School of Peace in Indonesia 2025
School of Peace Concept Paper 2025
Salatiga & Yogyakarta in Indonesia
Background
Asia is marked by remarkable diversity in cultural, religious, economic, political, and social dimensions. While some countries grapple with the challenges of financial survival, others are evolving. The reality of poverty, the effects of the climate crisis, violent conflict, and human rights abuses give rise to numerous issues that disrupt peace. Often, certain groups prioritize their interests at the expense of others, leveraging religion and culture to do so. Stereotyping can lead to discrimination manifesting as racism, ethnocentrism, classism, casteism, patriarchy, ageism, ableism, homophobia, and various other forms of marginalization and “othering.” Violations of Earth rights and climate justice become more pressing. Discussions and initiatives aimed at fostering peace must take into account these complexities. Ultimately, justice is essential for achieving lasting peace. The School of Peace seeks to foster understanding and cooperation among diverse communities.
What is ICF?
The Interfaith Cooperation Forum (ICF) is a project of the Asia and Pacific Alliance of YMCA (APAY). ICF aims to foster peaceful interfaith communities in Asia by engaging youth in its programs. It supports young people by increasing their awareness of conflict issues, promoting peaceful values, and enhancing their skills in conflict transformation and peacebuilding. Besides YMCAs, ICF seeks to partner with organizations that share similar goals. ICF values gender balance (including LGBTQIA++ and PWDs) and religious diversity.
What is the School of Peace (SoP)?
The School of Peace is an ICF program that runs for 60 days. It will accommodate a maximum of 15 young people. Its streamlined curriculum seeks to balance theory and practice. It integrates the concept of peace based on justice across various levels of human and Earth community life, including social, cultural, interreligious, and political dimensions. It is one avenue where young people from different faith traditions could gain essential knowledge, principles, and skills to develop a strong network of the peace movement in their respective contexts. The curriculum for the School of Peace in Indonesia will begin with a section on Conflict Analysis and Peacebuilding Framework, followed by a section on Religions’ Teachings on Peace, and a section on Community Immersion. Then, the SoP will proceed with the Peace Issues and Practical Skills section.
Who could participate in the School of Peace?
- Young persons who are 18-35 years old
- Holds a primary interest and commitment to do peace work.
- Preferably, but not necessarily, those who have gone through ICF workshops.
- Has some degree of English proficiency.
- Willing to learn and take on the reading assignments, make presentations, and other tasks related to the subjects taken up during the SoP period.
- Willing to pay for the following: Cost of visa, domestic travel, registration fee of USD 100, and Green Fee of USD 15.00 to offset the participant’s carbon footprint (Interested parties may look for local benefactors to finance these travel expenses when needed; ICF will reimburse the cheapest cost of international airfare provided official receipts are presented)
- ICF can subsidize half of the incurred visa cost up to 50 USD.
- Nominated by any of the following: Local or National YMCA, Alumni of ICF School of Peace, Peace Network, Church or church-related organizations, and Mainstream religious groups (Hindu, Muslim, Buddhist, Christian, Baha’i, etc.).
What expenses does ICF cover?
- ICF covers the cost of accommodation, meals, resource persons’ honoraria, and the most economical international airfare for participants, where necessary.
- The applicants must, however, provide for their personal expenses, including toiletries (such as soap, toothbrushes, toothpaste, and adapters), and other personal necessities during the duration of the program.
Schedule:
- End of July, 2025 – Registration opens for the School of Peace
- August 18, 2025 – Registration will close, and screening will begin.
- The last week of August – Invitations will be sent to the selected participants, and visa application processes will commence.
- ICF & the YMCA Indonesia will send invitations to the selected participants. Booking flight tickets should be made as soon as possible to take advantage of the cheaper airfare rates. Flight arrivals should be in Solo, Indonesia, on October 12, 2025. Participants will depart from Yogyakarta on December 5, 2025.
- Pre-SoP online meetings will be held in the week of October 6-10 to get to know one another, discuss expectations, and address any final questions before traveling.
- This School of Peace will run for 54 days in-person, including arrival & departure, to avoid exceeding a 60-day stay and related visa complications.
ICF Application Forms for SoP
There are two compulsory forms to be submitted back to ICF along with the applicant’s scanned passport (passport must be valid for 6 months beyond the end of the program)
1. Application Form. The nominee should fill out the form carefully.
2. Nomination Form. To be filled out by the Sending Organization or Sponsors (YMCA, Peace Network/Religious Group). ICF encourages the sending organization to raise some support for the nominated participant by covering at least the cost of domestic travel, allowances, visa processing, and the registration fee of One Hundred Dollars (USD 100).
Deadline of the Application
The application form must be submitted by August 18, 2025, at the latest. This will allow ICF to process the applications and send the Invitation Letters to the accepted participants as soon as possible for their visa processing. Please submit to ICF both the Application Form and Sponsorship Form with all required attachments via Google Forms.