2005:  New York City

        As the Tanenbaum Center family, we can add to what is being said and
        done in the world...and create impact in the world.  I see a great vision
        …of a faith-based universal voice that will bring lasting peace.
                                                                        Pastor Dr. James Wuye, Nigeria, Peacemaker

Coming from 13 armed conflicts affecting every region of the world, Tanenbaum’s Peacemakers in Action Award recipients gathered in New York City for a second working retreat.  These religiously-motivated men and women — who dedicate and risk their lives for peace — reunited in late September 2005 for interreligious collaboration, expert training, mutual motivation, and reflection on how to strengthen the impact of religious peacemaking.


Fifteen of the Tanenbaum Center’s 20 Peacemakers convened to join scholars, theologians, and seminarians, as well as representatives from the government, United Nations, private corporations, and the nonprofit sector.  Through interactive training sessions, interreligious brainstorming and plans for action, and a session with His Holiness the Dalai Lama, the 2005 Retreat reinforced our worldwide network of Peacemakers while publicly presenting Canon Andrew White and Ricardo Esquivia Ballestas with Tanenbaum’s Peacemakers in Action Award. 


2005’s training sessions were focused in areas that the Peacemakers requested and identified as needed skills during the 2004 Retreat: fundraising, involving marginalized groups, responding to negative religious texts and negotiation and mediation techniques.  Facilitators were chosen for their expertise and experience:

• Dr. Peter Gubser, President of the American Near East Refugee Aid
  
• Dr. Isobel Coleman, Senior Fellow and Director of U.S. Foreign Policy and Women Program at the Council on Foreign Relations
  
• Rabbi Dr. Marc Gopin, James H. Laue Professor and Chair of the Center on Religion and Conflict Resolution at George Mason University
  
• Giandomenico Picco, Founder and Associate of GDP Associates, Special Advisor to the UN Secretary-General, and Iran-Contra hostage negotiator

Our Peacemakers combined sightseeing, networking and receptions with presentations and workshops:

• Sustaining your Peacemaking Efforts: Fundraising Strategies
  
• Including the Excluded: How to Involve Marginalized Groups in Peacemaking & Post-Conflict Efforts
  
• Tackling the Texts: Responding to Negative Texts of “the Other” & Finding a Foundation of Forgiveness
  
• Negotiation and Mediation: Practical Techniques

At our first retreat, the Peacemakers spoke movingly about their feelings of isolation in their regions—and at times within their religious communities—while working to create and sustain peace in often dangerous environments.  This year, their deep connections were vivid from the very first day.

back to top

back to all retreats