Posted on Sept. 25: McMaster gives peace a chance

The tenth annual Ghandi Peace Festival and Peace Walk, hosted by McMaster's Centre for Peace Studies and the India Canada Society, takes place Saturday, Sept. 28 at Hamilton City Hall. The festival opens at 10 a.m. and activities commence at 11 a.m.

The festival, which celebrates the birthday and philosophies of Mahatma Ghandi begins at 11 a.m. with an opening address by Mayor Bob Wade followed by a keynote address from Joy Warner, past national chair of Canadian Voice of Women for Peace. At noon, there will be a peace walk followed by food and music.

Festival participants and interested onlookers are invited to participate, march through the city and bring signs and banners to display and voice their messages of peace and non-violence.

“The purpose of the Gandhi Peace Festival is to promote nonviolence, peace and justice,” says Rama Singh, professor of biology at McMaster. He also hopes it provides an avenue for various peace and human rights organizations within the local community to become collectively visible, and exchange dialogues and resources, and build on local interest and dialogue in peace and human right issues that develop around the world.

“We are encouraged by the growing interest in the Gandhi Peace Festival,” he says.

In an effort to involve more people in the festival, they created the McMasterPeaceFest, an annual event that consists of a number of peace related events on campus. They have also initiated a high school peace essay competition. The winners of this competition will be recognized at the Sept. 28 festival.

They also have increased the content of the peace booklet and made it a more relevant and resourceful book for high school students, says Singh.

“I know of no city of the size of Hamilton which has more peace and human rights organizations than we have,” says Singh. “I am excited about the involvement of high school students as well as those from McMaster to make it a great peace walk.”

The Gandhi Peace Festival is twinned with the Annual Gandhi Lectures on Nonviolence, sponsored by McMaster's Centre for Peace Studies. This year's speaker will be the imminent Elder of Australian Aboriginal People, professor Lowitja O'Donoghue, Flinders University, South Australia. She will speak on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the McMaster University Medical Centre, Room HSC 1A1.

Pictures and posters from the Vaishali Sabha Conference on Peace,
Nonviolence and Democracy that took place last February in India will be on display at the University Centre Marketplace Thursday, Sept. 26 until 8 p.m. The Vaishali Sabha was co-sponsored by the Centre for Peace Studies.

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The tenth annual Ghandi Peace Festival and Peace Walk, hosted by McMaster&#039;s Centre for Peace Studies and the India Canada Society, takes place Saturday, Sept. 28 at Hamilton City Hall. The festival opens at 10 a.m. and activities commence at 11 a.m.<p><br />
<br />
The festival, which celebrates the birthday and philosophies of Mahatma Ghandi begins at 11 a.m. with an opening address by Mayor Bob Wade followed by a keynote address from Joy Warner, past national chair of Canadian Voice of Women for Peace. At noon, there will be a peace walk followed by food and music.<p><br />
<br />
Festival participants and interested onlookers are invited to participate, march through the city and bring signs and banners to display and voice their messages of peace and non-violence.<p><br />
<br />
"The purpose of the Gandhi Peace Festival is to promote nonviolence, peace and justice," says Rama Singh, professor of biology at McMaster. He also hopes it provides an avenue for various peace and human rights organizations within the local community to become collectively visible, and exchange dialogues and resources, and build on local interest and dialogue in peace and human right issues that develop around the world.<p><br />
<br />
"We are encouraged by the growing interest in the Gandhi Peace Festival," he says.<p><br />
<br />
In an effort to involve more people in the festival, they created the McMasterPeaceFest, an annual event that consists of a number of peace related events on campus. They have also initiated a high school peace essay competition. The winners of this competition will be recognized at the Sept. 28 festival.<p><br />
<br />
They also have increased the content of the peace booklet and made it a more relevant and resourceful book for high school students, says Singh.<p><br />
<br />
"I know of no city of the size of Hamilton which has more peace and human rights organizations than we have," says Singh. "I am excited about the involvement of high school students as well as those from McMaster to make it a great peace walk."<p><br />
<br />
The Gandhi Peace Festival is twinned with the Annual Gandhi Lectures on  Nonviolence, sponsored by McMaster&#039;s Centre for Peace Studies.  This year&#039;s speaker will be the imminent Elder of Australian Aboriginal People, professor Lowitja O&#039;Donoghue, Flinders University, South Australia. She will speak on Wednesday, Oct. 23, at 7:30 p.m. at the McMaster University Medical Centre, Room HSC 1A1.<p><br />
<br />
Pictures and posters from the Vaishali Sabha Conference on Peace, <br />
Nonviolence and Democracy that took place last February in India will be on display at the University Centre Marketplace Thursday, Sept. 26 until 8 p.m. The Vaishali Sabha was co-sponsored by the Centre for Peace Studies.

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