The 2011 Conference affirmed the solidarity of APPRA members and initiated new ways for the association to move forward. This included the revitalisation and shift of the host of the APPRA website, resulting in a new site www.appra.net being established at Panjab University Chandigarh, India. This was the result of the collaborative work of Dr Manish Sharma, Mr. Anil Sharma and Dr John Synott in transferring the website from Australia to India. Development of the website continues. Dr. Manish Sharma also worked with Ms Sombutpoonsiri Jan of Thailand to set up an APPRA Facebook, thus allowing members to engage informally with each other and to expand the network of colleagues connected through APPRA.
The 21st century presents the challenge of working for peace in a rapidly changing continent where new conflicts continue to unfold. Peace research, peace studies, peace education and advocacy should continue to be cognizant and ever- responsive to the context of unrest and conflict in the region. The purpose of APPRA is to advance interdisciplinary research and action on the conditions of peace and the causes of war and violence in all their manifestations.
The dream of “Another world is possible” urges the peace community to spread the culture of nonviolence and work harder to let peace and justice reign in the continent.
Basic to this mission is a comprehensive understanding of peace which means not only the absence of war and conflict but above all the presence of essential conditions for the well-being of humanity. Positive approaches to building regional cultures of peace lie at the basis of sustainable solutions to conflicts and meeting the need sof human rights for all people across Asia-Pacific.
What is envisioned is a world where the peoples of Asia and the Pacific can enjoy the fullness of life with genuine peace and security. The APPRA mission is to contribute to the realization of this fullness of life through peace research, peace education and peace advocacy.
Thus APPRA activities and conferences are organized to facilitate contacts among the multi-disciplinary group of peace builders so as to enhance their endeavours for obtaining and sustaining peace in their countries, the region and the world as well as to encourage the international dissemination of research results, information and documentation of significant developments of actions for peace.
Future APPRA gatherings also will strive to include modes of alternative conferencing that are process and action oriented, with gender and geographical balance, promoting intergenerational and interfaith exchanges in the continent of Asia and the Pacific. [Information Contributed by Prof. John Synott, May, 2012]
APPRA 2011 at a Glance
