About
PCP is still a new organization, having been established in 2018, but its member, Nahoko Takato, an aid worker, has been continuing humanitarian aid activities in the region for more than 18 years since 2003. Immediately after the war in Iraq, Takato, while witnessing the extent of the damage caused by the war, carried out various humanitarian aid activities, such as providing water, food, daily necessities, housing, and medical missions, all of which were necessary for the local people. Once the emergency relief phase was over, we worked with the local people on reconstruction projects.
However, just as these efforts seemed to be bearing fruit, the Islamic State (IS) emerged at the end of 2013, and the devastation was so horrific that she almost despaired, and she felt a sense of intense frustration. She described that time as "I thought I had seen hell, but there was an even deeper bloody hell at the bottom of it, and I thought the lid had been opened.
In the midst of this despair, a young local staff member said, "If there is one thing we have gained in the worst years of hell this country has ever experienced, it is diversity. With these words, she finds a small glimmer of hope. This "acceptance of diversity" is what she has long believed to be the country's greatest need, "a concept to break the cycle of retaliation" = "a floor to nurture peace cells. "It's a floor to nurture peace cells.
She thought that now, as the younger generation began to recognize the preciousness of diversity, it was time to build a new peace education to break the "chain of retaliation" that had been passed down from generation to generation in Iraq, and that is how Takato later came across theater education in Japan. She was shocked to observe a high school in Fukushima create a play based on their own experiences and research related to the earthquake and nuclear power plant accident, and realized the great potential of a theater workshop based on individuality, empathy, cooperation, imagination, and communication skills.
I want to try this in Iraq."
In 2016, two theater professionals visited Iraq, laying the groundwork for their participation and cooperation in Takato's activities. There, PCP was set in motion by a succession of experts in reading, environmental issues, and other fields.
PCP is an organization that brings together people from "diverse" fields, building on the foundation of Takato's many years of humanitarian assistance in the region.
Message
Peace Cell Project (PCP) is a joint Japanese-Iraqi organization that provides peace education and ecology (environmental protection) programs for children and youth in Iraq, a country that has been in conflict for a long time.
Starting from Duhok, Kurdistan Region of Iraq, PCP conducts reading campaigns such as mobile libraries, picture book and story show productions, and the establishment of school libraries; arts education such as communication and drama workshops, music classes, and theater productions; and ecology programs such as clean-up activities, natural environment protection activities, promotion of renewable energy, and global environment protection classes. and other ecological programs.
What is PCP?
Our goal is to enhance local children's creativity, expression, empathy, and awareness of human rights through a variety of educational programs in reading, education, the arts, and the global environment, to recognize diversity, and to break the "cycle of retaliation" that has been passed down from generation to generation in Iraq, by creating new and fun peace learning opportunities in Iraq It is to take place throughout the entire country.
Our Mission
Duhok is an autonomous Kurdish region in northern Iraq. It hosts many Syrian refugees and the largest number of IDPs (Internally Displaced Persons) in Iraq, as well as a large number of former child soldiers who are being reintegrated into society. We believe it is very significant that PCP's intended activities will begin in Duhok, where many war victims of different ethnic, religious, sectarian, and linguistic backgrounds are living. We hope to expand our activities here to all of Iraq as the "Duhok Model".
Where is Duhok? Why Duhok?
PCP started as a voluntary organization on September 1, 2018. Our first project was to invite the head of the Board of Education, a representative and manager of a local NGO, and the director of a juvenile prison from the Kurdish Autonomous Region in northern Iraq. We started with a project full of content, including classes on the environment in Japanese libraries, juvenile prisons, and educational settings; picture book presentations by high school students; observation and participation in drama workshops at elementary schools; and a visit to Hiroshima and Nagasaki and discussions with hibakusha (atomic bomb survivors).
In May 2022, as the project expanded, it became a general incorporated association, Peace Cell Project.
History
The staff consists of educators, aid workers, librarians, designers, actors, and playwrights, all with different experiences, as well as volunteer staff and support members.
Who are we?