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23 November 2007

John Paul Lederach.John Paul Lederach is Professor of International Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana (USA) and is a Distinguished Scholar at the Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, USA

‘From Truce to Transformation?’ is the theme of a Community Relations Council conference being held  on Friday 23 November 2007 at the Wellington Park Hotel in Belfast and aimed at  community relations activists and practitioners across Northern Ireland. The special guest speaker is the renowned international expert on peacebuilding and conflict transformation John Paul Lederach.

John Paul Lederach is Professor of International Peacebuilding at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame, Indiana (USA) and is a Distinguished Scholar at the Eastern Mennonite University in Virginia, USA. He has provided consultation and direct mediation for a range of situations from Nicaragua, Somalia, the Philippines and Spain’s Basque Country to Northern Ireland which he has visited on a number of previous occasions.  He has wide experience in dealing with issues of conflict on the international scene and is the author of several books, including The Handbook of International Peacebuilding (2002) and Building Peace-Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (1998).

There will be 160 delegates at the conference drawn from local community and voluntary organisations active in peace building and community relations work.

Speaking about the conference, Duncan Morrow, CRC Chief Executive, said:

“The title of this conference, ‘From Truce to Transformation’ poses both a question and a challenge in peace keeping and peace building work, both  for those now in power at Stormont and for the wider community.  We hope to find some ways of ensuring progress in the vital work in developing cohesive community relations.   This will include dealing with the legacy of our troubled past, addressing contentious issues relating to culture, sport, education, housing, town/city planning and shared space,  anti-social behaviour and parading, to name only a few.’

CRC will also be launching its Annual Report for 2006-07 at the conference (copies available on Friday from the CRC website www.nicrc.org.uk).

Professor Lederach will be available for interview.

For further information, please contact:

Ray Mullan, Director of Communications, Community Relations Council, Tel: 028 90 227500