Conversations in Peace
The Sydney Peace Prize Lectures 1998-2011
Edited by Lynda Blanchard and Hannah Middleton
This collection of the acceptance speeches of the first eleven
winners of the Sydney Peace Prize is a real gem. The laureates are listed below but among them are Desmond Tutu, Xanana
Gusmao, novelist Arundhati Roy, Patrick Dodson, John Pilger and Noam
Chomsky. From this list it is easy to
see what an inspirational body of work we have in this little book.
Each recipient comes at the topic of peace from a different
angle and often with the experience of a different country but the uniting
factor is ‘peace with justice’. In the
foreword Professor Stuart Rees, who founded the Sydney Peace Prize, quotes a
poem by Bertolt Brecht:
Justice is the bread of the people
….
As daily bread is necessary
So is daily justice
It is even necessary several times a day.
Peace with justice should be the vision of every educator
and every school as here in Australia
we face the swirling possibility of communal disruption caused by events in the
Middle East . How we approach these problems is
the key to social harmony and tolerance which is another facet of peace.
Peace is a many sided gem and can be approached from many
angles. The recipients speak
passionately through the pages on topics as diverse as the violence of poverty,
reconciliation in South Africa, Palestine, Australian indigenous justice,
rights of the child, disarmament, human rights, the environment, non-violence
and much more.
The prize winners who speak so eloquently and movingly are
truly inspiring. They provide an essential antidote to the so-called war
against terror which is ending neither violence nor terrorism.
Conversations in Peace has much to offer educators as well as
the wider community as we deal with a world so desperately in need of peace
with justice.
Sydney Peace Prize recipients 1998 -2011 (in order): Muhammad Yunus, Desmond
Tutu, Xanana Gusmao, William Deane, Mary Robinson, Hanan Ashrawi, Arundhati Roy,
Olara Otunnu, Irene Khan, Hans Blix, Patrick Dodson, John Pilger, Vandana Shiva,
Noam Chomsky.
The book can be purchased for $30 through the Sydney Peace
Foundation at sydneypeacefoundation.org.au
