Take Part in the Adventure of a Lifetime - Fund a Peace Project in Lebanon

-------------------------- PROPOSAL --------------------------

Peace through Adventure

Proposal to establish a Foundation

Project: Lebanon Peace Practice Centre

Prepared by: Korbinian Hort, ActiveEarth Training Limited


A. The Ecology of Peace

Ecologically sustainable development and peace building are two sides of the same coin. Ecological sustainability is entirely depended on upon social sustainability and vice versa.

War uses up natural resources and inflicts unspeakable violence on people and other beings. Lacking peace of mind and a deeper understanding of the interrelated nature of phenomena is often the cause for harmful action, such as psychological and physical violence.

Jonathon Porritt a leading adviser to business and government on sustainability states in his book “Capitalism as if the World Matters” that: Regardless of where an individual organization places the primary focus of interest in the sustainability debate – on the social or the ecological side – it should be emphasized that the social questions are the key leverage points for stopping these undesirable feedback loops. It is human behaviour and the resulting social dynamics that lie at the heart of today’s social and ecological problems.

In order to live within earth’s ecological limits we must provide our children with the understanding necessary to live happy and fulfilled lives. Relative peace is a prerequisite for this.

The Foundation understands that peace development starts at the level of the individual. For example, if one is not capable of connecting with one’s own emotions, how can one reach out and feel concern for others? Caring for others requires caring for oneself. From the individual person, peace and understanding will spread out into family, community and the world.

We have resourceful people at hand to provide for the many aspects that are needed to launch and develop this peace-building project successfully.


B. Why Lebanon?

The skills to build healthy relationships are needed all over the world. Therefore it would make sense to start with ourselves and at our own doorstep.

So why Lebanon? The Foundation has a strong relationship to people in Lebanon. To the present day the Middle East is tormented by conflict, inflicting collective pain upon all sides. The situation has deteriorated severely in the last few years partly due to the western intervention in Iraq and Afghanistan. This sad reality is acutely visible in Lebanon where the reinforcement of religious differences has led to a political crisis that is paralysing the country and raising the spectre of another civil war. It is an area in need of peace and reconciliation.

The project brings various aspects that make it ideal to launch the Foundation:

It meets an obvious need
It has a clear purpose
It carries a strong sense of meaning
Together we share the means, contacts and know-how to make it happen


C. The Natural Environment as Platform for Conflict Resolution

People tend to build their identity around belief systems such as nationality, religion, ethnicity, colour, political ideology etc., enhancing their feeling of belonging, community, self-confidence or security. Usually people are born into their cultural roles, often taking on huge amounts of collective psychological baggage.

A young Lebanese woman I used to know always melted into tears as soon as the conversation went to the Palestine – Israel conflict. She was overwhelmed by the accumulated hate and suffering that came up inside her.

As people from different conflicting backgrounds meet on levels of society such as ethnicity or religion, tension can rise very quickly to the point where communication gets impossible. We need to enable people to meet on a different level.

The level of the biosphere is the encompassing system in which the smaller systems of society, religion, economy etc. nest. If people meet on this bigger level, by caring for the natural environment for example, then a lot of tension is ‘kept aside’. This creates the space for people to engage with each other on a personal level and develop a sense of sister/brotherhood much easier.

Peace and reconciliation projects in both Northern Ireland and South Africa have adopted this approach very successfully. Facilitators working on these courses repeatedly report on nature’s power to release tension within and between people. In regard to containing tension within a group, there is a huge difference between working in a seminar room or outdoors.


D. What is the role of Adventure?

Facilitated intelligently, inspirational nature experiences have the power to transform the way we think and feel. Over many years innovative outdoor based programmes were developed that grow participant’s understanding and compassion enabling peace and reconciliation on intra- and interpersonal levels.

Experiential education in beautiful, wild places provides space for fresh ways of thinking. Nature creates a subtle opening to broader perspectives while adventure sharpens concentration. Metaphorically speaking, adventure takes the lid off the container our everyday lives are in. It lets new things come in and lets old things come out and be seen.

Adventure experiences engage people. Outdoor-based experiential education provides a wealth of opportunities to facilitate personal development in a highly efficient way such as, emotional development or essential techniques for non-violent communication and conflict resolution.

Another important aspect of outdoor adventure is that it’s fun and revitalises our connection to the Earth.


E. Educational Framework

The courses draw upon a proactive blend of natural sciences, ecopsychology, eco-therapy and relational philosophy.

Courses are grounded in a transformative educational paradigm that aims to shift participants towards relational thinking, from which an understanding of social justice and sustainable behaviour follow. Steven Sterling adviser to the British Government on sustainability education, conceptually identified three interrelated ‘dimensions’ and their ‘key qualities’ that would lead to such shift:

1. The perceptual dimension – the need to widen and deepen our boundaries of concern and recognise broader contexts in time and space (extension). The key quality here is ‘empathy’.

2. The conceptual dimension – the disposition and ability to recognize and understand links and patterns of influence between often seemingly disparate factors in all areas of life, to recognize systemic consequences of actions and to value different insights and ways of knowing (connection). The key quality here is ‘understanding’.

3. Practice dimension – a purposeful disposition and capability to seek healthy relationships recognising that the whole is often greater than the sum of the parts; to seek positive synergies and anticipate the systemic consequences of actions (integration). The key quality here is ‘wisdom’.

Mindfulness Practice
At the core of life and work in the Peace Centre is the practice of mindfulness. Ideally this is applied throughout the whole educational process, engaging both educators and participants during cognitive elements (discussions or readings), practical activities (outdoor adventure activities) and at rest.

The idea being that mindfulness (or awareness) can be an efficient agent to uncover the interplay between body, mind and environment (social-, physical- and biophysical environment).

Emotional intelligence researchers Ciarrochi and Blackledge state that mindfulness would essentially, help people to look at their private experience rather than through it, and to see their moment-to-moment experience as it is, and not as it seems to be when seen through language or intense emotion. In this way mindfulness practices aim to increase both an ecological understanding of phenomena and boost the ability to meet learning opportunities that lay within experiences.

Because the mind is the base of all actions, it is therefore very important to be mindful. Mindfulness is the best state of being for the mind. With mindfulness, our thinking and our bodily and verbal actions will go in the direction of healing and transforming.


F. Staff

Staff will be carefully selected and trained to ensure that participants’ healing and transformation are possible. The role of staff at the centre will facilitate the residential parts of a program. Their role is to cultivate a strong spiritual practice that makes it easy for participants to practice non-violence and mindfulness. Their role is to provide a structure of daily residential activities that support participants in building healthy relationships, for example meditation, breakfast, food preparation, daily work such as gardening and cleaning, group therapy sessions.

In our opinion the project will need a strong spiritual guidance. This will come by having the residential aspects facilitated by young monks and nuns trained at the practice centre in Plumvillage, France.

Guides who facilitate the outdoor programs will hold the trust, respect and emotional safety of the group. They create a positive atmosphere for participants to engage openly in the program’s content. Guides will be carefully selected and trained.


G. Patron

World-renowned peace activist, poet, and spiritual leader Thich Nhat Hanh should oversee the Peace Building Project.

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STAGE 1: The Ski Stage

A challenging yet beautiful climb to the summit of Europe on ski-touring ski’s where we plant the “Active Earth for Middle East Peace” flag in the summit to formally commence the trip.

We will set off from Chamonix (1030m) with a five day window to reach the summit of Mont Blanc (4808m) and return by ski / foot. The snow line should be around 2,500m and the first 1500m will be completed by foot. This five day window allows for one to two days acclimatisation, one to two days weather contingency and two days to reach the summit. It is intended to spend the entire five days on the mountain and pick the best time to summit the Mont Blanc, taking into account the weather all other relevant factors. We will be accompanied by qualified UIAGM high mountain guides and accommodation is in Mountain Refuges and before and afterwards in club members’ apartments or local hotels in Chamonix.


COMPETENCE / FITNESS REQUIRED

Ski-touring experience, including kick turns on relatively steep slopes along with competent off-piste skiing. Snowboarders can also participate with snow shoes for the ascent, but must have prior experience of high mountain and glacier crossings.


COSTS

The event is being organised by Events and Activities (UK) Ltd, a specialist in charity challenges who have created some of the most successful outdoor challenges in the UK and have helped to raise millions of pounds for worthy causes.

Registration and Administration Costs: £50 / 70 Euros. This is essential for all participants and covers the organisational administrations and logistics of your involvement.

STAGE 1 – Ski Stage - £380 / 500 Euros (Guiding costs)This cost covers a ratio of 1 UIAGM mountain guide per 2 participants on the Mont Blanc Ascent / Descent and a ratio of 1 guide to 6 on the ski-touring / acclimatisation stage. If you are a highly experienced mountaineer or skier and are happy to guide yourself you can join us for free. There will be additional costs for accommodation costs and food that you will pay for directly.

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STAGE 2: The Cycling Stage

A beautiful traverse through the heart of the Alps, through the Haute Alps and Haute Provence, passing around the stunning Gorges du Verdon and picturesque provencal villages to reach the beautiful beaches of Hyeres in the South of France.

We will set off from Chamonix (1030m) with a targeted four days to reach the South of France. We will average around 100km a day and 1500-2000m metres of vertical ascent and descent. We will be passing cols peaking at around 2,300 metres. Accommodation will be in Chambre D’hotes (B&B’s) and local hotels (approx £40 ppn).


COMPETENCE / FITNESS REQUIRED

STAGE 2 – Cycling experience including ascents of up to 2000m in a day. The pace will be slow and steady so this is a fair test of endurance. There will be advice from Mark on how to succeed, and sports drinks and supplements available. We will aim to average around 14-16 km / hour for 7 to 9 hours a day. A technical route map with all the envisage climb statistics will be made available shortly.


COSTS

The event is being organised by Events and Activities (UK) Ltd, a specialist in charity challenges who have created some of the most successful outdoor challenges in the UK and have helped to raise millions of pounds for worthy causes.

Registration and Administration Costs: £50 / 70 Euros. This is essential for all participants and covers the organisational administrations and logistics of your involvement.

STAGE 2 – Cycling Stage - £200 / 270 Euros (Guiding costs, log support) free if self-supporting (Led by Mark Beaumont).There will be additional costs for accommodation costs and food that you will pay for directly.

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STAGE 3: The Sailing / Kayaking / Trekking Stage


STAGE 3A:

Sailing From South of France across to Corsica (110 nautical miles) – 2nd June (mon). The team will now battle the waves and wind of the Mediterranean Sea as we sail Panasha across to Corsica, heading for the Cageres, just north of Ajaccio.

A partial rest as we will board Panasha, a 14m sailing catamaran, along with our bikes and we will set sail from the South of France to Corsica. We will sail and navigate Panasha under the supervision of Laurence, Panasha’s skipper. Weather permitting we will reach Cageres after around 16 hours. In the event of greater than force 5-6 winds we will take the passenger ferry as foot passengers, with our bikes.


STAGE 3B:

Sea Kayaking around the Coast of Corsica (approx 100km) – 3rd (tues) to 6th June (fri) . For this stage we will sea kayak the equivalent distance from France to Corsica along the beautiful wild and protected Corsican coast, camping along the coast.

Setting off from Cageres, we head north working our way around the picturesque coastline in full sea kayaks, passing through the Scandola nature reserve where dolphins and seals abound and camp out each night under the stars. We will be accompanied by qualified sea kayak guides and aim to cover around 25 nautical miles a day.


STAGE 3C:

Ascension of Mont Cinto on Foot – 7th June (sat).

An ascension from sea level to the summit of Mont Cinto, the highest mountain in Corsica to plant the “Active Earth for Middle East Peace” flag in the summit.to conclude this incredibly journey.

Setting off from near Calvi, where we take the bikes and proceed to the foot of Mont Cinto where we swap our cycling shoes for running shoes and head up the mountain on foot to plant the flag. After photos and champagne we head down to celebrate the end of the trip with a concert by Jed Milroy, Active Earth’s resident musician.


COMPETENCE / FITNESS REQUIRED

STAGE 3A – Sailing – No competence or prior experience required as Laurence, Panasha’s skipper will teach everybody what they need to know.

STAGE 3B – Sea Kayaking – Experience of basic kayaking strokes and a fitness level to kayak 7 to 9 hours a day for 4 days at a slow but steady pace. Basic rescue techniques will be taught / refreshed by a UCPA guide.

STAGE 3C – Running / Trekking up Mont Cinto. You must be comfortable with off-road running on uneven paths and descending steep tracks. Sticks are highly recommended to reduce the impact on the knees and to engage the upper body.


COSTS

The event is being organised by Events and Activities (UK) Ltd, a specialist in charity challenges who have created some of the most successful outdoor challenges in the UK and have helped to raise millions of pounds for worthy causes.

Registration and Administration Costs: £50 / 70 Euros. This is essential for all participants and covers the organisational administrations and logistics of your involvement.


STAGE 3 – TOTAL COST £320 / 430 Euros.

STAGE 3A – Sailing Stage - £100 / 130 Euros (Accommodation, skipper and food cost) You will stay share a double berth with your own bathroom / shower and eat aboard this luxury catamaran. Bikes will be stored safely on the boat for use in connecting the end of Stage 4 (sea kayak) to Stage 5 – the ascension of Mont Cinto on foot.

STAGE 3B – Sea Kayak Stage -£180 / 250 Euros (Kayak hire, log support and guiding costs). You will be provided with a single sit-in sea kayak with splash deck and paddle. The group will be accompanied by a UCPA kayak guide familiar with all the potential hazards of this beautiful but wild coastline. We will take tents and sleeping bags and camp around the coastline, an unforgettable experience.

STAGE 3C – Cycle / Run up Mont Cinto - £40 / 50 Euros for log support.Your bike will be brought to you and we will make the short transfer to the foot of Mont Cinto by bike from where we will commence the ascent and plant the flag in the summit.

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WHO SHOULD REGISTER?

Individuals who have the support of a company or alternative sponsor(s) who are prepared to pledge funds for the Lebanon Peace Project. We would like to raise a minimum of £5,000 per participant.

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TO TAKE PART or DONATE FUNDS

Contact: David Fox Pitt
E-mail: david@eventsandactivities.co.uk
Telephone: 0044(0)1567820409


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ABOUT Maxime Chaya & Mark Beaumont

Max, became the first Middle-Eastern explorer to complete the seven summits by scaling Mount Everest in May 2006. In December 2008, Max completed a crossing to the South Pole covering over 1100 km in 45 days self-supporting in his bid to become the first Arab to complete the “Three Poles” bringing hope and inspiration to the youth of Lebanon.

In February this year Mark Beaumont became the fastest man to circumnavigate the globe by bicycle completing it in 195 days and slashing 72 days off the previous record.

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tags: active earth, lebanon, peace project, sports, outdoor activities, mont blanc to mont cinto, lebanese, maxime chaya, mark beaumont, adventure, fund raising, ski, kayak, sail, trek, cycle, company, proposal