The Network for Religious and Traditional Peacemakers has released four parts of its Peacemakers Video Series showcasing the experience of several tradition- and faith-oriented insider mediators.
The series features several TFIMs (tradition- and faith-oriented insider mediators) from different parts of South and Southeast Asia. They were interviewed by the Network of Religious and Traditional Peacemakers and give personal insights about their work, their inspirations and the challenges they face.
The first part of the series focuses on the Venerable Galkande Dhammananda from Sri Lanka, the Chairperson of the Walpola Rahula Institute (WRI), where educational and training programs are offered for religious leaders and lay persons with an aim to support social healing. He is also a monk of the Theravada Buddhist tradition. In addition, he has actively been using social media to promote non-violence during inter-religious and inter-ethnic conflicts in Sri Lanka. Further, he has been working for social justice, harmony and an inclusive society with different religious leaders.
In the second part, Al Haj U Aye Lwin is interviewed. He is a founding member of Religions for Peace Myanmar and the chief convener for the Islamic Centre of Myanmar. Born in Myanmar, he is an educator by profession and serves as the Counselor and on the Board of Management at the Diplomatic School in Yangon. Al Haj U Aye Lwin has a long-running interest in Sufi traditions and serves as a Kalifa, or spiritual guide, in the Qadariya Aarliya Sufi order. In addition to having authored and translated dozens of books on Islam and comparative religion, he is deeply involved in peacebuilding and conflict transformation in Myanmar.
Nang Loung Hom, the third interviewee, serves as a board of director for the Walpola Rahula Institue in Sri Lanka, which builds on Buddhist teachings to promote social healing in Sri Lanka and elsewhere. She also designs content development for the Mindful Children and Families for Healing Society programs, the inter-religious dialogue and intra-Buddhist dialogues program for the Walpola Rahula Institute. Additionally, she supports Myanmar Buddhist monks and nuns from Sri Lanka in a personal capacity by providing training workshops and dialogue programs on conflict and peace issues. Nang Loung Hom also co-facilitates Buddhist approaches on conflict transformation programs at Buddhist institutions in Myanmar. She further works as a trainer for the Ethics Education Program.
The Venerable Napan Santibhaddo is director of the Institute of Buddhist Management for Happiness and Peace (IBHAP), Assistant Abbot of Wat Saket in Bangkok, and featured in the fourth part of the series. He is also the founder of the “For Beautiful Life Group” (FBLG), a group of academic monks with the mission of applying the Buddha’s teachings to self and social developments. He has designed and led trainings for Buddhist community leaders in southern Thailand affected by violent conflicts. In addition, he designed a comprehensive morality and ethics training program for schools which has evolved into youth leadership training. Venerable Napan has participated in conflict resolution discussions in Uganda and has given lectures on peace-related topics at the Rotary Club of Thailand and the Rotary Peace Center at Chulalongkorn University. Recently, he has been focusing more on cultivating a culture of peace through his talks in public and at private organizations, doing so via traditional and new media.
For further information and direct access to the Peacemakers Video Series, please follow this link.
