GNN: Who we are!
Video made at the October 2006 organizing conference. |
The *Global Network for Nonviolence* was established in early 2007 by individuals who participated in a course on Nonviolent Approaches to Conflict Resolution, Peace Building and Reconciliation that was held at the United Nations University’s International Leadership Institute (UNU-ILI) in Amman, Jordan, in October 2006. This course brought together for four days in Amman some 55 people from South Africa, Russia, Pakistan, India, Uganda, Cameroon, Burundi, the USA, Jordan, Iraq, Egypt, Israel, Palestine, other Middle East countries, and more....
This course was our starting-point; it created a fertile ground for people who decided to work together as a group despite our widely scattered locations. So we decided to institutionalize the group. Group members elected a Steering Committee which is committed to democratic and accountable governance.
h3. The Steering Committee members are:
* Neven Bondokji (Jordan) and Hagit Tarnari (Israel), co-chairs
* Sagar Gurung (Nepal), secretary
* Michael Simmons (USA), webmaster
* David Foncho (Cameroon) and Zoughbi Zoughbi (Palestine), members
This group then co-opted onto the Committee Jairam Reddy (South Africa) to serve as treasurer and Helena Cobban (USA and Britain) as fundraising director. Dr. Reddy’s position as Director of UNU-ILI is a symbol of our continuing good relationship with UNU-ILI. Group member Linda Carranza also agreed to act as GNN’s web management advisor.
The Steering Committee held its first meeting in Amman at the end of February 2007, with the help of the Friedrich Nauman Foundation and the Foundation for Middle East Peace. We agreed on the Mission Statement, Bylaws, Key Decisions, Initial Activities and the name of the group –
We Are: GNN -- the Global Network For Nonviolence!
We believe in the power of nonviolent approaches and actions in order to create a positive, caring world. We are inspired by the work and contribution of Mahatma Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr. and others. We wish to raise awareness, share knowledge, encourage, support, promote and contribute to the same mutual goal.
Our strength is in our unity and our global diversity.