Greetings! Warm wishes for a happy new year and especially a healthy 2005.
As you may recall, our 2004 Annual Meeting was held in New York in September instead of May, the month that we usually hold the meeting. The rescheduling was due to the PPSEAWA International Conference being held in May 2004. Our members have now expressed a preference to change the annual meeting to September because it would then coincide with the United Nations Annual DPI/NGO Conference and thus allow members from all chapters the opportunity to attend. The members who attended the 3-day DPI/NGO Conference were excited and enthusiastic about what they have learned at the workshops and seminars. The issue was brought up and discussed at the last Board meeting in New York. A motion to synchronize the Annual PPSEAWA–USA Meeting with the DPI/NGO Conference was carried, effective September 2006.
See a discussion of the 57th Annual DPI/NGO Conference on page two.
The speaker at our Annual Meeting luncheon was Ms Cora Weiss, President of the Hague Appeal for Peace and of the International Peace Bureau. She spoke on the topic “No Peace without Peace Education.” Ms Weiss emphasized the need to do two things to reverse the trend of the escalation of the level of violence. One is the need for inclusion of women at all levels of decision-making in government and peace making/peace agreements. There can be no justice without gender justice. Hence, if there are no women in the process, there can be no peace.
The other method to prevent violent conflict is to integrate peace education into all classrooms, communities and families. Peace education must be part of all peace agreements. It includes values and skills of non-violence, human rights, and justice.
Peace education is a global campaign championed by the Hague Appeal for Peace, an organization dedicated to sowing the seeds for the abolition of war and making peace a human right.
Finally, I want to thank all the chapters and individual members who have contributed to PPSEAWA-USA Tsunami Relief Fund. Your generosity is greatly appreciated. The monies will go to UNICEF. We all know that all victims are sorely in need of assistance. But PPSEAWA-USA would like to extend its relief efforts to the children survivors.