Art auction and film - Tuesday Dec 21 - Halifax
John van Gurp
Peaceful Schools International (PSI) invites you to a screening of the NFB
film Teaching Peace in a Time of War in the St. Pat's High School
auditorium, tonight, Tuesday December 21st at 6:45pm.
The event is preceded by a silent art auction starting at 6:00pm featuring
the works of several critically acclaimed regional artists.
Janice Kennedy of the Ottawa Citizen describes the film as
"a powerful and moving new National Film Board documentary by Teresa
MacInnes. MacInnes, a former social worker who had already made two
earlier films about schools and efforts to reduce bullying -- Waging Peace
and Learning Peace -- followed the indefatigable Hetty van Gurp as she
brought her revolutionary ideas about non-violence to a war-scarred and
impoverished neighbourhood on the outskirts of Belgrade."
This will be a rare opportunity to acquire paintings, drawings and
sculptures by such talented and well known artists as Joseph Purcell,
Judith Brannen, Robert Rutherford, Harry Hamm and Karen Shlick.
All proceeds go toward a project that will send roughly 35 local high
school students to Serbia, in the former Yugoslavia in March 2005 to
attend an international youth conference on peaceful approaches to
conflict resolution, including how to introduce peer mediation in schools
and how to incorporate the ideals of respect and productive and peaceful
living in education and in our communities. The conference is co-organized
by PSI and the Serbian Ministery of Education.
PSI is already very active in this work in Canada with the support of
various government and non-governmental organizations. We have over 100
member schools worldwide and participate in a variety of projects.
The Honourable Myra A. Freeman, Lieutenant Governor of Nova Scotia will be
making opening comments. Madam Freeman is a member of the International
Advisory Board of PSI and is its founding patron.
Doors open at 6:0pm. Admission is by donation - with a suggested donation
of $10.
Further information can be found at the following website:
http://peacefulschoolsinternational.org/sftp/sftp.htm
Season's Greetings,
John