Bridge of Peace’ Ceremony at the WFWP EU Conference in Prague, CZ

The highlight of the evening program on the second day of our WFWP EU Conference in Prague, CZ, was a ‘Bridge of Peace’ Ceremony.

Our Ceremony in Prague this time around brought together women from more than 25 different nations and including different religions and cultures; and was framed by beautiful musical performances as well as a traditional Czech folklore group.

Many guests were so moved by the spirit of sincerity they could see in the participants taking part that they spontaneously decided to also find a sister they could cross the bridge with. Several sisters shared from their heart why they felt called to join the bridge with their particular counterpart. It was deeply moving.

We had sisters from Russia and Ukraine, as well as several Eastern European countries and also France and Morocco, Portugal and Mozambique to name but a few among the group participating on behalf of their nation. We also had two inter-generational pairs.

The inter-religious bridge brought together several pairs representing Islam and Christianity. This had particular significance as throughout the day the terror attacks of the previous days were so much on our minds.

We are deeply concerned about the world going forward, seeing hurt, pain and hatred escalating on a worldwide level. The need to reconcile and build bridges of peace has become an absolute urgency!

Seeing all our sisters during this event with such sincere hearts and coming together to help reconcile the hurts of past and present - we could feel hope and renewed determination to let love be the final victor in this battle!

The Bridge of Peace Ceremony is the signature event of WFWP ever since its founding in 1992.

The essence of such a ceremony is to create bridges of reconciliation between sisters (and sometimes brothers) whereby two representatives of conflicting religions, cultures or nations pair up with the heart and intent to forgive, and to respect to each other, on behalf of each of their respective group that they represent.

The symbolic ‘Bridge of Peace’ ceremony should only be the first step of two women (or men) from opposing groups meeting on the bridge or stage, approaching each other with the heart of giving and seeking forgiveness for the wrongs of each of their respective religion, culture or nation.

They embrace each other as sisters and step forward with the resolve to create unity, peace and friendship.

After this symbolic ceremony they exchange their contact details and exchange a ‘Bridge of Peace’ Pledge. They are encouraged to substantialize this resolve through investing into the relationship going forward.

WFWP has conducted many hundreds of these ‘Bridge of Peace’ events around the world in the pursuit of reconciliation and our common desire of a world in which every single human being can live in dignity and wellbeing.