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The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics was established in 1987. The Institute has taken Raoul Wallenberg as a model for engagement; not to stand on the sidelines, but to seek out and address injustice and conflict in all areas of life.

The Wallenberg Institute is committed to the promotion of a culture of peace and its foundational values of equality, justice, love, compassion, and mutual respect. Its humanitarian programs are aimed at the resolution of conflicts, the elimination of prejudice, and the broadening of perspectives. It encourages the study of faith-based sacred texts and heritages as part of the interfaith dynamic that is at the core of this endeavor. It also emphasizes the personal nature of this process by recognizing that what is created in the outside world is a reflecton of one's inner world.

The Institute takes the following approaches to achieve this mission:

1. The creation of a Peace Academy with a faculty covering all disciplines that relate to the mission.

2. Networking with positive forces in society --- both secular and religious to foster conflict resolution, improvement of the urban and natural environments and the well-being of the of people from all segments of our global community.

3. The sponsorship of forums to examine the issues of the day in terms of ethical principles and actions.

4. The initiation of cultural and educational programs that creatively use the latest technology

5. The sponsorship of conferences that highlight and bring focus to the programs of the Institute.

World Interfaith Harmony Film Festival in L.A. Honors the Wallenberg's Rebecca Tobias

Feb 6-10th, 2013. The Film Festival Feels Honored To Participate In United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Events. World Interfaith Harmony Week was established by the UN just three years ago - in 2010 - and has already inspired hundreds of events worldwide. United Nations Delegate and URI Global Council Trustee Rebecca Tobias Honors The Los Angeles Community By Accepting The First World Interfaith Harmony AMBASSADOR OF HARMONY Award. Spiritual and Religious Alliance For Hope (S.A.R.A.H.) To Open Women In Cinema Celebration Thursday Evening February 7th With A Special Theatrical Performance. Interfaith Pioneer Rev. Leland Stewart To Receive The World Interfaith Harmony VISION Award. And much more.

The Roerich Banner of Peace Presented to Evolutionary Leaders on Behalf of the United Religions Initiative

On December 21st, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics Program Director, SARAH Advisory Council member and United Religions Initiative Global Council Trustee Rebecca Tobias presented the Roerich Banner of Peace to luminaries, visionaries, activists and, what some call modern-day-prophets at Birth 2012 in Los Angeles, CA. In her words, Rebecca explains the Banner, "This ancient universal symbol is one of the world's oldest. Its three spheres were designated by Nicholas Roerich, the designer of the banner, as the synthesis of all arts, all sciences, and all faiths within the circle of culture. Wherever the Banner is displayed, it recognizes the great achievement of the past, the present, and the future. It encourages the individual to strive to fulfill his or her highest potential, beautifying all aspects of life; it encourages each person to take responsibility for the evolution of the planet; it signifies the peace-builder; and it symbolizes the transformation of the individual and of society. It represents cooperation-the cornerstone of the emerging planetary culture-in all aspects of human activity. READ MORE>>>>

Rebecca Tobias, Phillip Hellmich (Director of Peace-The Shift Network), Roya (of the Agape International Spiritual Center) and Sande Hart with the Roerich Banner of Peace on 12/21/12 at Birth 2012 Also receiving the Banner was Steve Dinan (The Shift Network) Rev. Michael B. Beckwith (The Agape), Sister Jenna (Brahma Kumari's Washington DC Director), Johnathan Human of UNIFY and James O'Dea (Decloration of Commitment to Indigenous Peoples 2012). The Banner has also been received in The Holy Land for UNIFY's A Global Call for Peace. 

Life Choices Through Interactive Drama
&
School DayZ: Theater of the Oppressed
The Raoul Wallenberg Institute for Ethics

The Wallenberg Institute has adapted the Theater of the Oppressed process to the schools of the Los Angeles area. This is an interactive Life Skills/Literacy/ theatrical activity designed to be implemented in Middle Schools and High Schools. The use of School DayZ vignettes which feature adolescent based scenarios involving a variety of issues allow students to create and perform original extended storyline vignettes that involve real life conflicts, and challenges. Through their portrayal, and engagement of a variety of literacy based activities they teach life lessons, empowerment and also meet several California ELA standards.

This program features an interactive drama experience that attempts to create a “rehearsal for reality” in the sense that it illustrates real life situations. The experience allows students to collectively strategize and explore potential solutions. The context is in the form of a theatrical improvisation as well as the use of script writing and staged readings. The student audience members are not spectators, but "spect-actors" who are invited to intervene in the story and offer dialogue and action that can help the characters reach a satisfactory resolution. The stories are generated from the School DayZ vignettes and personalized in a collective process that includes acting exercises, movement, and voice.

The "residency" consists of ten days of working with one class to implement sequential curriculum that is standards based in the performing arts and in English Language Arts. These sessions are led by Doug Kaback, a professor in theater at California State University, Northridge, and Ron Klemp, professor of secondary education at California State University, Northridge, LAUSD (retired) and the author of School DayZ. Both are members of the Board of the Wallenberg Institute. Mr. Kaback has done residencies in over fifty LAUSD school and most recently was at Monroe High School, Jack London Continuation CDS, Pio Pico Middle School, and Palms Middle School, Northridge Middle School, and Emerson Middle School, Horace Mann Middle School, and several LAUSD elementary schools including Garbanza, and the Bellagio Road Newcomer Center.

The full document includes an outline of the ten day program with day by day descriptions.

An Ethical Foundation and Imperative for Peace:
Creation of a "Spiritual Continuum"
by Stephen Sideroff, Ph.D.,
Director, Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics
March, 2012

The word "Peace" is mentioned 429 times in the bible; more than any other substantive word. On an intuitive level the state of peace and good will is more desirable than its alternative of either war or ongoing conflict and hostility and should be a goal of enlightened societies. More specifically the state of peace, at any level, is a precondition for growth and development. Fear, danger and conflict channel the use of energy into the process of protection, guarding, and the stress response. While this is necessary for survival, when it is ongoing it becomes destructive. continued...

The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics, in Cooperation with the International Raoul Wallenberg Foundation, seeks help from holocaust survivors saved by Wallenberg.

Please help us before these stories are lost.  Swedish Diplomat Raoul Wallenberg saved the lives of over 100,000 Jews in Hungary from 1944 to 1945. He issued schutz-passes (protective passes), and maintained a number of safehouses throughout Hungary. He was detained by the Soviet government in 1945, and his subsequent whereabouts are still unknown. The Raoul Wallenberg Institute of Ethics is currently working to document and archive the stories of those who met Wallenberg or were saved by his courageous deeds. If you or someone you know were in Budapest during 1944 or 1945 and would like to contribute to this archive by offering your personal testimony, please call Rebecca Tobias at 310-916-8888 or email at Rebecca@raoulwallenberginstitute.org. link to International Wallenberg Foundation.

"Love heals spiritually, physically, psychologically and politically. Politics is about relationships. Come to any relationship with a clear conscience, an open heart, and rolled up sleeves and the best that resides within us will manifest itself. G-d, and the universe rejoices, and the true nature of our souls are exercised." -- Rebecca Tobias, Wallenberg Institute Program Director