Spring Newsletter 2004
Dear Well Wisher,
Welcome to the spring edition of the ENCOMPASS Trust newsletter (PDF version)
It’s hard to believe that a year and a half has passed since the devastating and senseless terrorist attacks which killed Daniel Braden and 201 other innocents on the gentle island of Bali on 12th October, 2002.
The shock reverberated around the world – the horrific deaths of so many bright young lives, simply living life. It was also a cruel reminder that terrorism can affect anyone, anywhere at anytime. We are all aware from the bombings in Istanbul and Madrid, and the recent arrests in the UK – foiling an alleged chemical bomb plot – that terror attacks are escalating and approaching closer to home.
For those of you who are reading about ENCOMPASS for the first time, the charity was established in memory of Dan who believed in a free and united world and would not have wanted the fear of terrorism to prevent people from travelling, finding out about other cultures or simply living life to the max as he loved to do.
ENCOMPASS aims to “fight terrorism peacefully” by promoting tolerance and understanding amongst people of different cultures, faiths and backgrounds. Diverse groups of young people from the UK and overseas are brought together and placed in new, exciting and challenging environments. They have to live, work and socialise as a team out of their comfort zone – and there is no escape!
The objective is to broaden the minds of the participants. They will discover through their own experiences and specifically designed cultural activities how important it is to respect and understand that diversity enriches our world and we can indeed co-exist peacefully. It is hoped that the participants will return home and influence their family, friends, colleagues and community by sharing with them their unusual and once-in-a-lifetime experience.
Since ENCOMPASS was established a year and a half ago, we have collaborated with Tall Ships Youth Trust to form multi-cultural “Voyages of Understanding”. We have successfully completed three Voyages of Understanding. Our most recent voyage took place in March 2004 and brought together British, Indonesians, Israelis and Palestinians.
This newsletter is packed with information about what ENCOMPASS achieved in 2003 and what is being developed for 2004 and beyond.
Thank you for taking the time to read about ENCOMPASS and please pass the newsletter on to family, friends and colleagues as we need your help to increase the public’s awareness of the Trust and its work and to raise more funds.
Thank you.
Yours sincerely
Jun Hirst
ENCOMPASS Director
Posted Sunday May 2, 2004
