Principle 6: From Competition to Cooperation

Examples 1:
The evolution of the running methods, 1999—2003. creation of the group run.
When we started to work with this principle “from and through competition to cooperation”, one of the first changes proposed was that the children run as a group and that we focus on the closeness of the running group from the first to the last person as our measurement of what was beautiful. This transformed the running event into real teamwork. Despite the training in first festival when the games began the mood of the event created an excitement that made the kids go back to their old habits. The first two groups broke apart when the kids ran as fast as they could and left behind their teammates. Then came a very special moment. Fiola, one of the children who was a natural leader, got the message. She ran at a pace that enabled everyone to keep up. The group became a unit and all the audience stood in awe and clapped knowing that she had helped us all cross a threshold and that a new horizon of possibilities lay in front of us.
Group running/ the story of Fiola and the group run and how we as organizers changed the run into a group run/

 

Examples 2:
Seeing the transformation that occurred in the children, in some to a greater degree than others, was amazing. They came with fears, with prejudices with misconceptions as many of us do. But in Olympeace these fears quickly dissipated. No one judged them so they did not feel they should judge others. Nobody expected them to be better, to be strong. There was no competition. They just had to be themselves, each to be best he or she can be. They were loved for who they are, unconditionally.

 

Music Examples:
You can't compete with the other in music otherwise it is not beautiful. An easy way to start is to have the leader call and let the group repeats. Then use a call and response method with two groups. One group calls and the other responds. Then use two voices, each complementing the other. It is not possible to sing two voices alone. We need the second voice. We need the other. Although at first it is hard and even disturbing to work with the other we practice and it becomes beautiful. The other that disturbs me at first becomes a necessity for singing a song beautifully.                         
Tami, Music teacher

Find situations that build  cooperation and teamwork during the festival such as preparing food, preparing the site, decorating activities, planning festivities, planning how to spend free afternoons together, etc. In school there are many other opportunities such as service activities, handcraft activities, harvest activities, cooperative games, sharing and experiencing the religious practices and traditions of the other.

Working Group from AllinPeace                                                

 

Explanation:
We need to rethink when we are competing and when we are cooperating .In any sport in order to just play the match we need a high level of cooperation and a shared idea of what the rules are, how to play the game, what sportsmanship is all about. As recent scientific studies have found, in nature, 90% is about cooperation and 10% about competing for the same resources, but scientific publications stress just the opposite. Our culture is overlooking the fact that we spend much more time cooperating than competing. We need to emphasize this basic foundation of contact and engagement. Sport and art are two particularly good places to begin this rethinking.