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COMMENTS from YOUTH PARTICIPANTS
"The Phil ACCESS Program served as eye & heart opener to every individual who desires for peace."
"I learned a lot of new ideas and gained more knowledge about peace-building."
"We learn more and more each day. The schedule was fully-booked for learning activities."
"I will serve as a mirror of this program. I will reflect a youth, believing in and working wholeheartedly for peace. I will re-echo and share my learning and experiences from the Phil ACCESS Program to others and stimulate them to work hand-in-hand with me."
"Now I have understood the principles of Islam through the sessions, workshops and everyday experiences with each other."
"Interaction with Americans and staying with American foster parents taught me how much they value their families and how hospitable they are."
"Most Americans do not look at a person by the race he or she is from but by his or her sole character as a human being---just like themselves."
"Going to various houses of faith opened my mind to other existing religions."
"The NIU Institute helped and enabled me to become an active young peacemaker and an architect of peace. It taught me a lot of things and inculcated in me a lot of values which help me in building a “community of communities” within my family, friends and community."
"With the NIU experience and the follow-on activities, I will be able to face much greater challenges and be an active young advocate for peace in Mindanao and the Philippine nation as a whole. I do hope that we will be the catalyst for positive changes in our community through non-violent and peaceful ways."
"Through the Phil ACCESS, I have truly learned how it is to become a true peacemaker for Mindanao."
"I experience, for the first time, a total character transformation towards the culture of peace. I re-evaluated all the efforts I’ve done, rekindling my dedication to the program."
"The NIU-based Institute profoundly taught me how I should truly live my life."
A federally funded National Resource Center since 1997, the Center for
Southeast Asian Studies provides leadership, focus, and coordination for
Southeast Asian studies at the university.
cseas@niu.edu