Three Day Program on Practicing Peace in Times of War
Dear HumanDHS network friends
Please find below information on a three day program on practicing peace in times of war.
Kind regards
Brian Ward
PRACTICING PEACE IN TIMES OF WAR
at the Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR),
Columbia University June 6-8, 2008
Best-selling writer Pema Chödrön, author of Practicing Peace in Times of War, will lead a three-day program at Columbia University on strategies to support individuals and organizations working to create a peaceful and just world. Well known for her books, When Things Fall Apart and Heart Advice for Difficult Times, she will be joined by a distinguished team experienced in peace keeping and human rights worldwide. Pema Chödrön has become a major exponent of how the inner practices of mindfulness-awareness from the Tibetan Buddhist path can be used by people of any faith – or none – in all walks of life to deal with extreme stress and suffering.
The weekend will include talks by Pema Chödrön. Trained mentors will give instruction in mindfulness practice and lead small group discussions. The practices for finding peace in oneself can be used as the means for transforming larger conflicts and for dealing with the personal chaos and hopelessness that many people experience in the face of increasing aggression in the world.
Pema Chödrön: “We are always at a crossroads, moment by moment. We can choose to open the wound further, creating more suffering for ourselves and others, or we can choose to heal the wound.”
Assisting Chödrön will be: Richard Reoch, a former public information officer of Amnesty International and chairperson of the International Working Group on Sri Lanka , with Laura Simms, internationally renowned storyteller and activist. Panelists include: Ishmael Beah, UNICEF ambassador and author: Sandra Dunsmore, former President of the Pearson Peacekeeping Centre; Senator Romeo Dallaire, former head of the UN Peacekeeping Mission in Rwanda; and Marianne Elliot former UN Human Rights Officer in Afghanistan. Aldo Civico, the Director of CICR actively working on behalf of peace in Colombia, will introduce the event.
Sandra Dunsmore: “This initiative has the potential to help us access the creativity to imagine new ways of working, and the courage to experiment.”
EVENTS:
Friday June 6th, 7:00pm: Public Talk by Pema Chödrön
Saturday June 7th and Sunday June 8th, 9:30am-5:00pm: talks, panels, mindfulness practice instruction and discussions. Panel discussion Saturday evening, 7:00 pm
Sunday June 8th,7:00 pm: Film– SHAKING HANDS WITH THE DEVIL, with Senator Romeo Dallaire
COST: The cost of the weekend is $600. (A limited number of tickets are available for the public talk on Friday June 6th, price $50)
INFORMATION/REGISTRATION:
www.cicrtraining.com ( complete program available online)
Email : practicingpeace[@]yahoo.com or Call: (917) 434-6291
A Yearlong Mentor Program follows for those interested. See Yearlong: www.cicrtraining.com