Read our conference speaker Gill Hicks' amazing story

Gill Hicks, MBE, Founder of M.A.D. for Peace, spoke at our Annual Conference 'Fragile to Agile: Stories of Resilience' last month. Here she tells us her story and how she is actively promoting peace.

"We have such incredible ability and power to make choices, to make a positive difference and to leave the world better off than when we entered. For me, I wasn't given a choice when a young man detonated his bomb in the train carriage I was travelling in but I did have a choice in how I wanted to react."

I start each day by thanking each of those brave and remarkable people who did everything humanly possible on July 7, 2005 to save my life, who risked their own lives to do so and who never gave up on me. I owe them everything, the depth of my gratitude is immeasurable.

I was severely and permanently injured in the London bombings. I was standing only feet away from the suicide bomber on the Piccadilly Line underground train. I lost both legs from below the knee and my injuries were so severe that I was not expected to live.

I'm determined to make life count, to make a significant difference. My aim is to use my experience to do all I can to deter anyone from following a path of violent action. I firmly believe that we all have the strength and ability to make a difference and to create a world that is peaceful. With that in mind I founded M.A.D. (Making a Difference) for Peace.

M.A.D. exists to communicate the importance of our individual responsibility in creating a world in which extreme conflict is ended. Our belief is that peace starts within each and every one of us .If we are at peace within ourselves, then we are more likely to be at peace with the world.

We encourage, inspire and enable people to become engaged with and in active peace, we want to people to do peace, to think of peace as a verb. For us peace is a daily activity, a daily consciousness. We want peace to become as instinctive as recycling and thinking about the environment have become.

Our work is mainly focused in three areas: public engagement, education and bridging communities. We've already devised and delivered a range of inspiring initiatives which we're delighted to say have both captured the public's imagination and proved to be invaluable tools in our drive to get people thinking about peace and conflict resolution from a different angle.

In the Summer of 2008 I spent a month doing what for me is the most difficult thing - walking. The idea of WALKTALK was to provide a safe environment for people of all ages, from all backgrounds and beliefs, to come together to meet people they might not otherwise have the opportunity to meet and for all of us to focus on humanity and to discuss openly, and with mutual respect, the areas where we may not agree. 22 towns and cities took part along a 270-mile route from Leeds to London.

In May this year we launched DRAW A LINE: Start doing Peace in Trafalgar Square, London when we invited people to literally draw a line - perhaps creating a simple drawing to stick on the wall or fridge, or something more adventurous, for example making a human line with family and friends - and to sent us their interpretations. Designers and artists such as Ab Rogers and Jane Prophet were inspired to take part.

We expanded the concept to include schools. DRAW A LINE: School to School is linking children in the UK, Australia, USA, and beyond to connect and make a powerful statement by simply drawing a line in the form of a human chain!

We are also working on other projects with schools and colleges, developing a series of books, a film and a range of products, as well as arranging talks to children, young people and community groups.

The next stage in our development is M.A.D. Nests - an addition to our infrastructure which will connect people who believe in M.A.D.'s aims and who really want to become engaged in active peace - locally, nationally and internationally - and who can help us spread the M.A.D. word.

We're inviting people throughout the world to join us to build a M.A.D. Nest in their community and adopt one of our M.A.D. projects or initiatives - working with us to tailor it to best suit their local needs. Projects that have been generated in the UK may not necessarily work in another country. So we want local people heading a M.A.D. Nest that can take our template for a project and work with us to re-create it as appropriate for wherever they are in the world.

However, in order for us to build on our success so far and to make a greater difference it takes more than just personal generosity and enthusiasm which has fueled M.A.D. to date. We've reached the stage where we're also looking for organisations and individuals who can help us, through financial support, achieve a real and sustainable peace.

So my co-director at M.A.D. Claire Sawford and I would love to hear if you are able to help us in this way or would like to set-up a M.A.D. Nest in your community or company.

Alternatively, if you can offer us some of the skill sets we are seeking we'd also love to hear from you. We urgently need to upgrade our website so it is fully interactive and can accommodate movies, a photo-gallery, e-shop and chat room; and we need help to create and regularly produce an e-newsletter.

It takes just ONE person to start change, many to ensure that it happens, all of us together to ensure that it lasts.

www.madforpeace.org
www.walktalk.org.uk
DRAW A LINE http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hXXwv_LNUnU

| 2009-12-07

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