PAZ

A Catholic organization whose objective is the promotion of peace by strengthening good relations among Muslims and Christians, and all other peoples.

BIRTH

The organization is an offshoot of the ZAMBASULI Consultation on Peace and Justice held in 1994. Convinced of the needs of the Church to be directly involved in the region, the representatives of the Archdiocese of Zamboanga City forged PAZ, a way of keeping the small flame of peace flickering. It is open to work in solidarity with Muslims and other non-Catholic groups in the pursuit of peace in Zamboanga and the region.

VISION

  • It envisions a society in peace and harmony where
  • Wholeness and integrity are developed;
  • Everyone possesses dignity as children of the same Almighty God;
  • Power rests in the hands of the people.

COMMITMENT

  • Forge a brand of unity where cultural diversity is respected and given greater latitude
  • Defend the right and dignity of the children, the youth, the aged, differently abled persons, women, and other marginalized sectors of society
  • Support efforts to put an end to political injustices.
Works

Advocacy

  • Organizing consultation conferences and/or assemblies that focus on enhancing civil society and sectoral involvement in the peace-building efforts in Mindanao.
  • Providing a weekly publication “PEACEWorks” as an alternative newspaper in the community where mostly wholesome stories and reports are being published; also maintaining one hour radio program “PEACE FORUM” where guests are invited to interact on current issues that are peace related. Organizing the annual Week of Peace Celebration.

Peace Education

Conducting training seminar-workshops and sustainable activities that promote the culture of peace and peace-building skills for analyzing and dealing with conflict situations.

Research & Publication

Conducting mini- researches concerning Muslim-Christian relations in the region. Reproducing various reading materials expressing peace aspirations for the use of the mini-resource center.

What we hope to achieve
  • To expand PAZ’s peace advocacy capability in terms of operational resources or means (i.e., newsletter as the medium) as well as in inputs or contents (articles, etc.). By extension, it shall also serve the allied advocacy requirements of other government agencies (to possibly include the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process) and non-government organizations, too. In a sense it shall act as a “common service facility” for peace action groups.
  • To promote peace education as a task of the community and a function in peace advocacy and therefore act as its content provider.
  • To strengthen networking between and among peace-oriented groups and individuals.