| Posted: May 01 2005,14:48 |
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PROGRESS: Has your organization seen
progress toward a culture of peace and nonviolence in your domain of
action and in your constituency during the first half of the Decade? |
As
you will see from the description of our activities (below) this has
indeed been a time of important advances in our work to put peace on
the agenda of many different sectors of society. However, at the same
time it feels that for much of the population it has been a time of
increasing fear and hopelessness regarding the world situation,
therefore we certainly have plenty of work to do!
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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That
peace is still seen as a side issue, a pleasant addition but not a
necessity. Therefore, peace is still not a priority (as far as we can
see from actions) for most people, including those in power and the
media.
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ACTIONS: What actions have been
undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the first half of the Decade?
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Peace Education:
-
Publication and sale of resource materials including books, manuals,
DVDs and videos, the World Peace Flame (WPF) web-site, our monthly WPF
newsletter and the Global Witness Initiative (see
www.worldpeaceflame.com), and a Peace Message sent out around the world
at Christmas to encourage people to take practical steps to make peace
in their own lives.
- Courses, seminars, workshops and talks to
teach practical peacemaking skills for healing emotional pain,
dissolving inner conflict and becoming more empowered. These run in
Australia, UK, The Netherlands, Belgium, Germany, USA and Canada.
-
Media work. In The Netherlands alone, newspaper articles covering our
peace work have touched 3 million people in the last five years. And we
have reached many millions more through television coverage of our work
in the USA and Europe, including a 20 part documentary on Dutch
television and a 7 part series on Goodmorning Russia which is televised
across Eastern Europe.
– Detraumatisation and peacemaking work
in crisis areas, including Northern Ireland, the Sudan, South Africa,
Kenya, Bosnia, the North Caucasus, and Nepal. This includes work with
people from opposing groups in order to form bridges of mutual
understanding, helping them to transform painful emotions, stress and
trauma into self-esteem and the strength to move forwards. Manuals are
produced and all the training sessions are documented. We work in
cooperation with the United Nations, International Red Cross, CPCD and
War Child.
- Peace education in schools, training the Peacemakers of the future.
- Working with companies to help more peaceful workplace dynamics.
- Workshops with influential business leaders in Europe and the USA
- Initiating and supporting a whole network of WPF Peace groups who carry out activities to promote peace in their local areas.
International work: reaching out in Peace
The World Peace Flame
The
eternal World Peace Flame was created in 1999. For the first time in
history, seven flames of peace from five continents were flown across
the oceans and united to create a single World Peace Flame. Lit by
eminent peacemakers, carried by military airforces and commercial
airlines, each flame represented the highest intentions for peace
within their continents.
The World Peace Flame is a symbol of peace, unity, freedom and truth.
It reminds us of the essential freedom of the human spirit
to create peace at any time under any circumstances.
Since
then, the World Peace Flame has been presented to dignitaries and
celebrities including H.H. Pope John Paul II, Mr. Pat Cox, President of
the European Parliament and Sir Richard Attenborough. The World Peace
Flame has also opened major international events including the G8
Summit in Okinawa Japan, the Cinema for Peace Gala at the Berlin
International Film Festival (2003 and 2004) where Christopher Lee lit
the Flame, and the Parliament of the World’s Religions in Cape Town
(1999) and Barcelona (2004).
We are dedicated to realising a
chain of World Peace Flame monuments in all the major cities of the
world. Monuments have already been inaugurated in The Hague and Cadzand
(The Netherlands), Memphis (USA), the Life Foundation's International
Course Centre (UK) and Sydney (Australia), and are being planned in
Berlin (Germany), Brugge (Belgium), Venlo (The Netherlands) Glasgow
(UK) and Hanoi (Vietnam).
Ambassadors for Peace
The work of
the World Peace Flame has gathered influence and prestige over the last
5 years. In April 2004 the WPF made history once again by bringing
every single country together to endorse a Statement for Peace. The
Statement was presented at the inauguration of the World Peace Flame
Pathway at the Peace Palace, home of the United Nations International
Court of Justice, in The Hague. In a unique display of cooperation and
solidarity, Ambassadors from every country had donated a special stone
for the Pathway to represent their nation’s hopes for peace and their
commitment to a better world.
World Peace Flame and practical peacemaking
•
10 million people have taken a light from the World Peace Flame.
Thousands light the WPF every day as a dedication to peace, and
hundreds keep the Flame burning eternally, 24 hours a day, in their
homes or workplaces.
• The WPF Monuments around the world are
visited by millions every year, who take great strength and inspiration
from this powerful symbol of peace.
• Each Monument is a reminder
to passers-by and visitors of the power of peace, and there are also
related local projects. For example, the Director of the Peace Palace
in The Hague gave out WPF candles to the judges of the International
Court of Justice at Christmas, and in Memphis local schools come and
give fuel to the Flame each week.
• Numerous local projects have
emerged from the World Peace Flame, including Peace Groups, youth
groups, community eternal flames, peace walks, schools’ projects etc
• The WPF has touched so many different sectors of society:
o the top progressive business leaders of our time, who in turn have an enormous impact on the world
o
international movie stars such as Roger Moore (UNICEF Ambassador), Liza
Minelli, Dustin Hoffman, Christopher Lee, George Clooney, Ralf Moeller
and many others
o religious and political leaders including His
Holiness the Pope, His Holiness the Dalai Lama, Tony Blair, Mary
Robinson and Pat Cox, President of the European Parliament and numerous
leaders from all different sectors of society
o Ambassadors, Foreign
Ministers, and hundreds of diplomats who cooperated in the creation of
World Peace Flame Pathway at the Peace Palace in The Hague.
o
hundreds of tourists who visit the World Peace Flame Monument at the
Peace Palace every day, as well as the many people visiting and caring
for the other WPF Monuments around the world.
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ADVICE: What advice would you like to
give to the Secretary-General and the General Assembly to promote a
culture of peace and nonviolence during the second half of the Decade? |
Make
Peace headline news. Talk about the positive. Highlight successes. This
will inspire and give hope, which are the greatest catalysts to helping
people to become peacemakers in their every day lives. Spend 5% of your
time on problems and 95% on solutions.
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
This is indeed crucial and we frequently cooperate and collaborate with other peace-loving organisations and individuals.
Peace
groups and supporters of our work, through to all the constituencies we
work with, from ordinary people, to politicians and diplomats, to film
stars, religious leaders and business leaders! In addition, in each and
every project, we work very closely with local people and
organisations: in fact, all our work has come about as a result of
successful partnerships and networking. And we further seek to support
the work of other peacemakers by offering to bring the WPF to preside
over events, gatherings etc, just as we did for the G8 Summit, Cinema
for Peace and the Parliament of the World’s Religions.
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence in the second half of the Decade (2005-2010)? |
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Postal address of organization
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Postbus 88
6670 AB Zetten
The Netherlands
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E-mail address of organization
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info@worldpeaceflame.com
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Website address of organization
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www.worldpeaceflame.com
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Understanding, tolerance, solidarity
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Second priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Education for a culture of peace
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Highest priority country of action (or international)
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International
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Second priority country of action (or international)
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