From Bloody Sunday to Star Wars

Peace Bridge in Derry

There is so much history, politics and art packed in Derry-Londonderry, a city of just over 100,000 people. We packed a lot into our two days! This incredibly beautiful place on the western edge of Northern Ireland sits on the River Foyle. It has an old-world European charm, with narrow, steep streets that meander in and out of the quaint village.

Corrymeela: If you can’t go straight, go crooked.

As you drive into Corrymeela in Ballycastle at Northern Ireland’s northern tip, an amazing calm washes over you. The serene landscape and beautiful sea view may have something to do with that. Corrymeela is Northern Ireland’s oldest peace and reconciliation organization. Its founding was not a reaction to the Troubles, rather it grew out of post-World War II vision for how we could build communities based on equity, diversity, interdependence and sustainability. Its founder, Ray Davey, experienced the brutality of combat and prisoner of war camps in WWII and upon emerging as a survivor, wanted to imagine a new way of being. Corrymeela was founded in 1965 and soon after, the Troubles erupted in Northern Ireland. It was a seminal period for the organization. They were right where they needed to be when they were needed most. Describing their work today, Corrymeela’s Executive Director Colin Craig says they “work at the fracture lines in people’s lives and in the world.”  How inspiring and how courageous.

Come in!

If you are a dreamer, come in,
If you are a dreamer, a wisher, a liar,
A hope-er, a pray-er, a magic bean buyer…
If you’re a pretender, come sit by my fire
For we have some flax-golden tales to spin.
Come in!
Come in!

–  Invitation by Shel Silverstein

This is my invitation to you to “come in” and join me on my Eisenhower Fellowship journey this year. As a 2016 USA Eisenhower Fellow, I have the honor of traveling on a five-week transformational, international experience in which I will meet with experts in my field, and beyond, to help me achieve consequential outcomes in my region as well as across borders. I will admit that the mission feels a bit daunting at times, but I am completely and utterly inspired by the Eisenhower Fellowships’ simple yet bold premise – create a global network of leaders where dialogue and collaboration can be used to make the world more prosperous, just and peaceful. That simple…and that challenging, especially in today’s world.