Indigenous Cultures of Peace 2013

Re-educate to Partnership

International Conference

Torino, 26-27-28 April 2013

Three days of meetings and seminars to rediscover the educational values ​​of egalitarian societies and go beyond the languages, stereotypes and obstacles produced by patriarchal culture.

Starting from the elements highlighted at the 2012 conference on still-living egalitarian cultures, the association Laima sought, through this conference, to further explore the educational values that underpin these social models, with the aim of re-educating everyone toward a culture of peace and addressing the insidious problem of gender-based violence.

According to the sociologist Riane Eisler, the recognition of partnership is the foundation for a possible transition toward a mutual society that acknowledges the rights of women, boys and girls, and diverse sexual orientations—a social model in which the two halves of humanity have freed themselves from the “demeaning and mystifying rigidity of roles imposed by the hierarchies of domination inherent in androcratic systems.”

Similarly to the teachings that come to us from matriarchal societies, re-educating ourselves to partnership does not mean merely striving for gender equality, but restoring equality among all living beings and rediscovering an eco-spiritual dimension in which the world once again comes to be perceived as Mother.

The aim of the conference is to provide answers to the following questions:

• In view of a new vision of society, how can we teach a new, non-sexist, non-violent, and interreligious history?
• How can a symbolic order of equality be restored within language?
• How can we teach that life is not only domination, appropriation, and exploitation, but also care, reciprocity, and nourishment?
• How can we build a loving relationship according to the values of partnership?
• What is the significance of the maternal gift in the construction of a peaceful society, and how can it be given proper recognition?