Working Groups

Mission: To assist the United Nations in fulfilling its mandate to "eliminate the scourge of war" by working to cultivate a culture of peace and pursue alternatives to violence at all levels of our existence (inner, inter-personal, national, international). We promote awareness of the landmark UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace adopted on 13 September, 1999 by the UN General Assembly as the Resolution A/RES/53/243. We support structures that will enable nonviolence to become an organizing principle in society, where peace is regarded as a basic human right.

Valuing the essential unity of humanity, and convinced that the Golden Rule, i.e., love your neighbor as yourself; do unto others as you would have them do unto you, is humanity's highest calling the world over, we recognize that Love expressed as goodwill is that which leads to right human relations as set out in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR), and therefore, that this is the primary prerequisite to peace and creating a Culture of Peace. Initial areas of focus include:

• Advance understanding of UN Declaration and Programme of Action on a Culture of Peace
• Advance UN Peace Infrastructure Project
• Participate in Week of Spirituality, Values and Global Concerns
• Continue to support International Day of Peace efforts
• Increase UN recognition of new 10/2 International Day of Nonviolence
• Obtain official UN DPI approval for Culture of Peace Pocket Booklet (make it available in its present form in NGO Resource Room)
• Consider Ways to Participate in the Annual NGO/DPI Conference.

David Kirshbaum - Chair

The aim of this subcommittee is to explore and promote an "eco-spirituality" that can address the current ecological challenge, and do so in a manner that can potentially overcome the fragmentary character of contemporary life. We define spirituality as a "way of perceiving" or way of being in the world. As such, an eco-spirituality ("eco" is from Greek oikos, "household") is rooted in an ecological vision or an ecological worldview that is inclusive, interdependent, relational, communal, and holistic, with special concerns for (environmental) justice and for all life in the universe. Our objectives include:

To articulate essential components of eco-spirituality that can be shared by all people of goodwill, including:
Appreciation of the wonders of nature that is rooted in the awareness of its creativity, diversity, and its wholeness.

Awareness that humans are an integral part of the interconnected web of all forms of life in the universe.

To encourage the inclusion of eco-spirituality awareness into the various environmental programs, activities, and strategies at the UN.

Cathy Towle - Chair

Throughout the world and history, people have suffered physically, psychologically, ecologically, spiritually from trauma caused by war, genocide, famine, and natural and human-made disasters. Left unhealed, these global traumas have been passed from generation to generation as epidemics, repeating the cycles of violence and suffering.

The mission of this Working Group is to assist individuals and communities in developing their optimal Biopsychosocial and Eco Spiritual health by effectively addressing these global epidemics.

We believe that we can assist the UN in understanding the roots of these global epidemics, healing their causes and offering ways of nurturing and strengthening our innate capacity for cooperation, caring and compassion, we can unlock our spiritual DNA potential. HTS is committed to identifying, integrating and applying the knowledge from science, psychology, philosophy and the spiritual traditions of the world, toward a refreshed worldview and a culture of peace.

"I have seen the secret beauty of our hearts, the person each one of us is in the eyes of the divine. If only we could see each other that way all the time there would be no more need for war, for hatred, for greed, for cruelty." - Thomas Merton

Contact:

The Arts have the power to penetrate into the very depths of the soul. Their higher frequencies are invisible codes of communication between our bodies and the truth of the Universe. The Arts enrich our lives by inspiring us and raising our beings into higher states of vibrations, connecting us with our inner divine force. The mission of Working Group on Sacred Transcendental Arts aims to raise our inspirational level and awaken the forces of creativity and consciousness creating Peace, Love, Healing, Wisdom, Light and Wholeness within us to Unite the World. Only then when we are able to manifest this state within will we be able to manifest Peace, Love, Healing, Wisdom, Light and Wholeness everywhere and have a global transformation in the world.

Contact:
Sharon Hamilton-Getz - Chair

Dag Hammarskjold, the 2nd Secretary-General of the United Nations is often quoted as having said, "We can only succeed in achieving world peace if there is a spiritual renaissance on this planet." Our mission will focus on facilitating the creation of a Spiritual Council for Global Challenges at the United Nations with members of the UN community interested in promoting more universal values, ethics and spirituality in United Nations policies, programs and decision making.

Contact:
Sharon Hamilton Getz - Co-Chair
Genie Kagawa - Co-Chair

The mission of this subcommittee is to research the spiritual history of the United Nations.

Rabbi Roger Ross - Chair