GWPN: RECONCILIATION AND SOLIDARITY FOR PEACE
On November 1, we celebrated the third Global Women's Peace Network (GWPN) Caribbean Region conference in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic.
There were a total of 120 participants, including 17 from the six overseas countries of Peru, Haiti, the United States, St. Kitts and Nevis, Puerto Rico, and Japan; 83 invited guests; staff; and WFWP members.
This year we delivered invitations to several embassies in the region. Two representatives of the Venezuela ambassador attended as a result. We also had three congresswomen, as well as representatives of the Education Department and the Women's Department. There were various women leaders from different fields in attendance as well. Many participants in the previous two events brought their colleagues, friends, and family members with them this year.
After a prayer and the national anthem, the president of WFWP Dominican Republic, Professor Diana Contreras, gave a warm welcome address. Mrs. Conchita Abadia of Puerto Rico read a special congratulatory message from the president of WFWP International, Professor Yeon Ah Moon. More congratulatory remarks followed, including a representative of the mayor of Santo Domingo Este; the president of the National Council for Women, Mrs. Emma Valois; and Congresswoman Karen Ricardo.
The theme this year was "Reconciliation and Solidarity for Peace." Based on this theme, the morning session continued with various lectures and reports. Colonel Maria Infante of the National Police Department, who is a professor at the Police Academy, was the first speaker. Then the vice president of Peru National Educational University, Lida Asencios, addressed the gathering.
WFWP presented an introductory lecture titled "Character Education," given by Mr. Cesar Regalado, secretary general of the Universal Peace Federation (UPF) in the Dominican Republic. Because many participants were educators, they listened attentively and took notes. We have been giving this lecture at several public high schools, as well as lectures on "AIDS Prevention," "Pure Love," and "Ideal Family," as part of a curriculum of 60 hours of ethics education for the senior classes for the last few years.
The president of AELAC (Educators Association of Latin America and the Caribbean) of Cuba attended the event last year and observed some of our seminars at the local schools and became interested. She organized a seminar in Cuba, and Professor Reyes of UASD (the National University of the Dominican Republic) went there and gave lectures to the students. So Professor Reyes gave a report about those seminars in Havana and showed some pictures.
Representatives of the WFWP chapters in Haiti and Peru gave their activity reports afterward. In Haiti, they offer classes to teach reading and writing. It is shocking that more than 80 percent of the people there are illiterate. Now classes are not only for younger students but for adults, too.
In Peru, WFWP has a project to help women through a series of self-esteem seminars given at several local community centers. They have been teaching how to improve communication among family members. Some participants have overcome domestic violence, and others have improved their relationships with their spouses.
In the afternoon, we broke into three groups in the areas of politics, education, and NGOs and had enthusiastic, well-led discussions for about 90 minutes. At the end of the discussions, a representative of each group gave a summary.
After a short break, Mrs. Juanita Pierre-Louis, vice president of WFWP USA, gave a report about the annual National Assembly and the Day of Service that was held in Washington, D.C. Then WFWP Dominican Republic gave an activity report for 2014.
The last lecture was given by Congresswoman Guadalupe Valdez. She spoke about the importance of educating young people, especially about peace. At the end of her presentation, she had tears in her eyes and asked the audience to hold hands and sing together.
With this emotional, uplifting atmosphere, the entertainment started. The first number was a Japanese dance by groups of young people from Japan. It was very powerful and attractive. Next was an exhibition of Tae Kwon Do. Children from 7 to 14 years old displayed their achievements, and received admiration and resounding applause.
A Dominican couple performed a folk dance in traditional costume. Some participants stood up and danced together. The finale was comprised of numbers by Mrs. Alicia Baroni, a professional singer. She sang so powerfully, with her passion for love, peace, and the world! All participants enjoyed everything so much ... dancing, hugging, and holding hands with each other, regardless of whether they were politicians, foreigners, teachers, army officers, community leaders, staffers, or members.
After the event was over, 33 new members signed up, 25 participants filled out comment sheets, and there were even some donations.
A congressman's wife, who has attended every event of ours, wants to coordinate our seminar in her area again. A congresswoman wants to work with us organizing seminars. We are going to arrange the schedules for the requests later.
The GWPN is surely forming and expanding spontaneously from person to person, group to group, institution to institution, and nation to nation!
