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Winnipeg Free Press - PRINT EDITION

Winnipeg envisioned as centre for peace and co-operation

By: Eva Cohen

13/11/2009 1:00 AM | Comments: 0

When it comes to paving a global path for peace, Art Mauro believes Winnipeg could become the new Geneva.

Mauro, founder of the Centre for Peace and Justice at the University of Manitoba, says Winnipeg has what it takes to assume the kind of international role Geneva played after the First World War.

In a speech Thursday to the Jewish Foundation of Manitoba's 35th annual luncheon, Mauro said Winnipeg today is an example of how people from different backgrounds can come together to find resolutions and avoid conflict.

Mauro pointed to the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, to be completed in 2012, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) office designated for aboriginal issues around the world to be located in the city, and the Peace and Conflict Studies course at the U of M, among other examples, as proof of Winnipeg as a centre for co-operation, not confrontation.

The peace and conflict centre is the only program in the country where students can receive a PhD on that subject, and Mauro said that when students from Iran, Azerbaijan and other countries can study together, there is hope for a harmonious future.

"While the Geneva Convention outlines the rules of war, the Winnipeg Convention will outline the rules of peace and social justice," he said. "It was questioned whether a community so culturally diverse as Winnipeg could survive. The city is now a peace and justice centre."

But Manitoba's history has not always been a story of acceptance and integration, he said, adding it has taken a lot for the province to get to where it is now. Mauro cited three historical issues that moulded the province.

The saga of Louis Riel was the first example, representing the struggle between English, French and Métis. The second was the Catholic schools question, representing the struggle between Catholics and Protestants. The third was the Winnipeg General Strike, representing the divide between labour, capital and the immigrant population.

Mauro said the difference between Winnipeg and other places in the world is that now on the grounds of Parliament there stands a statue of Louis Riel, there is equal provincial funding for private and public schools, and labour laws now empower the worker.

eva.cohen@freepress.mb.ca

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition November 13, 2009 A9

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