wfn.org | Rhythms of Peace video

[BethAH <BethAH@mbm.org>]

June 20, 2001
Beth Hawn
Mennonite Board of Missions
(219) 294-7523
<NEWS@MBM.org>

June 20, 2001

Third Rhythms of Peace video features international stories

HARRISONBURG, Va. (MBM)  Mennonite Media has released a third
installment of the award-winning Rhythms of Peace video series,
which is designed to help children ages 8-11 discuss ways of
peacemaking.

The 39-minute video, titled Rhythms of Peace Around the World, is
divided into three segments, with each focusing on one of three
countries.  Each segment features two vignettes that focus on the
main theme of dissolving bias and prejudice and promoting peace
across cultures.  The lovable but somewhat clumsy Mr. Fredd,
played by Lee Eshleman, returns once again as the host who
introduces each segment using a circle as a symbol of peace.

In the first segment, Sticking Together tells the story of
Trena, a young gypsy girl in Bulgaria whose friends help her
escape an act of injustice by her aunt, who is prejudiced against
gypsies.  Give Peace a Chance profiles a peace camp in Bulgaria
near the Black Sea, where children learn ways to form friendships
and heal hurts from conflicting ethnic groups.

The island of Cuba serves as the backdrop for the second segment
and follows the youth choir Generacisn con Propssito (Generation
with Purpose) in everyday life around Havana.  A music video,
Vamos, in which the choir celebrates diversity through song and
dance, follows the mini-documentary.

The final segment takes place in nearby Jamaica, where children
tell a story without using words, in which giving leads to more
giving in The Box.  Deaf children also explain how they have
found ways to deal peacefully with the pain of prejudice.

Judy Mullet, associate professor of education at Eastern
Mennonite University in Harrisonburg, Va., and Vesna Hart, a
student in the graduate education program at EMU, wrote the
accompanying study guide.  Mullet has conducted workshops on the
development of conflict analysis in children at local, state and
national conferences and has published work on alternative
education in the School Board Journal.  Hart, who is from
Croatia, has trained teachers in prejudice reduction and conflict
resolution.

Rhythms of Peace Around the World takes on a more international
flavor than the previous two segments.  According to producer
Jerry Holsopple, Mennonite Medias past success with
international stories helped in picking locations for filming, as
did having contacts in other countries.  For example, while he
was brainstorming with people from EMUs Conflict Transformation
program, Holsopple met the camp director from Bulgaria, who was
enrolled in the program.

Likewise, Holsopples acquaintance with another student, Willroy
Grant, set the stage for filming a segment in Cuba.  Grant
recently served a three-year term with Mennonite Central
Committee at the Martin Luther King Center in Havana.

The Rhythms of Peace series, conceived by Holsopple, is intended
to provide antidotes to the media images of violence that
children grow up with in todays society, and help them discuss
ways to solve conflict peacefully.  The first two volumes each
won a Communicator Award, and Rhythms of Peace 2 is endorsed by
Kids First!, a coalition for quality childrens videos.  The
video comes with a world map for use by teachers and free 6-inch
rulers for children.  To order, call 800-999-3534.

Mennonite Media, a ministry of Mennonite Board of Missions,
produces electronic and public media for the general North
American audience through:
7 Third Way Cafi, a ministry web site.
7 Public service radio and TV spots.
7 A syndicated newspaper column, Another Way.
7 Videocassette products for churches and other users.

* * *

Kent Fellenbaum