David Porter - Coventry Cathedr

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Apr 20, 2013 - Luciana Storelli-Castro – Argentinian Rotary World Peace Fellow. The conference was organised by Paul B
Rotary Peace Conference in District 1060, Heart of England. Saturday 20th April 2013 Speakers: - David Porter - Coventry Cathedrals Reconciliation Ministry Laura Payne – Coventry University Centre for Peace and Reconciliation Studies Luciana Storelli-Castro – Argentinian Rotary World Peace Fellow The conference was organised by Paul Beedham and DG Steve Cartwright. On a wonderful sunny Saturday morning whilst other members were preparing to be tossing for St George in Bewdley Town, Alan wood and I had a relaxed journey over to Bedworth, or “Bederth” in local parlance. We were to take part in the District Peace Conference, as part of the International Presidents call for Rotary to exhibit “Peace Through Service” through holding Peace Forums throughout the world and also to enable us as a Rotary Club to gain the Presidents Citation. The District conference was brought together by Paul after he had taken part in a Peace Forum in Berlin. Alan and I had a very interesting chat with Laura at coffee before the event, it was enlightening to hear about how she had come to her role and there was a parallel to be drawn to Alan’s daughter, and her role in the UN. Rotary has a history of being involved in Peace, Reconciliation and Justice through various programmes over the years. Since 1945 Rotary has encouraged trained and supported future peacemakers latterly through our Peace Scholar Programme. All the speakers were excellent David Porter was challenging and encouraging. He gave the background of how Coventry Cathedral had spearheaded the spiritual challenge of “Rebuilding Hope out of the Despair of War” after the bombing of the Cathedral and Coventry in the Second World War. The first act of rebuilding

took place on the morning after the bombing when two charred medieval beams where lashed together to form a cross. He talked of the “Reconciliation out of Division” and the Community of The Cross of Nails, symbolised by a cross made from nails from the bombed Cathedral, the first being given to Kiel, a German city in 1946, that had been bombed by the allies. He went on to talk of the challenges of today, to assist those who face conflict, to bring peace and reconciliation to individuals – especially he mentioned those young people the Cathedral works with who comes from disadvantaged families and the conflict that can happen within the family. Individuals have the right to live a life free from conflict, and we all have a role to play in encouraging Peace Justice and Reconciliation. He then challenged our perceptions; “Peace is Offensive” people are complicit and emotional. “Justice is a Tease” there will be those who will not face justice for their crimes. “Reconciliation is a Bastard” those who did you and yours harm now need to be your friends, a pain you can bare for Peace? He ended with this statement:-

Vengeance Does Not Give Peace, It Builds Resentment Laura gave us the heading, “Prospects for Peace in a Changing World” Her challenge was is peace possible and are we living in a more peaceful world? The outcome of her presentation was that in fact we do live in a more peaceful world. It is our perception that shapes our thinking that the world is a more violent place; the perception is not based upon the truth. The facts show that on all counters we are living in a more peaceful world. War is becoming less acceptable globally, education is growing and economies are less focused on war. But! We cannot rest on our laurels. It was interesting to learn that if the world was at complete peace, the global economy would benefit by nine trillion dollars (US). The need for human security is driving peace forward, but this challenges the goals of global development, and how countries deal with their own conflicts. Laura gave a statement of what the Centre for Peace and Reconciliation does:Peace that puts people first, addressing causes and effects, teaching, researching and constantly building with Coventry Cathedrals Work partners whether home or abroad.

Laura showcased three programmes that the centre is working on in the Sudan and Kenya using sport to break down barriers to peace, Afghanistan monitoring and evaluating peace initiatives that the Dutch Government are carrying out and China where they are translating peace literature into local languages. Laura asked us to remember that conflict can lead to positive change, but when violence is the driver of the change, human suffering is the outcome. Luciana gave a brilliant presentation on Transitional Justice, which is a response to systematic and wide spread violations of human rights. It seeks recognition for victims and the promotion of peace, reconciliation and democracy, through criminal prosecutions, truth commissions and repatriation programmes. She showcased the problems with the conflict in Northern Uganda, between the Lord’s Resistance Army, who use Child soldiers, and indoctrination and the Ugandan government. The conflict has been on-going since 1986. 1.7 million People have been displaced by the conflict, 90% into internment camps, although the camps are closed down, people are still displaced and traumatised by atrocities that were carried out in the camps. She gave background on the international reaction to the conflict and the request for help that the Ugandan government issued. The problem is that the reaction did not help those local dispute resolution organisations who are working to bring about reconciliation on the ground. The challenge again is how to bring peace and if seeking justice means retribution against those who may be as much a victim as anyone. A question and answer session followed the coffee break; this again was thought provoking and challenging and showed what a diverse issue peace is for people. We ended with reflections of personal peace from Lorna Beedham. Peace is about one Is about how one makes some-one else feel It only takes one person to bring peace……………………….YOU