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Ada Aharoni: Poems can
convey what politics cannot
Daily News about
developments of Peace Culture in the Middle East and
around the World
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NEWS :
Create Ministries of
Peace in Israel and Palestine
THE MAIN GOALS OF IFLAC
To
strive toward the promotion of peace and mutual respect
between people and nations. To promote social, cultural and religious tolerance
between people. To eliminate violence in all its forms. To organize peace culture researchers, writers,
intellectuals and friends of literature. To encourage creativity that promotes culture and peace.
PURPOSE OF THE ORGANIZATION
We believe that culture and literature can promote
peace, freedom, and the enrichment of the quality of
life. On the threshold of the twenty first century, we
shall endeavor to pave the way towards the fulfillment
of our main ideal "one world and one humanity, all
living in peace". Our goal is to help build a Middle
East and a world beyond war in the
21st
century, by means of literature, culture and art. This
endeavor is in harmony with the Universal Declaration of
Human Rights embodied in the Charter of the United
Nations.
We strive for freedom of speech and expression, and for
freedom from hostile and oppressive violence, whether it
is war, or gender, physical, mental or moral oppression.
We believe in the right of people everywhere to live in
peace, and in their rights to pursue their various
cultures, as well as human endeavors, and to obtain
equal civil justice.
ACTIVITIES
Toward these ends, we organize "International
Conferenses on Conflict Resolution Through Culture and
Literature," first in Shavei Zion, Galilee, in June 1999, the
Second Iflac Conference, in Sydney in 2001, the third
Iflac Conference was held in London in 2002, the fourth
one was held in Bursa, Turkey, in October 2003,
The fifth was in L.A in 2005. Peace Poetry Festival in
Paris 2007.
"IFLAC",
under its former name: "The Friends of Literature
Association", was founded in 1985 in Haifa Israel, and
was registered as a Voluntary Association in 1987. In
1999 it was registered under its present name: IFLAC. There
are ten international branches, actively and harmoniously working together. We
hold literary and cultural meetings including: Lectures,
Poetry Reading, Story-Telling, New Books celebrations,
Interviews, Literary Weekend Seminars, Cultural
Festivals, Symposiums, Congresses and Workshops.
In 1996 the TENT OF PEACE was set up in the Druze
village of Ussfiya, in which dialogue
encounters, inter-cultural meetings and
happenings are held.
DECLARATION OF THE IFLAC WORLD ETHOS
THE IFLAC
GLOBAL COMMON PEACE CULTURE VALUES ARE:
1. Respect, understanding and tolerance for other
Cultures, Opinions and Religions.
2. The right of every individual to humane treatment
and to his/her own cultural values, norms ,cultural
heritage and traditions.
3. The principle of freedom from war, terror and
violence and respect for life.
4. Equal rights for all women and men.
5. Solidarity between people all over the world and
advocacy of a just world economic order.
6. Separation of Religion and the political and public
sphere.
DEFINITION of PEACE CULTURE
Culture:
The Webster New World Dictionary describes "Culture" as:
"The development, improvement and refinement of the
mind, emotions, interests, manners and tastes, as well
as the arts, ideas, customs and skills of a given people
in a given period."
The Oxford
English Dictionary adds that culture is "The
intellectual side of civilization."
The
definition of "culture" in IFLAC, is based on all the
above.
Peace
- Webster's New World Dictionary defines peace as:
freedom from war, public security, harmony, concord, serenity.
The definition of "peace" at IFLAC is based on
all these definitions.
Peace
Culture - A peace culture is based on all the above, and
therefore it can create, mediate and transfer values,
ideas, ethics, information, customs, traditions,
interests, emotions, arts and intellectual
refinement, between: people, generations, nations, and
civilizations. It is both a productive and reproductive
force by transmitting the cultural patterns of the
present and the past, and an important creative and
educational influence, by its power to actively inculcate new
values, norms, attitudes, behavior and trends. |
