Three Countries Meeting: Sustainable Peace through Education- SDG 16
Written by WFWP Austria
At a sisterhood meeting held on May 28 in Bratislava, members of WFWP Hungary and Slovakia expressed their desire to learn more about WFWP being an (NGO) voice at the UN. This sparked the idea to hold a three-countries conference in Vienna which coincides with Mrs. Carolyn Handschin’s visit to Vienna to attend a WFWP Side Event at the United Nations.
The conference started with Carolyn Handschin who spoke about the topic “Sustainable Peace through Education - SDG16”. Mrs. Handschin is the Director of all WFWPI Offices for UN Relations. Her presentation was entitled “WFWP a Voice at UN”. Mrs. Handschin educated us about the value of grassroots NGO work, bringing substantial results, and that governments realize more and more that they alone cannot fulfill the 17 SDGs (Sustainable Development Goals). Governments are seeking opportunities to cooperate with civil society initiatives. Mrs. Handschin's contribution and insights were highly appreciated by all participants.
Ms. Palma Halasz from Hungary was next to present. Ms. Halasz has a degree in Education, Human Rights, Change Management, and Law and has also learned several " Trauma-processing " methods. Ms. Halasz is the founder of “Live-Value”, an initiative that helps women and children for free. She is also a co-author of the book: Building partnerships against domestic violence. Ms. Halasz successfully campaigned for a law, to protect victims of violence in close relationships, which was then discussed in parliament and passed through with a high majority of 336 votes in favor, ten abstained, and zero against. It has been a big success appreciated by many and made her one of the best-known women in her country.
The third speaker was Mrs. Katarina Mikitova, who works in a travel agency, in her free time she supports a program and platform called Creative Society. This platform reaches out to people from all different countries and encourages them to partake in a discussion of fair living conditions for all, regardless of nationality or religion: A society worldwide “Where Human Life is the highest value”. Ms. Mikitova was presented with a Global Women Peace Ambassador award. She was deeply moved to receive this award and become a member of our International Women's Peace Network.
Lastly, a peace toast was made and joyfully shared.
The event closed with the song “Let there be peace on earth” . It was sung with everyone holding hands, in a prayerful heart. The event was followed by a coffee break along with Austrian cakes and desserts. Discussion in smaller groups made it possible to discuss in depth with the speakers and share views and experiences.
The event gave everyone the encouragement they needed to continue to be active in our neighborhoods and societies.
