24 Peaces

Dominic Barter has studied the interface between societal and personal change, and the role of conflict, since the 1980s. Since 2004 he has worked as consultant and training program director for the Brazilian Restorative Justice pilot projects, in collaboration with the UN Development Program, UNESCO, the Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Education and Special Secretariat for Human Rights.

Mustafa Barghouti (Arabic: مصطفى البرغوثي‎, strict transliteration Muṣṭafā al-Barġūṯī, also transcribed Mustafa Barghouthi, Mustafa Al Barghuthi; born 1954) is a Palestinian democracy activist. He was a candidate for the presidency of the Palestinian National Authority in 2005, finishing second to Mahmoud Abbas, with 19% of the vote.

Dr. Brad Blanton is a psychotherapist, author and seminar leader. He describes himself as “white trash with a Ph.D.” Armed with quick wit and an engaging Southern accent, he speaks with an unwavering honesty that is both disarming and challenging, a quality that has earned him admirers as well as detractors. His first book, Radical Honesty: How To Transform Your Life By Telling The Truth, became a nation wide best seller in 1996 and has been translated into seven languages. The new revised edition was just released by Sparrowhawk Publications in April 2005.

The Plant-for-the-Planet Children´s Initiative was founded in January 2007. It has its origin in a school presentation about the climate crisis of the - back then - 9-year-old Felix Finkbeiner. Inspired by Wangari Maathai, who planted 30 million trees in africa, Felix developed at the end of his presentation the vision that children could plant one million trees in each country of the world to create a CO2 balance therewith. During the following years Plant-for-the-Planet developed to a worldwide move: At present approx. 100,000 children in over 100 countries pursue this goal.

Luz is a women’s rights activist and peacemaker from Guatemala. She has long advocated for the recognition of women’s rights in peacebuilding efforts and bringing to the surface a long-hidden dimension of war: sexual violence against women. Luz is renowned for being the only woman member of a delegation to sign the Peace Accords ending Guatemala’s 36-year long civil war.

Born to a tribal minority family in the Mondulkiri province of Cambodia, Somaly Mam began life in extreme poverty. With limited options as a severely marginalized ethnic group, and living in unimaginable despair, her family often resorted to desperate means to survive. This confluence of dire circumstances led to Somaly being sold into sexual slavery by a man who posed as her grandfather. To this day, due to the passing of time and the unreliability of a wounded memory, Somaly still does not know who this man was to her.