World Peace Forum
Vancouver, BC

Marianne Williamson, Chair of The Peace Alliance, moderated a panel on Departments of Peace Around the World. She was the only woman, surrounded by seven males from four continents who hold positions in their respective governments:

• Congressman Dennis Kucinich, USA
• Dr. Arthur Chesterfield Evans, MLC New South Wales, AUS
• Timothy Al Paulus, Assistant Minister for Youth in the Ministry for Youth and Sport, Liberia
• Franklin Quijano, Office of the President, Philippine Peace Process
  Fred Fakiri'i, Undersecretary in the Ministry of Reconciliation, Unity and Peace, Solomon Islands
• Hideake, standing in for upper house of Diet Senator Kina, Japan
• Paul Van Tongeren, Executive Director, Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict, Netherlands
• Saul Arbess also read a letter of support from Dr. Doug Roche, former Canadian Parliamentarian

Manish Thapa, Director of the Peace Alliance Initiative, Nepal, read our Victoria Summit Communique. Then it was simply brilliant as the panelists spoke of their reasons for wanting a department or ministry of peace, the status in their respective country, and why partnership with governments and civil society is so important in our time, while Marianne wove a tapestry and made visible the interconnectedness and implicit possibilities for cooperation leading to government and civil society partnership as together we create an infrastructure for peace.

Fred Fakiri'i from the Solomon Islands commented, "All of you want a department of peace and we have one. Your challenge is to create it, our challenge is to sustain it. We need to work together."

It was standing room only and following the panel we then went down the hall to a press conference. Now we know that Sunday is not your best day to schedule a press conference. Two TV stations, lots of journalists, and a number of international newspaper and magazine freelancers....it was amazing as we created a space with our banners and flags in the middle of a hallway that could have been a congressional briefing...Marianne and I are excited about the possibilities with the UN, the international work, and the implications and integration with our US campaign.

International People's Initiative for Ministries and Departments of Peace
See Communiqué from second summit attached: SecondSummitCommuniquefinal.pdf
http://www.peoplesinitiativefordepartmentsofpeace.org/

See article in the Vancouver Sun.

In the Spirit of Peace,

Dorothy J. Maver, Ph.D.
Executive Director
The Peace Alliance
Campaigning for a US Department of Peace
www.thepeacealliance.org
The Peace Alliance Foundation
Empowering Civic Activism for a Culture of Peace
www.peacealliancefound.org