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BLUE CAPPERS

MEMBERSHIP

Programme

The Blue Cappers program under the peace studies committee encourages and recognizes educational endeavors in the service of peace and other UN values.  

Persons are welcomed into membership of the Blue Cappers primarily in evidence of their having developed educational material relevant to the promotion of peace and UN values, and secondarily on their having signaled a commitment to peace and these values through relevant reflective pieces published in various avenues. 

The Membership is open to general application. Applications are received on a rolling basis at any time. However, the committee is not obliged to enter into correspondence with those who fail election.

Blue Capper Members (“Blue Cappers”) would usually be persons who are already gainfully employed and working as educators, although the committee welcomes professionals working outside of education but have a role in education broadly taken (e.g., professional training) and who are interested to align their professional work with the promotion of peace and UN values.

Application Package

Interested applicants should submit a package making a case for election.  The package should have “Blue Cappers Application” written clearly on the envelope.

It should be sent to:

Dr Jude Chua Soo Meng

Policy and Leadership Studies

National Institute of Education,

1 Nanyang Walk

Singapore 637616

The package must include the following, in a plastic folder, in the following order:

1. Signed Cover Letter expressing interest in election.
2. Contact information: H/P telephone no., a working email and address.
3. Short C.V. (150 or more words), detailing educational background and professional involvements.  Applicants will need to have at least a recognized Diploma degree or Bachelors degree.
4. Evidence to support election in one of the following combinations:
   1. 2 original lesson plans each with an abstract explaining how it relates to peace or UN values; OR
   2. 1 original lesson plan with an abstract explaining how it relates to peace or UN values, and 1 reflective piece, e.g. movie review, opinion piece, about 500 words or more, published in some avenue such as a newsletter or journal or conference proceeding or respectable website or online platform. OR
   3. 1 original lesson plan with an abstract explaining how it relates to peace or UN values, and 1 creative piece related to UN values made publicly available with explanation (e.g. copy of music composition or photograph of art work presented at an exhibition).
   4. 1 original lesson plan with an abstract explaining how it relates to peace or UN values and 5 original photographic prints. Photographic prints should each be captioned with a commentary explaining the picture and how the pictures are relevant to UN values, and how they are intended to be used, or have been used in relevant exhibitions. They can simply be printed on ordinary A4 size paper in black and white.
   5. Presentation at the UNAS annual conference, in the context of a break-out colloquium, which is usually held between May and July each year.  Possible presentations, usually max 30 mins each, include but are not exhausted by: 2 original and creative lesson plans infusing UN values, OR a series of photographic prints, OR a reflective paper related to peace / UN issues in education/pedagogy, OR an academic (e.g. philosophical) paper on UN or peace related issues not necessarily related to education, OR an artistic piece related to UN values, etc. To suggest something to present, please email the Chair of the Peace Studies Committee at:  jude.chua@nie.edu.sg 

Incomplete packages will not be reviewed and it is not the responsibility of the peace studies committee to chase after your documents. Email submissions are not accepted.

CLICK HERE for GUIDANCE DOCUMENT regarding education for Human Rights and other UN Values.

Election

Election usually occurs at the monthly board meeting.  Two reviewers appointed by the Chair will in consultation with the Chair decide whether to elect the applicant.

Successful applicants will be invited to take up UNAS membership corresponding to their grade if they have not done so, without which Blue Capper Membership status under this committee may not be awarded.

Should elected Blue Cappers behave in a manner which this committee deems undesirable, their status as Blue Capper Members may be immediately withdrawn.

Formal Election at AGM

A formal election ceremony occurs at the annual UNAS AGM, where they will sign the membership register.  They are invited to be appropriately dressed for the formal election ceremony, and are welcome to wear a blue baseball cap (or other colored cap with a UN related symbol or logo) as a symbol of their election to this prestigious fellowship.

Blue Cappers Benefits

Members will enjoy opportunities to network, be informed of relevant activities, have the opportunity of initiating activities and of being invited to present work at the annual UNAS conference.

Relevant Readings:

1. Jude Chua Soo Meng, A Philosophy of Education: Teaching and Learning Meaningfully and Responsibly (Pearson-Prentice Hall, 2006).

This work which develops an account of human rights education is available at the NIE co-op. It enjoys a positive review by Professor Ray Page HonFCollT of the College of Teachers at Institute of Education, London in Education Today, 57 (3), 2007, pp 28-30.   If you have access to the NIE library it is listed under call no. LB 1025.3 Chu

2. New Thinking On Peace : Essays on Peace and Human Security, Civilizational Dialogue, History, Education, Global Citizenship and University of the 21^st Century, by Wang Gangwu, Tommy Koh, Cham Tao Soon, Majid Tehranian, J Oerstroem Moeller, Daisaku Ikeda, Cho-Yee To, Amita Acharya (Singapore Soka Association, 2006)

As the title has it, this is a thoughtful collection of essays on peace related issues. Particularly worth looking at is Professor Tommy Koh’s address, where he intimates a balanced way forward on these matters by drawing from the best of the East and the West. If you have access to the NIE library it is listed under call no. JZ 5534 New.

3. UNESCO Study “Philosophy: A School of Freedom”

Teaching philosophy and learning to philosophize: Status and prospects” - an innovative publication based on the results of a worldwide study and abounding with unprecedented recommendations and proposals on the teaching of philosophy

http://portal.unesco.org/shs/en/ev.php-URL_ID=11575&URL_DO=DO_PRINTPAGE&URL_SECTION=201.html

Note: Applicants are advised to reference these or other relevant texts appropriately in their submitted lesson plans in their abstract and/or under the appropriate column which explains the aims and goals of their lesson plan.

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BLUE CAPPER FELLOWS:

Associates, Fellows, Professorial Fellows

For UNAS Blue Cappers with post-graduate degrees and who wish to have their own ongoing professional development and aspirations in accord with peace and other UN values recognized, UNAS supports them through our exciting professional development appointments according to the following grades and titles of Associate, Fellow and Professorial Fellow of the Blue Cappers, under the Peace Studies Committee. 

Typically, Blue Cappers may only apply for such appointments after at least 1 year of Blue Capper Membership, although the Chair may, in some circumstances, over-rule this requirement.

The Blue Cappers Professional Development Fellowship programme offers recognition to those who demonstrate potential for research work as evidenced by publication output as well as those with relevant practice-based achievements. There is hence a “research” track and a “practice track” for each grade.

Associates, Fellows and Professorial Fellows are welcomed from a variety of backgrounds as well as theoretical paradigms, and contribute by drawing on their particular expertise and disciplines and sharing the results of their work. It is a core commitment of this Chair to promote inter-disciplinary exchange and innovation in research, in order to find new ways of understanding, interpreting and addressing the current problems of the day. 

The non-stipendiary appointments and relevant title recognitions are open to general application, and interested parties who satisfy the criteria set down below should contact the Chair to discuss if their proposed ongoing research under the proposed appointments might match the persuasions of the peace studies committee.  

Application

They should write in, keeping everything within 6 A4 pages, with (1) a CV. (2) an explanation of their achievements based on the below listed academic and/or professional Criteria for which they may be recognized under the distinct grades, (3) a clear description of past work relevant to the mission of UNAS, (4) proposal for ongoing research and projects that they wish to pursue and (5) a letter of recommendation from a current Associate or Fellow, or else from a person of good repute.

Academic and Professional Criteria for appointments:

Associate of the Blue Cappers programme

Appointment to Associate-ship signifies “recognition of potential to contribute to the promotion of UN values.” Such potential is indicated by the following achievements:

·         Research track: a Masters degree, 2 peer reviewed publications

·         Practice track: a Masters degree, 2 publications or presented conference papers, and demonstration of leadership in one’s profession (e.g., through holding or having held a leadership appointment over 2 years, or the successful development of policy or programmes, or crafting of reports which are not “published” but which have influence or which have been implemented with success or with plans for refinement, etc.)

Associates may identify themselves as “Associates of the Blue Cappers programme” or “Blue Capper Associates”. There are no post-nominal suffixes attached to this appointment.

Fellow of the Blue Cappers programme

Appointment to Fellowship honors “significant contribution to work relevant to the promotion of UN values, and recognizes great promise to further such work”, as evidenced by the following achievements:

·         Research track: a Doctoral Degree, 6 peer reviewed publications

·         Practice track: a Masters Degree, 6 publications or presented conference papers, demonstration of senior leadership in one’s profession or other (non-profit or non-governmental) organizational work.(Publications need not be in peer reviewed journals, and can include short reflection pieces of circa 2,000 words drawing on one’s professional practice and experience published in professional magazines)

“Fellows of the Blue Capper Programme” or else “Blue Capper Fellows” may use the post-nominal suffix: FBCap.

Professorial Fellow of the Blue Cappers programme

Appointment to Professorial Fellowship is a prestigious honor conferred only on Fellows who have achieved very high standards of scholarship and professional practice. Such an appointment honors “very significant past and ongoing contribution to work relevant to the promotion of UN values, and recognizes very great promise to further important work relevant to the promotion of UN values.”  Professorial Fellows can be proud to have been appointed having satisfied the following transparent and demanding criteria:

·         Research Track: Doctoral Degree, 18 peer reviewed publications, 6 of which are published in journals listed in ISI-Web of Science (Science Citation Index, Social Science Citation Index or Arts and Humanities Citation Index) or other prestigious index (e.g, Econlit for economic literature), recognition by learned or professional societies, and service to UNAS.

·         Practice Track: Doctoral Degree, 18 publications or presented conference papers of which 6 are in peer reviewed journals, recognition by professional or learned societies, demonstration of senior leadership in one’s profession or other (non-profit or non-governmental) organizational work in which one has a senior role, and service to UNAS.

“Professorial Fellows of the Blue Capper Programmes” or “Blue Capper Professorial Fellows” retain the use of the post-nominal status title: FBCap

They are welcome to wear a (blue) stole during relevant UNAS functions to signify their distinguished status.

Honorary Fellows of the Blue Cappers programme

Upon the recommendation of the Chair and the approval of the board, persons who have made exceptional contributions to the promotion of UN goals and values, including work for peace, may be recommended for election as Honorary Fellows of the Blue Cappers, and may use the post-nominal: Hon.FBCap

The titles are awarded in consultation with the UNAS board of Directors.  They are not professional or academic qualifications, but rather are appointments with associated titles in recognition of achievement and potential.

Formal Election at AGM

A formal election ceremony occurs at the annual UNAS AGM.  They are invited to be appropriately dressed for the formal election ceremony, and are welcome to wear a blue baseball cap (or other colored cap with a UN related symbol or logo) as a symbol of their election to this prestigious Fellowship.

Professorial Blue Capper Fellows, newly appointed as well as current ones, are Fellows who have achieved the highest honor, and so are encouraged to wear a (preferably, blue) stole, serving thus as a catalytic source of encouragement to other Fellows.

Link with Peace Studies Committee, UNAS

Associates, Fellows and Professorial Fellows are offered such prestigious appointments under the Blue Cappers Programme, Peace Studies Committee, UNAS. They may identify themselves as such according to their grades and titles in their publications or work.  However, their opinions in publications or work are theirs, and do not represent those of UNAS.

Link to - Fellows Appointment Address 2010