ATLANTIC COUNCIL FOR INTERNATIONAL COOPERATION

International Development Week - February 2-8,2025

Register here: https://www.acic-caci.org/event-details/the-power-of-dialogue-to-build-community

About the event

Susan Hartley, the creator of a new anthology on peacebuilding - Global Voices for Peace - will moderate a panel of speakers who use dialogue to build peace, connection and understanding in the face of division or conflict.   Attendees will learn from peacebuilders how we can build more resilient communities through dialogue, story-telling, and listening.   

The panelists:

Grace Van Zyl lives in Johannesburg, South Africa. She serves as Community Service Chair and Peace Chair for her Rotary district and is also the CEO of The Foundation for Southern Africa Rotary Clubs (FSARC). She is passionate about building capacity to create positive sustainable peace and presents to Rotary Clubs all over the world on how they can incorporate peacebuilding in their projects.  Grace is the current (2024-25) Chair of the Rotary Action Group for Peace.

Nabil Oudeh was born into conflict. As a Palestinian growing up in Israel, Nabil experienced the impact of conflict on all aspects of life.  As a teenager he challenged himself and others in the most difficult circumstances to utilize dialogue as a way of building greater understanding between peoples. Nabil has continued to be engaged in dialogue opportunities for reconciliation between conflicting traditions and cultures.

Jo Berry is a British peace builder She founded Building Bridges for Peace in 2009,  after losing her Dad in a terrorist attack, with the goal of  promoting peace and conflict transformation around the world.   She had spent the last 24 years in dialogue with the ex combatant who killed her Dad.  Her reconciliation work was featured in the film Beyond Right and Wrong and is studied around the world.  Jo is passionate about young people and empowering them to be positive change makers.  She believes everyone deserves a voice and creates safe places for people to be heard.     www.buildingbridgesforpeace.org

Kiran Singh Sirah passionately believes in the power of human creativity and the notion of a truly global multicultural society. In 2017, he was one of seven people worldwide selected to receive the “Champion of Peace” award at Rotary International Day at the United Nations in Geneva and was recently nominated to receive a National Education Association Martin Luther King Jr. Human Rights and Social Justice award. His passion includes mentoring marginalized youth and partnering with peace activists, artists, and poets and other underserved folks and supporting them to become the story of change they wish to see in the world. www.kiransinghsirah.net