Bridget Brownlow met Ireland’s President Michael D. Higgins for the first time this week, as the recipient of one of his highest honours. She was the only Canadian among 11 people who received his 2021 Presidential Distinguished Service Award for the Irish Abroad.
Brownlow was the sole winner in the award’s “Peace, Reconciliation & Development” category, in recognition of her work with the Northern Ireland / North of Ireland Peace Education and Conflict Resolution Program. The ceremony took place December 2 at Áras an Uachtaráin, the President’s official residence in Dublin. Other Irish dignitaries present were Micheál Martin, Taoiseach (Prime Minister) and Simon Coveney, T.D., Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Defence.
“I was so grateful to represent Saint Mary’s and Canada,” says Brownlow, who is President of Peaceful Schools International, Saint Mary’s Conflict Resolution Advisor and a part-time faculty member. “Many strategic connections were solidified as a result of meeting these senior government officials, which will further support our programs in Ireland and elsewhere going forward.”
Mr. Coveney called the award recipients “some of the finest members of our global family, our diaspora,” in an October 22 announcement. “In the ever-changing world we live in, this remarkable group of individuals have been a constant beacon for Ireland and the values we hold dear.”
Now in its 18th year, the Peace Education Program is a partnership between Saint Mary’s and Peaceful Schools International. SMU students help to facilitate peace education and conflict resolution workshops with children in elementary schools overseas, and here in Nova Scotia. The program has grown to include conflict management and peace education training, and has established partnerships with colleagues at Yale University and Queen’s University, Belfast.
Brownlow heads to Belfast next to facilitate in-person training with members of the Orange Order, Loyalist and Republican youth, the Irish Republican Socialist Party, Sinn Fein and a cross-community workshop with teachers and parents. Throughout the pandemic, she has continued to offer weekly training sessions overseas virtually.
“The long-term strategy is to continue building on the existing capacity for managing conflict and promoting peace education, which are essential features of the peace process. The fundamental principle of Peaceful Schools International is to ’teach peace’ at the youngest age possible, although it remains possible at any age,” she says.
Planning is underway for the program’s next trip to Northern Ireland, scheduled for late April 2022. For updates, follow Peaceful Schools International on Instagram, Twitter and Facebook, and SMU’s Peace Education / Conflict Resolution Society on Instagram and Twitter.