Inspired by the recent UNESCO Peace Ambassadors workshop she had attended in Penang and a speech by RLC Director Anwar Fazal there, USM undergraduate student Natasha Shokri, 22, of Iran decided to take the initiative to organise a creative event that would enhance knowledge and understanding of peace within her community. RLC Director Anwar Fazal viewing the photography group's exhibition

Titled Art for Peace, the five day event saw twenty selected Iranian USM students come together and use different forms of art to depict the multifaceted nature and meanings of true peace. Themes included "inner peace", "peace with the environment" and "peace with and among women and children". Participants, divided into different groups including a "photography group", "environmental art group", a "rap for peace group" and a "painting group" burned the midnight oil to finalise their artwork. Different speakers from the community and civil society addressed participants at different times to discuss various aspects of peace, including finding ways to transcend and mediate conflict.

In line with its mission to be an incubator and catalyst of initiatives designed to advance peace, justice and environmental justice, the Right Livelihood College was delighted to partner with Natasha and support this inspiring "project of hope". Programme Manager Sharan Srinivas spoke to participants about how some of the Right Livelihood laureates had used innovative methods to  transcend intractable conflicts bring peace under the direst of conditions. He also served as one of the three member judging panel that deliberated on which group would recieve a small prize, based on both the level of cooperation within the group and how well the finished artwork explained the message and concept of peace. RLC Director Anwar Fazal inaugurated the three day art exhibition on December 20th, delivered a speech and also gave prizes and certificates to the participants.

Right: Sharan and Natasha having a discussion with the participants

Whilst the "painting group" was adjudged to win the prize, all participants reported that the event had inspired them to strive to be peacebuilders within their communities. The RLC congratulates Natasha fo highlighting the ability of the use of the arts as mediums for peace and for her hard work in bringing this project to reality.

Right: Part of the painting group's winning display of artwork

Students and lecturers, university administrators, lawyers and ex-lawyers, corporates and ex-corporates and persons aged  from 16 to 70 came together to participate in the first ever Introduction to Future Studies: Visionary Thinking for Tomorrow's Leaders course hosted by the RLC at the Universiti Sains Malaysia guesthouse on December 11-12.

The two day residential course, which taught participants the basics of foresight planning and forecasting, was facilitated by leading futurists Jim Dator, Cesar Villaneuva, Sohail Inayatullah and Ivana Milojevic and assisted by Heather Frey and Seongwon Park. Jim, Heather and Seongwon are based at one the world's leading futures institute- the Hawaii Research Center for Future Studies at the University of Hawaii-Manoa.  Cesar is a Professor of Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of St. La Salle. Sohail and Ivana have both worked with laureate Johan Galtung (Norway-1987') on peace futures and are Associates at Transcend Peace University. 

Anwar Fazal, RLC Director, welcoming workshop participants

The course, the first of its kind held in Malaysia for over fifteen years, was well appreciated by the 20 participants. It is hoped that this will become a regular event in Penang.

Right: Participants at a brainstorming session

In the early morning hours of Sunday,  October 2nd, 2011, over four thousand people from 10 countries, ages and walks of life gathered and ran a gruelling five kilometres over the hilly terrain of Universiti Sains Malaysia to demonstrate their solidarity with the cause of peace and non violence.

The first ever Run for Peace held at the university was organised by the Right Livelihood College, in collaboration with student group AIESEC and civic NGO Soka Gakkai Malaysia to mark October 2, both the designated United Nations International Day of Nonviolence and the birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi.

After RLC Director Anwar Fazal read out the UN Secretary General's message marking the International Day of Non Violence, newly appointed USM Vice Chancellor Dato' Omar Osman delivered a short speech and flagged off the run. After the run, various performances, a flash mob and a lucky draw were held.

Throughout the event, AIESEC ran a Peace Shop and an exhibition dedicated to honouring peace advocates. The Run for Peace, which was oversubscribed and surpassed all expectations in terms of turnout, saw the enthusiastic support of both students and members of the Penang community at large. That so many would wake up early on a Sunday morning and run for the cause of peace is heartening and it is hoped that this will become a regular annual event.

For more photographs of the event, visit the event's Facebook page

The Right Livelihood College (RLC), Centre for Policy Research and International Studies (CenPRIS) and World Future Studies Federation (WFSF) are jointly hosting a two day "Introduction to Future Studies" workshop that aims to impart visionary thinking techniques and foresight strategies for tommorow's leaders at Universiti Sains Malaysia from 11-12 December, 2011. Renowned futurists Jim Dator and Tony Stevenson will be among the workshop's resource persons, and the workshop will be limited exclusively to 20 participants. University students and young leaders from universities, businesses and civil society are encouraged to apply.  For more information and to register, please email Programme Manager Sharan Srinivas at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .