URI NEW CO OPERATION CIRCLES

Dear URI Cooperation Circles, 

 

It is with great joy and hope for peace in the world that I announce 10 groups from three URI regions have been approved in June as URI Cooperation Circles (CCs)!

 

Most of the new CCs are existing organizations that are joining URI to enhance their effectiveness. This is beautifully expressed by Tomoko Watanabe, the Executive Director of our new ANT-Hiroshima CC, who says, "being URI members will help us to establish a network, learn from the experience of others in different parts of the world and also share our work to bring about global impact."

 

URI’s global network now includes 587 CCs in 84 countries. We welcome Japan as a new country in the URI community.

 

A brief description of the work of these new CCs appears below:

 

AFRICA

Assemblée des Jeunes pour la Paix et le Développement Intégral, Democratic Republic of Congo

 

In 2006 the Young People's Assembly for Peace and Integral Development was created to help young people build constructive relationships instead of resorting to armed conflict to resolve their differences. Its 45 members have a goal of creating a better future for humanity and protecting the environment and its biodiversity. They are seeking international partnerships of like-minded young people. As a group of Protestants, Roman Catholics, Muslims, Brahmans and Jehovah’s Witnesses, they are happy to be spokespeople for URI in DR Congo, Burundi, Rwanda, Tanzania and Uganda. 

 

Fire Women Association, 

 Democratic Republic of Congo 

 

 

 

 

This group of 60 members (Protestants, Catholics, Muslims, Pentacostals and Seventh Day Adventists) offers services to women who are the victims of years of armed conflict in the region. They provide counseling, refer women to health centers and encourage women who have few economic means to learn about their rights and and legal services. They provide educational programs and lead a small tailoring project to empower women with skills which will potentially enable them to earn an income. 

 

Change Mind, Change Future, Kenya

 

Catholics, Protestants and Muslims come together in this organization to mentor young children and students under the age of 30. They work in primary schools, secondary schools and universities to promote the holistic growth of young people from an early age so that their talents do not go to waste. They believe that through mentorship, young people will learn to work together to address global issues and create a culture of peace. The group has 37 members. For more information, visit their website:  www.changemindchangefuture.org. 

 

 

The Youth With A Vision, Kenya

 

This community organization was founded in 2002 by inter-university students from different religions and tribes. Their great strength is that they go beyond tribal and religious barriers, which is a major challenge in Kenya. They carry out programs for young people about education, the environment, health care, the alleviation of poverty, and security. They move around in schools assisting teachers and pupils, particularly in the area of science where motivation is lacking. They want to create an international network of facilitators to generate ideas on the best way to fulfill the vast demands for their work. This group consists of Muslims, Christians and Indigenous traditions. For more information, visit their website:www.youthinkenya.org. 

 

Lunzu Cooperation  Circle, Malawi

 

Members from the Anglican and Roman Catholic Churches, the Providence Industrial Mission, Muslims, Seventh Day Adventists, Rastafarians and traditional African religions come together to improve their community’s social welfare. This includes changing their health and sanitation systems and environmental conditions. To date, they have planted 200 indigenous and exotic trees in Lunzu, rural Blantyre and they plan to clean the Mlambe Mission Hospital which services many people in northern Blantyre.

 

Reseau Culturel SANGWA, 

Rwanda

 

More than 60 Catholics, Seventh Day Adventists, Protestants, and Muslims come together to improve the daily living conditions of their communities. They address gender-based violence and counsel women and children affected by the 1994 genocide. They use music and art, in particular, to promote cohesiveness among ethnic groups. They provide bicycles to peer educators to facilitate access to remote communities, and conduct workshops on stopping violence and promoting knowledge of women’s and children’s rights. 

 

ASIA

ANT-Hiroshima, Japan

 

ANT-Hiroshima is an NGO with 100 members based in Hiroshima. They are Buddhists, Shintoists, Christians, Muslims and Jews. They draw their inspiration from the experience of the A-bomb survivors who, together with international support, worked to rebuild their shattered city in a spirit of peace and reconciliation. In a similar spirit, ANT-Hiroshima is involved in a range of relief, reconstruction, and peace-building projects in a number of countries, including Afghanistan, Pakistan, Nepal, and Bangladesh. Their mission is to abolish nuclear weapons, carry out peace building activities and develop a new generation of peace builders. For more information, visit their website: www.ant-hiroshima.org.

 

Japan Interfaith Council,  Japan

 

Council members from Buddhism, Shintoism, Islam, Christianity and Saka Gakkai, come together to focus on interfaith dialogue. Their goal is to achieve understanding, respect and harmony among followers of different religions and to see peaceful co-existence in the world. They have a TV talk show in Japan which promotes inter-religious harmony to counter violent extremism. They have also published a book in Japanese on comparative religion. They want to promote the principles of URI in their interfaith activities in Japan. 

 

Social Development Initiative through Religious Cooperation, Sri Lanka

 

Batticalova is a city in Sri Lanka that experienced civil war for over three decades. Building harmony is essential as the community is completely fragmented from years of conflict. This group of 20 Hindus, Muslims and Christians have been working with Shanti Sena CC for over two years to build a new foundation based on peace. They have organized youth camps, film festivals, leadership training programs, and career guidance and micro financing workshops.

 

Middle East and North Africa (MENA)

Dialogue for Peace , Morocco

 

This group of Arab Muslim Sunnis, Jews, Amazigh (Tashelheet, Tamazighet, and Tarefeet) and Sahrawi (nomads) come together to increase an understanding about the importance of intercultural dialogue to build peace and respect among people of different faiths. Members have participated in international gatherings that brirng Arabs and Israelis together to work collaboratively to achieve peace in the Middle East. Some are members of YALA, an initiative that uses social media and technology to bring young people together to build an online academy and an online musicians forum, as well as organizing sports and cultural activities. They are active in Euro-Arab and Euro-med intercultural exchanges and dialogue. For more information, visit their website:  http://socialchange2020.wordpress.com/.

If you wish to extend your warm wishes to any of these new groups, please click on the links for their CC pages.

 

May Peace Prevail on Earth!

                                                   Prof. John Kurakar