"Respect for life," "Reject violence in all its forms," "Rediscover solidarity." These lofty ideals are the substance of a six-point statement put forward earlier this year by a group of Nobel Peace Prize laureates, when asked to formulate a declaration for the United Nations' International Year for the Culture of Peace. The result, "Manifesto 2000," can be signed online at www.bkwsu.com/manifesto2000 by members of the public who wish to support the aims of the document. Millions of signatures will be presented to the United Nations Millennium General Assembly in September.
But what has this got to do with theater? Tokyo actor and director Lee James has the answer.
"Everybody wants peace, but few of us have explored the joy of creating and sustaining peace - of living and thinking peacefully as a conscious decision. It comes and goes in our lives, seemingly beyond our control," he says. "In world terms, peace is perceived as a 'problem' or an unattainable ideal. For example, the 'Middle East peace process,' four words which conjure up anything but peace.