| Posted: April 18 2005,19:56 |
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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? |
We
are a new organization, incorporated in May of 2002, so it is hard for
us to judge whether there has been progress towards a culture of peace
and justice during these past five years in comparison to previous
years. There does seem to be more of an effort for numerous
organizations in the peace and justice community to work together
during the past six months. As familiarity with internet
communication develops worldwide, there is definitely more conversation
between international peace organizations. While there has
apparently been a decrease in the anti-war activity since the invasion
of Iraq commenced and especially since the re-election of President
George Bush, there is a concommitant increase in positive activities
aimed at peace, non-violence, respect, compassion and equity for all.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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Fear
and greed are the biggest obstacles to progress in developing a culture
of peace and non-violence. People in the affluent countries are
afraid of losing their seemingly secure positions on this earth.
What they don't realize is their positions are not secure as long
as hunger, abject poverty, blatant injustice and inequality are rampant
on our planet.
Greed encourages some governments and large
corporations to feed the fear so that they can deceive and manipulate
the less educated and less affluent.
It is the goal of Global
Coalition for Peace to replace fear and violence with compassion and
love. Our biggest obstacle is lack of funding.
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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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First
International Day of Peace Parade - This was held in Washington, DC on
September 20, 2004 to usher in the International Day of Peace.
Following an impressive forum of speakers, about 500 people,
individuals and representatives from other peace and justice
organizations marched through downtown Washington, DC. We are
planning a second Peace Parade on September 17th of this year.
The
worldwide Sequential Meditation for Peace - every Saturday evening at
6:00 PM we join with people all over the world in offering prayers and
meditation for world peace.
Mother-to-Mother for Peace and
Non-violence - This is a program that creates partnerships between
mothers in conflicting cultures and nations for the purpose of
supporting each other in their decision to raise their children in the
ways of non-violence. The goal is to raise a generation of young
men and women who will not consider war or violence as an option for
resolving conflict.
The New Economic Model - This program
explores alternative economic models for the purpose of designing a new
paradigm for a culture of peace and creating a more equitable world for
all of earth's citizens.
Peace Meals - On the first Saturday of
each month Global Coalition for Peace opens their doors to the public
for an afternoon of live music, lunch and an informative presentation
on a peace-related issue.
Women's Self Reliance Program -
This program aims to help women in impoverished areas of the world to
develop more self-reliance through nutrition education, intensive
gardening and micro-enterprise. The first implementation of the
program is now taking place in the Peten region of Guatemala.
Theology
of the Sickle - A program that engages farmers, consumers and those
living in poverty in complementary activities that will enable all
people without discrimination to have access to an abundance of
wholesome, life-sustaining food.
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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? |
Engage
in more projects like this and follow up on them to bring together
people who have no motive except to help create a more peaceful and
equitable world.
Be strong!
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
Our own organization is a coalition in partnership with sixteen other organizations including:
Strategic Pastoral Action Network
RI Committee for Nonviolence Initiatives
Rhode Island FOR Local Group
Yoga for Peace
Russian Indian Heritage Acacemy
Friends of Peace
Union Agricultural Institute
MK Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence
Natural Awakenings Magazine
Season for Nonviolence 2002
Rural Center for Responsible Living
Indian Summer
Issa Center
The Basic Feast
Synergy
Be the Cause
Global Education and Peace Research
Unique Friends International
Still Mountain Tai Chi Center
We
are also closely tied to the work of the New Culture of Peace from
Harmony, IFLAC Pave Peace, Peace X Peace, Maryland United for Peace and
Justice, the Washington DC Network for Peace and Justice, and we are an
affiliate of the Fellowship of Reconciliation.
In our work in Guatemala we are working with Project Ix-Canaan, which means Guardians of the Rain Forest.
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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)? |
We would like to see the International Day of Peace Parade become an annual and worldwide event.
We hope to recruit many more mothers to the Mother-to-Mother for Peace and Non-violence program.
We plan to develop and expand the Women's Self-Reliance Program to other impoverished regions.
We hope to begin implementing the Theology of the Sickle program.
We plan to continue holding Peace Meals, working on the New Economic Model and promoting the Sequential Meditation for Peace.
In short, our plans are to further develop and expand the programs that we have initiated.
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Postal address of organization
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Global Coalition for Peace
4209 East-West Highway
Chevy Chase, MD 20815
USA
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E-mail address of organization
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rose@globalcoalitionforpeace.net
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Website address of organization
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www.globalcoalitionforpeace.net
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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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Sustainale development
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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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Latin America
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