29.02.2012

HOLGER TERP REACHES 60, by John Scales Avery (Danish translation by Frands Wisbech Frydendal)

Wednesday, February 29, is the 60^th birthday of the internationally known peace educator Holger Terp. All of his many friends send congratulations to Holger for his past achievements in creating a culture of peace, and we wish him even more success in the future.

Holger Terp completed his education as a librarian in 1992. In 1996, he participated in a course on “Internet and Presentation Technique” at the Academy of Fine Arts in Copenhagen. However, in 1999 he suffered a stroke, which made him blind in one eye and almost blind in the other. The stroke also affected Holger's speech, so that it was difficult to understand him when he talked. Instead of giving up, as many people would have done, Holger resolved to devote the remainder his life to the cause of world peace. Despite his severe handicap, he has achieved almost incredible results, a full account of which can be found on the link www.fredsakademiet.dk/ht.htm .

 

Holger's greatest achievement has been to found the Danish Peace Academy and to single-handedly

create its enormous website. The website, www.fredsakademiet.dk, contains more than 16,000 files related to peace, in Danish, English and German, and it is currently visited by approximately 4,000 different people each day. Many of the visitors are from schools and universities in various parts of the world, who use the information on the website as a part of their studies.

 

In creating his website, Holger has used both his training as a librarian and the knowledge that he gained from the 1996 course at Copenhagen's Academy of Fine Arts. As a result, many parts of the website have great visual beauty because of the liberal use of images. For example, one can enjoy Holger's “Greenham Common Songbook”, which is an account of the successful efforts of the woman's peace movement in England to prevent common land at Greenham from being used as a base for nuclear weapons. The songbook is a piece of history, illustrated not only by the songs, which the visitor to the website can hear performed by such artists as Peggy Seeger, but also by countless beautiful posters and photos from the era. Other special features of the website are numerous books, articles, poetry and song collections, a peace-related encyclopedia, and a timeline showing the history of the peace movement, from the middle ages up to the present.

Holger himself is the author or editor of numerous books, and he has translated Gandhi's autobiography into Danish. The example of Gandhi's life has always been a guide for Holger, and perhaps Holger's life can be a guide for our own efforts, as we strive to work for peace. If he could achieve so much with such a severe handicap, then the rest of us ought to be able to do something too.

 

 

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Holger Terp fylder 60

 

Af John Scales Avery.

 

Den internationalt kendte fredslærer Holger Terp fylder 60 år onsdag d. 29. februar. Alle hans mange venner ønsker ham tillykke i anerkendelse af alt det, han har udrettet for at skabe en fredskultur, og vi ønsker ham endnu mere held og lykke med det i fremtiden.

 

Holger Terp er uddannet som bibliotekar i 1992. I 1996 deltog han i et kursus i Internet og Præsentation ved Kunstakademiet i København. Imidlertid fik han et slagtilfælde i 1999, så han mistede synet helt på det ene øje og det meste af synet på det andet. Også Holgers stemme blev påvirket, så det blev vanskeligt at forstå, når han talte. I stedet for at give op, som mange ville have gjort, besluttede Holger at vie resten af sit liv til verdensfredssagen. På trods af sit svære handicap har han opnået de mest utrolige resultater, og man kan læse om dem alle på www.fredsakademiet.dk/ht.htm.

 

Holgers største bedrift er at grundlægge af Det Danske Fredsakademi og helt alene at opbygge dets enorme hjemmeside. Hjemmesiden omfatter mere end 16.000 filer om fred på dansk, engelsk og tysk, og den bliver for tiden besøgt af cirka 4000 mennesker om dagen. Mange besøgende kommer fra skoler og universiteter over hele verden og bruger hjemmesiden i deres studier.

 

Ved opbygningen af hjemmesiden har Holger både brugt sin uddannelse som bibliotekar og det han lærte på Kunstakademiet i 1996. Holgers omfattende brug af billeder har gjort store dele af hjemmesiden er meget smukke. Man kan for eksempel nyde Holgers ”Greenham Common Songbook”, som beskriver, hvordan kvindernes fredsbevægelse i England havde held til at forhindre at fællesejet land i Greenham blev brugt som base for kernevåben. Sangbogen er et stykke historie, illustreret ikke bare med sangene, som de besøgende kan høre fremført af kunstnere som Peggy Seeger; men også med de utallige smukke plakater og fotografier fra perioden. Hjemmesiden rummer i øvrigt mangfoldige bøger, artikler, digte og sangbøger, et fredsleksikon og en tidslinie som viser fredsbevægelsens historie fra middelalderen og til nutiden.

 

Holger har selv skrevet eller redigeret talrige bøger, og han har oversat Ghandi’s selvbiografi til dansk. Ghandi’s eksempel har altid været en inspiration for Holger, og også Holgers liv kan være en inspiration for vore egne anstrengelser, når vi stræber efter freden. Når Holger allerede har kunnet opnå så meget på trods af sit handicap, må vi andre også være i stand til at udrette noget.

 

Oversat af Frands Frydendal

 

 

 

 

 

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