHRFS went to the venue of 2008 Summer Regional School at “Future In Us” situates in Kapyeong-gun, Kyonggi-do, on August 23, 2008.

In the morning on August 24, 2008, we had two sessions, but before the sessions we had 30mins of short cultural activity for the day start of the by Lea and Margaret, we had play and several games to cheer up the feeling of participants.
First Session that was presented: “Peasants Movement and the Role of Women in Korea and Asia” by Mrs Yoon Guem-Soon, former president, Korea Women Peasants Association (KWPA), and a member of ICC of LA VIA CAMPESINA), she had mention about suffering of women peasants from neo-liberal globalization. This brought about, the soaring prize of products, food crisis and climate change that affected to their life. She explained on women peasants in Korea average, agricultural household and population in 2007 compare with 2008. Especially, responsibility of women, they are not only working in the field and at home but they also participate and initiated women peasants’ movement to address women discrimination issues. Women peasants were the most victims of society.
Second Session is group discussions on how we can learn from the first session, after that group discussions presented their work. But for Group E my team, we decided not to show our reflection but raised question back to other group and facilitators such as;
1. What is the role of rural generation in Asia make different in women in team participation making decision and policy maker?
2. What kind of urban women movement support to women movement in Rural?
3. How can we sustain this kind of movement?
4. Why Women tend to leave the village looking for better life in urban?
5. Do the rural community changes the perspective?
In the afternoon of the same day, Mr Wong Hyoek Jeong, Director of Wonju Producers and Consumers Cooperative on “Wonju Producers and Consumers Cooperative: Introduce his History and present Activities. He had share his experience after visited Cuba three ago on organic farming chemical fertilizer. Anyway I can understand the way of his organization work, even though this task with farmer but the structure of Wonju Producers and Consumers Cooperative is fantastic. The most golden word I take it, He told us the main point of improving rural agriculture not only to cultivate the field but we have to think about “Marketing”, find a proper way to make direction meet between farmers and consumers.
In that day also, we had a program which made me really interested to a session call Group presentation on impression on women peasant, the participants had divide into five groups from A-E. They were so creative to change the simple presentation upgrade it more vivid action, like role play.

The last point I am really happy, that I can share a game in Group Dynamics, when I was in charge of my Group.

On August 25, 2008, I had learned from the MAINS students’ group presentation. They are so smart and active. The good point, I saw is the way they work together and live together, even though they have some conflict or different ideas. They could solve it with patience and acceptanee. Team work is so important and will be success if we give value, voice and hear all ideas from all members in team. A MAINS student said.

On August 26, 2008, lecture is still on going but I feel a bit far away from presentation because it complicated to understand, especially most question from participants, it seem like in the presentation had mention, and they raised imprecise question. Other point it made me to understand, how MAIN students learn from the session, to me I think SungKongHoe University is very seriously on to develop new perspectives than strategies.

My own reflection on summer school in theme of “Rural Regeneration”

My perspective on Rural Regeneration;
Rural generation is the issue to talk about in relation between cities and rural areas, how people change their attitude. Especially on the immigration from country side to city and from city to country side, it is going to impact to future development and facing problems of many people in the city. And also the way people behave with to each other, like valuing farmer role. To me emphasis should be on lecture to prevent immigration to city and promote people come back to enjoin their home town.

Many issues rural farmers on confronted with were discussed in the summer school, especially about Korean farmer most of them not being valued by society. Reality, most of Korean male farmers are having hard time to find partner in their life, so that they need help from company to find or arrange a lady from poor countries like Vietnam, Cambodia, Philippines, Indonesia or China. Our visit to Korean country side showed only old people and very rare seeing young men or women.

In this Summer School it makes me taught that government, urban and farmer should work on a solution and address their particular responsibilities:

Government
- Make policy that give value to farmer.
- Send and promote expertise to rural areas.
- Build infrastructure and social service that farmer easy to access.
- Market, price guarantee and positive economic to farmer product.
- Land policy.
- Development farmer human resource and provide technical.
- Capital, make sure that farmer can get enough money.
- Media and Morality educations to improve people understand and don’t look down to farmer and make urban people enjoin life as farmer. It means change old opinion on farmer.

Farmer

- Make community and exchange.
- Promote farm product.
- Find market by them self.
- Education and Exchange.
- Enjoin their life what they have.
- Make them self not far away from society.

Urban

- Keep morality
- Give value to farmer
- Sharing their life to love nature
- Exchange and motivation


3-My Observation on Summer School

I think ARENA, SungKongHoe University and The May 18 Memorial Foundation made a amazing decision to conduct it in a different venue. It is really stupendous area to make participant want to live as farmer and feel relax, that is so relevant to theme of “Rural Regeneration in Asia”.

Most of the students in MAINS are smart and friendly. They are from different countries but they can live together in happiness. It not the easy way to deal with it but ARENA and SungKongHoe had success in their facilitation. I used to work in Jonkoping International University for 3 months in Sweden, but I felt the relationship between European to other European in my university not strong like student in MAINS program, not thinking only in nationalism.

One interesting thing, which I appreciated about this program is the skillful facilitation and program arrangement of organizer. We got session from 10 AM to 10 PM but it seem like everyone not feel so tired. Because they prepared break time per each session in the right way, especially they had a good expertise in group dynamics and game, Ms. Lea to cheers up the feeling of the participants.

It difficult to say it as weakness point this Summer Regional School because every thing is so fabulous experience for me. Anyway I still see small one as to improve that issues in the question and answer time. Sometime I felts raised were already made in the presentation but questioner still raise it up and give so long explanation that makes it so complicated for me to understand. Other point if the organizer can give chance or motivation to quiet participant to say something, I think it will be helpful to understand and know from their opinion.

4-Suggestion and Recommendation

This year we had good speakers. So I hope next year ARENA and SungKongHoe University will invite better guest speakers, who have long experience and success in their work relevant to next year theme.

5-Conclution

ARENA and SungKongHoe had done really good work and give value to over Asia by support MAINS students to have chance to learn from each other, and also from South Korea, which was a good job to build more understanding and relationship between one country to other country in Asia, It also a work to build peace network. I hope I will have other chance to join with SungKongHoe University or ARENA.

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