| Posted: May 06 2010,10:01 |
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Postal address of organization/institution
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P.O. Box 29242, San Francisco, CA 94129
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E-mail address of organization/institution
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office@uri.org
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Website address of organization/institution
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www.uri.org
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Telephone of organization/institution
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415-561-2313
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PRIORITIES: All of the organization's domains of culture of peace activity |
EDUCATION FOR PEACE
SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
HUMAN RIGHTS
WOMEN'S EQUALITY
DEMOCRATIC PARTICIPATION
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY
FREE FLOW OF INFORMATION
INTERNATIONAL PEACE AND SECURITY
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TOP PRIORITY: The organization's most important culture of peace activity |
UNDERSTANDING, TOLERANCE AND SOLIDARITY
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PARTNERSHIPS AND NETWORKS: What
partnerships and networks does your organization participate in, thus
strengthening the global movement for a culture of peace? |
NAIN,
Parliament of the World's Religions, Committee of Religious NGOs at the
UN, International Day of Peace NGO Committee, Culture of Pece
Initiative
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ACTIONS: What activities have
been undertaken by your organization to promote a culture of peace and
nonviolence during the ten years of the Decade? If you already made a
report in 2005, your information from 2005 will be included in the 2010
report.
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The
United Religions Initiative (URI) is an internationally recognized
global network that cultivates and connects grassroots change-makers
across religious, cultural and geographic boundaries, harnessing their
collective power to take on social, economic and environmental issues
that can destabilize regions and contribute to poverty. We
believe that when people’s passions and initiatives are organized and
connected, their differences bridged and their work shared, they are
creating a Culture of Peace.
Since the signing of our charter
in 2000, we have touched the lives of more than 1.5 million people of
different faiths in over 73 countries through our 465 interfaith
Cooperation Circles (CCs), whose 320,000 members are overcoming
religious and cultural differences to work together in
their communities and regions to combat violence and meet urgent human
needs. URI is the common thread, connecting people around our shared
principles and amplifying their local initiatives for peace and social
change. URI’s unique global network of grassroots CCs allows for local
and international issues to be addressed using our charter and purpose
while building multi-stakeholder partnerships to transform communities
and build regional stability.
Highlights of URI activities
contributing to the Culture of Peace during the second half of the
Decade include: expanding the number of members and CC's, the URI
Traveling Peace Academy (TPA), our Youth initiative,
addressing humanitarian needs, natural disaster
relief, and the International Day of Peace.
Membership
in the URI advances the Culture of Peace. To form a Cooperation
Circle, there must be a minimum of seven people from three distinct
religious traditions or spiritual practices who want to work together
on a shared focus. Many of the CC programs are designed to share
traditions, compare scripture and hold dialogues with people from
various religious traditions and cultures. Other programs meet
the needs of people within their communities. Examples include
providing sewing machines to women getting job training in the
Philippines, toilet goods to people in prison in Mosambique,
school supplies to needy children in Jordan and music and
dance training to children in India. CCs sponsor a variety of
educational forums. In India there is an annual form that brings
scholars together to address sacred texts. Pakistan created a
women's division and held a recent conference on women's rights. Forums
have addressed the environment, health, education, human rights and
many other topics. CCs around the world were active in promoting
the UNEP tree planting program and celebrate the International Day of
Peace and other UN days.
The URI Traveling Peace
Academy (TPA), developed in conjunction with Dr. John Paul Lederach of
Notre Dame University, offers unique, ongoing, quality team training to
advance peacebuilding skills. It began as the Moral
Imagination project and has now grown into the Traveling Peace Academy.
In the Philippines, an ongoing training program is bringing the
diverse Mindanao community leaders into constructive relationship with
each other, and to bring their voices into dialogue with the Manila
government, social service agencies, military and police. In Ethiopia,
young leaders are seeing themselves as –and inspiring others to become
- peacebuilders, creating training materials translated into Amharic,
and addressing religious conflicts on college campuses. In India, URI
members intervened in a century-old conflict, initiated actions that
prevented the impending violence, resulting in re-opening the locked
churches where thousands are now freely attending services together.
In Uganda the URI interfaith leaders who led mediation efforts
between rebels and the government are now facing post-war challenges –
mediating land disputes and reconciling the returning rebels who were
abducted as children back into the culture.
Over
200 youth from 30 countries gathered in Mayapur, India in 2008 to
expand the URI youth priority. This network uses technology to work
together to address global issues and support projects and programs at
the local level.
In the face of disaster, the URI has
responded to show that people of differnt faiths care for one another.
One example were the truck loads of food, clothes, tents and
blankets organized by the CCs in Pakistan and delivered by URI members
to earthquake victims.
The International Day of Peace,
September 21 is a shared date for CC activities. The URI works
with the Department of Public Information on the annual IDP student
observance the United Nations, bringing hundreds of youth to the UN
each year. CCs hold interfaith services and peace vigils, others
sponsor marches, parades, cultural events and community service
projects. Many CCs use the opportunity to work with schools and
local governments. A few highlihgts of URI IDP events include a
football match with local politicians and the Uganda Sports Press
Association; an indigenous gathering at Machu Picchu, Peru for a
healing and reconciliation ceremony; an annual program at UN Square in
Buenos Aires, Argentina; a large interfaith gathering in Copenhagen,
Denmark; an interfaith choir concert in Barcelona, Spain;
distribution of gifts to hospitals in India; and educational forums in
USA, Nepal, India and Pakistan. Participation expands each year.
IDP is one way to connect local activities to the work of the
UN. It offers an opportunity to interface with government
officials and request proclamations.
Other UN days and year
themes have been used by CCs to promote interfaith gatherings and
educational forums on the Environment, Women, Maleria, AIDS,
Nonviolence and Reconciliation. An initiative that began in
Ethiopia in 2007 is the Golden Rule Day, April 5. In 2010 Golden
Rule Day was used to promote the Charter for Compassion throughout the
URI.
Reverend Patrick Lumumba, member of the Acholi
Religious Leaders CC in Northern Uganda (and a member of the Moral
Imagination Project) in response to the violence in Nigeria said
this.."Nobody can build sustainable peace alone in this world, we need
to network with other stake holders even the government …".
The URI is a peacebuilding network and a bridge building organization to other networks.
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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 second half of the
Decade? |
We
have the blessing to see many local activities throughout the world
make a difference at the community level. The URI also works at
regional and multiregional levels and has been instrumental in making
change happen, addressing important issues and offering ways of
exchanging information on problems and successes through our list
serve, website, conferences and Global Assembly. We are
affiliated with the United Nations as an ECOSOC and DPI NGO.
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OBSTACLES: Has your organization faced any obstacles to implementing the culture of peace and nonviolence? If so, what were they?
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Obsticles
include the prejudices people need to address and overcome indealing
with various religions and cultures; lack of resources to do all the
things we would like to accomplish;
building longterm, working
relationships takes effort, time and resources; dealing with
religiously motivated violence is a hard topic when governments and
media are involved in the incidents.
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PLANS: What new engagements are
planned by your organization in the short, medium and long term to
promote a culture of peace and nonviolence? |
The
Traveling Peace Academy will be expanding. The International Day
of Peace continues to grow in importance and in participation.
URI CCs will continue to plan meetings, conferences and
educational forums ways of increasing tolerance, understanding and
shared actions to continue building the URI network.
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GLOBAL MOVEMENT: How do you think the culture of peace and nonviolence could be strengthened and supported at the world level??
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We
could work more closely with governments, religions and other
organizations to promote peace, human rights, tolerance and
understanding. Individuals can realize that they do make a
difference and that collectively we do make a difference.
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