Declaration by Dr. Shirin Ebadi - Unlawful and Illegal Action with the arrest of Dr. Noushin Ebadi

Declaration by Dr. Shirin Ebadi
I hereby declare that my sister Dr. Noushin Ebadi who is a Medical lecturer at Azad University of Tehran was detained by four officers from the counter-intelligence agency of Islamic Republic of Iran.

She was arrested at 9 pm today (28/12/2009) at her home in Tehran. At present, we have no information of her whereabouts.

During the past two months, my sister had been contacted by the elements within the government and told in no uncertain terms to contact me and persuade me to cease my activities as a human rights advocate. It was strongly suggested that she should leave her apartment which is within the same block as my apartment in Tehran. She was told that her failure to cooperate with them will result in her arrest. I initially did not take this seriously, but I’m sad and upset to see that this was not an empty threat.
It is important to note that my sister is not politically active nor is she a member of any human right organisation. Her only crime seems to be that she is my sister and her arrest is nothing less than a political blackmail and attempted pressure. This is another method employed by the authorities in Iran to stop my activities.

I hereby draw the attention of the Iranian judiciary to this unlawful and wrongful arrest of a member of my family for political gain by the government of Iran and I call for immediate release of my sister.

Iran is currently in turmoil and these unlawful and illegal actions will only have negative effect. What is needed in Iran is peaceful dialogue and tolerance.

Shirin Ebadi

 

By bkalsi | December 30, 2009
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Heartland PeaceJam and Honorary Doctor of Law degree – November 2009

Betty Williams challenged about 150 teenagers and college students attending the Heartland PeaceJam Youth Conference at William Woods University Saturday and Sunday to get involved in humanitarian efforts around the world.

The conference brought together youth from across the Heartland region (Missouri, Kansas, Nebraska and parts of Iowa) to share their experiences in service, attend workshops pertaining to violence and refugees around the world.

As part of the conference, the youth, along with volunteers from across Missouri and the Humanity for Children/Rwanda Community Partnership constructed the mock refugee camp, which will remain intact for the remainder of the week for the general public to tour.

The camp had nine stations, including a hut, a school, a hospital, a cholera clinic, water source, cooking facilities, a cemetery and a latrine. Club members lead tours of the camp and explain each of the stations. Tour participants had been given an “identity” and the opportunity to experience life as a refugee.

Betty Williams was also given an honorary Doctor of Laws degree from William Woods University.

  

 

By bkalsi | November 22, 2009
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It’s All About The Basics… (from Mario Frangoulis - Sept 2009)

I just returned from the Dalai Lama Center’s 2009 Peace Conference in Vancouver where I was there with our team for the World Centers of Compassion for Children International.

I participated in two sessions: One was called “Conversations for Change” where we were in a conversation, 120 of us, discussing our own life experiences and how they relate to the Dalai Lama’s “call to action” for us, and the other was at a Laureate panel discussion on the meaning of “Compassion”. I performed at both sessions – songs of love, peace, compassion and reconciliation in Italian, French, English, Greek and Spanish.

As I was backstage after my performance, His Holiness came up to me, and looked into my eyes, held my hand and said, “Stay with me for a moment…” I could feel his pulse. He was like an endless river of love and compassion. For some reason I felt calmer being in his presence than, say, what it’s like when one watches him on TV. It was my own personal experience of the power of human interaction, and it was as though he read my mind in a sense, when he turned to me and looked straight into my eyes… connecting with me without saying a word, and then he leaned in and touched his forehead to mine.

More than anything else is the fact that meeting him in person and interacting with him for real was an extension of everything he said in his panel dialogue… and it rang true to me right then and there, in that silent moment. We heard him talk about compassion, love, understanding other human beings, and what it means to really reach out. He is for real, he is the Dalai Lama, and yet he is a person who dares to publicly say “I don’t know”… in his own Tibetan accent. He is brave and wise… and he wants equal rights for everyone.

He talked about 3 focal points:

1. The human basic level of understanding and interacting is the most important thing;
2. That all religions are essentially equal because they have a lot of the same ideas, and they ultimately want good things to happen to good people… it’s just that they are connected to traditions and each country has own traditions… I am Greek Orthodox and was raised a certain way, but it doesn’t mean I can not embrace the ideas in Buddhism as well… I accept and feel that everyone has their own place in this world and that we should be allowed to feel free, to breathe free and that we must all be connected, because we all live under the same sky.
3. In his Tibetan way, he is trying to support his people who are being oppressed and are not allowed to practice their own rights around freedom of spirit and existence. People deserve and aspire to live and love and have justice and a happy life, no matter what their religion or beliefs, these are universal things.

As His Holiness talked about, on a human level it all boils down to whether you have enough food on your plate and a roof over your head, and whether you are able to touch another human being and reach them on a deeper level. It’s very easy to just shake someone’s hand, but it’s not easy to reach someone’s heart. Power is to not misuse power. Power is to know you have it and never use it.

That is what we have to teach children of the world, and why we have to make the Declaration of the Rights of Child a reality.

Mario Frangoulis
Global Ambassador for Peace
WCCCI

 

By bkalsi | November 9, 2009
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WCCC-US is seeking a Professional Fundraiser

WCCC-US is in the process of seeking Professional Fundraisers in the US. Please review the attached job description.

usa-fundraiser1

 

By bkalsi | November 1, 2009
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Nobel Laureates in dialogue - Vancouver Peace Summit September 2009

The following video clip is from the 2009 Vancouver Peace Summit with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in dialogue with Nobel Peace Laureates, Betty Williams, Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, and Mpho Tutu (daughter of Archbishop Desmond Tutu), and Mary Robinson (first female President of Ireland).

The clip is approximately 64 minutes long but TRULY WORTH WATCHING. It has amazing conversations and great insights with honest responses like that from His Holiness when he responded with “I don’t know” to a question posed by the moderator Mary Robinson.

CTV coverage of the Vancouver Peace Summit

Our apologies, but the clip starts with an advertisement and then a short wait as the video clip is loaded.

 

By bkalsi | October 18, 2009
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News coverage from the Vancouver Peace Summit

Why a Peace Summit? Here are its three key goals
Nobel Laureates’ talk turns personal
‘Social change is possible’ 16,000 learn at We Day
Beyond the ‘circus,’ some serious intentions
Education paves the road to women’s equality
Generation Fix meets its mentors
Peace Summit with the Dalai Lama, Eckhart Tolle, and Nobel Laureates
Dalai Lama’s message fits busy, liberal society
Dalai Lama promotes compassion
Dalai Lama in Vancouver: Pursuit of peace and compassion a complex path
Be aggressive in the cause of peace

 

By bkalsi | October 2, 2009
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26th – 29th September, 2009 – Vancouver Peace Summit

The Dalai Lama Center for Peace and Education is honored to host His Holiness the Dalai Lama in Vancouver, September 26-29, 2009 for the Vancouver Peace Summit: Nobel Laureates in Dialogue. Joining the Dalai Lama will be Nobel Laureates: Jody Williams, Mairead Maguire, Betty Williams and Murray Gell-Mann, as well as a number of respected international leaders from the realms of education, the arts, business, politics and social transformation.

The Summit will be built on dialogues held at the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts and the Orpheum Theatre. The focus of these dialogues will include the themes of peace, education and women and peace-building.

DignityRocks!

Stephanie Heuer, author of the children’s book DignityRocks! (http://www.somebodybook.com) will be donating 50% of all royalties from the sale of her book for the next year starting October 2009 to World Centers of Compassion for Children International (WCCCI).

This generous and welcomed donation resulted from her being inspired by a passionate speech given by Betty Williams at a Peace Conference held in Denver, Colorado last year. Betty Williams spoke about the impact of war and conflict on a child’s consciousness and how important it was to create a safe-haven to protect them from harm and to give children a voice rather than silencing them as unimportant factors.

The message resonated with Stephanie Heuer who has been an instructor to multi-cultural students for a number of years. They both recognize how the building blocks of a child’s development can be affected by what they see and how they are treated which can negatively impact their future, regardless of environment.

Stephanie Heuer’s book is based on the preservation of human dignity which starts by teaching children how to acknowledge when they’ve been mistreated and how to recognize when they mistreat others. DignityRocks! is based on elementary school students responding to the statement “I Feel Like Nobody When… I Feel Like Somebody When… “.

The statements resulted in DignityRocks! becoming a catalyst on opening change among children, parents and educators alike. It addresses the emotional and physical effects of issues such as bullying and other negative topics. The success has seen the book popping up in classrooms across the US, and teachers are using it as an example to create their own book scenarios, addressing issues upfront and first hand, giving a voice to the voiceless, and making a difference by creating changes in the school environment for the better.

Gunderson High School (California, USA) helping refugee children

Together with the students at San Jose’s Gunderson High School, Stephanie Heuer and the Students In Action organization (sponsored by the Jefferson Awards) have put together 30 school tote bags for the opening of the first WCCCI City of Peace for Children, in Basilicata, Italy. The City will provide a nurturing environment for refugee children where they will be housed, educated, have access to medical health and opportunities to grow with potential.

The school totes will be a welcome package for the initial children arriving at the City of Peace. Each one is signed by the students with a welcome message from their school. Together with the principal, Cary Catching, Stephanie Heuer is hoping this provides students with an opportunity to exchange ideas and create friendships care from one country to another, reaching out, and connecting in positive and peaceful ways.

Stephanie Heuer and Cary Catching of Gunderson High School

Full Press Release:

Vancouver Peace Summit

 

By bkalsi | September 21, 2009
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23rd July, 2009 – Visions for a Sustainable World (Vienna, Austria)

Betty Williams will be taking part in the first awards ceremony to honor individuals and organizations chartered to promote a sustainable world in Vienna on Thursday 23rd July and Friday 24th July, 2009.

The World Awards (founded and headed by the wonderful Georg Kindel) are organizing the awards ceremony to bring this critical cause to the world’s attention. The expected media coverage will be seen by millions of people, and the greatest reward will be that the world listens and takes note of this crucial topic.

Prior to the awards ceremony, the Sustainable World Congress will hold a number of sessions covering topics such as:

- Climate and Environment
- Economy and Development
- Health and Society
- Politics and Human Rights
- Concluding Panel Discussion – Yes We Can? Visions for a Sustainable World

Betty Williams has been invited to speak with Georg Kindel and Erwin Proll (Governor, Lower Austria) at the Welcoming and Official Opening to the two day event.

 

By bkalsi | July 22, 2009
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9th July, 2009 – L’Aquila, Italy

Betty Williams went to San Demetrio Camp which is near L’Aquila, Italy with George Clooney and Bill Murray to highlight the plight of the people dealing with life after the April 6, 2009 earthquake which left thousands homeless and killed nearly 300 people. They were invited to the region to open the Nobel for Peace Hall, and also to highlight how the world had not forgotten their tragedy.

 

Away from the press, Betty met with the children and asked them what they needed. Their simple response was Books. With their schools destroyed, WCCCI would like to ask you, your friends, co-workers, neighbors, and family members to make a difference for these children and show them that the world does still care. Donations, however small, can be sent through the following website: http://www.sandemetrionv.com/Donazioni/donazioni.htm

 

 

By bkalsi | July 21, 2009
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30th June, 2009 - Israel Authorities Detain Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire

The Nobel Women’s Initiative is deeply concerned by the detention of Nobel Peace Laureate Mairead Corrigan-Maguire and other human rights activists on the Free Gaza Movement mission to deliver aid to the people of Gaza by boat. Israeli Naval Forces forcibly boarded the Free Gaza boat and detained the human rights workers late this afternoon, 23 miles off the coast of Gaza. Earlier in the day, the Israeli Naval Forces ordered the boat—at gun-point—to turn back.

Maguire is traveling on the Free Gaza fishing boat, accompanied by a sister boat called the Spirit of Humanity. The boats are carrying construction materials, three tons of medical supplies, and suitcases full of children’s toyss—all items banned by the Israeli government.

The approximately 30 activists on board include a former Congresswoman, Cynthia McKinney, as well as envoys from Gulf nations. This is the eighth mission of the Free Gaza Movement, an international human rights group formed in 2006 to bring attention to the Israeli blockade of Gaza. Past mission participants have included parliamentarians, human rights workers, and other dignitaries.

Before embarking on the journey, Maguire said: “We sail to Gaza to break this cruel siege of Gaza by the Israeli Government, and to show the people of Gaza that the world does care what is happening to them.”

“It is appalling that in this the 2lst century, the Israeli government is allowed to carry out its policy of collective punishment of an entire people [by continuing] to keep borders closed and refuse the people of Gaza basic necessities for living - food, medicines, cement, and building materials.”

 

By bkalsi | June 30, 2009
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