The scenes, televised globally, were ugly—rioting, looting, young African American men hauled to jail.

The first of two Agenda for Reconciliation conferences focussed on peace-building initiatives. It included private 'dialogues of the heart' between citizens from the Great Lakes area of Africa (Rwanda, Burundi, Congo and Uganda) and also among people from Sierra Leone; and a round table meeting of people from Bosnia Herzegovina involved in setting up a truth and reconciliation process there. Here we print extracts from Donald Shriver's keynote speech on forgiveness, and (below) Mary Lean meets some of the peace builders who took part.

Exiled and in despair, Osman Jama Ali had no idea of the impact an unexpected letter would have on his life. The Deputy Prime Minister of Somalia’s first government for a decade talks to Mary Lean.

How would you respond to your daughter's murder? Peter and Linda Biehl have found new meaning in life by helping to heal the wounds of the community where she was killed. They talk to Helena Kingwill.

The Open House centre for Jewish-Arab reconciliation in Ramle, Israel, was established 10 years ago to help heal the deep emotional wounds and distrust among Jews and Arabs. The house was originally the home of a Palestianian family, then of a Jewish family, but it now brings Jewish and Arab children and their parents together to help them understand one another.

Charis Waddy joins Indian historian Rajmohan Gandhi on a journey through the history, pain and hope of his subcontinent.

Mary McAleese, President of Ireland, has long been dedicated to justice, dignity and equality for all in a divided society, writes Peter Hannon.

Bethuel Kiplagat believes that Africa's development depends on peace and security, as he tells Michael Smith.

Chris Landsberg teaches South African and African Foreign Relations at the University of the Witwatersrand, South Africa, and is Hamburg Visiting Fellow at the Centre for International Security and Cooperation, Stanford University, USA

As Australia prepares to stage the Olympics, John Williams offers a personal sketch of a fortunate country with huge questions before it.