Introduction : Words from ACIC’s HR Intern Jessie-Lynn Cross
Darlene Doiron is one of the most kind and compassionate people you will ever meet in the Greater Moncton Area (GMA). To quote her ACIC bio, "she is an educator, a chartered mediator, and a sustainable world peace activist. Darlene specialises in interpersonal workplace and community-based conflict. She is best known for her longstanding peace work and dedication to creating a more positive and harmonious province of New Brunswick." In our interview, we discussed what one can do with a human rights related degree in New Brunswick and how one can think big. We also discussed her work with the Peace Leaders’ Collaborative in GMA and the recent Peace Mosaic Project she released this year. Learn more about the Peace Mosaic Project.
Interview with Darlene Doiron
How did you first find out about ACIC? What drew you into becoming an individual associate? What has ACIC done well for you and your human rights work?
I work as a Chartered Mediator, that is my background. I wanted to do mediation work internationally with different embassies, that was my career goal. I started at this program related to human rights and peace at the University for Peace 'UPeace,' which is a United Nations University. I did the program part-time which took me more years than I thought it would. When I graduated, my life circumstances had changed and I didn't want to travel to different embassies to work. I started thinking about what I could do with a masters in sustainable world peace in GMA and started searching the internet on what peace-related work I can do in the area. That is how I fell upon ACIC and joined as an individual associate. The cost is relatively nothing and they have a whole set of resources. ACIC has provided a good forum for me and our group. It was great to have an active audience of like-minded people, and to have a connection to this network. ACIC puts up good information on training, networking on their social media that allows me to hear what other organizations are doing.
What human rights experience did you have before you became a member with ACIC? How has your work as an educator and as a mediator with community-based conflict been an asset to the work you do?
The masters in sustainable world peace has a lot of human rights components. The Human Rights Commission does mediation work so human rights get weaved into the work I do regularly. I think it is a natural fit to do mediation in peace work because mediation is all about resolving things at the lowest level possible. I think global peace is about resolving things at the lowest level possible. It is the same practice, just in different contexts. The base of the dialogue in mediation, is people having this mutual understanding of each other. This is important in trying to address situations that are happening.
Can you tell us about the Peace Leaders’ Collaborative?
The Peace Leaders’ Collaborative started when I saw interest from a small round table that I hosted a couple of years ago. I had a degree and didn't know what to do with it, so I hosted a small round table and sent an invite to this little place called "The Peace Café," expecting 15 people to come. 40 people showed up. There is a lot of interest around peace in Moncton. The Peace Leaders’ Collaborative's mission is to support everyone with being a leader in peace. If you are interested in human rights and you have ideas, projects, or a direction that you want go, we would collectively support those ideas. It is based in this whole notion of "we are all leaders in our own way." Everybody has a contribution.
What sustainable development goals (SDGs) have you worked on to achieve in New Brunswick? Any challenges in pursuing these sustainable development goals or your human rights work? How do you overcome these challenges?
I work on SDG number 16, which is Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions. The biggest challenge is that people don't know about them. I would love for more people to have a better understanding of the 17 goals. I think it is that idea of "one project at a time. One person at a time." Spreading the word and creating a sense of belonging for people in the community. It goes back to everybody has a contribution. The Peace Leaders’ Collaborative has 70 people. When one quarter of those people are working actively on certain projects, and the others are working with them, it really helps to move things forward. It is an exciting process to be part of, especially as one of the ways to do peace work in New Brunswick.
Disclaimer: This blog is created from the transcript of an interview between the member and ACIC’s human rights intern, and is edited for consistency, while staying true to what was discussed.