Initial reports of a series of LVE workshops in Cameroon in August 2007 indicate that they were a great success; educator workshops were held in English and French, followed by a third one for street children educators. There was a very enthusiastic response from local participants and a strong organising committee developed in both Yaounde and in Douala. The prison governor attended the workshop for educators of street children and wishes the prison to be a LVE prison where offenders are helped to rediscover their dignity and self-esteem and are not imprisoned just as punishment. More detailed news will follow...

The Arabic edition of the five Living Values Education books, published by ASP of Beirut, Lebanon, was launched and very well received at the Kuwait American School on 14th February 2007. Under the inspiration of Wajeeha Al Habib, who manages the school, and the direction of its Principal, Peter Williams, KAS has for a number of years been setting a sterling example of how values can be part of all aspects of school life, and so it was only fitting that the Kuwait launch take place at the school. A special school assembly was held for the occasion full of values songs, music, stories and a quietly being activity. Senior teachers Ms Batool Arjomand and Mrs Wafaa Khaled and a group of students were on hand as the books were presented to Wajeeha and Peter. To mark the occasion every student in the school and each member of staff also received a commemorative card and a diamond-like pendant as a symbol of the beauty and durability of human values. It was a day when the school's values really were lived to the full and Peter reported that the day is now affectionately known as "Diamond Day".

Over the past years there has been a lot of LVE activity in South America and so, with the first two ALIVE International Conferences on Living Values Education having been successfully held in Mauritius and the UK, it seemed appropriate for the third International Conference to be taking place in Asuncion, Paraguay. For some time there had been the idea of having a major LVE event in South America and this was worth waiting for!

The theme of the Conference was "Living Values Education: Meeting a Global Need" and perhaps it was the increasing awareness of the importance of values in today's world, and in education, that helped ensure that the Ballroom at the Excelsior Hotel in central Asuncion was filled for over two days with about 600 enthusiastic educationists from some 15 countries. The atmosphere not only reflected the serious issues being addressed, and participants' keen desire to learn and share, but was also filled with a lightness and harmony that are among the hallmarks of the Paraguayan people, who were our warm-hearted and ever-accommodating hosts.

The Minister of Childhood and Adolescence gave an inspiring and insightful presentation while speakers from the Ministry of Education re-emphasised their overall support for the work in hand. The Conference was also well-covered by the local print and radio media and a number of interviews and articles were broadcast and published. As the proceedings drew to a close with festive songs and dances it was apparent that participants were leaving with a clear sense of renewed hope and commitment to education as a values-based endeavour. Many thanks are due to all who attended for their enthusiastic participation and also to the numerous sponsors and members of the organising committee that worked with the wonderful local LVE team in Paraguay.

Salwa Khalifa runs the Day Care Centre at the Security Forces Hospital in Riyadh and while visiting family in the west of Saudi Arabia she saw LVE Arabic books at the airport bookshop in Jeddah. She then attended a two-day LVE professional development course for educators held at Abdul Rahman Kanoo School in Bahrain in February 2007 and immediately afterwards began implementing the LVE approach with children at her Day Care Centre, and reported as follows:

"We implemented Living Values Activities to educate the children, explore and develop life-skill values.

FAMILY

During the month of March 2007, we focused on the value of love; the children responded quickly to love and all agreed that love is very important. In particular they enjoyed the "Happy Sponge" story and listened attentively to it. The activity allowed them to understand, express and show their love. During the "Flower of Love" activity older children were able to create flowers and draw on each petal things they love while younger children made a card for their family. The "I Am Lovable" activity allowed the youngsters to have a positive description of why they are lovable and they then used their imagination and creativity as they expressed their love in painting during the "I Feel Full of Love When ..." activity.

THE FOUR SEASONS

Simplicity was the focus for April and, under the overall theme of Four Seasons, children looked at

"Simple Pleasures" in Nature and pretended to be trees during the "Appreciating Trees" activity.

HEALTH & NUTRITION

Under this theme, the children spent May working with the value of responsibility and the "I Feel Proud When ..." activity was very successful as the children came to know that they have something to offer, and can feel contentment as they contribute to and care for the future with responsibility. They found out what is required to be a responsible child, carrying out a task to the best of their ability and doing their share of it. They also carried out the activity on "Advice to Dog Owners of the World" and heard the story of the turtle and the rabbit."

Led by Kana Gopal, Rosa Tham and Jason Wong, the Living Values Education team in Singapore has been piloting some new LVE materials, Living Values Activities for Young Offenders (LVAYO), and a group of dedicated volunteers spent many hours conducting these new LVE activities with incarcerated youth. The first young offenders finished the course recently and, at their graduation event, presented a drama and several songs about values which they composed themselves. Some of the comments of the graduates follow:

"I dare to dream again ..." Jacky

"Now I think WISELY." Azri

"My mind is more open ... I have learned to have control over myself and my life." Subhan

"I have learned to respect the people around me." Mohammed

"When everybody respects each other, there will be peace in the world. I have learned self-respect and to listen to others." Zul

"I have learned respect, patience and how to control my anger." Putra

"LVAYO has built up my confidence and made me believe in myself." Ezuwan

"I have learned the importance of values. They help me to be able to handle difficulties." Anthony

"I have learned to make the right choices. Now, I have self respect." Azra

"Now I think before I act. My favourite values are respect and tolerance. They help us to think about what we should do and what we should not do." Guan Tai

"In the past, I did not think before acting. Now I think before I act. I have learned to be peaceful and to be my true self. I have learned to control myself." Qi Jie

"I like peace because it helps me to practise other values easily. I used to stare at people. But I am respectful of others. Now I smile and speak politely." Wei Jie

"Now, when I am angry, I go to the 'Bubble' to remain peaceful. I have become a peace-maker and I think before I talk or act. I apply the skill of 'I feel' when I am upset with others. Although it sounded funny to people initially, I tried it several times and had success getting my message across. My favourite value is respect because when I give respect I gain respect." Farhan

"I used to give up on myself and feel hopeless about life. LVAYO has changed my attitude towards myself. It has helped me to think of positive choices and to solve problems. The listening I have learned helps me understand people better." Ron

"I used to be rude and impatient over little things. Now I have learned to respect myself and tolerate others. If I tolerate everything, nothing (bad) will happen. I have learned good manners." Jun Hong

"I liked the drawing activities and group work. I would like to work more on self-respect, active listening and being more caring." Ameen

"I used to get angry easily. I am more patient now and talk politely. When my friends get angry, I actively listen to them. I enjoy going into the 'Bubble' to be at peace." Zainal

"Peace can overcome all obstacles in life." Subhan

"If we don't respect ourselves, how can we respect others?" Mohammed

In February 2004, a UNESCO/UNITWIN agreement was signed by the University of Johannesburg in South Africa with UNESCO. The aim of the agreement was to establish a Chair for an international research initiative in Values Education. Universities in Australia, Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, Malaysia, South Africa, the United States of America and Vietnam became part of the initiative. In January 2005, the University of California, Berkeley, kindly hosted the first research planning session for the participating universities. The aim of this meeting was to consolidate ideas regarding niche research areas in Values Education. The second research planning meeting, held in South Africa this year, saw the consolidation of this international research consortium (which is co-directed by Professor Andy Furco of the University of California, Berkeley, USA, and Ms. Nazreen Dasoo of the University of Johannesburg, South Africa) and the identification of various research projects, with LVEP being part of an evaluation research project in Australia, Chile, Ecuador, Malaysia, South Africa, the USA and Vietnam.

Please also send us:

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