2010 Building a Culture of Peace Conference at Mount St. Vincent

Susan Tooke creates poster honoring Ruth Adams and Anne Eaton.

Mount Saint Vincent to Host Peace Conference - an overview

Photographs posted by Mount Saint Vincent on Flicker

At the peace conference Being the Change: Building a Culture of Peace at Mount Saint Vincent University on Wednesday, July 7, 2010, Alyn Ware sang a Maori song to thank Logan MacGillivray for discussion his inspirational project to help children in Sierra Leone.

Chris Campbell created a series of photographs documenting the Being the Change: Building a Culture of Peace Conference at Mount Saint Vincent University in Halifax, Nova Scotia and the trip to Thinkers Lodge and the Lobster Factory in Pugwash, NS.

"My name is Logan MacGillivray and I am am 11 year old living in Bedford, Nova Scotia. In January 2008 I saw pictures of the hardships children face in Northern Provence, Sierra Leone - schools with no chairs, no desks, no recreational equipment, few books, and roofing that could not keep the rain away. I felt I should do something. With guidance from the Centre for Development and Peace Education (cdpeace) I spearheaded sending a 40 foot shipping container filled with educational, building and recreational materials to refurbish seven schools and build a community resource centre for students and teachers at the cdpeace headquarters at Mayagba, Sierra Leone."

Betty Peterson & Muriel Duckworth

Honoring Muriel Duckworth and Betty Peterson --
An interview with Muriel Duckworth and Betty Peters on By NS VOW members Linda MacDonald and Jeanne Sarson, July 3, 2008
The purpose of this interview was to collect memories about , especially of s and their significance to the early years of the evolution of the Nova Scotia Chapter of the Canadian Voice of Women for Peace (VOW)
Muriel Duckworth (1908-2009) - a portrait of a peace activist and peace maker, a community activist, leader for women's rights, outspoken activist for nuclear disarmament: courageous, energizing, and instrumental in VOW (Voice of Women for Peace.)

Participants:
Sandy Butcher - Sandra Ionno Butcher, Senior Program Coordinator, International Secretariat of the Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs Director, Pugwash History Project Sandra Ionno Butcher is Senior Program Coordinator for the International Secretariat of Pugwash Conferences on Science and World Affairs, an international network addressing arms control and disarmament issues. As Director of the Pugwash History Project, she has conducted oral histories and research on the Pugwash Movement including the 1955 Russell-Einstein Manifesto, the first meeting hosted by Cyrus Eaton at Thinkers‘ Lodge in 1957, through to the awarding of the 1995 Nobel Peace Prize, jointly, to Joseph Rotblat and the Pugwash Movement. Having served for seven years as Director of Young Pugwash in the USA, Sandra is passionate about engaging youth around nuclear weapons abolition. In 2009, she led an International Young Pugwash Conference sponsored by the Pugwash Peace Exchange.

  Alyn Ware - Alyn Ware is Coordinator, New Zealand Peace Education, Global Coordinator, Parliamentarians for Non Proliferation and Disarmament, and Director of AOTEAROA Lawyers for Peace. Alyn Ware played a key role in gaining the International Court of Justice decision declaring nuclear weapons illegal and was instrumental in launching the World March for Peace and Non Violence from New Zealand in October 2009 on the anniversary of Ghandi‘s birth. In 2009 Alyn received the Right Livelihood Award, the ―alternative― Nobel Prize, awarded to outstanding citizens for promotion of scientific research, education, public understanding and practical activities which contribute to a global ecological balance, are aimed at eliminating material and spiritual poverty, and contribute to lasting peace and justice in the world.

  Logan Macgillivray - 12 year old award winning human rights activist and filmmaker, Bedford, NS

Dr. Erica Simpson

  Ru Ling Susie Chou, Physicist, Professor of Cardiology (retired), Columbia University Medical School; daughter of Pei-Yuan Chou, Physicist, former Vice-Rector, Peking University; 1957 Pugwash Founding Conference participant. Ru Ling Susie Chou's father, Dr. Pei-Yuan Chou, was a visionary Chinese scientist who crossed the Iron Curtain in 1957 at the invitation of Nova Scotia industrialist Cyrus Eaton. Dr. Chou travelled to Pugwash to meet other esteemed philosophers and scientists including Bertrand Russell, Joseph Rotblat, Albert Einstein and Linus Pauling. Together, they founded the Pugwash Movement to ensure the peaceful use of scientific discoveries and inventions.

Eric Bednarski is a documentary film director/producer who has studied history and filmmaking in North America and Europe. His work has screened on Canadian, Danish and Polish television, at international festivals, at the United Nations, the European Parliament and the State Museum of Auschwitz-Birkenau. Like The Strangest Dream, his National Film Board of Canada feature length debut, Bednarski‘s earlier films display a passion for history.

Donna Smyth, Voice of Women for Peace Donna Smyth is a former English and Creative Writing Professor at Acadia University. She was the Founding Editor of Atlantis Women Studies Journal, and well known feminist author, novelist and playwright.

Hetty van Gurp, Peaceful Schools International Hetty holds Bachelors and Masters Degrees from the Mount where she is also a part time faculty member. Hetty received a Doctorate of Civil Law Degree from Saint Mary‘s University in recognition of her work as an educator, author and Peace Builder. She is the Founder of Peaceful Schools International, and has worked with hundreds of schools in Canada and internationally. Teaching Peace in a Time of War is an NFB Documentary Film featuring her work with schools in Serbia. Hetty received the YMCA Peace Medal, Nova Scotia Principal of Distinction Award, Canadian Teachers Federation Special Recognition Award, Nova Scotia Human Rights Commission Award, and has been named a Canadian Hero by both TIME MAGAZINE and READERS DIGEST.

Workshop Descriptions

A: Sharing Ideas for Peace Education Moderator: Alyn Ware Location: Seton 530/531 Facilitators: Hetty van Gurp, President, Peaceful Schools International Clare Levin, Executive Director, Peaceful Schools International Clare has been engaged in peace, environment and social justice issues for many years through her work with a number of different NGOs, both here in Canada and overseas. Clare is a past board member of Peaceful Schools International, the past Chair of the Oxfam Maritimes Regional Steering Committee and a past member of the Sustainable Education in Nova Scotia for Everyone Steering Committee. In all her work, Clare tries to make the links between, peace, development, and environmental issues. Clare has an MA in International Affairs from Carleton University, with a focus on human security and development. Dr. Felicia Eghan, Associate Professor, Department of Family Studies & Gerontology and Coordinator of the Peace and Conflict Studies program, Mount Saint Vincent University
Workshop description: Do you have a great idea for making your school or classroom a more peaceful place? Interested in learning more about effective peace education? This workshop will explore educational tools and techniques for teaching peace. Participants will then organize into elementary, junior high and high school groups, and share at least one good idea for advancing peace education.

Alexa McDonough, Co-President (2007-09) and current Global Council Member, Parliamentarians for Non Proliferation and Nuclear Disarmament (PNND), Past Chair PNND (Canadian Chapter), Federal NDP Peace Advocate, and Foreign Affairs and International Development Critic (2003-08)

Shelly Whitman, Deputy Director and Faculty Member, Centre for Foreign Policy Studies, Dalhousie University