Love and Forgiveness in Governance Research Team

Thomas Hill, Areej Elahi-Siddiqui, Borislava Manojlovic, Kelly Njike and Thomas Ashe

The Difference One Person Can Make: The Legacy of Gandhi

One of the purposes behind the Love and Forgiveness Project is to highlight the impact that one person can make. Mahatma Gandhi is one such person who made a monumental contribution in the areas of love and forgiveness.

Father Xavier Fagba

“We cannot be silent and cower in the face of injustice, but must have courage. To be a Christian is not just about being baptized, and true Christians live a life of love and reconciliation, not bloodshed.”

Father Xavier-Arnauld Fagba is a notable example of a leader who lives out love and forgiveness in the face of trials. As the leader of a Catholic congregation in the Central African Republic town of Boali, Father Fagba has had plenty of opportunities to decide whether to encourage peace or revenge.

Mohamed Mouldi Kefi

Dr. Mohamed Mouldi Kefi is a retired diplomat and Tunisia’s Minister of Foreign Affairs during the transitional government of 2011. D.r Kefi is an experienced diplomat with several years of experience in foreign service; he was recalled 5 years after retirement to assist in Tunisia reconciliation effort after the 2011 revolution.

John Lewis

One of the most notable leaders of the American Civil Rights Movement and the U.S. Representative for Georgia’s 5th congressional district. Right from youth, Lewis subscribed to the philosophy, which considered suffering as redemptive. 

Cesar E. Chavez

Cesar Chavez was a Mexican-American labor leader and the founder of the NFWA, the first union of farm workers in America.   Chavez said,“From the depth of need and despair, people can work together, can organize themselves to solve their own problems and fill their own needs with dignity and strength.”

Education for underprivileged

Education for underprivileged

The story of “padre” Vilson Groh is an amazing story of individual initiative, communal resilience to violence and innovation for change. Such stories are not uncommon, but they are rarely publicized. Padre Vilson Groh runs his own NGO with the goal of helping...

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Profiles

Anwar Ibrahim

Anwar Ibrahim

Mr. Anwar Ibrahim, a Malaysian politician and Leader of the Opposition, has held a number of roles in the Malaysian government over time. Although he is the current Leader of Opposition, the economic advisor for the state government of Selangor, a Malaysian state, and...

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Mohammad Javad Zarif

Mohammad Javad Zarif

Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif has served as the Iranian Foreign Minister since 2013. He held many prominent positions as a diplomat, politician, and professor in Iran.

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Jibril M.M. Al Rajoub

Jibril M.M. Al Rajoub

Jibril Rajoub is a Palestinian political and military leader who is seeking a more peaceful coexistence for Israelis and Palestinians. Rajoub was born in Dura, near Hebron, in the West Bank in 1953. At the age of 15, Rajoub was sentenced to four months in prison for...

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Andi Mappetahang Fatwa

Andi Mappetahang Fatwa

Andi M. Fatwa is an Indonesian retired military officer and a Muslim preacher. He was a member of “Petition 50”, a coalition formed in 1980 by 50 influential retired military personnel, elder statesmen, and religious leaders; all critics of the Suharto regime. Fatwa...

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Amr Mahmoud Moussa

Amr Mahmoud Moussa

Responding to a question on the meaning of love and forgiveness in governance, Moussa said, “It means discipline and good manners.” He further said that people should make efforts to defeat negativism and prejudices prevailing in many administrations, particularly in the third world countries.

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Féilim Ó hAdhmaill

Féilim Ó hAdhmaill

Dr. Féilim Ó hAdhmaill is a lecturer and coordinator of the conflict transformation and peace-building programme at the School of Applied Social Studies, University College Cork, Ireland. [1]In the book “Conversations: Snapshot of Modern Irish life” [2], Ó hAdhmaill...

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Xanana Gusmão

Xanana Gusmão

For 40 years, Xanana Gusmão has worked for the freedom and development of his native country of Timor-Leste. During these 40 years, Xanana Gusmão has held many roles including: resistance leader, poet, political prisoner, negotiator, diplomat, and politician. Despite the numerous and important roles he has held, one of his most famous and important roles has been as a leader of forgiveness and reconciliation in Timor-Leste.

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Akbar Ganji

Akbar Ganji

Akbar Ganji, born January 31, 1960, is an acclaimed and widely celebrated Iranian journalist and writer. Often referred to as not only as the country’s preeminent political dissident, but also as the Iranian Vaclav Havel.

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Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi

Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi

Dr. Abu Bakr Al-Qirbi is the Yemeni Foreign Minister. Born in 1942, Al-Qirbi was extensively educated in the United Kingdom and holds degrees from the universities of Edinburgh, Liverpool, and London.

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Past Events

Movie screening and discussion – A Long Night’s Journey into the Day
Wednesday, December 25, 2013
Diplomacy Room, McQuaid Building
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr Day – Film Screening: More Than A Dream
Tuesday, January 21, 2014