In Hebrew the word for peace is Shalom and in Arabic it is Salaam. In both contexts it has a spiritual dimension, as well as being a greeting, and suggests a divine gift bestowed upon the person being greeted. In Latin it is “pax” which became the French word “pais” and eventually evolved into the English word “peace.” In early traditions Pax was the Goddess of Peace and later became Pax Christi (the peace of Christ).

Although some historians have written of peace as being an interval between wars, more often peace is an agreement to cease hostilities. Peace, as in “peace treaties,” especially as regards Native Americans, has an unfortunate history while peace efforts in the Middle East continues to be a strategy rather than a reality. But peace issues have another component, closer to the original, having to do with reconciliation and forgiveness and often resulting in peace of heart and peace of mind.

We will be examining many of these meanings in a Peace Conference on June 18-20 at the University of Maine, presented by the Peace Studies Program. It is called “Peacemaking in the 21st Century, Inner Peace, Outer Action.” Six keynote speakers and 80 presenters in 24 panel sessions will be featured over a period of three days.

This first international peace conference at UMaine will be exploring themes of peace from spirituality to art, from storytelling to dance, from native rights to veterans rights, from compassionate living to restorative justice and reconciliation. All the speakers and panelists will share their insights and experience, as will the audience In these turbulent times we need to make every effort to open our hearts and minds to a more inclusive and participatory way of relating to each other and to our environment. The Earth Charter, which we subscribe to, notes that “we are one human family and one earth community with a common destiny.”

The first session begins June 18 with panels on Engaged Buddhism, Native American contemplative traditions, Christian Mysticism and a Judaic-Islam panel. In the afternoon we will feature Energy Medicine, Dance Kinetics, Acupressure and Yoga.

A jazz session will take place in the evening. The featured speaker in the morning will be Sulak Sivaraksa of Thailand, twice nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize and author of Seeds of Peace. The speaker in the afternoon will be Doug Allen, professor of philosophy at UMaine, who will discuss Mahatma Gandhi in the Contemporary World.

On June 19 panels will include Veterans for Peace, Restorative Justice, Peace and Reconciliation and Native Rights, Human Rights. In the afternoon peacemaking and the arts workshops will feature a number of writers, poets and visual artists. The keynote speaker in the morning will be Colman McCarthy, who directs the Center for Teaching Peace in Washington, D.C. In the afternoon Jonathan Wilson, founder and publisher of Hope Magazine and Just Alternatives, will speak on “Victims of Violent Crime and Their Offenders.”

Panels on Sunday will include honoring the feminine, AIDS and homelessness, aging and dying, cooperative movements, peace action, Pax Christi, Amnesty International and Harvest International and Humane Education. Wayne Newell, the director of Bilingual Education and a Tribal Planner in Indian Township Government, will speak at 9 am, while Thomas Turay, from Sierra Leone and the Coady Institute in Nova Scotia, will speak at 1 p.m. on the International Cooperative Movements and nonviolence.

We welcome those interested in any of the sessions to attend for one, two or three days. Scholarships are being provided for those who have need of financial help and for this please feel free to contact us at the Peace Studies office.

For further information you can access the Peace Studies Web site http://dll.umaine.edu/peace and click on Peace Conference or phone 581-2609 or e-mail Peace.studies@umit.maine.edu. For registration you can telephone 581-4094 or go to the Web site: www.umaine.edu/conferences or e-mail csd@umit.maine.edu

Hugh Curran teaches in the Peace Studies Program at the University of Maine.