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Victory Over Violence in Aotearoa
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Victory Over Violence (VOV) is a youth-driven initiative to
help young people identify and counteract the root causes of
violence in their lives and in their communities. Its aim is
to help inspire positive change in the culture of schools
and communities.
On October 26, 2005, Reporoa College became the first school
in New Zealand to take part in the program. Students
participated in workshops coordinated by a group of
voluntary facilitators that were aimed at building respect,
for themselves and others.
VOV is based on a personal pledge by participants to value
their own life, to respect all life, and to inspire hope in
others. Through simple exercises, the students were
encouraged to think about new ways of communicating and
responding to one another and to daily life situations of
violence. They took part in discussions and listened to
powerful experiences.
The VOV format was first established by the youth of SGI-USA
in response to the Columbine High School shootings in
Littleton, Colorado, in 1999. Although violence in schools
in New Zealand is less extreme, there are various other
forms of "passive violence," manifest in high rates of
depression and suicide.
Through the VOV exercises, the students become more aware of
passive violence, how it fuels physical violence, and ways
they can take action to change this. Participants in VOV
workshops have made comments such as: "I thought violence
was just fighting and bullying; after VOV I know that people
have a reason for why they do it," and "It has changed the
way I deal with problems."
One 19-year-old young man wrote about how his participation
in the program inspired him to contact the man who murdered
his father during a petty robbery and who is now serving a
prison sentence. "Since my involvement in VOV, I have
learned many things about the cycles of violence, that anger
is all-consuming. It is the most active of the negative
energies. In particular, during the workshop, I was
challenged by the students to understand the difficulties of
forgiving people. They inspired me to write to the young man
in prison. Violence is cyclic; we choose to break the cycle.
You have to be tough, it takes more effort to respect people
and forgive people, to find empathy for them, than it does
to remain angry!"
SGI-NZ will continue to work with Reporoa College and aims
to have VOV running in all 12 high schools in the Reporoa
area by 2010. From that solid base VOV will be introduced in
high schools across New Zealand.
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