3rd International Women’s Peace Conference

jj May 16th, 2007

Empowering Peacemakers

DALLAS, TX–Several thousand women, and a few good men, are expected to gather in Dallas this July for the 3rd International Women’s Peace Conference. The Peacemakers Inc. event is being held July 10-15 at the Adams Mark Hotel and Conference Center in downtown Dallas (400 North Olive Street).“Our mission is to provide a safe haven for women from countries all over the world to meet, confer and formulate an action plan for world peace,” said Carol Crabtree Donovan, Peacemakers president and conference chairwoman. “The purpose of the conference is to empower peacemakers by teaching peace skills, such as mediation, negotiation and communication.”

The theme of the conference is Empowering Peacemakers. Delegates will meet and strategize with Nobel Peace Laureates, elected officials, and grass roots organizers from other countries, faiths, philosophies, and backgrounds. Daily keynote addresses by world-renowned peacemakers and workshops, providing practical, applicable peacemaking skills, will be provided at the conference.

Additionally, the conference will include seminars on negotiation, mediation, and effective communication. Through interactive workshops with expert panelists from around the world, participants will be able to share opinions, ideas and strategies with experienced peacemakers. Attendees will draft an action plan for peace to be implemented by grassroots peacemakers in their respective countries.

Three Nobel Peace Laureates are among the keynote speakers who will address the conference theme of “Empowering Peacemakers”. The bi-partisan conference host committee includes U.S. Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison (R. TX) and U.S. Congresswoman Eddie Bernice Johnson (D.TX).

Peacemakers Inc. is a nonpartisan, tax-exempt, nonprofit corporation founded in March 1987 by journalist/author Vivian Castleberry to sponsor an international women’s conference on peace. The first conference, held at Southern Methodist University in August 1988, brought together 2,000 women from 57 countries.

Meet and strategize with Nobel Peace Laureates, elected officials, and grassroots peacemakers form other countries, faiths and backgrounds. Share peace skills and design an action plan for peace. Go to www.womenspeaceconference.org to register, volunteer and make a donation for the conference, scheduled July 10-15, 2007 at the Adams Mark Conference Center in Dallas, Texas.

For more information on co-sponsorship, underwriting, or sponsoring a delegate, call 214-421-6707. Discount room rates are available at the Adams Mark Hotel (800-444/2326). Online registration is available at www.womenspeaceconference.org. For more information, call 214-421-6707.

Nobel Peace Laureates:

  • Jody Williams (1997-USA), founding Coordinator of the International Campaign to Ban Landmines, was awarded for achieving an international treaty, banning landmines.
  • Betty Williams (1976-Northern Ireland), co-founder of the Northern Ireland Peace Movement (later renamed Community of Peace People), was awarded for her work to bring peace to her native Northern Ireland.
  • Rigoberta Menchú Tum (1992-Guatemala) was awarded for her work for social justice for indigenous people in her native Guatemala.

Confirmed speakers:

  • Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela (South Africa) serves as a professor at the University of Cape Town and a member of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission appointed by South African President Nelson Mandela.
  • Noeleen Heyzer (Singapore) serves as Executive Director of UNIFEM – the leading operational agency within the U.N. promoting women’s empowerment and gender equality.
  • Jean Shinoda Bolen (USA) is a professor of psychiatry at the University of California Medical Center and the author of Urgent Message from Mother: Gather the Women Save the World.
  • Ruth-Gaby Vermot-Mangold (Switzerland) serves as co-President of Peace Women Across the Globe, an international group based in Switzerland, working to bring the knowledge and leadership of peace women to official decision-making arenas.
  • Sharon D. Welch (USA) serves as Professor and Chair of the Department of Religious Studies at the University of Missouri at Columbia.
  •  Merve Kavakci (Turkey) is a former member of the Turkish Parliament and international lecturer. 
  • Swanee Hunt (USA), a Dallas native, directs the Women and Public Policy Program at Harvard’s Kennedy School of Government, where she also teaches.
  • Leticia Shahani (Philippines) serves as an educator, diplomat and senator, until Jan. 2004. Shahani served as the Presidential Adviser on Culture at the Office of the President of the Philippines and was Chairperson of the Committee on Culture of the UNESCO National Commission. 
  • Vivian Castleberry (USA) is the founder of Peacemakers Inc. and served as Chairwoman of the First International Women’s Peace Conference. From 1956 to 1984, Castleberry served as the Women’s Editor of the Dallas Times Herald, where she headed the Living Srection and was the first woman named to the paper’s editorial board.


One Response to “3rd International Women’s Peace Conference”

  1. # Anne McCradyon 10 Jul 2007 at 1:48 pm

    As a peace-seeking poet in Texas, I want to welcome conference attendees to our state where despite some evidence to the contrary (the President for one), we do value compassion, courage and community. It is an honor to open our hearts and doors to women who would further the cause of peace. Let us celebrate each other and collaborate to guide the world wisely! For more of my thoughts, see my podcast, Peacemaking at InSpiritry.com/wordpress.

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