Is Winnipeg a compassionate city? It’s a question that’s been asked regularly on the pages of Community News Commons since CNC began publishing just over two years ago.
This coming Wednesday, August 20 at 7:00 p.m., in a lead up to this year’s 5th annual Peace Days in Winnipeg, that question will be discussed by citizens at the Winnipeg Free Press Cafe.
Panelists will include Gregg Hanson, distinguished business and community leader, Winnipeg’s Deputy Chief of Police, Dave Thorne, David Northcott, Executive Director of Winnipeg Harvest, and a representative from the United Way. Darcia Senft from Peace Days will moderate.
News Cafe was packed for a CNC Town Hall in Jan. 2013, when we asked if Winnipeg is a compassionate city.
In a month that promises to bring human rights, peace and compassion to the forefront of public awareness in Winnipeg, the fifth annual Peace Days (peacedays.ca) takes place September 11-21, 2014, at various locations throughout the city.
Peace Days brings together a variety of events that celebrate peace and compassion, beginning with the Compassion Games on Thursday, September 11 and ending with A Walk for Peace and Community on Sunday, September 21.
A public launch of Peace Days will take place at 11 a.m. on Thursday, September 11 at the festival stage at the Forks.
“Our purpose at Peace Days is to facilitate and inspire people to work together on issues that advance understanding, goodwill, peace and compassionate action,” says Peace Days organizing committee spokesperson David G. Newman.
“It’s fantastic that our celebration this year coincides with the opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, and opens up the discussion of Winnipeg’s place as a compassionate city.”
New to Peace Days this year is the Compassion Games (compassiongames.org), a worldwide initiative to inspire positive change through individual and group compassionate actions. Individuals and teams are encouraged to “cooperate to compete” and “out-give” each other by performing random acts of kindness and getting involved in worthy community projects.
In addition to celebrating the opening of the Canadian Museum for Human Rights, some key events in the Peace Days line-up include, Compassion Games: Survival of the Kindest, Amanda Lindhout speaking on Freedom in Forgiveness, a series on Peace in Policing, Building a Culture of Peace art exhibition,• a Walk for Peace and Community.
Peace Days encompasses the UN International Day of Democracy, September 15 and UN International Day of Peace, September 21.
Full event listings and ticket information can be found at peacedays.ca
“It was the best of times, it was the worst of times.” Still rings true, doesn’t it.
Some days, it is simply impossible to listen to the news, or even worse, to watch the news. Humanity bent on its own destruction? Bizarre. Especially wonderful to learn of these people, this group of dauntless people who are willing to opt for PEACE! Goodness!! Wonderful!! Lead on. . .