The Journey to Reconciliation: Social Integration as a Step on the Journey

Congratulations! Our URI-UN team efforts to highlight the 2009 International Year of Reconciliation have already been a great success. The launch events on January 29th were beautiful, as already reported. Warm thanks to the CSVGC-NY for a terrific part 2!

Last week was the DPI NGO briefing introducing the Year of Reconciliation, which Carol Zinn suggested months ago. Monica Willard was responsible for securing most of the guests, who were all excellent. The program was so well received that a petition was drafted on the spot for an entire Decade of Reconciliation, which Jeff Huffines of the DPI NGO Executive Committee promised to circulate widely.

On February 12th, Carol and Monica hosted “The Journey to Reconciliation: Social Integration as a Step on the Journey,” a side event of the Commission on Social Development Side Event held in UN Conference Room B. In spite of stiff competition from a large UNA-USA event on climate change, we had a lovely gathering of 14 representatives of peace, indigenous, and religious NGOs, plus a young woman from the Permanent Mission of Nicaragua.

After Monica outlined the GA Resolution A/61/L.22 (attached), Carol offered a few general remarks. She compared the concepts of reconciliation and resolution, explaining that reconciliation was about relationships, while resolution dealt with issues. She then led the group in an Appreciative Inquiry on both reconciliation and social integration, which is the theme of this year’s Commission on Social Development. The questions we had prepared were:

1.  Share an example of a situation where you have experienced or witnesses a need for social integration.
 
2.  Was this situation reconciled?  If so, what made that possible?  If it was not reconciled, what steps would be needed to begin the reconciliation process?

Having people experience AI (the process used to birth the United Religions Initiative over a period of five years) worked its magic, as it so often does. Participants engaged in a rich, thoughtful sharing, and one woman remarked that she was accustomed to listening at UN events and was delighted to be asked to actively engage. 

So on to the next! Anele Heiges is planning our next event, for the Commission on the Status of Women, scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th and entitled, “Equal Sharing of Responsibilities Between Women and Men, Including Caregiving in the Context of HIV/AIDS and the Blessings of Forgiveness and Reconciliation.” It will be held at the ICO Center, 323 E. 47th Street, 1:00-3:00pm and partnered with the International Public Policy Institute (IPPI). The panel works with colleagues in Kenya and the Kenya immigrant community in New Jersey. 

The Journey to Reconciliation: Social Integration as a Step on the Journey

Congratulations! Our URI-UN team efforts to highlight the 2009 International Year of Reconciliation have already been a great success. The launch events on January 29th were beautiful, as already reported. Warm thanks to the CSVGC-NY for a terrific part 2!

Last week was the DPI NGO briefing introducing the Year of Reconciliation, which Carol Zinn suggested months ago. Monica Willard was responsible for securing most of the guests, who were all excellent. The program was so well received that a petition was drafted on the spot for an entire Decade of Reconciliation, which Jeff Huffines of the DPI NGO Executive Committee promised to circulate widely.

On February 12th, Carol and Monica hosted “The Journey to Reconciliation: Social Integration as a Step on the Journey,” a side event of the Commission on Social Development Side Event held in UN Conference Room B. In spite of stiff competition from a large UNA-USA event on climate change, we had a lovely gathering of 14 representatives of peace, indigenous, and religious NGOs, plus a young woman from the Permanent Mission of Nicaragua.

After Monica outlined the GA Resolution A/61/L.22 (attached), Carol offered a few general remarks. She compared the concepts of reconciliation and resolution, explaining that reconciliation was about relationships, while resolution dealt with issues. She then led the group in an Appreciative Inquiry on both reconciliation and social integration, which is the theme of this year’s Commission on Social Development. The questions we had prepared were:

1.  Share an example of a situation where you have experienced or witnesses a need for social integration.
 
2.  Was this situation reconciled?  If so, what made that possible?  If it was not reconciled, what steps would be needed to begin the reconciliation process?

Having people experience AI (the process used to birth the United Religions Initiative over a period of five years) worked its magic, as it so often does. Participants engaged in a rich, thoughtful sharing, and one woman remarked that she was accustomed to listening at UN events and was delighted to be asked to actively engage. 

So on to the next! Anele Heiges is planning our next event, for the Commission on the Status of Women, scheduled for Tuesday, March 4th and entitled, “Equal Sharing of Responsibilities Between Women and Men, Including Caregiving in the Context of HIV/AIDS and the Blessings of Forgiveness and Reconciliation.” It will be held at the ICO Center, 323 E. 47th Street, 1:00-3:00pm and partnered with the International Public Policy Institute (IPPI). The panel works with colleagues in Kenya and the Kenya immigrant community in New Jersey.