COLLABORATION OF VETERANS WITH YOUNG GENERATION ON THE WAY TO PEACE THINKING
(1998-2019)

Draft Presentation of Activities of Russian Veterans to World Veterans Congress –
WVF 29th General Assembly – 16–18 February 2019 – Paris, France

Prepared by Valery Guerguel, Ph.D., director of Museum of Peacekeeping Operations,
UN peacekeeping veteran (UNTSO, 1973-76)

Part 1. GREAT PEACEMAKERS OF THE PAST AND GLOBAL PEACE THINKING

Despite the fact that human history is “rich” in wars and bloody clashes, there have always been people who not only realized the importance and value of peace, but also actively embodied their ideas, committed bold actions, made wise decisions that helped prevent conflict. Such people are called peacemakers. Thanks to them, history and humanity have acquired many strategies for resolving political and social conflicts, whose experience is unique.

History has preserved for us the names of the great peacemakers of the past, people who found solutions in difficult situations and could solve difficult problems by peaceful means. These were Archon Solon in the VI century BC (Athens), King Ashoka in the III century BC (India), Alexander Yaroslavovich Nevsky in the XIII century (Russia), Mohandos Karamchand Gandhi in the XIX-XX centuries (India) and many others.

Wars are different: big and small, fair and invasive, liberation and colonial, cold and hot. There are also absurd. The first world war became such a bloody and cruel massacre that claimed millions of lives and destroyed great countries: the Russian empire, the Ottoman empire, Austria-Hungary and Germany. In Europe alone, about 9 million 190 thousand people died. The result of the war was the wave of revolutions and civil wars, which also resulted in numerous victims.

In 1918, American President Woodrow Wilson proposed his famous "14 points", which, in his opinion, were to determine the future direction of world politics.

The first five points included open diplomacy (refusal to conclude secret alliances and blocs), freedom of navigation, equality in international trade, arms reduction, harmonization of colonial policies. The following eight points concerned the revision of borders based on the self-determination of peoples. The fourteenth paragraph provided for the creation of a “General Association of Peoples”, which would give mutual guarantees of political independence and territorial integrity to large and small states.

These principles formed the basis of the first international organization of the League of Nations, whose task was to monitor the observance of peace and prevent world conflicts. The League of Nations proclaimed open diplomacy, the registration of treaties, the gradual reduction of armaments, and announced its desire to prevent war through collective action. For his peacemaking, Woodrow Wilson was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

1.1. Mile Stones of Global Peace Thinking

Years	Events
1920	Charter (Statut) of the League of Nations
1929	Publication of Pact of Roerich
1945	Charter of the United Nations
1948	Universal Declaration of Human Rights
1954	Hague Convention
1974	Recommendation on Education in the Spirit of International Understanding, Cooperation, Peace, Respect of Human Rights and Basic Freedoms adopted by UNESCO November 19, 1974
1989	Yamoussoukro Conference (Culture of Peace)
1992	Environmental Summit in Rio
1998	Declaration on Culture of Peace
2000	International Year of Culture of Peace and Manifesto 2000
2001-2010	International Decade of Culture of Peace and Non-Violence

Part 2. PROPAGATION OF GLOBAL PEACE THINKING IN RUSSIA

2.1. Propagation of Peace Thinking by Non-Governmental Organizations

2.2. Development of Peace Thinking by Peacekeeping Veterans

Part 3. ACTIVITIES OF PEACEKEEPING VETERANS IN PEACE EDUCATION

3.1. List of Soviet and Russian NGOs of UN Peacekeeping Veterans 1990-2019

Name of NGO	Time of Operation	Founders/coordinators	Notes
Peacekeeper's section of the UN Association of the Soviet Union	1990-1992	Vladimir Zakharov Alexander Ryzhov Grigory Kovrizhenko	15-20 members
Interregional public organization "UN Peacekeepers Club"	1991-1993	Guerman Pimenov Valery Guerguel	Up to 100 members
Solnechnogorsk section of UN Peacekeepers Club	1993-2006	Valery Guerguel	30 members
Museum of Peacekeeping Operations	1993-2019	Valery Guerguel, Vladimir Zakharov, Anatoly Isaenko, Eugene Komlyakov	Council of veterans of the museum:Valery Guerguel, Vladimir Zakharov, Anatoly Isaenko, Eugene Komlyakov, Ilya Zarouba
Interregional public organization "Russian Association of Veterans in UN Peacekeeping Missions"	29 July, 1998-2019	Nikolai Belik (President 1998-2000), Mikhail Ermolaev (Vice-President (1998-2000)	Sergei Lavrov as President and Victor Tarusin as Vice President since 2000 (Anatoliy Solovyev as Vice President since 2011)
Moscow regional public organization "Union of Peacemakers"	2007-2009	Valery Guerguel	30 members
Council of Peacekeeping Veterans of the Ministry of Interior of Russia	2002-2010	Vladimir Rusakov	19 members in 2002
Movement of Young Peacemakers and Schools of Peace	1998-2019	Valery Guerguel, Vladimir Zakharov, Anatoly Isaenko, Eugene Komlyakov, Samir Al Jijakli, Alexander Gorelik, Alexey Nikolenko, Yuri Shishaev, Valdimir Pavisky, Marina Shirshova, Ilya Zarouba; Secondary schools' principals and coordinators of 120 Schools of Peace	Over 1 500 members (children - 1300, adults - 200); Over120 Schools of Peace (both Secondary schools and children NGOs in 8 regions of Russia); Museum of Peacekeeping Operations and other NGOs

 

3.2. Projects of Peacekeeping Veterans in Peace Education

Name of NGO	Projects and Activities	Coordinators	Notes
Solnechnogorsk section of UN Peacekeepers Club	1. Project "Museum of Peacekeeping Operations" (1993-2019)	Valery Guerguel, Vladimir Zakharov, Anatoly Isaenko, Eugene Komlyakov	Museum was organized at the proposal of participants of the conference "UN Peacekeeping Operations: Problems and Experience"
Russian Association of Veterans in UN Peacekeeping Missions	1. Draft National Peacemaking Concept (2000)	Sergei Lavrov, Victor Tarusin
	2. Celebration (parades) of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (2009-2018)	Sergei Lavrov, Anatoli Soloviev
Museum of Peacekeeping Operations	1. International Forum "Ecological Security and Peacekeeping in Euro-Asian Space" (Moscow, May 1995). Co-organizers: Russian Ministry of Ecology, Federation of Peace and Accord and others	Valery Guerguel, Vladimir Zakharov, Anatoly Isaenko, Eugene Komlyakov, Tatyana Romanova	Over 200 participants representing 120 ecological NGOs which adopted Public Environmental Code
	2. The memorial book of Soviet and Russian UN peacekeepers: a) "In the Service of Peace. 1973-1992" (May 1993); b) "In the Service of Peace. 1973-2000" (June 2000); c) The book "In the Service of Peace. 1973-2003" (2004) d) The book "In the Service of Peace. 1973-2008" (2009) e ) The book "In the Service of Peace. 1973-2013" (2014) f ) Electronic version of the book "In the Service of Peace. 1973-2019" (2008-2019)	Valery Guerguel, Guerman Pimenov, Yuri Bogomolov, Alexander Borisov Ruslan Gubaidullin	a) List of 500 names of Soviet and Russian UNMOs and troops. b) List of 800 names of Soviet and Russian UNMOs and CivPols b) List of over 2 000 names of Soviet and Russian UNMOs and CivPols incl. list of Russian peacekeepers perished 1973-2003
	3. Exhibitions: a) "On the Service of Peace and Humanism" at Federation of Peace and Accord, Moscow, 18-20 May 1995. b) UN Peacekeeping: In the Service of Peace" Moscow, Oct 18-28, 1995 c) "UN Peacekeeping: 1948-1996" at Moscow House of Europe Oct. 24, 1996 d) "UN Peacekeeping Operations: Yesterday and Today" at Moscow Mayer Office, Dec. 19-20, 1998 e) "Museum of Peacekeeping Operations" at "Vystrel" Military Academy, Solnechnogorsk, 1996-2010 f) "Russian UN Museum to the 60-th anniversary of the UN", at Solnechnogorsk Historical Museum, Aug 2004-Feb.2005 g) Exhibition of the section of Museum of Peacekeeping Operations in the Northern Caucasus (2018)	Valery Guerguel, Samir Al Jijakly, Aleksei Nikolenko, Ilya Zarouba, Ludmila Imennova         Valery Guerguel, Vasiliy Roenko
	4. Website "Museum of Peacekeeping Operations"(1999-2019)	Valery Guerguel
	5. "Voice of Peacemakers" bulletin (2001-2019)	Council of Veterans of Museum of PKO
	6. Website "Peace Education Net of Schools of Peace"( 2002-2019) 7. Website "Library of Peace" project 8. "Monuments to Peacekeepers around the World" project (2016) 9. Interdisciplinary program "Network of Schools of Peace" (2002-2015) 10. Interdisciplinary program "Movement of Young Peacemakers and Schools of Peace" (since 2016) 11.Publication of the book "Young Peacemakers: experience of education of schoolchildren in the spirit of culture of peace and peacemaking" (2005)	Valery Guerguel
Council of Peacekeeping Veterans of the Ministry of Interior of Russia	1. Conference on Peacekeeping devoted to the 10-th anniversary of Russian Civpol participation in UN Peacekeeping (April 2002) 2. The memorial book "In the Service of Peace. Civpols"	Vladimir Rusakov, Denis Tikhomirov, Yuri Bogomolov, Alexander Borisov and others	It was organized in collaboration with the Ministry of Interior of Russia (over 100 participants incl. guests from the Ukraine)
Movement of Young Peacemakers and Schools of Peace	1. Educational and sports game "Model of UN Peacekeeping" (1998-2002) 2. Parades at the International Peace-Day in Moscow (1999-2010) 3. Celebration (parades) of the International Day of UN Peacekeepers (2002-2010) 4. Decade of Volunteer Deeds, Dec.1-10 (1999-2019) 5. Spring Peacemaking Action, Apr.15-May.15 (2000-2018) 6. Festival of Russian Sports, March (2001-2008) 7. Summer and winter camps "Young Peacemaker" (2004-2019). 8. Contest "Miss Peacemaker of the Year" (2018) 9. International poster contest “Anniversary of UN Peacekeepers” (2018-1019) 10. Cовет юных миротворцев/Council of Young Peacemakers (2018-2019)	Valery Guerguel, Alexander Gorelik, Vladimir Zakharov, Anatoly Isaenko, Eugene Komlyakov, Alexey Nikolenko, Ilya Zarouba, Marina Shirshova, Yulia Vlasova, Zarafshan Isaev, Svetlana Volkova, Victor Belyaev, Violetta Potylitsyna, Tatiana Luchinskaya, Lidia Nepochatykh, Vasiliy Roenko; principals and coordinators of over 120 Secondary Schools of Peace	1. Includes over 1 500 members (children - 1300, adults - 200); 2. Consists of over 120 Schools of Peace (both Secondary schools and children NGOs in 8 regions of Russia); Museum of Peacekeeping Operations, Scientific and Practical Center "Peacemaker" and other NGOs

Part 4. CHARACTERISTICS OF RUSSIAN CHILDREN'S NGO

4.1. What is children's NGO? Conditions for its Operation

4.1.1. Children's NGO is a group of children (scholars) and adults united on the basis of self government to realize its interests in professional orientation, physical and intellectual growing in different forms of activities. Ratio of children to adults is not less then 4:1.

4.1.2. What is necessary to have to provide operation and development of children's public organization?
Children's NGO functioning requires:

a) Positive (consolidating) ideas or/and a hero.
b) Money and accommodations.
c) Adult coordinators (leaders).
d) Educational technologies.
e) Plans and programs (including games and attracting events in spheres of sports, arts and social life).
f) Support or/and supervision of older generation (veterans and parents).
g) Support of official bodies (local authorities, regional or federal governments, international community)
e) Attracting uniforms, symbols, insignia, traditions and songs.

Note. Children's NGO is to be out of politics.

4.2. Principal Characteristics of Largest Children's NGOs

Аfter the collapse of the Soviet Union, the All-Union Pioneer Organization, which had several million members, ceased to exist. In its place there were formed from 9 to 11 thousand of children's NGOs in Russia, most of which had no fixed membership by 2012. The largest of them were the Interregional Movement of Young Peacemakers and Schools of Peace, Moscow City Pioneer Organization and Associations of Scouts.

Part 5. CONCLUSIONS

5.1. Reserves for Further Development of Veteran Collaboration with Young Generation

5.1.1. Better coordination and use of potentials of the United Nations, World Veterans Federation and World UN Association.
5.1.2. Cooperation with International Scout Movement, International Movement of Pioneers and other children's NGOs.

5.2. Proposal of Russian Delegation to World Veterans Congress

5.2.1. To propose the Executive Board of WVF to establish (in accordance with Article 17, p.8 of WVF Constitution) the Special Committee on Peace Education for the study of experience of peace education in UN member states.  

The aims of the Special Committee on Peace Education may be the following:
a) to propagate ideas of peace education among veteran and youth organizations.
b) to further  friendly  relations  among  national and international  organizations of veterans and organizations of youth.
c) to study experience of collaboration of veterans with youth in the following peaceful projects:
“Museum of Peace” of the secondary school # 97 in Minsk (Republic of Belarus)
“Peaceful Schools International” (Canada)
“International Young Peacemaker Program" (France)
“Travel for Peace” of Erik Doken (Norway)
“Young Peacemakers Team" of gymnasium № 14 in Krakov (Poland)
“Movement of Young Peacemakers and Schools of Peace” (Russia)
“Life Link” (Sweden)
“Kharkiv Young Peacemakers’ Clubs” and “School of Peace” (Ukraine)
"The Culture of Peace News Network" (USA)
“Young peacemakers clubs” (USA).
d) to encourage  cooperation and  partnership between national and international organizations and the exchange of expertise and experience in the field of peace education.

5.2.2. To propose to the Executive Board of WVF to invite founders or leaders of the mentioned above peaceful projects to enter the Special Committee on Peace Education.  

Contacts and information:

Russia, 141506, Solnechnogorsk, Baranova Street, 46–24.
Valery V. Guerguel, director of the Museum of Peacekeeping Operations, UN peacekeeping veteran (UNTSO 1973–1976, w/c 6502).
Phone: +7 916 071 06 30
E-mail: director@un-museum.ru
http://www.un-museum.ru
http://peace-edu.un-museum.ru
http://facebook.com/valeryguerguel
https://www.facebook.com/groups/youngpeacemakers/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/MPOexpositions/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/649954001835699/
https://www.facebook.com/groups/1573402896137064/

Part 6. ILLUSTRATIONS

Note: The part 6 "ILLUSTRATIONS" is attached in "doc" format to this letter.

It may be found also in "htm" format on the website of the Museum of Peacekeeping Operations at http://un-museum.ru/vestnik/736ER.htm#6