Tiffany Millioen of Pasos attends the Eighth International Conference of Museums for Peace

Tiffany Millioen of Pasos attends the Eighth International Conference of Museums for Peace

The Eighth International Conference of Museums for Peace organized by the International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) is being held this year at the No Gun Ri Peace Memorial Park in South Korea, from September 19 – 22, 2014.   The conference coincides with the UN’s International Day of Peace which is held each year on September 21st.  Pasos is a proud member of INMP and is pleased that one of its board members, Tiffany Millioen, will be attending the conference.

For readers unfamiliar with the International Network of Museums for Peace here’s a brief description of its founding and mission.  Founded in 1992 as a non-profit organization the INMP is a worldwide network of peace museums that share the same desire to build a global culture of peace.  The foundation was granted special consultative status with the United Nations ECOSOC in 2014.  It also includes peace gardens and other peace related sites, centers and institutions which are involved in public peace education through exhibits, documentation and similar activities.  The INMP has an office in the Bertha von Suttner Building in The Hague, The Netherlands.  Every other year the foundation hosts a peace conference.  The theme of this year’s conference is The Role of Museums for Peace in Preventing War and Promoting Remembrance, Historical Truth and Reconciliation.

The foundation’s 2014 conference will take place at the No Gun Ri Peace Memorial Park, South Korea.  The village of No Gun Ri located 100 miles southeast of Seoul, South Korea, was the site where an undetermined number of South Korean refugees were killed by U.S. Forces during the Korean War.  The U.S. government has never acknowledged any deliberate wrongdoing by American troops in the killing of the refugees.  The survivors and South Korean politicians have throughout the years repeatedly demanded that the U.S. reopen investigation into the incident without success.  In 2004 the survivors impressed upon the South Korean National Assembly to adopt the Special Act on the Review and Restoration of Honor for the No Gun Ri Victims.  A 29-acre No Gun Ri Peace Park was built with a memorial, museum and peace education center which opened in October 2011.  It is this site which will host the 2014 International Conference of Museums of Peace.

Each year on September 21st the United Nations’ celebrates International Day of Peace in recognition of the efforts of those who have worked hard to end conflict and promote peace.  A UN resolution established the International Day of Peace in 1981 to coincide with the opening of the UN General Assembly and the first Peace Day was celebrated in 1982.  The assembly decided in 2001 that the International Day of Peace should be observed annually on September 21 starting in 2002.  There are many ways people around the world can take part in various activities and forums.  On this September 21st in NYC people will march in what is advertised as a People’s Climate March with some peace activists participating in the march and related events.

Our representative, Tiffany Millioen, is a young attorney, artist and peacebuilder who will be attending her first international peace conference.  We wish her well.  She will be reporting live from the conference and you can follow her on twitter at https://twitter.com/PasosPeaceMuzm .

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