PASLI and Peace Advocacy: Let's POP It!

 

DOST - PLAI Webinar: Pursuing Persephone: School Library Advocacies That Keep Me Alive

 DOST – PLAI Webinar 2021

November 8, 2021 / 2.30-3.00 PM / Plenary Session 1

Resource Speaker: Zarah C. Gagatiga

Zarah Gagatiga is a school librarian, author of children’s books, storyteller, and literacy coach. She is the PRO of the Philippine Association of School Librarians (PASLI). She is recognized by peers in the school library profession for her contributions to the growth of children’s literature in the country.

Zarah is currently developing modules and toolkits on the conduct of online book clubs, bibliotherapy sessions, and webinars and talks on the restorative values of stories through storytelling for children and young people.

 

TOPIC

Pursuing Persephone: School Library Advocacies That Keep Me Alive

ABSTRACT

The essay discusses children’s literature, bibliotherapy and peace education as advocacies that the writer has been pursuing for more than a decade. Contextualized in the school library experience, examples and stories of activities and programs on the above advocacies are pieced together. Collaboration and community involvement are given emphasis as key factors that drive the success of advocacy campaigns.

Keywords: advocacy, children’s literature, bibliotherapy, peace education, school library, collaboration, community development

 

CONTACT INFORMATION

Zarah Gagatiga

09209672882

http://lovealibrarian.blogspot.com

@thecoffeegoddess  (Twitter) / @authorZarahG815 (FB)  / @zarah815 (IG)

zarah.gagatiga@gmail.com

Re-stories: On Our Path to Peace

 

A Virtual Visit to the Hiroshima Peace Park

My friend, Ched Magaspar who teaches in Japan is a volunteer for the Hiroshima Peace Volunteers. For more than a year, their volunteer organization has conducted projects promoting peace in Japan. They have published books and stories online and have reached out to partner organizations abroad. Their  recent project involved the distribution of a story books about survivors of the Hiroshima bombing to schools in the Philippines.

Last weekend, Ched invited me as observer in a virtual walk through of Hiroshima Peace Park. The volunteers told stories of their volunteer work, the rituals in Hiroshima that they conduct to commemorate the dead and the victims of war and oral stories they gathered from those who have passed on. There was no hate. Only love. It was a restorative experience.

The event was in coordination with REAL Innovative Connections who organized a group of 5th grade classes in Hawaii and New Jersey. Teachers were touched and the families of the grade school students were thankful to hear these stories from an era that seemed too far off now. Yet, the issues of violence, racism, genocide and authoritarianism are so real to this day. How these issues destroy families, societies and thousands of lives. 

We need to hear these stories. We need to heal from the wounds of the past. The Hiroshima Peace Park Volunteers' stories need to be heard.

We are doing something about this.