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Upon her arrival in Switzerland, Ballantyne began work for the [[World Health Organization]], in the publications section, as the deputy director. After five years, she left the post to care for the couple's four children. After twenty years of living in Geneva, she discovered that the headquarters of WILPF, were located there and volunteered to serve in 1968. The following year, she became the Secretary General of the organization,{{sfn|Cassigneul|2014}}{{sfn|Ruby|2012}} and accepted a full-time position to work on improving WILPF's interaction with [[NGO]]s and the [[United Nations]] (UN).{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=156}} In 1970, she attended the WILPF's Eighteenth Congress, held in [[New Delhi]], which had a profound effect on her view of balancing freedom and peace. In other words, if peaceful means of solving a conflict had been exhausted, there had to be a means to recognize that the oppressed were likely to resort to violence and members could support non-violence without condemning exploited persons who felt that other options did not exist.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=61-63}} The debates that followed the meeting, resulted in a resolution that idealistic pursuit of pacifism could not replace the recognition that the ultimate goal of peace was to allow people to attain their liberation and live freely.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=64}} In 1972, she became the coordinator of WILPF's work with the UN.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=104}} That trip was followed in 1975 with an observer group which toured the [[Middle East]], which spurred Ballantyne to recommend that WILPF press for continued dialogue between the sides of conflict but remain neutral on issues such as violence and human rights abuses which resulted from, rather than caused conflict.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=79-80}} She believed that the role of WILPF was to encourage both sides to find peaceful means to coexist without focusing on who was to blame for the situation or favoritism.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=82}}{{sfn|Confortini|2012|p=106}}
Upon her arrival in Switzerland, Ballantyne began work for the [[World Health Organization]], in the publications section, as the deputy director. After five years, she left the post to care for the couple's four children. After twenty years of living in Geneva, she discovered that the headquarters of WILPF, were located there and volunteered to serve in 1968. The following year, she became the Secretary General of the organization,{{sfn|Cassigneul|2014}}{{sfn|Ruby|2012}} and accepted a full-time position to work on improving WILPF's interaction with [[NGO]]s and the [[United Nations]] (UN).{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=156}} In 1970, she attended the WILPF's Eighteenth Congress, held in [[New Delhi]], which had a profound effect on her view of balancing freedom and peace. In other words, if peaceful means of solving a conflict had been exhausted, there had to be a means to recognize that the oppressed were likely to resort to violence and members could support non-violence without condemning exploited persons who felt that other options did not exist.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=61-63}} The debates that followed the meeting, resulted in a resolution that idealistic pursuit of pacifism could not replace the recognition that the ultimate goal of peace was to allow people to attain their liberation and live freely.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=64}} In 1972, she became the coordinator of WILPF's work with the UN.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=104}} That trip was followed in 1975 with an observer group which toured the [[Middle East]], which spurred Ballantyne to recommend that WILPF press for continued dialogue between the sides of conflict but remain neutral on issues such as violence and human rights abuses which resulted from, rather than caused conflict.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=79-80}} She believed that the role of WILPF was to encourage both sides to find peaceful means to coexist without focusing on who was to blame for the situation or favoritism.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=82}}{{sfn|Confortini|2012|p=106}}


⚫
In 1976, Ballantyne was elected to direct the Conference of Non-governmental Organizations (CONGO) of the UN{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=77-78}} and served as its president for the next six years.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=159}} As the first representative to hold the post from a peace activist group, she opened the door to the pursuit of disarmament goals.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=77-78}}{{sfn|Winslow|1995|p=145}} When the [[World Conference on Women, 1980]] was held in [[Copenhagen]], Ballantyne served as chair of program development for NGO Forum, ensuring that there was strong emphasis on peace and disarmament in the discussions of the various workshops.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=79}}{{sfn|Winslow|1995|pp=144-145}} She hosted two organizing committees, one in Geneva and the other in New York City, to ensure that broad input from diverse groups formed the foundation of the conference.{{sfn|Confortini|2012|p=124}} The following year, she helped develop a conference "Women of Europe in Action for Peace" with the goal of bringing together activists and feminists to study the fears propelling the arms race and develop programs for monitoring developments in peace talks.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=84-85}} In 1983, Ballantyne was among 10,000 women who met with generals at [[NATO]] headquarters to protest new missile deployments in Europe.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=92}} The missiles were deployed despite protests and soon thereafter, the United States invaded [[Grenada]]. Coupled with US military involvement in the [[Contra War]], Ballantyne chaired the "International Conference on Nicaragua and Peace in Central America" with [[Adolfo Pérez Esquivel]] in [[Lisbon]] in 1984 to discuss the escalating [[Strategic Defense Initiative|arms race]].{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=93}} Her focus on following both mainstream strategies to achieve peace and supporting organizations which refused to adopt traditional strategies became the basis of WILPF policy to adopt a two-pronged approach in support of peace activism.{{sfn|Confortini|2012|p=124}}


⚫
Ballantyne again served as chair for the planning committee of the NGO forum for the [[World Conference on Women, 1985]] to be held in [[Nairobi]]. The Peace Tent, an idea pressed by Ballantyne, was set up on the lawn of the [[University of Nairobi]] and became a focal point of the conference. At the tent, daily sessions were held where women discussed the impacts of war on women and children.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=95-97}}{{sfn|Winslow|1995|p=147}}{{sfn|Confortini|2012|pp=126-128}}
⚫
In 1976, Ballantyne was elected to direct the Conference of Non-governmental Organizations (CONGO) of the UN{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=77-78}} and served as its president for the next six years.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=159}} As the first representative to hold the post from a peace activist group, she opened the door to the pursuit of disarmament goals.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=77-78}}{{sfn|Winslow|1995|p=145}} When the [[World Conference on Women, 1980]] was held in [[Copenhagen]], Ballantyne served as chair of program development for NGO Forum, ensuring that there was strong emphasis on peace and disarmament in the discussions of the various workshops.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=79}}{{sfn|Winslow|1995|pp=144-145}} She hosted two organizing committees, one in Geneva and the other in New York City, to ensure that broad input from diverse groups formed the foundation of the conference.{{sfn|Confortini|2012|p=124}} The following year, she helped develop a conference "Women of Europe in Action for Peace" with the goal of bringing together activists and feminists to study the fears propelling the arms race and develop programs for monitoring developments in peace talks.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=84-85}} In 1983, Ballantyne was among 10,000 women who met with generals at [[NATO]] headquarters to protest new missile deployments in Europe.{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=92}} The missiles were deployed despite protests and soon thereafter, the United States invaded [[Grenada]]. Coupled with US military involvement in the [[Contra War]], Ballantyne chaired the "International Conference on Nicaragua and Peace in Central America" with [[Adolfo Pérez Esquivel]] in [[Lisbon]] in 1984 to discuss the escalating [[Strategic Defense Initiative|arms race]].{{sfn|Foster|1989|p=93}}

⚫
Ballantyne again served as chair for the planning committee of the NGO forum for the [[World Conference on Women, 1985]] to be held in [[Nairobi]]. The Peace Tent, an idea pressed by Ballantyne, was set up on the lawn of the [[University of Nairobi]] and became a focal point of the conference. At the tent, daily sessions were held where women discussed the impacts of war on women and children.{{sfn|Foster|1989|pp=95-97}}{{sfn|Winslow|1995|p=147}}


== References ==
== References ==

Revision as of 17:30, 7 August 2017

Edith Ballantyne
Born
Edith Müller

(1922-12-10) 10 December 1922 (age 102)
Jägerndorf, Czech Silesia, First Czechoslovak Republic
NationalityCanadian
Occupationpeace activist

https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2015/apr/27/female-activists-hague-new-peace-agenda-1915-congress-of-women https://books.google.com.mx/books?id=k5lQ0eyMJQUC&lpg=RA1-PA146&dq=Edith%20Ballantyne&pg=PA189#v=onepage&q=Edith%20Ballantyne&f=false https://greenagenda.org.au/2015/02/what-it-takes-for-peace/#more-106

Edith Ballantyne (born 1922) is a Czech-born, Canadian citizen, who has been a prominent member of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) since 1969. At that time, she became the executive secretary of the international organisation, based in Geneva, Switzerland, serving in that capacity for twenty-three years. Between 1992 and 1998, she served as the International President of the organisation.

Early life

Edith Müller was born on 10 December 1922 in Jägerndorf, a part of Czech Silesia to Rosa and Alois Müller. She was raised in Czechoslovakia until the Sudeten Crisis of 1938. The family fled first to England, and by 1939 made their way to Canada, where they were placed by the Canadian Pacific Railway Company to farm in British Columbia. Unable to sustain their family, they moved to Toronto in 1941, where Müller found work as a domestic labourer. Unable to speak English, she was taught the language by Women's International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) volunteers, who kept track of the Bohemian refugees and tried to assist them in making adjustments to life in Canada. Joining the WILPF, Müller found their message of pacifism and human rights inspiring, but lost touch with the group when she moved to Montreal in 1945. In July 1948, Müller married Campbell Ballantyne, an official of the International Labour Office and moved with him to Geneva later that same year.[1][2][3]

Career

Upon her arrival in Switzerland, Ballantyne began work for the World Health Organization, in the publications section, as the deputy director. After five years, she left the post to care for the couple's four children. After twenty years of living in Geneva, she discovered that the headquarters of WILPF, were located there and volunteered to serve in 1968. The following year, she became the Secretary General of the organization,[1][2] and accepted a full-time position to work on improving WILPF's interaction with NGOs and the United Nations (UN).[4] In 1970, she attended the WILPF's Eighteenth Congress, held in New Delhi, which had a profound effect on her view of balancing freedom and peace. In other words, if peaceful means of solving a conflict had been exhausted, there had to be a means to recognize that the oppressed were likely to resort to violence and members could support non-violence without condemning exploited persons who felt that other options did not exist.[5] The debates that followed the meeting, resulted in a resolution that idealistic pursuit of pacifism could not replace the recognition that the ultimate goal of peace was to allow people to attain their liberation and live freely.[6] In 1972, she became the coordinator of WILPF's work with the UN.[7] That trip was followed in 1975 with an observer group which toured the Middle East, which spurred Ballantyne to recommend that WILPF press for continued dialogue between the sides of conflict but remain neutral on issues such as violence and human rights abuses which resulted from, rather than caused conflict.[8] She believed that the role of WILPF was to encourage both sides to find peaceful means to coexist without focusing on who was to blame for the situation or favoritism.[9][10]

In 1976, Ballantyne was elected to direct the Conference of Non-governmental Organizations (CONGO) of the UN[11] and served as its president for the next six years.[12] As the first representative to hold the post from a peace activist group, she opened the door to the pursuit of disarmament goals.[11][13] When the World Conference on Women, 1980 was held in Copenhagen, Ballantyne served as chair of program development for NGO Forum, ensuring that there was strong emphasis on peace and disarmament in the discussions of the various workshops.[14][15] She hosted two organizing committees, one in Geneva and the other in New York City, to ensure that broad input from diverse groups formed the foundation of the conference.[16] The following year, she helped develop a conference "Women of Europe in Action for Peace" with the goal of bringing together activists and feminists to study the fears propelling the arms race and develop programs for monitoring developments in peace talks.[17] In 1983, Ballantyne was among 10,000 women who met with generals at NATO headquarters to protest new missile deployments in Europe.[18] The missiles were deployed despite protests and soon thereafter, the United States invaded Grenada. Coupled with US military involvement in the Contra War, Ballantyne chaired the "International Conference on Nicaragua and Peace in Central America" with Adolfo Pérez Esquivel in Lisbon in 1984 to discuss the escalating arms race.[19] Her focus on following both mainstream strategies to achieve peace and supporting organizations which refused to adopt traditional strategies became the basis of WILPF policy to adopt a two-pronged approach in support of peace activism.[16]

Ballantyne again served as chair for the planning committee of the NGO forum for the World Conference on Women, 1985 to be held in Nairobi. The Peace Tent, an idea pressed by Ballantyne, was set up on the lawn of the University of Nairobi and became a focal point of the conference. At the tent, daily sessions were held where women discussed the impacts of war on women and children.[20][21][22]

References

Citations

  1. ^ a b Cassigneul 2014.
  2. ^ a b Ruby 2012.
  3. ^ Foster 1989, pp. 155–156.
  4. ^ Foster 1989, p. 156.
  5. ^ Foster 1989, pp. 61–63.
  6. ^ Foster 1989, p. 64.
  7. ^ Foster 1989, p. 104.
  8. ^ Foster 1989, pp. 79–80.
  9. ^ Foster 1989, p. 82.
  10. ^ Confortini 2012, p. 106.
  11. ^ a b Foster 1989, pp. 77–78.
  12. ^ Foster 1989, p. 159.
  13. ^ Winslow 1995, p. 145.
  14. ^ Foster 1989, p. 79.
  15. ^ Winslow 1995, pp. 144–145.
  16. ^ a b Confortini 2012, p. 124.
  17. ^ Foster 1989, pp. 84–85.
  18. ^ Foster 1989, p. 92.
  19. ^ Foster 1989, p. 93.
  20. ^ Foster 1989, pp. 95–97.
  21. ^ Winslow 1995, p. 147.
  22. ^ Confortini 2012, pp. 126–128.

Bibliography

  • Cassigneul, B., ed. (27 March 2014). "Edith Ballantyne". WILPF France (in French). Paris, France: International Women's League for Peace and Freedom. Archived from the original on 6 August 2017. Retrieved 6 August 2017. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Confortini, Catia Cecilia (2012). Intelligent Compassion: Feminist Critical Methodology in the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. New York City, New York: Oxford University Press USA. ISBN 978-0-19-984523-1. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Foster, Catherine (1989). Women for all Seasons: The Story of the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Athens, Georgia: University of Georgia Press. ISBN 0-8203-1147-2. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Ruby, Felicity (11 December 2012). "Happy Birthday Edith Ballantyne". WILPF. Geneva, Switzerland: Women's International League for Peace and Freedom. Archived from the original on 3 December 2015. Retrieved 6 August 2017. {{cite web}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
  • Winslow, Anne (1995). Women, politics, and the United Nations (1st ed.). Westport, Connecticut: Greenwood Press. ISBN 0-313-29522-0. {{cite book}}: Invalid |ref=harv (help)
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