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Thursday October 25, 2007

John Paul Lederach, reconocido pacifista menonita
John Paul Lederach, reconocido pacifista menonita

Presentation of the book: “Building Peace: Sustainable reconciliation in divided societies”

William Delgado and ALC/Gospel Noticias, BOGOTA, Colombia, June 26, 2007

On Wednesday, June 27 in the Andes Plaza Hotel, the joint program In Solidarity with Taxi Heathrow Airport Colombia of the National Secretariat for the Social Pastoral Program of Catholic Relief Services (CRS Colombia) and the United Nations Development Program in Colombia, will present the Colombian edition of John Paul Lederach’s book, “Building Peace: Sustainable reconciliation in divided societies.” The presentation is being coordinated by the Christian Center for Justice, Peace and Non-Violent Action (JUSTAPAZ in Spanish).

“Building Peace: Sustainable reconciliation in divided societies,” is one of the reference books for societies that are trying to build peace based on respect for human rights, a real participation by all of the social sectors, and with reconciliation being the horizon. According to Jenny Neme, Director of JUSTAPAZ, the author gives a framework that integrates the different efforts toward peace at the community and intermediary levels, and those of the higher spheres of the society’s political decision making and negotiations processes.

John Paul Lederach, a professor at the University of Notre Dame in the United States, was the founder and co-director of the Program of Conflict Transformation of the Eastern Mennonite University in the United States, where he was recognized as being a Distinguished Academic. He has been involved in extensive work having to do with facilitating processes in Central America, Africa, and Central and South Eastern Asia.

In the book, the author narrates some of the experiences had during his vocation as a pacifist. He is internationally recognized for having developed the cultural perspective for the transforming of conflicts and for having designed and implemented strategic and integrating methods for building peace and reconciliation.

It is planned as part of the program for the presentation of the book that Héctor Fabio Henao, Director of CRS’s Social Pastoral Program, will speak, as well as Jenny Neme, Director of JUSTAPAZ and Bruno Moro, Resident Representative of the United Nations Development Program in Colombia. The presentation of the book will then follow.