By Mike Abkin
In October 2005, forty people from twelve countries took time from their busy lives and invested their energy and resources to attend what was to become the first global summit of the yet-to-be-born Global Alliance for Ministries and Infrastructures for Peace, GAMIP. The countries represented included Australia, Canada, Israel, Italy, Japan, Jordan, Netherlands, Palestine, Romania, Spain, United Kingdom, and United States of America. In addition, written support was received from political leaders in Australia, Nepal, Nigeria, Japan, and Uganda.
The following years saw a rapid succession of GAMIP Global Summits take place in Canada, Japan, Costa Rica, South Africa, and Switzerland. Then a period of quiescence. And, now, it’s really quite impressive and inspiring to those of us in NPA who had participated in that London beginning, how GAMIP has come back to life with new energy and expanded its active membership all over the world, peacebuilders we didn’t even know 10 or 15 years ago. This includes the formation of regional chapters in Latin America and the Caribbean, Africa, Asia, and Europe; the 7th GAMIP Global Summit in Colombia in 2022; and now, the 8th GAMIP Global Summit coming in September in Abuja, Nigeria. And all that under the leadership of GAMIP’s president, Oseremen Irene, a Nigerian who was first inspired about GAMIP’s work at the regional meeting in Accra, Ghana, in 2008, then attended the Costa Rica Summit in 2009, then convened the Africa Alliance for Peace regional summit in Nigeria in 2010.
All very hopeful, indeed, especially because, in this critical time of civil and political breakdown and turmoil around the world, our continued commitment to the proactive building of a new world of peace is essential. Gratitude and kudos to the Biosophical Institute for their support in the beginning that helped kick it all off – and to their generous financial support for this Nigeria Summit!
Both Dot Maver and I participated in Summit planning on behalf of the National Peace Academy. Although because of other commitments Dot will be unable to attend the Summit itself, I will be there virtually (via ZOOM), tasked with giving the opening keynote at the one-day academic conference portion of the Summit on September 11. (What a date to have something to say about peace!) I, of course, accepted and am looking forward to the experience!
The program includes:
- Pre-Summit workshops and trainings on September 9-10
- Academic conference on September 11, with the overall theme of “infrastructures for peace: what works?”; in association with the National Open University of Nigeria and the Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution; over 40 have been submitted from around the world, covering such areas, among others, as youth in peacebuilding, women in peacebuilding, peace education, the role of libraries, and local community infrastructures
- Main Summit on September 12-14, with the overall theme of “Practical Applications of I4P: From Theory to Practice.
See what NPA hath wrought!!
