| Posted: Feb. 27 2005,16:52 |
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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? |
While
‘polarisation’ in our responses to the challenges of today’s
globalising world seems to shatter long established societal structures
and relationships on all levels, more and more people are accepting
that these challenges are also offering unprecedented opportunities to
bring changes: changes that must start here, in me, my family, my
community.
Everywhere, and within every culture, people are becoming
more outspoken and also more ready to listen to other’s point of view.
There is less willingness to ‘patch up’ or ‘ignore’ issues; more
readiness to participate in re-constructing and re-building new
relationships from the bottom up. This is a very visible characteristic
within the Wanganui community as well as New Zealand as a whole.
Increasing honesty, good will and optimism are emerging from even the darkest and most troubled places.
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OBSTACLES: What are the most important obstacles that have prevented progress?
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Fear,
mistrust, and ill will, both feeding and feeding upon the chaotic state
of affairs of the world, compounded by fierce defensiveness and lust
for power on both personal and national levels.
It is a very real
challenge to learn how to move beyond this approach to life and living;
how not to give it energy or be discouraged, but instead persist in the
resolve to help build a new culture.
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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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Taking
to heart the Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace,
adopted by the UN General Assembly October 1999, Peace through Unity
considered how it could best respond to the call for people everywhere
and within all walks of life actively to participate in the creation of
a culture of peace. The realization of a new culture and a new
civilization will indeed depend on the resolve and commitment of each
one of us – the world’s peoples. Like large ocean vessels need little
tug boats safely and accurately to harbour them before the distribution
of their cargo can take place, so too does the realization of a global
vision depend on the conscious and deliberate involvement of us all for
its anchoring and implementation.
In late 1999 early 2000 OPTU
embarked upon a culture of peace project, which we envisioned would
evolve, step-by-step, through interaction and cooperation between
people, first within the local and then within the wider community.
Taking inspiration from those visionaries who had already established
the concept of a culture of peace in the minds of people throughout the
world, we felt the importance of linking with and building on the
foundation of their work and adding to the already existing momentum.
---Creating the Wanganui (New Zealand) culture of peace sculpture, “Handspan”---
With
the help of the regional Art Gallery (the Sarjeant Gallery) and the
approval of the Wanganui District Council, who also decided to donate a
site for it on public ground, a culture of peace sculpture competition
was organized for all artists of the region, and the winner’s name was
announced at a multi-cultural celebration in the Gallery. A souvenir
programme was prepared by young art students, which included the
Manifesto 2000 and the symbol of Nicholas Roerich’s banner of peace
(copies available).
The design “Handspan”, chosen by 3 independent
judges, is a large work of art, almost 20 meters in diameter which
rises in a double spiraled pathway to a height of about 3 meters with
walls on each side, covered presently with some 4000 terracotta hand
casts made from hand prints of community members of all ages (each
named), leaving room for more in the future.
The construction of
this unique structure drew together people from all parts of the
Wanganui community, requiring the combined skills, ingenuity,
generosity, and cooperation of engineers, architects, electricians,
plumbers, plasterers and construction workers and also all those who
contributed a hand (from 3 months to 106 years old) for its completion.
Intensive fundraising by OPTU, including an auction of artwork donated
by local artists, and other gifts, provided funding for this project.
Through
cooperation and through overcoming all challenges and obstacles during
the building process, the sculpture stood ready – on the first fixed
International Day of Peace, 21st September 2002, - to be dedicated to a
Culture of Peace and Non-violence for the Children of the World by the
New Zealand Governor-General who also gave a hand print) in the
presence of people from the local and wider community. The sculpture
was then officially – via the Wanganui Mayor - handed over to the
community who, through their involvement, gave it life, substance and
meaning. Standing on public ground on a historic hill in the heart of
the city of Wanganui, neighbouring the Art Gallery, the Regional Museum
and Library, and also the city’s war memorial, it has become a much
visited and popular additional attraction for both tourists and people
from the community.
At the east entrance a plaque is inscribed with
a quote from the UN Charter: “..to live together in peace with one
another as good neighbours”, to be read as a definition of a culture of
peace and underscoring the commitment made here to this UN goal. At the
sculpture’s zenith another circular plaque carries the symbol of the
banner of peace. Two adjustable and removable aluminium poles are
available for those who wish to fly this or any other banner on special
occasions.
Since the 2002 dedication of the peace sculpture on the
first Peace Day we have each year celebrated 21st September. In 2004 a
well-attended multi-cultural Prayer Breakfast was organized at the
Quaker Settlement, where people from different faiths and ethnic groups
came together to chant, invoke and pray for a culture of peace. The UNA
branch members mentioned the names of each UN member state, praying
that peace would prevail in each and every one of them. It was decided
to make this a yearly event.
---“Wanganui Culture of Peace – 2002”---
By
way of thanking all those involved in the project and also serving as a
public record and a memento, a coffee table sized book was published
which, through pictures and text, describes the process of building the
sculpture, the thoughts behind it, and the work ahead.
The photos
feature some of the many people involved and the text includes poems by
local writers, the blessing ceremonies led by the Maori kaumatua
overseeing this initiative, and various other contributions such as
from the Wanganui Mayor and Federico Mayor, President of the Foundation
for a Culture of Peace, Madrid. (Copies available).
---Manifesto 2000 and the Banner of Peace---
During 2003 and 2004 OPTU continued its efforts to promote the realization of a culture of peace.
Acknowledging
the immense work already done by remarkable people in this regard since
the beginning of the 20th century until today, and recognizing also the
importance of letting their accomplishments guide, inspire and empower
the work lying ahead of us all, OPTU had a banner made, on which the 6
points of the Manifesto 2000 encircle the universal symbol for trinity
on the banner of peace, created by the great Russian thinker and
artist, Nicholas Roerich, who also founded the “Roerich Pact” (signed
in 1935 by Franklin D. Roosevelt and since then by many other
governments). This banner makes visible and unites the commitments made
by both governments and peoples for the creation of a culture of
peace and holds up the six-point guidelines we have pledged to abide
by. More than 75 million people have so far signed Manifesto 2000.
This
ancient symbol, chosen for the banner, belongs to no one but all
humanity, and brings together the world’s peoples in a culture that
respects and celebrates all cultures. It also speaks directly to the
individual heart. Among the interpretations given to this sign of the
triad are: past, present and future, enclosed in the ring of Eternity
and religion, science and art, held together in the circle of Culture.
The
banner is being used as a focal point for various events, celebrations
and meetings by different groups and organizations here in New Zealand
as well as in other countries.
---Pamphlet: “Creating a Culture of Peace”---
This
pamphlet (4000 copies printed so far) has been distributed widely. It
offers OPTU’s understanding of the essential role of culture in our
lives and relationships and gives a short background for the Banner of
Peace/Manifesto 2000 initiative.
It also presents a proposal which
asks that individuals, as well as institutions concerned with education
on all levels, all places of worship and of cultural significance,
local government and government ministries etc, “promote
actively, consistently, and in every way possible the creation of a
culture of peace, built upon the foundation of right human relations
and the basic oneness of all life.” It also asks that we all uphold the
pledge – in accordance with Manifesto 2000 – to respect all life;
reject violence; share with others; listen to understand; preserve the
planet; and rediscover solidarity. Copies are available to anyone who
wishes to use or distribute them.
---Ministry or Department for the Promotion of a Culture of Peace---
On
the 7th October 2003 Peace through Unity wrote a letter to the New
Zealand Prime Minister, the Rt. Hon Helen Clark, proposing that “in
order to help transform the present proliferation of a culture of
conflict into a culture of peace” a Ministry for Peace, or a Department
for Peace within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade be
established.
We argued that “while Freedom of speech and
expression and Freedom of worship have improved greatly since the
second World War, Freedom from want and from fear are still plaguing
our world. The build-up of armaments has not created a sense of
security, and neither has globalisation been successful in eliminating
poverty or creating sustainable use of the world’s natural resources”.
We proposed that such a department would help to:
--Identify root-causes of conflict, disharmony and hostility between nations and peoples;
--Actively
promote the employment of conflict-resolution, mediation, negotiation
and other peacemaking and peace-building skills, and encourage that
these skills become common practice;
--Become a focal point for
active and constructive cooperation between government (and its various
departments) and civil society for the creation of a fairer, healthier,
more prosperous and more enlightened local/global community.
Early
the following December OPTU received a reply from the Deputy Prime
Minister, the Hon. Dr. Michael Cullen, stating that “there is no plan
to establish a Ministry for Peace at this time”, going on to outlining
the many ways the NZ government is presently contributing “towards
peace-building efforts”. This response does, we feel, allow for further
dialogue in this matter.
Several national NGOs, such as the UNANZ and others, have subsequently officially endorsed this initiative.
OPTU
acknowledges the wisdom of the NZ Government in throwing the ball back
into the campaigners’ court. Much thought, consultation and public
awareness of and support for this idea needs to accumulate and give
strength, clarity and sense of inclusiveness to the form it will
eventually take.
We believe it is essential that such a ministry
should not be the outcome of a ‘special issue’ campaign, but rather
become a ‘meeting place’ between government and peoples from all parts
of society as outlined in the Culture of Peace resolution (i.e.
parents, students, teachers, unions, artists, business, medical
profession, environmentalists, politicians, lawyers…..) within which
the concerns of each of these special issues could be openly
discussed and find solutions that would be beneficial to all parties:
solutions which could then be worked upon and implemented by the
appropriate ministry, institution, organization or group of people.
We
would like to suggest that any planning for the formation of such a
ministry should include the proposals made at the First International
Conference on a Culture of Peace in Madrid, which call for a “global
plan of endogenous development”. Such a plan of development coming from
the very core of humanity should, according to the Madrid Declaration,
be based on four “new contracts”: social, natural and environmental,
cultural, and ethical and moral.
The 1995 Report of the Commission
on Global Governance, “Our Global Neighbourhood” also underscores the
need for a global ethic which would “help humanize the impersonal
workings of bureaucracies and markets and constrain the competitive and
self-serving instincts of individuals and groups”. This would ensure,
says the Report, that international society will be “imbued by a civic
spirit”.
With the concept of globalisation still needing to be
better understood; with today’s generally accepted realisation that we
live in and form part of an interdependent and continuously evolving
organic whole - maybe one can look forward to future social structures
resembling more that of a living organism than of a complex piece of
machinery.
---New Peace Through Unity website---
Peace
through Unity is presently involved in the process of creating a new
website, dedicated to strengthening the ongoing work throughout the
world to transform a culture of violence and mistrust into a culture of
peace.
Further to the above mentioned projects and activities, the
OPTU founders, board of advisors and OPTU’s representative at UN
NGO/DPI conferences and meetings at
UN HQ in New York, are regularly
offering and distributing information, attending meetings and giving
addresses on a culture of peace.
Through our quarterly newsletter
“Many to Many” (available on website and as e-mail), published since
1982, information and updates on culture of peace activities and
initiatives are also networked widely.
Thanking you
for this opportunity to contribute to the midterm report of civil
society to the UN Secretary-General for the International Decade for a
Culture of Peace and Non-Violence for the Children of the World, we
wish to assure you of our resolve to continue to participate in the
global movement towards the emergence of a better, fairer and more
enlightened global community in which we can live together in peace
with one another as good neighbours.
On behalf of Peace through Unity,
Gita Brooke
January 2005
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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? |
The
Secretary-General often emphasizes the indispensable role of civil
society in fulfilling the commitments made by UN member states. But –
although the Secretary-General does specify this generic term when
speaking to certain actors within civil society – OPTU believes that
more encouragement could be given to and be much welcomed by us, the
peoples of the UN, who may not fall within any particular category of
actors but nevertheless constitute the very soil in which the seeds of
a new civilization must take root if the commitments made by
governments are to be realised.
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PARTNERSHIPS: What partnerships and
networks does your organization participate in, thus strengthening the
global movement for a culture of peace? |
Since
Peace Through Unity was founded in Sweden in 1975 we have cooperated
with numerous different groups, organizations, institutions and
individuals on many different short-term and long-term projects.
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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)? |
Fulfilling the commitments that we made at the beginning of the decade.
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Postal address of organization
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Operation Peace Through Unity
Te Rangi, 4 Allison Street
Wanganui 5001
New Zealand
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E-mail address of organization
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optubrookiana@xtra.co.nz
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Website address of organization
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www.isleofavalon.co.uk/manytomany.html
or
www.angelfire.com/journal/brooke2000/
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Highest priority action domain of a culture of peace
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Education for a culture of peace (which we feel include all the other categories)
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Second priority action domain of 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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