Summary
Since the dawn of the 20th Century, peace has been rare and elusive, a wounded dove struggling to take flight. Over the past century more than 100 million people perished in major conflicts, civil wars, insurrections, coup d'états plus countless border clashes, territorial disputes, riots, guerrilla hostilities and acts of terrorism. But during this same period there have also been 72 formal treaties, 20 pacts, and numerous agreements, alliances, conferences and cease-fires. Even in the darkest moments, the spirit of peace has been kept alive by men and women who committed themselves and, at times their nations, to the belief that human beings can co-exist without resorting to violence.
The WOUNDED DOVE will be a 5 X 1 hour television series that documents and celebrates the struggle of these brave peacemakers. Men and women around the world who worked tirelessly to foster peace, then struggled tenaciously to maintain it. Each episode begins with original theme music played over rare archival footage drawn from international sources. This fast-paced, visually stimulating montage of film footage, photographs and drawings summarize some of the main social/cultural trends and pivotal events of the era, quickly placing the viewer in the context of the times. A brief introduction, stresses the importance of examining conflicts from the point of view of "peace endeavours" rather than listing the chain of events that inexorably plunged people into war. The tone is factual and the material is presented in a journalistic, anecdotal, entertaining style. Up to 8 stories are told per episode. The narration, by a Hollywood TV superstar, takes an optimistic tone, capturing the spirit of the men and women who gave so much of themselves to prevent, contain or end conflicts.
Each story - quests driven by principle - focus on individuals' attempts to resolve conflict. We witness their strengths, weaknesses, fears, goals and dreams. The implicit - but never explicitly stated - point of view is that an individual can make a difference and have an impact on the course of history; and that to do this, they need not be a member of a governmental elite. Many of our peacemakers are ordinary citizens who assumed heroic stature and directly influenced the flow of historic events, when they appeared to be overwhelmingly unalterable.
The series features more than 40 'peace endeavour's - acts of courage, audacity and desperation taken by men and women to either prevent or stop strife and killing. Taken as a whole, they constitute a kind of repertoire of conflict resolution, not in theory, but in practice - a fascinating panorama of the different ways that individuals from diverse parts of the world have tried to resolve violent conflicts. Each war, revolution or instance of internal strife will begin with a graphic presentation of the dynamics of the conflict - who is fighting whom, where and why? This orientation quickly identifies the antagonists and issues. We then get to know our peacemaker, following this individual as they struggle to stop the violence. The stories are documented with photographs, archival footage, illustrations, interviews, diary excerpts, letters and, when necessary, dramatic recreations of pivotal or emotional moments.
Freedom is not free. It is earned, fought for and maintained. These are the stories of the peace warriors with the last episode focusing on very young peacemakers taking us into the 21st Century. THE WOUNDED DOVE looks not at those who waged war, but at those who tried to revive and nurture the phoenix of peace.
is supported by:
- The Millennium Bureau of Canada
- The Peace History Society
- The International Peace Academy, New York
- The Fellowship of Reconciliation, Nyack, NY
- The United Nations Culture of Peace, Paris
- The Pearson Peacekeeping Center, Clementsport, Nova Scotia
- The Ben and Rachael Vaughan Foundation, Austin, Texas
- The Salzburg Seminar, Austria.
The CD ROM version of THE WOUNDED DOVE has been taken by school boards, universities, libraries and peace organizations in Canada, the US, Europe and Japan.
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