Peace campaigners address global delegation

ALMOST 20 years after a bomb killed their twelve-year-old-son, peace campaigners Colin and Wendy Parry addressed a global audience as guests of the United States Government at an international conference in Abu Dhabi, with the theme ‘Countering Violent Extremism.’
The event was organised by the Global Counter Terrorism Forum, a new organisation established by 30 countries to promote global work to deal with the threat of terrorism.
The conference, took place over two days and was attended by representatives of the joint hosting countries the USA and Turkey, and Government representatives from the UK, Spain, Germany, Australia, Russia, Denmark, Canada, Malaysia, the United Arab Emirates and the United Nations.
Colin and Wendy, who were amongst a very small number of non governmental representatives to be invited to address the delegates about their experience and the expertise built up by the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace over the 18 years since its formation.
Colin led the hour long presentation beginning with the Foundation’s origins, it’s early work and focus on Anglo-Irish community peace building and its more current focus on inter faith and inter racial conflict.
Colin said: “It was a great honour to be invited by the US State Department to share our thoughts with such an influential audience and to demonstrate our vital role as a Non-Governmental Organisation that works complimentary to, and not in place of, inter governmental initiatives.
“Our hour long presentation described how we build contact, understanding and trust between conflicting groups and communities.”
The presentation was extremely well received, as was the contribution the Foundation makes in placing victims of political violence in the vanguard of helping other victims become survivors, and in turning young people away from radicalised behaviour and activity.
Colin and Wendy’s 12-year-old son Tim died along with three-year-old Johnathan Ball following the IRA Bridge Street bombing on March 20 1993. More than 50 shoppers were also injured.