International Association of Educators for World Peace Dedicated to United Nations Goals of Peace Education, Environmental Protection, Human Rights, and Disarmament Regional Peace Conference Huntsville, Alabama, USA July 28 – August 1, 2009

Conference Information

This is the follow up information we promised a few weeks ago. Participants will arrive on Tuesday, July 28 and depart on Saturday, August 1. Registration will take place on Wednesday from 8:00 – 9:00am and selected spiritual leaders will speak on various religions and their impact on world peace (African Traditional, Buddhism, Chinese Traditional, Christianity, Hinduism, Islam and Judaism). On Thursday, we will hear from speakers on the issues of education, hunger, poverty, and weapons of mass destruction, and what the organization can do to help in these areas. Also, speakers will discuss how healing through art can create world peace and the role of sports in world peace. Time will be allotted for group interaction on Thursday afternoon and the findings will be presented on Friday morning. Friday evening will be free for tours and/or relaxation.

Some of the speakers are: Carl Marbury, President Emeritus, Alabama A&M University; Charles Mercieca, Founder and President of IAEWP, Leo Rebello, Expert in Alternative Medicine, Sha Li, Professor at Alabama A&M University, Laura King, Prominent Speaker on Judaism, Cathy Jaekle, Prominent Speaker on Buddhism, Laj Utreja, Founder of Institute of Spiritual Consciousness, Jacqueline Ripstein, Healing Artist, and Noor Gillani, Professor at University of Alabama at Huntsville. Others will be listed at a later date.

The host hotel has been changed to the Westin Hotel (1-256-428-2000 ex 1070 – Chris Hiles is the contact person). There will be plenty of excitement for family members. The hotel is located at Bridgestreet Town Centre. It has numerous stores, a theater, pond for boating, performing stages, and many other attractions. If you have already registered at the Holiday Inn, you may keep it or transfer to the Westin. **Please check the web-site each week for updates and meeting sites.

Entertainment will be as follows:
Tuesday 7:00pm – Young Entertainers
Wednesday 7:00pm – Classical Performers
Thursday 7:00pm – Gospel Groups
Friday 7:00pm – Banquet, Boudjemaa Zennouche from France will perform

If you or family members are performers and want to participate in the entertainment, please let me know by July 1st. If you have questions or concerns, please contact:

Arlester McBride, Chairman
IAEWP Huntsville Group & State Chancellor of Alabama
P.O. Box 3516, Mastin Lake Station
Huntsville, AL 35810, USA
Phone: 256-852-5316 / Cell: 423-991-4273
Abmcbride@knology.net

Good news from The Land of Enchantment, Home of the Atomic Bomb.

Someone recently asked what we could do to get the word out about the toxic waste contamination we are living with from Los Alamos National Laboratory’s (LANL) nuclear proliferation activities. I said that we needed national and international attention, a petition to change the mission of LANL to clean up and sustainable energy research, and world leaders to speak in support of this. If you think about it why should Iran stop what they are doing when we are not? Or is it that you don’t understand that corporate war profiteers (and they have many types of weapons other than bombs, be it from genetically engineered seeds, to earth, water and air contamination, lack of medical services, denial of food and housing, or economic black balling to name a few) see their peace as being achieved through death.

Two weeks later I walk into our local Peace House to tell Keith of Food Not Bombs that I had set up a local bread donation delivery schedule, and there Keith was, being filmed by Thom from our local Channel 2 TV station. In minutes I was in front of the camera interviewing Keith about the 2009 World Peace Conference to be held here in Taos New Mexico, May 26 through 31, 2009.

In true Keith McHenry form, the vision is global. Keith McHenry, co-founder of Food Not Bombs, is once again stepping up for Peace. He has recently started to coordinate The World Peace Conference 2009. As all peace activists know, the tree of peace has many branches, from spiritual development and participation to sustainable living practices, conscientious objection, restorative justice, feeding the hungry, writing letters to our representatives, building green houses and creating food coops, standing with the grandmas on the front lines to stop uranium mining, stopping shopping, to keeping our Constitutional Rights, etc…

No matter what your age, no matter how much or little you want to do, there is a place and way for you to participate. Among the first to confirm participation are a number of bands and speakers such as Civil Rights lawyer Lynne Stewart, Iraqi Peace Activist Dalia S. Wasfi, former Pentagon Planner John Fair, and be assured that Taos Pueblo and a plethora of local artists, and activists will enrich you with our local culture of Peace. McHenry intends to have global access for this Peace Conference and is in the process of acquiring computers for satellite feeds around the world. There is much to do, to make our voices for Peace, unmistakably heard. Please go to www.worldpeaceconference2009.org to find out how you can participate as a presenter, volunteer, donate, and link up. You can also read more about Food Not Bombs and the Taos Peace House by going to: www.taospeacehouse.org
Better yet, if you are local stop by the Taos Peace House just north of Cid’s on Paseo del Pueblo Norte.

I’m really glad I am getting what I asked for: local, national and international attention for Peace.
Thanks for Listening,
Bearsense

The Taos Peace House and Infoshop
801 Paseo Del Pueblo Norte, Taos, New Mexico 87571 USA
Mailing Address: P.O. Box 424 – Arroyo Seco, NM 87514 USA
575-758-8819
www.taospeacehouse.org

WORLD PEACE WEEK
May 26 – 31, 2009 – TAOS, NEW MEXICO – USA
www.worldpeaceweek.net
contact@taospeacehouse.org

PEACE IS POSSIBLE – Implementing a Strategy for Peace, Social Justice and a Sustainable Future.

Music – Speakers – Theater – Dance – Poetry – Workshops – Art Shows – Films – Campaigns – Plenaries

WHAT DOES PEACE ENABLE ME TO DO?

Attend a uniquely participatory conference that will focus on proactive strategies for achieving peace, social justice, and a sustainable future, locally and globally. The days of listening to speakers preach to the choir are over. It’s time to fulfill the prophecies that say “we are the ones we’ve been waiting for.”

Grassroots peace activists at the Taos Peace House are organizing the World Peace Week which will be held this year from May 26-31, 2009. This will be the first of a continuing series of annual conferences that will galvanize viable actions for peace. World Peace Week volunteers are using the empowering democratic process of formal consensus rather than top down management to make decisions inspiring dedication and creativity.

You can create a campaign for peace in countless ways. A few examples might be: education through cultural and religious appreciation, biodiversity, alternative energy, universal health care and corporate divestment. Participants will return to their communities to implement these strategies and reconvene in 2010 to assess progress and plan further strategies to build on their success.

Our goal is to unite people using the cooperative process of formal consensus rather that top down management. We invite people from all walks of life – peace activists, visionaries, alternative energy and sustainability experts, economists, authors, poets, musicians, actors, artists, filmmakers – to create the blueprint for a totally new socio-political paradigm. Peace is possible if we all share our vision. Please join us in building a tapestry of hope.

Registration for the entire week is $175, with a sliding scale of $100 to $250. Funds collected over the $175 fee will be used for a registration scholarship fund as needed. The daily attendance rate is $30, although we recommend week-long participation. To encourage participation by young people for the week: ages 12 -18 are $10 and children under 12 are free at the conference, both with accompanying adult registration; World Youth Peace Camp is $85, with adult registration at the conference. Work exchange and barter is available, and no one will be excluded for lack of funds.

Venues:

May 26-29: Tuesday through Friday – Taos Convention Center
May 29-30: Friday evening, Saturday all day – Kachina Lodge Convention Room
May 31: Sunday – Free Peace Concert all day at Kit Carson Park – Looking for Performers to play free for the community.

World Peace Week – 3 Track Program

- Planned Presenters / Programs / Events
- Open Space Technology – schedule planned daily for anyone wishing to offer a program who didn’t have the chance to get on the planned events schedule – an impromptu venue
- Plenaries – planning our strategy for implementing peace in our local communities and with our affinity groups

Current Potential Presenters/Programs:

- Taking the War out of the Drug War
- Fatoosh Fatoosh – from New York – a poetry/musical group with a focus on the Palestinian/Israeli conflict
- We are the Drum
- Non-Violent Communication
- Veterans For Peace – Winter Soldier panel/large display in the park/ support for veterans
- Healing the Scars
- Peace is in our DNA
- Sacred Activism: Holding your Center as the Heart
- Food Not Lawns
- Formal Consensus Decision Making Training
- Grassroots Jerusalem
- Benefit Concert for World Peace Week
- Leonard the Flute Player
- Workshops on Multi-State Organizing
- Reinventing the Wheel – The Universal Medicine Wheel – Tool for Global Unity
- Taos Cannabis Action Network

World Youth Peace Camp
Amazing Youth and Family Program Every Day!

We are delighted to announce that Jody Williams, recipient of the 1997 Nobel Peace Prize, has agreed to be a keynote speaker at the 2007 Peace Conference. Ms. Williams is the founding coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was formally launched by six nongovernmental organizations (NGOs) in October of 1992. Ms. Williams has overseen the growth of the ICBL to more than 1,000 NGOs in more than sixty countries. She has served as the chief strategist and spokesperson for the campaign. Working in a unprecedented cooperative effort with governments, UN bodies and the International Committee of the Red Cross, the ICBL achieved its goal of an international treaty banning antipersonnel landmines during the diplomatic conference held in Oslo in September 1997.

In her capacity as ICBL coordinator, she has written and spoken extensively on the problem of landmines and the movement to ban them. Prior to beginning the ICBL, Ms. Williams worked for eleven years to build public awareness about U.S. policy toward Central America. From 1986 to 1992, she developed and directed humanitarian relief projects as the deputy director of the Los Angeles-based Medical Aid for El Salvador. From 1984 to 1986, she was co-coordinator of the Nicaragua-Honduras Education Project, leading fact-finding delegations to the region. Previously, she taught English as a Second Language (ESL) in Mexico, the United Kingdom, and Washington, D.C.

Get involved, by signing up for the Yahoo Group dedicated to making the Peace Conference a profound success.

January 07, 2007

Gandhi. Few names in world history evoke such powerful images of integrity, courage, social harmony, and – perhaps most of all – hope.  We are therefore delighted to welcome Arun Gandi, an advocate for non-violence and understanding,to speak at the Peace Conference.

Arun Gandhi carries within himself the same guiding principles as his grandfather, the legendary peacefighter and spiritual leader, Mohandas K. Gandhi, also known as Mahatma Gandhi.

Growing up in apartheid South Africa as a person of Indian heritage meant racial confrontations with both blacks and whites. As a young boy, Gandhi was beaten up by black youths for not being black and by white youths because he was not white. Filled with rage and plotting to avenge his beatings, he subscribed to Charles Atlas bodybuilding magazines so he would have the strength to fight back. When his parents discovered the reason for their 12-year-old son’s sudden fascination with exercise, they decided that a visit to his grandfather in India was in order.

What followed was an 18-month stay with one of the world’s great leaders that would give him the keys to the powerful philosophy of nonviolence, and help shape the foundation for his life’s work. It was a dangerous and exciting time, as Mahatma Gandhi was leading the people of India in their revolutionary, nonviolent struggle for independence from British rule.

After leading successful projects for economic and social reform in India, Gandhi came to the United States in 1988 to complete research for a comparative study on racism in America. In 1991, Gandhi and his wife, Sunanda, founded the M.K. Gandhi Institute for Nonviolence, headquartered at Christian Brothers University in Memphis. The Institute’s mission is to foster understanding of nonviolence and to put that philosophy to practical use through workshops, lectures, and community outreach programs.

A speaker of international acclaim, Gandhi has spoken before hundreds of colleges and universities, and corporate and civic organizations. His unique talents and cross-cultural experiences have brought him before governmental, social, and educational audiences in countries all over the world, including Croatia, France, Ireland, Holland, Lithuania, and Nicaragua. Arun Gandhi is a cultural treasure, offering firsthand insights into one of history’s most influential leaders.

Rigoberta Menchú was born into poverty in a small Guatemalan village, where she worked with her parents, tending corn and beans on their small plot. Her father, Vicente, was one of the first in their region to seek justice and a better life for the Indian people. He began a struggle to improve the conditions of the peasant workers and was burned to death during a protest. Her mother was killed a few weeks later by the government. Rather than destroying her, these atrocities strengthened Rigoberta Menchú’s resolve to win freedom for her people.

Self-educated, she is a natural leader with great intelligence. She became an active political worker in labor, campesino and human rights groups. In 1983 her testimonial book, “I, Rigoberta Menchú, An Indian Woman in Guatemala, “was published to high acclaim.

Rigoberta Menchú was the first Indigenous and the youngest person ever to receive the Nobel Peace Prize. To her, the Prize “acknowledges the struggles of Indigenous peoples. It is also a symbolic recognition of the victims of repression, racism and poverty, as well as paying homage to Indigenous women.”

We stand at a critical choice point in human evolution – do we continue down this path or choose another way to be together in this one planet we all call home?  Around the world, many are choosing the peace path, and working at the very foundations of society to change basic assumptions, norms, and behaviors, and to build new institutions, methodologies, and alliances– in short, to build a culture of peace.

The United Nations declared the years 2001-2010 as the UN Decade of Peace and Nonviolence for the Children of the World.  As we near the end of this decade, we have the opportunity to accelerate our efforts on behalf of this mission.  But first we must know, ‘What is a culture of peace?  What are we trying to establish?’

A working definition of peace will help with this quest.  In The Peace Book: 108 Ways to Create a More Peaceful World, (The Peace Company; adapted from pp. xvi-xvii) I have written:

Peace is more than the absence of war, violence, or conflict, though that is an important first step. Peace is a presence–the presence of connection.

Inner peace is about connection with our true and natural self, and a sense of being part of something larger. This connection gives rise to serenity, balance, and a feeling of well-being. [We connect to the living spirit of life itself that allows us to know all people as our brothers and sisters, and every living being – including the earth – a relative.]

Peace with others is about our connection with the open heart, through which we remember our shared humanness. This brings us to the practice of conflict resolution, forgiveness, and reconciliation.  [We connect to the power of love that transcends fear, anger, sorrow, and aggression, and leads us to compassion and a desire to end the suffering of all.]

Peace in our communities and in the world requires a connection to respect for our multiple differences, and for the right of all people to justice, freedom, and dignity. This leads to trust, community, and co-existence.  [We understand we are all in this together, that all people have the same basic needs and desires, and so we act for the common good rather than for the benefit of a few.]

Peace is a state of mind and a path of action. It is a concept, a goal, an experience, a path. Peace is an ideal. It is both intangible and concrete; complex and simple; exciting and calming. Peace is personal and political; it is spiritual and practical; local and global. It is a process and an outcome, and, above all, a way of being.“

The conference program design is completed now, and there is no opportunity to add to it. If you want to showcase your group, consider registering for a table at the Peace Fair, for just $25, and attending the conference. Details of the Peace Fair are in the conference Program