TEDxJakarta - Irfan Amalee - Incorporating Children In The Peace Solution

Assalamualaikum Wr. Wb. Good afternoon friends. I want to tell a story about my childhood. I was born as the 5th child of 6, all boys. So it was an all-male house, with the exception of my mom. Consequently, i never knew how to treat girls. Or how to act around people with different gender. Also, i think my childhood years are the most wonderful times. Like what Irwan Ahmett mentioned earlier. There were no differences. We never ask our friends where they come from. I have a friend from FLores, His name was Tote. And then I had a chinese friend, His name was ***. Well, his name was Stefanus, but we called him, ***. Until one day, 5 years later Her grandmother told us: "Don't call him ***, call him Stefanus!" I think she had just figured out what "***" meant. And then I had a friend named Anto, He was Javanese. And I never really cared of whether he was javanese or not. I'll tell you the story later And then i have a named Ucok, He was bataknese. And lastly, I had a chicken. His name was Tongki. But he's not really a part of this story. And then, everyday, like what other children have experienced Im sure its doesnt just happen where I live, But also with every child in Indonesia, Everyday, we are given a stamp! "Be careful when you play with ***, He has a different religion" "We will go to heaven, but he wont!" And then from there, *** dissapears from my circle of friends. After that... (Audience Laugh) "Be careful, don't play with Javanese people, because, they are... this, and that." It turns out, many years later, All of my brothers married a Javanese. And then... "Be careful of him.. be careful of her.. A lot of warnings. Everyday, we are given 1 baloon. A baloon of prejudice. And that baloon gets bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Until one day, we have no friends left. And a childhood that was suppose to be blissful, has become plenty of barriers. Barriers are built.. Barriers are built.. Barriers are built.. When i went to elementary school, My religion teacher said this to the class, There were 40 students there, with 1 chrstian student, And he used to always say things like: "The christian religion is ...(insert negative remark) "We are lucky to be Muslims!" Now, if i think about that day, I imagine how terrible he must have felt! .. different from us. At those moments, I think, Islam, As a religion respected by its followers is destroyed because of the way it is being misrepresented. That makes me sad. We can see facts from Indonesia about violence that happens towards women in households. .. what is called "Domestic Violence". Almost 22,000 cases. And every year, it increases. And violence, breeds violence. Let's see violence in schools. If the mother experiences violence, then the child either becomes the perpetrator or victim of violence. And the amount is almost 1 million cases. What does this mean? Violence breeds violence. As we can see from this video. "Children see. Children do" And then, we have other problems. At home we have problems It can also happen in schools. And bigger problems, we have a serious terrorism problem now. What I think is important is, what is taught at homes, and what is taught in schools. And then I thought, "What can I do?" I believe in Ghandi's words: "If you want to make peace in the world, you have to start with the children" So i seriously thought about this with a friend of mine. His name is Eric Lincoln. I wrote 1 book, and i think it can change our perspectives. .. about peace, violence, and prejudice. If we want to make a peaceful relationship. Then we must start it... with a "proper wiew of our self" We will never make the world peace, If we have the wrong perspective of ourselves. Thats why, the first thing that is taught, is "self acceptance" The second thing, is to change our perceptions, .. about other people. We have to eliminate prejudice. After we deal with what is in our minds, We will find lots of challenges. The first.. on ethnic diversity. and then, on religious diversity. Gender diversity. boys and girls. And then, the rich, the poor, and other groups. After we master these 7 points, Conflict still happens. Thats why we need to master the next skillset, Which is, to celebrate diversity. When there are difference, it makes things fun. When there is someone different, we shouldn't go "Oh no, they're different!" And then, understanding conflict. The next one is to reject violence. Next is admitting our mistakes. And the last one is, forgiveness. If we master these 12 things, and we teach it to our children, They will be able to have a more peaceful reality. So with this kind of paradigm, I created 12 books. Comics. The first one is: "I am proud to be myself" The second one: "No suspicion, No prejudice" The third one is: "different culture, still friends" The fourth one is: "Different faiths, no need to be enemies" And then this is is about "Boys and girls" This one is about how to deal with people from different economic status. And then about groups. And then about celebrating diversity. And then, when there is conflict, We know how to handle it. When there is conflict we dont.. This, I have to change. Not "Don't use your brawns" Because there's a bodybuilder here, Ade Rai says: "That's wrong!" It suppose to be "Although you have brawns (otot), don't stuborn (ngotot)" He said.. So OK, I'll change it later. (Audience applause) And then, "Don't be afraid to admit that you're wrong" And the last one: "Peace will happen, when the people with the power, have the courage to forgive" And all of this is communicated in very simple ways. With games, and comics. .. These 12 books. And.. These are children playing with them in Aceh, This one in Bandung, there are a few others in Gorontalo. And so we can see.. yes, that was on of our "Peace Generation" And after they learn about "Peace Generation". Elementary students can finish those 12 basic games in, 1 semester, or in 1 year. And after they learn it, thay internalize it with the games. So not like studying "Civics" which is boring. And then they do the peace promise. And today, I will ask all of you to do that peace promise. So let's stand up. And gesture and read what is on the screen. Let's pretend we are all peace generation. OK, Ready? Maybe we can change "Allah" to "God". Because not all of us are Muslims here" OK. One, two, three. IN THE NAME OF GOD, I PROMISE. TO ACCEPT MYSELF WITH GRATITUDE. TO HAVE POSITIVE PRECONCEPTIONS OF OTHERS. TO VIEW AND ACT FAIRLY TO EVERYONE. WITHOUT LOOKING AT THEIR RACE, ETHNICITY, RELIGION, OR ECONOMIC STATUS. TO ACCEPT UNITY IN DIVERSITY. TO REJECT VIOLENCE IN SOLVING PROBLEMS. TO ADMIT OUR MISTAKES AND EASILY FORGIVE OTHERS. TO CREATE PEACE STARTING FROM WITHIN OURSELVES, SPREAD PEACE TO .. FAMILY, FRIENDS, AND THE WORLD. GREETINGS OF PEACE!! (Audience Applause) That is what have been done by 23,000 children from Aceh to Gorontalo. I don't teach them. I teach some teachers. .. and facilitators from various regions. It is they that teaches to these children and communities. And i realized that this kind of education, Must not only be taugh in schools, but also maintained, .. When they graduate from school. So thats why one of the tools i use is fashion. We created some merchandizes And has generated quite the revenue. And then we also gather schools with different backgrounds. .. together in an event called "breaking down the wall". This is an international school in Bandung. They visit a pesantren (Islamic boarding school). And a couple of months ago, we invited a band from America. From a church, and we meet them up with a band from that pesantren. We made a concert together in a mall called "Rock the Peace" And we suceeded to attract lots of people and highlight more attention .. significant attention to this. And next week, 50 students from 5 countries will walk from Bandung to .. Pangandaran. To visit schools and apply this peace education. And to invite other schools to apply this. And this is one of the pesantren's music group. Rock n' roll. Which movie i am currently making. And he performed a song, .. from book 7, which is: "IF YOU'RE A GENTLEMAN, NO NEED FOR GANGS!" In 2006, we started with Aceh. And then West Java. West Java, where I live. Implementing the second, Not the first. And the next year, Some other regions. And next year, God willing in Eastern Indonesia. I have applied this, Not only in Muslin communities, But also Christian communities. The books are being translated to a Christian version. So that those who learn together can meet. To implement what they have learned. This book has also been translated to other languages. .. TO be applied in other countries. And my dream is To create 100.000 young peacemaker. I, cannot make something big, and change something that is already well established. But I, believe in one thing. That we can make the change, and I believe in the little child in this clip. Thank you. Wassalamualaikum Wr. Wb.