DAVAO CITY--Five books that tell about the stories on how people worked together for peace or how communities survived and rose from conflict were launched December 2, 2009 at the Grand Men Seng Hotel here in time for the celebration of the Mindanao Week of Peace.

One of the books, Peace Frames and Tapestries, is written by people who have seen and experienced armed conflict first hand, being residents of communities who were previously battered by war. The authors are peace and development advocates who have worked extensively for their villages to become peace and development communities (PDCs).

Peace Frames and Tapestries highlights the PDCs vis-à-vis the Moro people’s aspiration for self-determination. It also tells about how local government units became the active partners in peacebuilding.

The experience of the writers in telling their stories is another process by itself as retelling their stories meant revisiting a horrible past.

The other books launched were:

Managing Peformance in Peacebuilding: Framework for Conflict-sensitive Monitoring and Evaluation that lays down the principles, objectives, system, tools and reports on conflict-sensitive monitoring and evaluation as an important element of peace-based performance management. This was written by Starjoan Villanueva, the Programme’s Performance Measurement Specialist.

Barangay Governance for Peace and Development was developed to guide barangay officials, leaders, civil society organizations, and private citizens on the day-to-day barangay operations as well as provide them with practical steps on how to make barangay governance functional, transparent, participatory and with accountability. The book was prepared by Teresita V. Tajanlangit and Anthony Vitor of the Department of Interior and Local Government.

Kadtabanga: The Struggle Continues is a compilation of stories behind the journey of Peace and Development Communities in Maguindanao, highlighting the lives of MNLF combatants who are now active Peace and Development Advocates (PDAs). The book was written by Nash Maulana.

J. Marquez School of Peace Enriched Lesson Plans (Elementary School), on the other hand, integrates peace education and Islamic values with the lessons anchored on the unique socio-cultural background of the pupils. These lesson plans were developed through the collaboration between the Department of Education and the Programme and guided by the peace exemplars published by the Office of the Presidential Adviser on the Peace Process.

The books were published by the Action for Conflict Transformation (ACT) for Peace Programme of the Government of the Philippines and the United Nations.

Last year, another book, Living Peace: Stories of Hope and Collective Action towards Building a Culture of Peace in Mindanao, was also published by the Programme.  Written by Marides Virola and Madonna Virola, a correspondent of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the book captures the voices of community peace builders in former conflict areas in Mindanao.

The book also presents a) Stories of Self-Transformation; b) Collective Actions; c) Capacity Building; d)  Women for Peace and Development; and e) Partnership and Convergence. (ACT for Peace)