The rainbow is more beautiful than the pot at the end of it, because the rainbow is now. And the pot never turns out to be quite what I expected.
Hugh Prather
Mehra Jalili is the National Representative from Iran for the World Forum Foundation. Upon her return from the 2009 World Forum she shared this news:
"When I was in London after the World Forum, since I had to stay in London for a couple of days, everyday I went to the Internet cafe and read the uncensored news of Iran, which we cannot get in Iran now. I was so heart broken and sad when I saw Neda's pictures, the girl who was killed on the street, and some other young people who were beaten or shot to death. I couldn't wait to go back to my country. With lots of anxiety I got to Tehran. Everybody was angry and so upset.
"Now what is left for us are the unjust acts and the severe security state of the country. Many people are arrested. Do you remember the song that Colum Sands sang at the World Forum about not being able to name who or what has happened? That is becoming our state of being. Sometimes I feel I cannot breath. I hope the world joins us in condemning all the oppression going on against the innocent people who just ask for their freedom and their rights.
"Once again I thank you, Roger. Please pray for the people who are trying hard to speak up and express their opposition by sacrificing their lives for freedom. It is a high price that we all have to pay. God bless you all."
One of the first projects of the World Forum Foundation was the International Working Group on Peace Building with Young Children (IWGPBYC) that was launched at the Building Bridges Working Forum in Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2004. At the 2007 World Forum in Kuala Lumpur, the IWGPBYC launched its publication,
From Conflict to Peace Building: The Power of Early Childhood Education Initiatives - Lessons from around the World. This book captures stories from conflict zones around the world where early childhood programs are the catalyst to bringing fractured communities back together. Copies of the print version of the book can be purchased in the
Exchange online bookstore, and chapters of the book can be downloaded at no cost at the
World Forum website. Since 2007, the IWGPBYC has continued its work having added representatives from Iraq, Israel, Lebanon, and Serbia.
Exchange has packaged ten of its practical resources into a single "Environments Tool Kit" and is offering the entire set at a 18% discount - separately these resources would cost $166, but we are offering the entire Tool Kit for only $132.
