In this Special Report, Vision publisher David Hulme speaks to these key peace architects among others as he explores the roles of identity and ideology in the Middle East conflict.

The United Nations General Assembly first celebrated One Day in Peace on the first day of the new millennium, and a later resolution invited “all the peoples of the world to celebrate One Day in Peace, 1 January 2002, and every year thereafter.”

Vision writers take issue with the doomsday speculations that often follow in the wake of disasters, by examining them in a more hopeful light.

The U.N. says the current economic crisis is "deepening hunger worldwide," and warns that the effects of wide-scale hunger may have irreversible consequences on health, education and productivity. 

Despite all efforts to the contrary, human exploitation shows no sign of abating. Still most vulnerable to trafficking are women and children who may find themselves abducted from their families or in some cases sold by them into slavery—not only as  prostitutes but alternatively as laborers or soldiers.  

As the United States elects a new president, the twin ideologies of democracy and capitalism that have long dominated Western culture seem to be struggling. In recent months capitalism itself has been dealt a severe blow. Why are these pillars of society so widely admired and what is to become of them?