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Following World War II , Dr. Doris Allen,
the founder of CISV, was concerned with the potential effectiveness of
mechanisms that the world's leaders were attempting to use to prevent future
wars. As a child psychologist she was aware that developing attitudes of
cooperation and reducing the negative stereotypes and prejudices that lead to
wars is far easier in youth before those negative attitudes are learned. As a
result Dr. Allen developed the Village, a multi-national camp for pre-
adolescents. Since the first village in 1951, CISV has held Villages for 11 year
olds every year.
A major premise of CISV is that there is hope
for the future, and that individuals can and do have an effect on their
communities, nations and international affairs.
CISV programs have been expanded over the years
to include Interchanges, Seminar Camps, Local Work and most recently Summer
Camps. The various programs of CISV provide opportunities for youth from age 11
to 18 to participate in furthering the educational goals of CISV.
CISV currently operates with National
Associations in over 50 nations.
Dr. Allen developed the following 12 principles
of CISV when she was formulating her vision of the CISV Village.
12 PRINCIPLES of CISV from Dr. Doris
Allen, Founder of CISV.
- To give children a face-to-face international
experience before adolescence.
- To give children the opportunity to grow up
with a World point-of-view. This is why we set up a miniature world of 10 to
12 countries in a single Village. It is not sufficient to relate to only one
other country. This is an age in which all countries are inextricably
interrelated. The demand of the times is to view the wholeness of the World.
- To give children the opportunity to grow from
around the world and to learn that it is possible to be friends irrespective
of colour, nationality, religion, language or any other aspect of culture.
- To give children the opportunity to get
personally acquainted by limiting the Village to 40 to 48 children. Indeed
the children say, "It was like a family."
- To give the children time to build deep
friendships. Villages are four weeks long.
- To keep the program simple, in order for the
11-year old to assimilate the experience: giving time to be quiet; for
writing in a diary or writing letters home; time to exchange and compare
stamps and coins of other countries; time to be alone, if desired; time to
look at the photos of the families of other Villagers -- in short, ample
free time to balance the scheduled hours.
- To give the children the opportunity to
engage in the activities of other cultures: singing songs of other countries
in other languages; learning dances of other countries; trying on costumes
of other countries; and, actually exchanging items of costume at the end of
the Village.
- To give the children the opportunity to work
jointly with other nationalities on committees -- for example: to set the
dining room tables for meals; to sweep the dining room floor; to pickup
paper from the yard; to plan an evening's entertainment; to plan an open
house bazaar, etc.
- To give the children the opportunity to
experience a oneness with nature wherever in the world: climbing a mountain;
taking a birdwalk; discovering the flowers and trees of the region;
exploring life in a small stream, and so on.
- To give the children an opportunity to learn
some skills of governance: through the children's assemblies; the
parliamentary sessions; learning how to elect a president and a secretary;
how to formulate any problems that may exist in the group; how to listen to
different points-of-view and discuss alternative ways of solving problems;
learning what is fair for the individual and at the same time for the whole
group, and so on.
- To give the children an opportunity to become
acquainted with the culture of the host country: spending a weekend in a
home with a same-sex, same-age child; having open-house for the public to
visit the Village and for the Villagers to meet people of the community;
visiting the local zoo, farm, factory or historical site. (Not more than one
excursion per week).
- To give the children the opportunity to work
with many nationalities and languages, to say thank you to the host
community for the privilege of the Village: plant a tree on the site of the
Village; building a foot bridge across a stream; painting parts of the main
buildings of a Village.
This page was last updated:
10/10/2007 10:11:04 PM
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