October 2022
The Charter for Compassion announced that Riane Eisler is one of the recipients of their 2022 Global Gala Humanitarian Awards. The theme for this year's Gala is "Architects of Justice" and each of the recipients has "continued to demonstrate a passion for following through on a vision, a vision that is justice."
Read the Charter for Compassion's blog post on Riane Eisler below:
Riane Eisler was so far ahead. Now she is right on time.
"I've been thinking about grit as a character trait ever since we decided on the theme for this year's Gala; Architects of Justice. Say "grit" and my mind immediately goes to the Charles Porter classic novel, True Grit with its infamous lines, "There is nothing free except the Grace of God. You cannot earn that or deserve it." While Porter's protagonist, Mattie Ross, sought retribution for the murder of her father, exemplifying one aspect of grit, the Charter's Humanitarian Awardees each demonstrate a variation of grit beyond perseverance. Each of them has continued to demonstrate a passion for following through on a vision, a vision that is justice.
Let me turn to the words of an expert on grit, Angela Duckworth. Her work has earned her a MacArthur Genius Award and her research and application methods are so outstanding that they are both understandable and make perfect sense. She writes:
"...[T]here are no shortcuts to excellence. Developing real expertise, figuring out really hard problems, it all takes time―longer than most people imagine....you've got to apply those skills and produce goods or services that are valuable to people....Grit is about working on something you care about so much that you're willing to stay loyal to it...it's doing what you love, but not just falling in love―staying in love."
All of this is a prelude to our third Awardee, Riane Eisler. Riane was born in Vienna and escaped Nazi persecution with her family, at the age of eight, to wind up living in Havana for the next seven years. Then the family immigrated to the U.S., where she first lived in Miami, New York, Chicago and finally, in Los Angeles. Trained as a lawyer, she has become one of the world's foremost cultural historians and evolutionary theorists. You only have to look at the title of her books to understand her grit, and the long-lasting love she has to bring justice to all.
Consider her revolutionary work, The Chalice and the Blade, where the terms, "partnership" and "dominator" originate. Words so prevalent in our understanding of a world that can be characterized as one that espouses gender equity, caring, peace and sustainability, as opposed to a world dominated by chronic war, ecological destruction and instability. Riane remains firm in her thinking that this is not a pie-in-the-sky ideal, but one that is achievable by staying anchored in the vision. Her book on economics, The Real Wealth of Nations: Creating a Caring Economics, was hailed by Archbishop Desmond Tutu as "a template for the better world we have been so urgently seeking" and by Jane Goodall as "a call to action."
Join us in celebrating Riane Eisler and her incredible body of work that helps build and develop world views that can shape and change our future for the better.
Gala tickets are available now. Join us for our pre-show of music and stay with us afterwards if you like for our after-party of music. You can use your ticket to visit the Gala and our other two shows 42 hours after broadcast.
Remember, our Global Gala Gallery opens on October 31. You can visit each day to see new art work for sale to benefit the Charter for Compassion.
With warm regards,
Marilyn Turkovich, Executive Director of the Charter for Compassion
We invite you to read the first announcement from Marilyn Turkovich, Executive Director of the Charter for Compassion, below:
"Last year during our Gala 2021 we featured a song by Holly Near. The words are apropos for announcing the recipients of our 2022 Charter for Compassion Humanitarian Awards:
I am open and I am willing.
For to be hopeless would seem so strange.
It dishonors those who go before us.
So, lift me up to the light of change.
There is a hurting in my family
And there is sorrow in my town
There is a panic all across the nation
And there is wailing the whole world round.
Give me a mighty oak to hold my confusion
And give me a desert to hold my fears
Give me a sunset to hold my wonder
And give me an ocean to hold my tears.
The 2022 Humanitarian Award recipients have all risen "to the light of change." They have seen suffering, injustice and despair and made it their mantra to bring about change with a sense of honor and hope. Their vision has been and continues to be turning compassion into action.
Mary Robinson, our first awardee's motto is "Everyone Matters." As a distinguished constitutional lawyer and a renowned activist for Human Rights, Mary was the first female president of Ireland, served as U.N High Commissioner for Human Rights, and was president of Trinity College. She is a champion of climate justice, and today she is chair of The Elders.
Riane Eisler, our second awardee, is best known for her monumental book, The Chalice and the Blade. Highly regarded as a social systems scientist, futurist, cultural historian, and trained as an attorney, Riane is all about transforming organizations, policies and practices from a dominating structure to one of shared partnership.
Tracey Kidder wrote about our next awardee, Deogratias "Deo" Niyizonkiza in Strength in What Remains. Kidder claims that Deo's story opened his eyes to the different experiences that strangers carry with them. "Ever since I met Deo, I've had to look at a lot of people differently...." A refugee from the genocide in Burundi, Deo left his homeland with little more than the clothes on his back. Homeless, living in Central Park, Niyizonkiza was fortunate to receive the care of good Samaritans who gave him a home and an education. Deo left the U.S. as a medical doctor, and returned to Burundi to open a public health clinic that serves tens of thousands of people each year.
The last recipient of our Humanitarian Award recognizes a global movement that makes education a force to unite people, nations and cultures for peace and a sustainable future. For sixty years, the United World Colleges (UWC) have been inspiring young people to put their talents and energy into creating social change, no matter which future path they choose. Today, UWC is made up of 18 schools and colleges on four continents. The majority of them focus on the 16-19 age group. UWC seeks compassionate, idealistic students who are driven to make the world better. They believe that money should not be a barrier to a good education. More than 80% of students selected by the UWC national committees receive full or partial financial assistance.
Over the next four weeks we will devote our newsletters to learning more about our recipients.
The Gala preparation is officially in full swing. Please visit our Gala pages often, but don't delay purchasing your tickets to avail yourself of our early bird price. Click here.
With warm regards,
Marilyn"
Learn more about The Charter for Compassion's Global Gala below:
When: Saturday, November 12, 2022. (Pre-Gala Musical Show - 7:30am and 4:30pm PT Global Gala begins - 8:00am and 5:00pm PT After-Gala Dance Party - 9:30am and 6:30pm PT)
Where: Online
Global Gala Pricing:
$50 - Early Bird Ticket – until October 15
$75 - Regular Ticket – from October 16 to November 12
$35 - Ticket for Charter partners
$5 - Special Student/ Fixed Income Price
$100 - Ticket + Charter will plant 5 trees
$150 - Ticket + signed book: Inner Harmony by Jon Kolkin
$200 - Ticket + Charter will plant 10 trees
$250 - Ticket + signed book: Sacred Nature by Karen Armstrong
Learn more here.
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