Afri Famine walk
The 24th Annual Famine Walk organised by Afri will take place on Saturday 21st May, from Doolough to Louisburgh, Co Mayo, beginning at 2pm. Walk leaders include: Choctaw artist, Gary Whitedeer; Guatemalan community leader, Juan Carlos Contreras; Gemma Hensey of GIY (Grow It Yourself). Music will be provided by the remarkably talented Ugandan singer Justine Nantale. Afri is asking all participants to raise at least Ä20 in sponsorship for the walk this year to ensure that it can continue its important work. Afri, 134 Phibsborough Road, Phibsborough, Dublin 7, phone 01 - 882 7563/8827581, e-mail admin@afri.ie and website www.afri.ie
Kilcranny House
Kilcranny House is currently undergoing repairs due to the winter damages. However we are hoping to re-open our residential block by the end of June. We can now accept bookings for the summer months. Our daily rate is £35 per person full board, including training facilities. We can accommodate 24 young people in four 6-bed dorms, and 4 leaders in two 2-bed rooms (All bunk-beds.) Of course, even though our residential block has been out of action, we have had an incredibly busy year at Kilcranny. We have recently planted out a small woodland of 400 trees thanks to the Woodland Trust and we're also carrying out some major site improvements on our allotments thanks to Groundwork NI. We are very excited to be involved in new developments with the "Hands off my Friend" anti-hate crime scheme and to be exploring the development of bringing a "Friendship Club" to Coleraine. You can contact us on 028 7032 1816, or by email to info@kilcrannyhouse.org and find out more at www.kilcrannyhouse.org We also have a Facebook page now, Kilcranny House. See you soon!
FOE Activism Gathering
Friends of the Earth Ireland and Northern Ireland will host a joint Activism Gathering on Saturday 11th and Sunday 12th June 2011, at the Tollymore National Outdoor Centre, near Newcastle, County Down. This will be an opportunity to help shape the future of grassroots environmental campaigning throughout the island. The weekend will be focussed on participative workshops, where delegates will be asked to input their ideas about how activism can be embedded into Friends of the Earth's campaigns, and how the organisation can support activists to run their own community campaigns. Plenary sessions will act as a springboard for discussion and debate and there will also be plenty of opportunity to network and socialise with Friends of the Earth activists and supporters from across Northern Ireland and the Republic. The attendance fee is £50, with a reduced rate of £30 for people with low incomes. For more information, and to book a place, call Colette Stewart on 028 9023 3488 or email colette.stewart@foe.co.uk
Irish School of Ecumenics courses
The Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, is committed to the study and promotion of dialogue, peace and reconciliation in Ireland and around the world. It is recognized for its interdisciplinary approach to taught programmes and research drawing on the fields of politics, sociology, ethics, theology and religion.
Applications are now invited for the postgraduate programmes it offers in Dublin and Belfast starting in September 2011:
M. Phil. in International Peace Studies (Dublin)
M. Phil. in Intercultural Theology and Interreligious Studies (Dublin)
M. Phil. in Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation (Belfast)
Postgraduate Diploma in Conflict and Dispute Resolution Studies (Dublin)
M. Litt. Ph.D. programmes (Dublin and Belfast)
Further details on courses, fees and Scholarships at www.tcd.ie/ise
Feasta website
The Feasta website (Feasta - The Foundation for the Economics of sustainability) has been completely transformed! Pride of place on the home page is being given to the ideas being discussed amongst members and those in the wider Feasta circle rather than just to news about the organisation and a list of coming events. At least every second day, a new article or blog-type entry will be posted and readers will be invited to respond by making comments or writing a longer piece of their own. See www.feasta.org
Protesters disrupt Shell/Corrib Gas work
There were four arrests as work was stopped at Shell's compound in Aughoose, Co Mayo, for over 7 hours on Tuesday 3rd May. At 7 am that morning two people from the Rossport Solidarity Camp locked their arms together inside a plastic and concrete barrel, which had been placed directly in front of the gates of the Shell compound. This was eventually removed by 1pm by the Garda protest removal team. Following the removal of the lock-on, a tractor bringing borehole drilling rig to the Shell compound was stopped and two people climbed up on the tractor cab and the borehole drilling rig. They were removed by gardaÌ in what Shell to Sea have described as a dangerous manner since, among other factors, none of the GardaÌ involved wore any ropes, harnesses or safety equipment. Shell to Sea also report that while in custody in Belmullet Garda station, the only male of the four campaigners arrested was assaulted and received a punch in the ribs after he declined to consent to having his photograph taken. All people arrested were subsequently released without charge. See here.
The 'Party against the Pipe Festival' is on for the June Bank Holiday, 4th - 6th June at Pollathomas, Co.Mayo with bands, music, circus, dance, comedy, performance, crafts, kid's activities and a camping area. If you can help out, lend equipment or offer support, please get in touch with partyagainstthepipe@gmail.com or phone 085 - 1141170.
Human Rights lecture, Dublin
Gareth Peirce, the London solicitor who fought for the release of the Birmingham Six, Guildford Four, Maguire Family and Judith Ward, all wrongly convicted of IRA bombings in Britain in the 1970s, will give the Law Society's Annual Human Rights lecture on 10th May next in Dublin. It will be just 20 years since the release of the Birmingham Six after one of the most important appeal hearings in British legal history. Ms Peirce, who was portrayed by Emma Thompson in the film 'In the Name of the Father', has acted more recently for young British Muslims detained in Guantanamo Bay and for supposed terrorism suspects held without trial in Belmarsh Prison in London. Ms Peirce has recently published a book of essays entitled "Dispatches from the Dark Side - On Torture and the Death of Justice". She will talk about the subject of her book at the Law Society of Ireland, Blackhall Place, Dublin at 5.30 pm on Tuesday 10th May. The lecture will be chaired by High Court Judge, Mr Justice Garrett Sheehan and is open to the public; if interested in attending, please contact Joyce Mortimer by email at j.mortimer@lawsociety.ie
Leadership and Conflict Resolution course at Glencree
The course "Leadership and Conflict Resolution - Awareness, understanding and skills" will run at Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation, Glencree, Co Wicklow, from 28th - 30th June, 2011. Themes covered will include: Understanding and awareness of conflict dynamics; Creative approaches and skills for dealing with conflict; Planning and practicing negotiating; Styles and skills for good leadership. Course duration: Lunchtime 28th to lunchtime on 30th.
Who should attend? Youth & community workers, teachers and education practitioners, NGO workers from development, human rights, and peacebuilding backgrounds, students interested in conflict resolution and peacebuilding, group facilitators or anyone with an interest in leadership skills and exploring managing and dealing with conflict. Price: Ä280 including two nights accommodation and meals. See Glencree website www.glencree.ie for registration and more information or contact Eamon Rafter or Nicky Butler on 01 - 2829711.
Glencree website at www.glencree.ie gives a general run down on all the varied events and news at Glencree but you can also sign up to receive the e-mail edition of their newsletter by contacting Sue Paterson at Sue.Paterson@glencree.ie
Tools for Solidarity
Tools for Solidarity are celebrating their 27th spring this year and they are going green, even evergreen, thanks to the constant arrival of new volunteers, everkeen to "give a hand, not a hand-out" in the struggle to build a fairer world. Among the many charities who dedicate themselves to the cause of development and justice, Tools for Solidarity is one of the most endearing and certainly one of the most sustainable I know. Their business is the recycling and refurbishing of tools - from simple spanners and garden rakes to planes and sewing machines - to send, mostly, to Tanzanian craftsmen cooperatives and vocational training schools with whom they have built trusty relationships over the years. Ugandan skilled trades-men and women are some of the other important partners in this close cooperation. At the one end of this chain of solidarity, tools are collected from various private donators around Northern-Ireland and beyond, or dropped at the Workshops in Belfast and Downpatrick where they are refurbished by a dedicated team of local and international volunteers.
"Tools" hold regular 'open Sundays' at the Belfast workshop and we warmly invite you to come and have a look, a go or a word with us and see for yourself what it is all about. You can also make a difference yourself by giving a hand anytime or becoming a regular volunteer. Check our websites too for updates and position offers! - Thierry Michel. Tools for Solidarity, phone 028 90747473 or check us out at www.toolsforsolidarity.com
Amnesty calls on Ireland to sign treaty on violence against women
Amnesty International has welcomed the adoption of the Council of Europe Convention on preventing and combating violence against women and domestic violence. The treaty, which was adopted following two years of negotiations, will open for signature in Istanbul on 11th May. Colm O'Gorman, Executive Director of Amnesty International Ireland, said: "This is big step forward in preventing violence against women and girls right across Europe.
It would be a really positive gesture from the Irish Government if we were to sign this new convention next month. To do this on the day the convention opens for signature would provide a very real demonstration of support for women's rights." Research by women's organisations and Amnesty International shows that across Europe laws on rape and sexual violence are not enforced. In too many countries, domestic violence is still considered a social problem, rather than a crime. This treaty will help governments to prevent, investigate and prosecute violence against women. It will also encourage European states to share good practices and assist in securing women's equality before the law in Europe. It contains up-to-date models for legislation on the definitions of rape and sexual violence, domestic violence, stalking, risk assessment, protection measures and services for women and girls who are survivors of violence. www.amnesty.ie
Peace News summer camp
Peace News, the British nonviolence magazine, is again organising a summer camp if you fancy wandering in that direction. It'll be from 28th July to 1st August and taking place near Shrewsbury, Shropshire. The themes include Cuts and Community Organising, People Power and Solidarity; Building skills, Sharing skills etc; there'll be workshops and discussions, practical skills, vegan food, music, film, fun, a bar, campfires and activities for kids and families. The camp costs £15 - £65 depending on income and food (inclusive) will be £6 - £11 a day for adults. Further details available. Peace News, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DY, ph 020 7278 3344, e-mail peacenewscamp@gmail.com The Peace News website is at www.peacenews.info
"Pontanima" receives Pax Christi International Peace Award 2011
In the spirit of solidarity with the people of the Balkan region, the Executive Committee of Pax Christi International and the Cardinal Bernardus Alfrink Peace Fund have presented this year's award to Pontanima, the interreligious choir from Sarajevo, Bosnia & Herzegovina. It is widely acclaimed as an innovative peacemaking project, a shining representation of Bosnia and Herzegovina, and a major contributor to the country's cultural life. Their creative work towards peace and reconciliation in Bosnia and Herzegovina, in the Balkans and in other places of pain shows the positive peace-building potential of music, which heals suffering people, directs them to the future and reveals the authenticity of our faith. See www.paxchristi.net
PANA support 'Europe Day' demonstration
The People's Movement is organising a demonstration outside D·il …ireann on Monday 9th May from 12.30-2.30pm to protest against the government's Europe day. PANA is calling on all its supporters to take part. Roger Cole, Chair of PANA said: "Since 1996 PANA has campaigned against the gradual destruction of Irish Independence, Democracy and Neutrality and our integration into an EU which is being transformed treaty after treaty into a centralised, militarised, neo-liberal superstate. Its support for the NATO war on Libya, including the attempted murder of its leader and the killing of one of his sons and several of his grandchildren, is only the latest example of the kind of military future the EU has planned. The EU apart from justifying murder, has ensured that the ordinary people of this country are to suffer massive and continuing cuts in their living standards in order to bail out the EU bankers. What is the response of the Irish elite? It organises a Europe Day. What planet do these people live on?" For more information contact: Roger Cole, Chair of PANA on 087-2611597
or Seamas Ratigan, PRO of PANA on Tel:086-8369793. See also www.pana.ie
INNATE networking group meets next on Wednesday 18th May at 7pm in Corrymeela House, 8 Upper Crescent, Belfast.
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