The MIR Centre for Peace is housed in a restored early 20th century Doukhobor communal dwelling on what once were traditional aboriginal lands.
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MIR Centre for Peace was established in 1999 with the mandate of understanding and building cultures of peace through education.
MIR Centre offers a unique program of studies in peace building and cultures of peace. MIR programs and lectures make a significant new contribution to Peace Studies in Canada and the world.
A narrative history of the MIR Centre for Peace, prepared by Dr. Myler Wilkinson. This narrative explains, in detail, the centre's inception, planning and completion.
In 2014 the Castlegar Source ran an article apprising the world of the upcoming lectures for 2014 in the MIR Centre's annual series, touching on some of the more notable speakers which have been booked for the year. Excerpts from the story follow.
Annual MIR Centre For Peace
Series Takes On Important Issues
by Bob Hall on 17 Sep 2014
Bringing important peace and social justice issues to the forefront in the region, the Selkirk College MIR Centre for Peace has embarked on a new season of lectures and peace cafés.
Since 2007, the MIR Lecture Series and MIR Peace Cafés have brought a diverse selection of local and international speakers to the West Kootenay-Boundary. Over the next few months that tradition will continue with seven events to mark in your calendar.
“We want to stimulate inquiry and hope that people are inspired by listening to people like Steven Lewis or James Orbinski or Chris Hedges. Not only to understand more about the issues, but to engage in the issues more fully so that our citizens are empowered to participate more effectively in the solutions to the complex social, political and economic challenges underlying social injustice and threats to peace.”
Canadian humanitarian Lewis was the first marquee speaker to be brought to the region under a Selkirk College endowment that was years in the making. Since that time, the ongoing series of lectures has allowed for speakers such as David Suzuki, Izzeldin Abuelaish, Justice Murray Sinclair and Samantha Nutt to come face-to-face with locals.
This year’s series peace cafés and lectures have already begun with a visit by Tibetan Buddhist scholar and artist Lama Losang Samten who spent a week in the Nelson area earlier this month. Samten took part in a peace café at the United Church in Nelson where he spoke about his time working as an advisor on the Martin Scorsese movie Kundun.
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The article goes on to list further lectures in the series for 2014.]
From The Castlegar Source