Initiative For Peace (IFP)

I originally decided to join IFP after hearing that so many people were participating and saw that it would be a good opportunity to get to know more people in our grade. After having been involved for almost two months, I found that I did indeed meet more people from our school, but also from the Dover campus (for Peace Day). Not only that, I find that I enjoy discussing the various topics raised in class, and feel that it is a great chance for me to learn more about, and be more vocal about arguments that would not normally be talked about in casual conversation.

During the first few weeks of starting IFP, we focused on getting to know each other and exploring our different opinions on the concept of peace-making and how to resolve conflicts. I realized that there was a real mixture of responses to conflict management and what behaviors were deemed to be acceptable. I found that people usually had a different perspective due to their personal experience or because of the ‘category’ they identified as that led them to see a different side to the same problem. While the majority of us approached all the statements with an open mind, I felt that we all had different reactions because we were brought up in a culturally different family, because our gender was different, or even because of our friends and their responses that triggered a similar reaction in ourselves. More recently, we began to discuss more on our personal beliefs and values, and how they shape who we are. It gave me a chance to reflect on myself in a variety of different approaches, that all led me to acknowledge something new about myself. For example, one of our activities was based on the topic of bias, and assumptions that people had made about us (images embedded below). We all had different, individualized experiences that changed us in some way. For me, one of the biggest assumptions made was that I was a big fan of K-pop due to my nationality as a South Korean. The number of times I had been asked if I knew a certain group or if I knew how do translate a piece of the lyrics was an experience that not a lot of people have, just like I can’t relate to many of their own experiences. I realized that it was our differences that enabled us to be such a diverse group that could bring new ideas to the table and contributes unique points of conversation.

I think my experience at IFP is closely linked to LO7: Ethics. Even though I did not have to personally make any ethical decisions in class, I felt that I learned various lessons that are connected with the concept of what is ‘right’ and ‘wrong’. Because many of the topics we discuss are very subjective, I found that much of what I thought was right might not be the same for someone else, and vice-versa. I based most of my decisions off of what I was taught from a young age, and feel that my family and school had a large influence on that aspect. Through these opinions, I did definitely encounter areas where a strongly disagreed with some else, but it never created serious conflict due to how comfortable everyone was in embracing their own thoughts as well as those of others. Even in these past few months, I have learned so much more about myself and those surrounding me, and I am very much looking forward to the following seasons of IFP.