Media Release

For Immediate Release

January 10, 2008

We come in peace

Twelve students from Saint Mary’s will soon be heading to Belfast, Northern Ireland to promote a cause they firmly believe in: peace.

From February 14 to 26 students from the University’s Conflict Resolution Society will travel to the former war torn country in order to work with young citizens and teachers to address issues surrounding peace and the importance of conflict resolution.

This is the third year in a row that students from Saint Mary’s will visit Catholic, Protestant and Integrated schools throughout Belfast and participate in the facilitation of conflict resolution workshops. This year’s initiative has been developed in consultation and partnership with Peaceful Schools International, the Charitable Irish Society of Halifax, An Cumann , The Estate of Patrick Power at Saint Mary’s, Mr. Brian Doherty (Old Triangle Restaurant) and Barnardo’s UK Children’s Charity.

According to Bridget Brownlow, Conflict Resolution Advisor at SMU, students are now gearing up for their big trip abroad.

“Our students are already working with a local school here in Halifax delivering conflict resolution workshops prior to our departure,” says Brownlow. “Also, the students are hosting a major fundraising event at the Old Triangle Restaurant from 6:00 PM to 9:00 PM on Wednesday, January 16 which will certainly help them pay for their trip to Belfast.”

Also on Wednesday, Marie McIntyre and Margaret Neeson, both teachers from Saint Aidan’s Primary School in West Belfast, will be on campus to meet students from the University’s Conflict Resolution Society going to Belfast. The students from SMU will also be working with McIntyre and Neeson while in Belfast.

Brownlow indicates that this trip for the students is an ideal occasion for them to assist a new generation of Irish people with the development of conflict resolution skills and knowledge.

“This initiative presents an opportunity to share our experiences living and growing up in Canada, as well as an opportunity to share our conflict resolution skills with many of the children residing in Belfast and its surrounding areas. Ultimately, we expect to work alongside Catholic and Protestant students, sharing our experience, strength and hope for a more peaceful world in which we can all learn in a safe environment,” she adds.

Saint Mary’s is the first university both nationally and internationally to have met the criteria for membership in Peaceful Schools International, by virtue of its internal Conflict Resolution Program — a benefit for faculty, staff and students alike.

Dr. Hetty van Gurp, President of Peaceful Schools International, applauds the University’s commitment to making this trip to Northern Ireland an annual event.

“Based on the feedback from the students who participated in previous trips, it is obvious that this experience was life-altering and was beneficial to both those who participated as well as the Irish children and youth with whom they spent time,” says van Gurp, who formed Peaceful Schools International shortly after her son died from an incident with a bully at a local school in the Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM). She was awarded an Honorary Doctorate of Civil Law from Saint Mary’s in the fall of 2005.

“As Saint Mary’s is the first university to become a member of Peaceful Schools International, I am sincerely grateful that your institution has chosen to return to Northern Ireland,” she says. “This initiative is yet more evidence that SMU is forward thinking in its approach to learning about the nature of conflict and its resolution in real-life situations.”

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For More Information:

Paul Fitzgerald
Public Affairs Officer
Saint Mary's University, Public Affairs
(902) 420.5514
E-mail: paul.fitzgerald@smu.ca
www.smu.ca