This
is a day on which we can reflect on issues and areas where there is
conflict. As members of Servas what can we do? If you already belong to
other organisations such as the human rights organisation Amnesty
International, international aid charities such as Oxfam,
environmental groups or a faith group, you may have the opportunity to
participate in ongoing activities. But, individually, we could take on
something like the 'Simple Acts' campaign, initiated by the Refugee
Council during Refugee Week to do something small to try to
further understanding amongst people. Another suggestion (also
from Refugee Week and Amnesty International) is to invite people
to tea or coffee - which would also be a way of introducing people
to Servas. | Many hosts in Servas Britain are involved in
activities concerned with refugees, and help to publicise the problems
faced by refugees during Refugee
Week,
which in 2010 was from 14th-20th June. Activities this year
included football matches between refugee teams to mark the World
Cup in South Africa. The 'Simple Acts' Campaign, launched in
2009, continues –
it can include anything from finding out information about a
refugee community to cooking a meal from a country from which refugees
come. New this year is the 'RefuTEA Party' – why not hold a
tea-party to which you can invite Servas (and non-Servas) people to
share your views? You can get more information from the Refugee Council. |
'Women to Women for Peace'
is
a network of women whose work is about bridge-building between people
from countries which have contrasting, and often conflicting,
political,
philosophical, cultural and religious approaches. We develop and maintain friendships across cultural divides, creating opportunities for communication and educational exchanges. We believe that by building friendships between women, we learn to understand one another and value our differences. We arrange reciprocal visits between people from the United Kingdom and around the world. Contact Ruth Davies (host 10367) who will give you more information, or see the Women to Women for Peace website |
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| Jeffrey Gale (host 10129) is
involved
in the World Peace Gardens network. He says: "Would any Servas
Member
like to designate a garden or potential garden as a World Peace Garden
with
our special logo? Any garden is eligible for designation, but we're
particularly
interested in school or college gardens or public parks. The idea of
the
network is to combine permacultural design principles of perennial
biodiverse
horticulture, orchards and woodlands with peace activism." To find out more and to see the logo, go to the World Peace Gardens website. |
Many Servas members are also members of the human rights organisation Amnesty International, and will know of the excellent events, including exhibitions, films and lectures, which take place regularly at the Human Rights Action Centre in London and at other venues. Many of these events are free and open to non-members. See the Amnesty web-site events page for more information. | |
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| What do you do in Servas? Let us know and we'll publish it on this page... |
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