ShareCommunity and University Peace Resource Person
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All MCC workers are expected to exhibit a commitment to: a personal Christian faith and discipleship; active church membership; and nonviolent peacemaking. MCC is an equal opportunity employer, committed to employment equity. MCC values diversity and invites all qualified candidates to apply. Community and University Peace Resource Person in Jogjakarta, Indonesia
Term:
3 years
Date Opened:
April 9, 2012
Date Required:
Available Now
Synopsis:
A seconded MCC worker will lecture in the university and facilitate community trainings as a member of Duta Wacana Christian University Peace Center (PSPP). PSPP's mission is to empower individuals and groups for peacebuilding within families, interfaith religious communities, the work place and society in general.
Qualifications:
Assignment Description:
There are several distinctives of the MCC program in Indonesia:
As an organization, MCC has been present in Indonesia since 1948. MCC's work in Indonesia aims to support the Indonesian churches' calling to be a community of salvation in the broadest sense. MCC connects closely with Mennonite World Conference member churches in Indonesia. These include the Evangelical Mennonite Church of Java (GITJ), the Muria Mennonite Church (GKMI) and the Christian Church of Indonesia (JKI). MCC also relates to the Evangelical Christian Church of Papua (GKI-TP). MCC Indonesia's vision is that the global church would become known as people who effectively work for peace in collaboration with people of other faiths through exchange programs, education, interfaith peace work, and disaster responses. Building the capacity of the church as an agent of transformation is an opportunity to participate in God's agenda for Indonesia. MCC Indonesia, as guests in Indonesia, will function as “salt”, working quietly in the background to support the Indonesian churches' “light.” MCC Indonesia prioritizes partnerships with church synods, universities, and Indonesian non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for disaster relief, justice and peacebuilding, and leadership development. In the coming years, MCC Indonesia will continue to support Indonesian Christians in building interfaith relationships for joint service. This assignment allows Mennonite Central Committee to broaden our connections with a strategic Indonesian university (of which Indonesian Anabaptists are stakeholders) in peace work, a priority area of interest for both MCC and many Indonesian partners. The Peace Center (PSPP) of Duta Wacana Christian University began with the encouragement of the leadership of Indonesian Mennonite Academics who continue to support it. In 1986, PSPP started promoting discussion on peace issues among lecturers and students. The center began offering peace trainings to communities beyond the university in 1996. As a peace center, PSPP seeks to empower individuals and groups for peacebuilding within families, religious communities, the work place and society in general. This mission is based on the values of truth, mercy, justice and peace. This mission is pursued through research, training, consultation, conflict mediation and trauma healing. PSPP is committed to working with people from any religious and ethnic group as well as government and non-government groups in pursuing the way of peace. The current director is Dra. Krisni Noor Patrianti, M.Hum. The activities of PSPP benefit people throughout Indonesia. Past participants are spread throughout Indonesia, especially conflict areas such as Papua, Timor, Halmahera, Ambon, Sulawesi, Kalimantan, Bali, Java and Sumatra. Other participants are involved in the broader Asian Pacific region. Additionally, PSPP trainings have equipped many mediators who have been instrumental in working for peace in conflict regions. The staff of the PSPP unit give their time to PSPP as well as teaching in the various faculties of the university. PSPP has become well known in Indonesia as a facilitator of conflict transformation workshops. They are invited by groups and their workshops are paid for by the groups who invite them. Most participants in peace trainings are from the broader community beyond the university. PSPP has six modules for trainings that are offered on a set schedule year to year for 25-30 participants in each session. These include Playback Theater, Women and Peace, Kids for Peace, Spirituality of Peacebuilding, Trauma Healing and Mediation. The trainings are offered in Indonesian language and are based on practical experiences from the facilitators. PSPP also creates new trainings in response to partner needs. PSPP has been invited by national government, local government, World Vision and USAID to provide peace trainings. Peace education is offered in a variety of ways. PSPP staff teach several courses at Duta Wacana including "Democracy and Human Rights" which is a required course for all under-grad students. PSPP staff also teach "Conflict Transformation", "Conflict and Reconciliation" and "Violence, Peace and the Christian Faith" which are available to both under-grad and graduate students. PSPP has also developed trainings based on participant request, including “Interfaith Conflict Management", "Mediation and Conflict Transformation" and "Non-violent Classroom Management.” The MCC Service Worker would be seconded as a full time staff to the Peace Center of Duta Wacana Christian University under the direct supervision of Dra. Krisni Noor Patrianti. The worker's primary identity for all activities in Indonesia would be as “a staff of UKDW, seconded by MCC”. Permission must be obtained from the university for all professional activities, as well as all time away from UKDW. The MCC worker is under the direct supervision of MCC Representatives for all activities and reporting requirements of MCC in Indonesia, as well as for the implementation of all MCC policies. The MCC team in Indonesia, although widely dispersed, maintains a team identity for mutual support and accountability. Indonesian language ability is essential for this assignment. The service worker will be provided with up to six months of formal language study in preparation for this assignment. Language training is done in Salatiga, away from the University assignment location, to allow the MCCer to focus on language learning before getting pulled into work. The time in Salatiga also allows the MCC worker to build relationships with MCC Representatives and other team mates. It also provides for a supportive international MCC community (eight nationalities in 2011-12) as newly arrived workers are figuring out how to navigate roads, shopping, medical care, and other new things in their first months in the country.
Duties:
Location Description:
Jogjakarta is the cultural heart of Java, lying between Mt. Merapi and the South Sea. Jogja is also an academic center with important universities and academies. It is a city of around 500,000 people with warm tropical weather year round. Jogjakarta is a crowded and busy city, but beyond the main streets are the slower, sidewalk-width streets of Javanese neighborhoods. Jogjakarta has both modern amenities and traditional values and philosophies.
The famous Borobodour temple (Buddhist) and Prambanan temple(Hindu) are located very near to Jogjakarta. Other areas of interest include the sultan’s palace and various craft industries including batik, silver, and pottery. Good quality medical care is available in Jogjakarta. Shopping options range from traditional markets to malls and air-conditioned grocery stores. Jogjakarta has a small international school with elementary grades through grade eight. Other options for families would be immersion in an Indonesian language school, homeschooling, or boarding for high school students at Mountainview International Christian School in Salatiga, two hours away. Duta Wacana Christian University will supply housing for the MCC worker. This would either be in housing owned or rented by UKDW. The house would be at a standard level with other UKDW professors. This is an important value in the university setting - it allows the worker to entertain community members, church friends, students and university guests and fulfill social responsibilities at an appropriate level for cultural expectations. A Muria Mennonite church (GKMI) is located in Jogjakarta, as well as an International congregation that worships in English on Sunday afternoons. This group includes a large number of Indonesian students wanting to improve their English. MCCers have often been involved in some way with both congregations. The MCC offices and other MCC workers are located in Salatiga, two hours by road from Jogjakarta. MCC is also hoping to place at least one other university-based service worker in Jogjakarta at Gajah Mada University or the State Islamic University.
Challenges:
Even though Duta Wacana is a well-respected Indonesian university, there will be many cultural challenges. The need to teach and facilitate in Indonesian language demands serious language study. Co-teaching helps workers to begin teaching as they learn both language and culture at the same time. The MCCer may be informed of course expectations will little time to prepare. There may be little direction or sharing of expectations for course content. MCCers in other Indonesian university settings have coped with these challenges by considering their department as their community and by taking time to listen and learn and by asking many questions of their colleagues. Another challenge may be that the city and university setting is not what the service worker expected in an MCC assignment. The daily contacts will not typically be among the poorest of the poor. Reflection and clarification of the rationale for this assignment can help workers to articulate their place in fulfilling MCC's mission in this assignment
Some services are limited:
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