20 September 2019
Jo Berry and Patrick Magee were asked back for the second time to speak with the young people from the Academy of Ubuntu leaders. Jo reports on the trip:
‘We gathered in Gaia near Porto and the audience represented 11 countries including East Timor, Columbia, Venezuela, Senegal, South Africa, Guinea-Bissau, Angola, Cape Verde, Mozambique, and São Tomé and Príncipe.
After the important Documentary – In Dialogue there was a discussion led by the documentary maker Sira Abenoza. She is a philosopher who believes that most conflicts in society are due to lack of dialogue. ‘We started with a boat journey through the bridges of the city which was relevant as the theme was the mission of bridge builders. In the afternoon the international conference started and we spoke after a film about dialogue in Northern Ireland. There was no time for questions but as were there for the two days there was many opportunities for the young people to come and speak with us. Although I heard many personal stories of anguish and hurt from their past, I was moved by their dedication and courage to make a positive difference in their country. I also spent time with the other speakers and have been invited to a few African countries as well as Columbia. I always love the opportunities to visit other countries and to be able to make a difference, such a honour.’
Feedback from the event organisers on Jo and Patrick’s participation:“Your promotion of dialogue and mediation as means for peace was highly relevant and was a key contributor for the success and the significance of the international conference.”
Patrick and Jo meeting José Manuel Ramos-Horta from East Timor. He received the 1996 Nobel Prize for Peace for his work to bring peace and independence to East Timor UBUNTU FEST is a joint initiative of the Vila Nova de Gaia City Council and the Ubuntu Leaders Academy, within the framework of the 2019 Gaia International Forum. It aims to promote a space for reflection and exchange for participants that promotes social cohesion, positive management of human diversity, the defense of an ethic of care and the education for building bridges. The Ubuntu Leaders Academy is a non-formal education training project for young people coming from or intervening in vulnerable contexts to build their skills, drawing on leaders such as Nelson Mandela or Martin Luther King. Currently, the Academy is present in 13 countries. This project, which has been under development since 2010, is sponsored by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, the “Programa Escolhas” and the Montepio Foundation. Ubuntu means “Becoming a person” and “I am because you are; I can only become a person through relationship” and it was a defining philosophy to build a rainbow society in Nelson Mandela’s view, to transition from apartheid to democracy.
We were very happy to contribute to a 5 day programme looking at the Empathy Dynamics in Conflict Transformation. The project was the inspiration of Dr Lynne Cameron who is a Professor in Linguistics and analysed the metaphor in our language back in 2002. She started a project ‘Living with Uncertainty- Metaphor and the Dynamics…
Forgiveness in Northern Ireland Jo Berry – 30 June 2012 The politics of that handshake between the Queen and Martin McGuinness hide an intensely personal drama: he was once a leader of the group that killed her cousin, Lord Mountbatten. Here, the daughter of another IRA victim reflects on her journey to forgiveness and reconciliation…
The Hardest Bridge is a new documentary sharing the unique story of Jo Berry and Pat Magee, this is the trailer and the whole film will soon be released. It is directed by Dr Imad Karam, award-winning British-Palestinian film maker, who was brought up in Gaza city. Dr Karam made this film to bring Jo…
Building Bridges for Peace at ‘Clonard Monastery’ in Belfast on October 22nd. For more information and to register see here. Join us at the iconic Clonard Monastery for a landmark event, marking 40 years since the Brighton Bomb. Jo Berry and Patrick Magee will come together to engage in an extraordinary dialogue that speaks to…
The latest talk from Jo Berry where she talks about the lessons she has been learning over the last 40 years. This recording is from the “Talking with the Enemy” online session, held by Tools for Changemakers on 19 April 2021.
The documentary ‘Facing the Enemy’ is now on YouTube and is a powerful record of the first year of the meetings between Jo Berry and Patrick Magee. FACING THE ENEMY / EN – full movie 17 years later, Jo Tuffnell faces the man who took her father. Directed by Paul McGuigan, this 66-minute English documentary…
