Interviews with Megan Campbell and Firdaus Kharas

This week we had the pleasure of interviewing two very unique and inspiring individuals via telephone--Megan Campbell of Hear and Soul Yoga and Fitness in Ottawa, Ontario who hosted a large and successful  fundraising campaign for CARE Canada and continues to work for social justice; and award-winning producer and director of documentaries and animated public service announcements, Firdaus Kharas.

Both individuals gave us their perspectives on peace and peacebuilding on a local and international level. A recurring theme in the interviews we have collected is the definition of peace to encompass more than simply a lack of war. Kharas and Campbell both agree with this wider, and yet more specific definition. peace must be understood on its own terms, and it is becoming increasingly clear that a lack of war is no longer sums up what peace really means. Kharas commented that that "old definition" of peace is "outdated", and one is inclined to agree.

One of the purposes of the Agents of Peace project is to discover and construct a dynamic and all-encompassing definition and theory of peace. The interviews completed this week and prior by NUPRI representatives have helped us along this path to a more comprehensive understand of Peace, on an individual and global scale.

Thank you to both Megan Campbell and Firdaus Kharas for agreeing to be part of the Agents of Peace project. For more information about Megan Campbell, her charity work and yoga please visit her website: heartnsoulyogfitness.com.

To learn more about Firdaus Kharas and his amazing PSAs, anti-violence campaigns and other work please visit www.chocmoose.com and www.noexcusescampaign.org.

Have a great Canada Day weekend, everyone!

ICC arrest warrant for Gadhafi

Arrest warrants have been issued by the International Criminal Court for Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi, his son Saif al-Islam Gadhafi and brother-in-law Abdullah al-Sanussi. They are being charged with crimes against humanity. While this will not by any means result in Gadhafi's arrest, it is only the second time that charges such as these have been issued while a conflict is still taking place, the first time being in 2007 for Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir. Furthermore, politically this shows that Gadhafi has become and will continue to become increasingly isolated politically. 


Gadhafi and his family have chosen to ignore the warrants, but this does not mean that their will be no consequences. The arrest warrants limit the options for Gadhafi in terms of how and when he can flee or visit countries who are party to the ICC. What the consequences of this warrant truly are is yet to be seen. 






http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/africa/06/27/libya.war/index.html?hpt=wo_c2