Roots of Reconciliation at Glencree This is a five day residential course at Glencree, 23-28
August, 2009; it will be bringing together practitioners, theoreticians and
others with experience of societies in conflict, this participatory,
experiential learning aims to offer an opportunity for real sharing and
reflection on a core reconciliation challenge, namely humanisation between
deeply divided people. Specific themes to be explored include: Meanings and
dynamics of “humanization” vs. “dehumanization”; Facing fears, taking risks ;
Dealing creatively with difference; Cultivating sustainable co-operative
relationships; Forgiveness, Mercy, Justice, Truth. Further information and
booking details at http://www.glencree.ie or ph 01 – 2829711.
Day of Private Reflection; 21st June / HTR reports This is the third Day of Private Reflection, on Sunday June
21st 2009. Sean Coll of Healing Through Remembering said: “People from Northern Ireland, Great Britain, Republic of Ireland and internationally are invited to reflect on
21 June, individually and privately, on the past conflict, and the future. It
is a day to acknowledge the deep hurt and pain caused by the conflict, to
reflect on our own attitudes, on what more we might have done or might still
do, and to make a personal commitment that such loss should never be allowed to
happen again.” Independent evaluation has indicated public support for this
initiative by Healing Through Remembering (HTR) – a cross community
organisation focused on ways of dealing with the past relating to the conflict
in an about Northern Ireland. See also the special website at http://www.dayofreflection.com as
well as the HTR website at http://www.healingthroughremembering.info
Those organising events for the day include:
The Irish School of Ecumenics in Belfast who are meeting at 1.30 pm and walking up Cave Hill at
2.30. Phone 028 - 9077 0087 or e-mail reconsec@tcd.ie for details.
Corrymeela
Ballycastle will be open to welcome guests between 2.30pm – 5.00pm; Richard
Moore, founder of Children in Crossfire, will give a short talk as part of this
event. If you are coming please email Mira at openevents@corrymeela.org or
confirm your attendance by phoning 028 - 20761736.
- Meanwhile Healing Through Remembering will be
launching “At the End of the Day…Commemoration – Forward thinking into
the Past” on Wednesday 10th June at 10:30am which collates the
contributions made at a one-day Round Table event which was organised by the
HTR Commemoration Sub Group, and “Ethical Principles - Storytelling and
Narrative Work” on Wednesday 24th June at 10:30am which outlines a set of
principles for storytelling and narrative work connected to the experience of
the conflict in and about Northern Ireland. Contact HTR for further
information; Healing Through Remembering, Alexander House, 17a Ormeau Avenue, Belfast BT2 8HD, ph 028 9023 8844, e-mail: info@healingthroughremembering.org
Climate Countdown! Six Months to Copenhagen Join us on Saturday June 13th at 12pm on Sandymount Beach in Dublin for fun and games…and a mass choreographed event to create a giant
human hourglass! This event is a call to action that will ask the Irish
government to play their part in ensuring that the crucial climate change
negotiations in Copenhagen are strong, effective and just. Meet at the Martello Tower in Sandymount to raise awareness about climate change and the pivotal UN
negotiations in Copenhagen in December 2009 and to call on the Irish Government
to show leadership and to play their part in securing a strong, just global
deal on climate change and commit to climate protection legislation in Ireland. Organised by Stop Climate Chaos which is a coalition of civil society
organisations campaigning to ensure Ireland plays its part in preventing
runaway climate change. For information contact: JoAnne O Donovan 086
3351906 or the members which include Action Aid, Afri, Christian Aid, Comhlámh,
Concern, Cultivate, Dublin Friends of the Earth, Eco-Congregation, Eco-Unesco,
Feasta, Friends of the Earth, Gorta, Just Forests, Kimmage Development Studies
Centre, Latin America Solidarity Centre, Methodist Church of Ireland – Council
of Social Responsibility, Mountmellick Environmental Group, National Youth
Council of Ireland, Oxfam Ireland, Presentation Centre of Policy and Systemic
Change, Progressio Ireland, Sustain West Cork, An Taisce, Trócaire, VITA and
Voice.
- Both Stop Climate Chaos and Friends of the Earth have
welcomed John Gormley’s confirmation that the Green Party will demand a climate
change law in the review of the Programme for Government, although at the end
of May the Government refused to set a date for a debate on such a law (Friends
of the Earth published a draft bill in April 2007 which was drafted by Ivana
Bacik and introduced in the Seanad). Contact Friends of the Earth at 01-6394652
and website http://www.foe.ie
INCORE: Between revenge and reconciliation
Dr Brandon Hamber, Director, invites you to the INCORE 10th
Anniversary International Summer School Lecture, ‘Between Revenge and
Reconciliation? Making peace on the British-Irish ethnic frontier by Dr Duncan
Morrow, Chief Executive Officer, NI Community Relations Council, Wednesday 17
June 2009 at 18.30 in the Great Hall, Magee campus, University of Ulster. Preceded by light refreshments at 18.00. RSVP if attending by 12 June 2009 to Ms
Shonagh Higgenbotham, INCORE, University of Ulster, Northland Road, Londonderry BT48 7JA, e-mail s.higgenbotham@ulster.ac.uk ph 028 7137 5500.
Abstract: Frank Wright’s thesis was that the north of
Ireland was an ethnic frontier: the decay of a complex pattern of Empire
which left neither a simple settlement nor an elite colony but a much more
challenging interaction of peoples. The challenge of the ethnic frontier is not
the irreconcilable differences of religion or identity, but the violence and
antagonism which have shaped relationships. In an ethnic frontier, violence may
seem justified as a means to avenge past wrongs but such actions far from
generating justice set in train an escalating cycle of revenge. The critical
question underlying Agreement in the north of Ireland is ‘how far has agreement
generated new relationships or to what degree has it merely contained violence
on a new balance? This lecture will revisit both Wright’s thesis on the ethnic
frontier, the comparative opportunities and challenges facing Northern Ireland in relation to other divided settings and the prospects for change.
Amnesty highlights repression with the recession
“Underlying the economic crisis is an explosive human
rights crisis,” said Colm O’Gorman, Amnesty International Ireland Executive
Director. “The economic downturn has aggravated abuses, distracted attention
from them and created new problems. In the name of security, human rights were
trampled on. Now, in the name of economic recovery, they are being relegated to
the back seat. In Ireland the Government’s cutbacks to the Equality Authority
and the Irish Human Rights Commission undermine human rights here. The Global
Report highlights again the failures by the Irish Government to deliver a
referendum on children’s rights, a commitment made by Fianna Fáil and the
Greens that is all the more urgent following the Ryan Commission report last
week.”
Colm O’Gorman was speaking in advance of in advance of the
Irish launch of Amnesty International Report 2009: State of the World’s Human
Rights which came out on 28th May. Amnesty point out that freedom of expression
is restricted in 81 countries; 78% of executions take place in the G-20
countries; Fifty countries hold prisoners of conscience; People are subjected
to forcible evictions in 24 countries; and half of all countries inflict
torture or ill-treatment on people during interrogation. For more on the
report see here or
contact Justin Moran, Communications Co-ordinator, ph 01 - 863 8300 and the
website at http://www.amnesty.ie
Big Lunch at Corrymeela Ballycastle on 19th July
This Christmas, to mark the beginning of Advent, Ballycastle
will play host to a brand new play written by the award-winning playwright
Damian Gorman, with music by Sean Walsh. The production, called STARS – A
Ballycastle Nativity, is a new story, different from but deeply inspired by
that of the first Christmas. It is a community-wide venture which has received great
support and encouragement from a number of local groups and partnerships. The
show will involve established, professional actors as well as local, amateur
ones; it will involve people from church and people from no church; it will
involve drama and music, hard work and fun. And in celebration of this exciting
project, the organisers of STARS – A Ballycastle Nativity are delighted to
invite YOU to lunch on Sunday 19th July at 1pm at the Corrymeela Centre, 5 Drumaroan Road, Ballycastle BT54 6QU. The Big Lunch is an Eden Project initiative to get as
many of the 61 million people across the UK as possible to sit down to share
lunch together at the same time, on the same day. It’s a simple idea, designed
to bring local communities together to share food, entertainment, music and
decorations, all of which will have been grown, cooked or made locally. This
will be a day to break bread with our neighbours and to put a smile on faces
throughout our communities; a day for the local community to come together around
something good, and to join us on the exciting journey of bringing STARS – A
Ballycastle Nativity into being. To take your place at the ‘STARS – Ballycastle
Big Lunch’ table please contact Heidi Scrimgeour at heidi@giftofthegab.net or 07766 666
867. To find out more about STARS – A Ballycastle Nativity please contact
Damian at damian@ballycastlenativity.com or on 079 0157 5121.
Corrymeela Ballycastle Summer Programme
The last few remaining slots in Corrymeela's annual summer
programme are available for groups of between 20-40 people. In particular a
couple of spaces exist mid-July. To find out exact details please contact Matt
on the details below. We are also running a families residential called 'IF?',
in partnership with Pat Meenan of Lifeways, between July 11th -16th; if your
organisation knows of low support families who would benefit from the
opportunity of engaging in a Summer Programme week at Corrymeela Ballycastle
please contact Matt to discuss this. Cost is based on a sliding scale. Please contact mattscrimgeour@corrymeela.org or 02820761726 or 07968362152.
At Ease – for British armed forces personnel
At Ease, a confidential, independent, advice service for
people in the British armed forces is now at; Bunhill Fields Meeting House,
Quaker Court, Banner Street, London EC1 8QQ. An At Ease counsellor will be at
this address from 5 pm – 7 pm every Sunday. Phone 020 –
7490 5223, e-mail info@atease.org.uk and
website http://www.atease.org.uk The
website has important information concerning limitations on soldiers’ rights.
So you can’t forgive?...
Brian Lennon's latest book is ‘So You Can't
Forgive?....Moving Towards Freedom’. Published by Columba (88 pages,
€7.99), it asks if Christians sometimes put unfair demands on those who have
suffered - demands that the Scriptures may not support. He explores different
stages in forgiving, including separation from the wrongdoer. He suggests that
forgiving is about moves towards freedom in the person wronged, not about
justifying the wrongdoer. The book will be of interest to those affected by
violence, abuse or family disputes, and also to those working alongside them.
Available from: http://www.columba.ie
Feasta: The New Emergency Conference
Feasta are organising a major conference on the New (ecological)
Emergency from 10th – 12th June at All Hallows College, Dublin, on the theme
‘Managing risk and building resilience in a resource constrained world’.
[Details appeared in NN 169 e-mail and web editions only]. See http://www.thenewemergency.org and http://www.feasta.org Dmitry Orlov will be
holding a public lecture on June 9th at 7.30 pm at the Davenport Hotel.
To participate in the lecture please email conference@feasta.org Price € 10, free
for those with full conference pass.
Burma Action Ireland supporting Aung San Suu Kyi
BAI has been active in supporting Aung San Suu Kyi as she is
tried on fabricated charges – contact them at Burma Action Ireland, ph 087
1261857, e-mail info@burmaactionireland.org and web http://www.burmaactionireland.org (see also NN 167). Meanwhile a new international website calling for the
release of all political prisoners in Burma has been launched, and you can add
your voice there at http://64forsuu.org
Rossport Solidarity Camp
The Solidarity Camp at Rossport reports 150 people came for
the last gathering, and Shell have began dredging work for the pipeline which
last summer was ongoing for around a month - a sure sign that the return of the
Solitaire is imminent. “Now is the time to come to Mayo to take direct
action against pipeline work!” they say, and like last year, the camp is
now based on a field above the beach. Check out http://www.indymedia.ie/mayo or email
the camp for up-to-date info before arriving: rossportsolidaritycamp@gmail.com or phone 085 – 1141170.
ARAN exposes terrible cruelty to pigs
ARAN, the Animal Rights Action Network has released
undercover footage obtained directly inside an Irish pig breeding facility in Ireland; the footage shows horrific cruelty to pigs, including a grown adult pig being
killed with sledgehammer blows to the head, which violates Irish animal welfare
laws. This story has been featured in a variety of the media and ARAN report
that a case is being prepared by the Gardai for the Director of Public
Prosecutions. Contact: John Carmody, Campaigns Director, Animal Rights
Action Network (ARAN), ph 087-2391646, e-mail: arancampaigns@eircom.net and
website: http://www.ARAN.ie
Call back the fire
“Call back the fire – Songs against war, Songs for
peacemaking” is a great CD with 21 songs or tunes including some of
your old favourites in new interpretations and some that you probably won’t
know or will not know so well. Available at £12 from the Movement for the
Abolition of War (MAW) in Britain and a non-profit making project of theirs, it
is also worth looking at the other information on their website at http://www.abolishwar.org.uk
Death of Giancarlo Ramaioli
Fans and readers of Activelink and ‘Community Exchange’ will
be very sad to hear of the death of Giancarlo Ramaioli (1959-2009) on 26th May
2009, after a long illness. Activelink, the Dublin-based online information
service for non-profit organisations, will be continuing and ‘Community
Exchange’ is produced weekly. See http://www.activelink.ie which includes a useful directory of organisations under a number of headings.
INNATE networking group meets next at 7pm on
Wednesday 17th June in Corrymeela House, 8 Upper Crescent, Belfast – all
welcome, enquiries welcome.
Deadline for July issue: 30th June. There will be no
August issue though we may do a news supplement if justified.
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