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Peace Partnership
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| First Global Summit in United Kingdom | | Print | |
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 London Summit Participants Forty people from twelve countries took time from their busy lives and invested their energy and resources to attend. The countries represented included Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Palestine, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States of America. In addition, written support was received from political leaders in Australia, Nepal, Nigeria, Japan, and Uganda, including:
At the time olf the First Summit, five of these countries had working groups conducting campaigns for Departments of Peace or Ministries for Peace: Australia, Canada, Japan, United Kingdom, and the United States. Throughout the four days it was evident that ‘we the people’ are ready, willing, and able to be together and communicate with one another in ways that demonstrate the change we wish to see. The US delegation returns home with renewed vigor and a deepened commitment to help create an infrastructure for peace. Our part to play in this unfolding is to continue to work for a Department of Peace in the USA. Our campaign was recognized as an inspiration and help to many in attendance at the London Summit. There was particular interest in and enthusiasm for the grassroots aspect of it. It was good to talk about our organizational structure, the recent conference in DC, our successes and challenges, and to receive such a positive response from many who are struggling to understand the present policies and actions of the United States. People particularly loved to hear stories of youth interest and involvement, and it is heartening to know that youth are becoming involved all over the world. It gives one hope. On the final day of the Summit, the participants launched an on-going partnership for global action, now called the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace. The London Summit then concluded with a public meeting in the Grand Committee Room in the Houses of Parliament, hosted by John McDonnell MP and emceed by Diana Basterfield, co-founder of UK ministry for peace. The event opened with video greetings from Congressman Dennis Kucinich and Marianne Williamson, and Dot Maver spoke on behalf of The Peace Alliance. Canada's representative, Saul Arbess, shared the Canadian working group's perspective. John McDonnell MP then articulated clearly the urgent need for departments and ministries of peace in order to provide a governmental infrastructure -- an institutional space -- for dialogue on peaceful resolution of conflict to take place (you may read a transcript of his remarks here). Dot answered some highly pointed questions from the audience about various aspects of U.S. policy by acknowledging the pain expressed and offering hope by saying that many people in the United States and around the world share that pain and sense of urgency, and reframing the situation in relation to the need to create infrastructures for peace based on the peacebuilding and conflict transformation efforts and resources already underway and available around the world. Other speakers included Yumi Kikuchi from Japan, Kai Brand-Jacobsen from Transcend in Romania (who provided the training and facilitated the Summit), Paul van Tongeren from the Netherlands, and Jo Berry, whose father (a former Tory MP) was killed by terrorists 20 years ago at a Tory Party meeting. Following the speakers, Summit participants representing each country stood in the front of the room, and Zoughbi Zoughbi from Palestine and Shiri Barr from Israel stood side by side and spoke on behalf of the international initiative, both asking us to not give up hope and expressing their gratitude and joy to be standing together calling for peace. Dot then read aloud the Summit’s Declaration launching the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace (then called the People's Initiative for Departments of Peace) and presented it to John McDonnell MP, who then said he would read it into the official record of the House of Commons at the earliest opportunity. Both the Summit and the training that preceded it were facilitated by Kai Frithjof Brand-Jacobsen, founder and director of the Peace Action, Training and Research Institute of Romania and co-director of Transcend. This event marked the beginning of a new, expanding movement throughout the world for governments to organize around principles of nonviolent conflict transformation. The second Summit took place June 20-21, 2006, in Victoria, Canada, preceding the first World Peace Forum in Vancouver, where the Global Alliance for Ministries and Departments of Peace offered a presentation. Peace-building and conflict transformation technology and skills already exist and there are people and organizations (such as Transcend) in countries around the world who, like us, are demanding a dialogue to find a way together to create a world that works for everyone. In July 2005, for example, the United Nations hosted the largest ever gathering of Civil Society where a Global Action Agenda for the Prevention of Violent Conflict was presented to the Secretary-General. Also, the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict is calling on governments to work with civil society in building a safer, more peaceful world. There is a momentum for peace and justice that is unstoppable! (To view photos of the Summit taken by Yumi Kikuchi and Mike Abkin, click here, and by Hollis Polk here.) |