CENTER FOR PEACE THROUGH CULTURE

Photo: Nanette Hucknall, Co-Founder and first President of the original CPC, with CPC members Barbara Boughton, and Irene van Kessel at the opening reception. 

CENTER FOR PEACE THROUGH CULTURE seemed an excellent organization to include in this inaugural column. Their purpose is very much in alignment with what World Jewish News Agency is about. There is more first rate coverage of music, art, theatre, and book reviews on these pages than you’ll find in most major newspapers worldwide. We know a people by their art. I have said that art is the signature of a culture. Few people could name who was King of Austria in 1790, yet in his brief 35 years (1756-1791), Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart left a legacy that defined the exquisite beauty and elegance of his era.  Sometimes art must find a way to survive in spite of obstacles and resistance. CPC is sponsoring an endeavor that had to overcome numerous obstacles in order to exist. On Tuesday, November 29^th, at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center in New York, the Exile Theatre from Afghanistan and New York’s Bond Street Theatre will present their combined project, Theatre of Hope: Fostering Healing in War Ravaged Lands. The video/lecture with live performance shows the extraordinary results of the two companies’ work together. Theatre, film and TV artists were forced to leave Afghanistan during the Taliban regime. While in exile, they created plays that reflected the social, political and cultural conditions of the Afghan people, despite interference by Pakistan police on many occasions. Since their return to Afghanistan, they’ve become leaders in revitalizing their country’s theatre, film and experimental media. The two theatre groups first met in the refugee areas of northern Pakistan shortly after 9/11 and have been collaborating on projects for adults and children in Afghanistan ever since. “Through our theatre, we hope to bridge the chasm of misinformation that separates our two countries and cultures,” Joanna Sherman, Bond Street Theatre’s Director said “to help transform beliefs that separate people, and turn them into attitudes of inclusion and acceptance.” Bond Street Theatre, founded in 1978, has received the prestigious Mac Arthur Award. They’ve performed in major theatres and festivals worldwide. The company is dedicated to creating theatre that crosses cultural borders and brings their theatre work to refugee camps and areas of conflict. The video/lecture, with live performance and music, tracks the journey these two companies have taken together. They have brought theatre to schools, hospitals, and amidst the debris of bombed out areas in the remotest regions of Afghanistan. 

Photo: Secretary General of the United Nations Koffi Anan with Peace One Day filmmaker Jeremy Gilley.

CPC’s mission further states: “As these walls that separate us come down, we are able to see each other with new eyes. We learn to transcend the boundaries of nationality, race, religion, and gender, meeting each other as fellow humans in a world enriched rather than divided by our cultural diversity.”

Theatre of Hope: Fostering Healing in War Ravaged Lands is being presented at the Martin E. Segal Theatre Center at the Graduate Center CUNY, 365 Fifth Avenue at 34^th Street on Tuesday, November 29 at 6:30 PM. It is free and open to the public. The Graduate Center CUNY is sponsoring a reception and refreshments after the presentation, where patrons can mingle and talk with the performers. Limited seating is available and on a first come, first served basis. Early arrival is recommended. Another piece of good news is that the Graduate Center CUNY presents some of the most innovative programs to be found in or outside of New York City. The ticket price is further good news: Admission for single events is free, with a suggested donation sometimes suggested. This season, their theatre presentations include Japanese Theatre, the Carte Blanche French-American Dialogue Series, The Arab Oedipus, and Goldfaden’s Yiddish Theatre. Dr. Frank Hentshker, Director of theatre programming for Graduate Center CUNY, has attracted outstanding international theatre companies to perform at this unique venue. 

Photo: Mount of Five Treasures (Two Worlds) by Nicholas Roerich, courtesy of the Nicholas Roerich Museum, New York.

 

Photo: Roerich's Logo of Peace.

CPC sponsored an art exhibit of Nicholas Roerich paintings entitled Messenger of Beauty. The opening reception, which included a video of the life and art of Nicholas Roerich, took place on September 17 in the studio at Barbara Boughton Designs in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. The exhibit remained open to the public for five weeks.  In addition to producing over 7,000 paintings, a staggering accomplishment by any measure, Nicholas Roerich was also a highly regarded archeologist, writer, lawyer, scenic and costume designer, and teacher.

Photo: Nicholas Konstantinovitsch Roerich in  oktober 1874 in Saint-Petersburg.

Among Roerich's major achievements were his peace efforts. He created the Roerich Peace Pact, the Banner of Peace, and was nominated for the 1929 Nobel Peace Prize.  There are three circles in the CPC logo, which are a replica of the three circles in Roerich’s Banner of Peace. In the CPC logo the three circles represent art, science, and religion of all cultures, co-existing in beauty, truth, and harmony.  Nicholas Roerich (1874-1947), lived a life that exemplified the highest ideals he taught and expressed through his art. In the last years of his life, Roerich lived in Kulu Valley, in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains. He created some of his most uplifting paintings at that time.   Often called the Messenger of Beauty, he was also realistic. Roerich wrote: “In Beauty, we are united…not on the snowy heights, but amidst the turmoil of the city.” 

On September 20, CPC sponsored the Los Angeles premiere of Jeremy Gilley’s film Peace One Day. The event was the brainchild of Los Angeles film maker and CPC member, Mark Solomon. The showing took place at the Harmony Gold Theatre in L.A. Solomon was thrilled with the response from the highly diverse LA audience, including religious leaders and school children. Gilley, who flew in from London for the opening, said he was overwhelmed by the outpouring of support for Peace One Day. Gilley’s purpose was to create a film addressing the possibility of having one day of peace in the world. He had spent 6 years making the film and traveled around the world, interviewing numerous leaders, about establishing one day of peace.Gilley answered questions during a lively exchange following the films presentation: "What happens next?" "What can we do for 2006?" "Is there a specific place in the world where a ceasefire can be attempted on the International Day of Peace?" Peace One Day has successfully driven the initiative for the United Nations to set an International Day of Peace as a day of global ceasefire and non-violence. That day was established in 2002 as September 21st. CPC member Brian Powell-Clendenning who flew in from Vancouver, BC for the L.A. showing said, “The event itself was particularly moving, quite beyond the scope of the gripping film itself.” Gilley’s simple message remains consistent: “We can do it. All it takes is the willingness to see even briefly past the immediate struggle and create peace one day.” CPC also co-sponsored a showing of Peace One Day at the Triplex in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, on September 20th. An exciting new and relevant activity for CPC is an interactive workshop that will soon be posted on the Center for Peace Through Culture web site.

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This workshop offers a series of exercises regarding beliefs we have which connect or separate us. CPC members are also offering workshops throughout the country, based on their research on core beliefs. The workshops, called “Believe it or Not: a Workshop on Beliefs that Unify and Separate Us,” are ideal for organizations, schools, etc. The areas of core beliefs covered in these workshops are: race, religion, gender, and nationality. More information will be available on the CPC web site.

Photo: Mahmoud Shah Salimi, Exile Theatre’s Director, with company members.

MAKING MATTERS BETTER QUOTE OF THE MONTH is included in the Center for Peace Through Culture brochure, and it informs their numerous activities: "Genuine peace must be the product of many nations, the sum of many acts. It must be dynamic, not static, changing to meet the challenge of each new generation. For peace is a process-a way of solving problems.

 

SEEDS OF PEACE

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Photo: Janet Wallach, soul, mind and heart of "SEEDS OF PEACE".

Ms. Wallach is currently executive vice president of Seeds of Peace, a conflict resolution program which brings together teenagers from the Middle East; India, Pakistan and Afghanistan; the Balkans; and Greece, Turkey and divided Cyprus. The organization has a year-round program that includes a summer camp in Maine, a Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem, annual conferences and an educational arm that helps Seeds alumni attend college in the U.S. Over 3,000 participants have participated in a three-week session at the camp in Maine and then returned to their regions for further workshops, meetings and conflict resolution programs. Ms. Wallach is a Woodrow Wilson Institute Visiting Fellow and has taught at Earlham College; Longwood College; Ohio Wesleyan University; Stetson College; St. Olaph’s College; Bradford College; Susquehana College; and West Virginia Wesleyan College. As a frequent contributor to The Washington Post Magazine from 1982-1987, and as a contributor to Smithsonian Magazine and other periodicals, Janet Wallach has written cover story profiles of Iraqi Ambassador Nizar Hamdoon; Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan; Reza Pahlavi, heir to the throne of Iran; PLO envoy Hassan Abdul Rahman; Saudi entrepreneur Adnan Khashoggi; First Lady of Egypt Jihan Sadat; and the  British official Gertrude Bell. Janet Wallach was born in New York City and received a B.A. degree from New York University. She was married to the late John Wallach, founder and president of Seeds of Peace, and has two sons, David Allyn, and Michael Wallach.    

Photo: John Wallach.

SEEDS OF PEACE began with a toast made over a glass of champagne.  John and Janet Wallach were attending a small reception in Washington D.C. honoring Israel’s then Foreign Minister, Shimon Peres.  The Wallachs had co-authored 3 books about the Middle East, and were highly respected in Washington circles.  It was at that dinner that John Wallach spontaneously proposed that he would start a camp in the United States where teenagers from conflicting areas could work and play together.  Most importantly, they could get to know each other as human beings and not “the enemy.”  Also present at the party were the Egyptian Ambassador and the PLO Envoy.  Wallach asked them, along with Peres, to go back to their governments and ask for teenagers from their communities to attend the camp. His reasoning was that the only way to effect a change is by working with young people who were not yet entrenched in hatred:  “If you can change their thinking, you can change their behavior.”  A camp setting would give them the opportunity to form friendships and develop trust and respect for one another.  The brilliant thought behind that was when these teenagers became adults, they would become leaders and effect a positive change in the world. It’s one thing to propose a toast under the heady influence of sparkling champagne.  It’s quite another to fulfill the promise.  Wallach first had to overcome a number of obstacles.  There was getting the governments to approve of sending representatives.  He then had to raise the money to run the program and find a qualified staff.  Importantly, he needed a summer camp that would donate their facilities to try this experiment.  He found it at Camp Powhatan in Otisfield, Maine, where his son had been a camper. 

Photo: Her royal Majesty, Queen Noor of Jordan.

Six months later, in August, 1993, 46 Israeli, Egyptian, and Palestinian teenage boys arrived at the newly created International Camp in Maine, ready to participate in this grand experiment.  They spent three weeks in workshops, addressing their feelings, getting to know one another, and coming away with a greater understanding of their similarities rather than their differences.  Along the way, they also picked up leadership skills.     Seeds of Peace members were present at the signing of the Oslo Accords.  Can you imagine how exciting it must have been for these teens to attend such an historic event?  (photo of U.S. President Bill Clinton with Seeds teenagers behind him)

Photo: Seeds members at Center for Coexistence.

Each successive year, the camp has expanded, including teenagers from more countries.  Girls now attend.  400 boys and girls attended the 2005 summer camp.  The End of Polarity (seeing unity, rather than separateness), is one of the Keys in my book, The Seven Keys to Live a Masterful Life.  In that chapter, I quote a Jordanian girl who attended Seeds of Peace:  “In order to understand your enemy, you have to go to war with yourself.”  Seeing how we are all one sometimes requires that kind of radical thinking.  There’s a Seeds of Peace Center for Coexistence in Jerusalem which operates year round, offering programs for continuing discussion between graduates and opportunities for community service.  The educational outreach projects allow graduates to teach what they learned at Seed of Peace to others.  (Seeds members at Center for Coexistence).

Photo: President Bill Clinton with Seeds of Peace members standing behind him.

The Seed of Peace comprehensive training program has become an international model.  They’re now working with teenagers from other areas of conflict.  2001 saw the beginning of its South Asia program with Indian and Pakistani youth.  Since 1993, over 3,000 teens from 25 nations have graduated from Seeds of Peace.  A reunion of 130 Seed graduates gathered at last summer’s camp and set up a formal Alumni Association.  When John Wallach passed away in 2002, he was replaced by Aaron Miller as President of the organization.   Former U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell had this to say about Miller:  “Although my colleagues and I at the Department of State will miss him greatly, the work he will be involved in is vital to Arab-Israeli peacemaking."  As Executive Vice President of Seeds of Peace, Janet Wallach (photo of Janet Wallach) continues to lead the way in fulfilling her husband’s mission and dream.  She oversees the activities of the New York office and is involved in fund raising.  But what she’s most passionate about are the young people themselves.  “There has been a large investment in each Seeds participant.  They are our hope for the future,” Janet explains.  “We want to make sure they stay connected to the values they learned at Seeds of Peace.”  Their 32 member Board of Directors and 5 Advisory Board members includes George H.W. Bush, William Jefferson Clinton, Her Majesty Queen Noor, Shimon Peres and Sa'eb Erekat. (photo of Queen Noor) (photo of Israel Shimon Peres, book ended by two Seeds of Peace girls). The extensive media coverage for Seeds of Peace includes being featured on 60 Minutes, Dateline NBC, Nightline, The Today Show, and in numerous newspapers and magazines.  A new documentary film called Seeds has already garnered several prizes.