Glencree peace walk, leader post vacancy
On Sunday 24th September the inaugural Glencree Peace Walk will take place to coincide with International Day of Peace. A group of friends of the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation will be walking from Glencullen to Glencree to raise funds to support its peacebuilding work and to highlight the need for alternatives to violence to resolve conflict. The walk will take place between 12pm and 5pm and will consist of a 10km stretch of the well-marked Wicklow Way from Glencullen to Glencree, shortened by a bus transfer at the end to the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation. Walkers will gather at the Boranaraltry Bridge 3km west of Glencullen village off the R116. After the walk, there will be refreshments at the Glencree Centre, and a bus transfer back to Glencullen. If intending to walk please sign up by emailing peacewalk@glencree.ie. The Glencree Peace Walk Facebook page will also signpost you to the everydayhero.ie charity fundraising website where you can set up a fundraising page. Glencree would like people who are volunteering to walk to aim to reach a fund-raising target of €200 each or as much as you can. See glencree.ie
Glencree are looking for a new Chief Executive to replace Will Devas who is leaving. Deadline is 27th September. See online application form.
The Annual General Meeting (AGM) will be held in Glencree on the 15th September at 4.00pm. The 2016 Annual Report will also be launched and there will be an opportunity to hear about Glencree's work and plans for the future. Everybody is welcome. Please rsvp to info@glencree.ie if you are attending.
Community Relations Week in North
There are many different events all over the North for Community Relations and Cultural Awareness Week which runs from 18th – 24th September and includes International Day of Peace on 21st September. The programme – nearly 140 events of a wide variety of kinds, listed under council area - can be found on the Community Relations Council website at where you can view the events directly or download the printed brochure.
INNATE's contribution is its Belfast city centre and Ormeau peace trail walk, from 4pm – about 6pm on Thursday 21st September, starting at St Anne's Cathedral, Donegall Street and finishing at Park Road/Ormeau Road: booking essential to innate@ntlworld.com or phone 028 90647106.
MNI: Conflict resolution course
Resolve is Mediation Northern Ireland's Resolution Coaching programme. Paul Hutchinson will lead a three day Resolution Coaching Training for MNI on Monday 25th September, 2nd October and 9th October. Time: 9.30 - 4.30. Cost: £325. Location: 83 University Street, Belfast. Course Places:8. See MNI website mediationnorthernireland.org under 'Training' for more details or contact Robert@mediationnorthernireland.org
War-Torn Children at Verbal Arts Centre, Derry
This exhibition of arpilleras, photographs and posters, commissioned by the Verbal Arts Centre, Derry/Londonderry, theverbal.co highlights the devastating impact of war on children, their families and communities. It is an adaptation of War-Torn Children exhibited at the Linen Hall Library, Belfast, in the spring and at CB1 Gallery, Limerick (commissioned by Doras Luimní), in July. The arpilleras are drawn from Conflict Textiles, the photographs from Fundació Ateneu Sant Roc (Catalonia) and the posters from INNATE.
UN international treaty prohibits nuclear weapons
On 7th July at the United Nations in New York, negotiations which started back in March came to a climax with the adoption of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons. With only one vote against and 122 in favour, the outcome showed the determination of the vast majority of the world's states to increase the momentum towards the abolition of nuclear weapons.
Although the negotiating conference was boycotted by the nuclear weapons possessors and many of their allies, the treaty has been hailed by campaigners as a significant step in de-legitimising nuclear arms by declaring it illegal to "develop, test, produce, manufacture, otherwise acquire, possess or stockpile nuclear weapons or other nuclear explosive devices", to threaten their use, or to assist others in their development. This explicit prohibition closes a loophole in the 1970 Non-Proliferation Treaty, which has been exploited by nuclear-armed states to avoid their disarmament obligations under that treaty. irishcnd and www.icanw.org This item appeared in the August news supplement of Nonviolent News. See also editorial and 'Readings' in this edition.
Countering Incitement to Hatred conference, Belfast
"Defining public duties to tackle incitement to hatred whilst respecting free expression: Reviewing the legal & policy framework " is a conference taking place on Friday 13th October in Belfast hosted by the Equality Coalition in partnership with the George J. Mitchell Institute for Global Peace, Security and Justice at QUB, to address the 'threshold' and 'intervention' questions increasingly defined in human rights law as to when public authorities can or must act against speech and cultural expression in order to protect the rights of others. The conference will include both international and local speakers. Please RSVP to events@caj.org.uk and see caj.org.uk
The invaluable Housmans Peace Diary
Housmans Peace Diary is an invaluable publication and aid to movements working for peace, social justice and the environment. The regularly updated directory lists over 1500 national and international human rights organisations as well as diary features such as a week to a view, notable dates and anniversaries etc. This is the 65th annual edition. The feature this year is on anti-militarist approaches to the end of war, how new movements and symbols emerged from World War 1, and at a century of building reconciliation and resistance. One copy of the diary is £8.95, postage is £1.50 extra per diary for 1-4 copies in UK postage area, £3 postage per diary elsewhere. Discounts for more copies. Housmans, 5 Caledonian Road, London N1 9DX, ph 020 7837 4473, orders@housmans.com or to order online Despatch of diaries from October onwards.
INNATE will have a limited number of Housmans Peace Diaries for sale.
The World Peace Directory is also available online in a fuller version. It is worth reading the background information on the website to get the best use out of it.
White poppy for peace
The 'Remembrance season' in Britain and Ireland is getting close and, for those who wish, the opportunity to remember those who died in wars and make a statement for peace at the same time by wearing a white poppy. The Peace Pledge Union in Britain sells white poppies (profits support their work) at 5 for £5.00, 10 for £10.00 or 25 for £20.00, plus £3 post and packing for orders under £20 (UK postal area prices). You can also see www.ppu.org.uk where other resources on war and peace are also available, including a "Remembering war – searching for peace" set of documents which looks critically at the whole area of remembrance. PPU, 1 Peace Passage, London N7 0BT, ph 020 7424 9444.
INNATE has a limited number of white poppies available.
Brexit and the environment
NIEL/Northern Ireland Environment Link and its members have created a dedicated Brexit working group entitled the NIEL Brexit Coalition (NBC) to assess and respond to the challenges and opportunities associated with Brexit. Four working groups have been established - Sustainable land-use; Nature and Environmental Protection; Marine and Fisheries; and Advocacy, Campaigns and Communications. As part of NI Environment Week 2017, NIEL will be hosting a seminar to discuss the latest developments on Brexit on Monday 11th September at Lough Neagh Discovery Centre from 9:00am - 1:15pm; go to www.nienvironmentlink.org and search for 'Brexit'.
Meanwhile The Environmental Pillar in the Republic have welcomed a Seanad report "Brexit: Implications and Potential Solutions" – which calls for Ireland to be "considered a single bio-geographic unit" amid fears that UK and EU regulation in this area "may fall out-of-sync" once Brexit negotiations are concluded. See here
Creation Time and Kerry JPIC
Those of a Christian bent, or indeed others, may be interested in Creation Time which runs currently – see info and newssheets on the Eco-Congregation Ireland website During September the Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Committee of the Diocese of Kerry has organised three events and drawn up a leaflet with this year's focus on Cherishing God's Gift of Food, providing practical ways to reduce food waste. Time for Creation opened on 1st September with a celebration of World Day of Prayer for the Care of Creation. The second event on 12th September is on Reducing Food Waste and Composting, Simple Practical Ways, and the third on 28th September is Being Creative with Leftovers, A Cookery Demonstration. A leaflet gives suggestions for parish events all based around cherishing food and reducing food waste including having a parish picnic, and buying local and seasonal products.
Schools global education in the North
The Centre for Global Education's flagship education project, the Global Learning Programme (GLP), is recruiting more schools this term. 35% of all schools in Northern Ireland are already participating in the programme, which helps schools embed education for a fair and sustainable world. Each participating school is provided with guidance, resources and CPD training for one nominated teacher. The next round of GLP training will take part in November at a choice of locations: Belfast, Dungannon, Derry, Ballymena, Newry and Newtownards. To find out more or to register, please visit www.globallearningni.com. or contact the GLP team on glp@centreforglobaleducation.com
National Mitigation Plan: Big disappointment
Friends of the Earth and the Stop Climate Chaos Coalition both expressed major disappointment on 19th July that the Irish government's National Mitigation Plan regarding climate change was a damp squib. Commenting, Friends of the Earth Director, Oisin Coghlan said: "....it's very disappointing, ......There's no end date set for burning peat and coal electricity for example, two measures that the Government was first advised to do 19 years ago......There's nothing concrete on supporting small-scale solar to actually enable communities take part in the energy transition by making schools, sports clubs and parish halls into locally owned power plants, something the Taoiseach himself says he supports.....The bottom line is that this plan fails the fundamental test of a climate action plan, it doesn't say how much pollution will be reduced as a result of the actions it lists.....So we will have to wait for the new Planning Framework, the new Capital Investment Plan, the new Renewable Energy Policy and Budget 2018 to see if the Government is actually serious about translating this shift in rhetoric into real action."www.foe.ie
Stop Climate Chaos said "While the Plan lists 106 actions, Stop Climate Chaos, a coalition of 32 organisations campaigning for climate action in Ireland, said that due to the absence of new concrete policies across polluting sectors, the Plan does little of substance to change Ireland's reputation as a climate laggard.
"The Plan fails to take account of the damaging environmental, human and reputational effects of failing to take immediate action. The Government's narrow framing of decisions on Ireland's response as a mere question of costs is also deeply troubling. The Plan presents the scope of climate action as almost entirely reliant on minimising short-term costs and not on the positive impacts that reducing pollution would deliver – both in terms of meeting Ireland's climate obligations and delivering societal and environmental benefits.
"On reviewing the document, Catherine Devitt of the Jesuit Centre for Faith and Justice, a spokesperson for the coalition, commented:
'The finalised Plan does not reflect the level of action that Ireland committed to when it ratified the Paris Agreement just eight months ago. It fails to offer anything new in terms of substantive and just climate action. This will have significant environmental and human costs, affecting the poorest communities here in Ireland and abroad' ...
"Ireland is the third highest producer of emissions per person in the EU, and eighth in the OECD with polluting emissions increasing by 3.7% in 2015.
"Ireland is only one of two countries in the European Union which will miss its 2020 emission reduction targets."www.stopclimatechaos.ie
Church and Peace: Office move, regional conference
From 1st September 1st the international office of Church and Peace is at: Mittelstraße 4, D-34474 Diemelstadt-Wethen, Germany, ph +49 5694 9905506, fax: +49 5694 1532. The website address remains www.church-and-peace.org
The regional conference for Britain and Ireland takes place on Saturday 28th October, 10.30 – 16.00 at Quaker Meeting House, 40 Bull St, Birmingham B4 6AF when the topic is "Peace Church in a world of conflict? Answering the biblical call to nonviolence". The event is free of charge. A vegetarian soup and sandwich lunch can be booked at a cost of £7.00. To register, please send your name, contact details and the name of your church/meeting/organisation, as applicable, also whether you want lunch. Individual participants are welcome. Send to: Barbara Forbes - forbesbarbarae@yahoo.co.uk
Mediation Awareness Week 7th - 14th October
Mediation Awareness Week is coming up very soon so anyone planning an event within the week should please send the details as soon as possible to info@mediationawarenessweek.ie for listing.
New research shows residential solar power is powerful
Well, you might not assume it in Ireland but new research by climate policy expert Joseph Curtin has found that solar panels on homes and businesses can make a significant contribution to Ireland's switch to clean energy. The cost-benefit analysis was commissioned by Friends of the Earth in advance of the Government's new support scheme for renewable electricity, which is due to go to public consultation. The study finds that support for solar power on 50,000 homes can be done at a reasonable cost and in a fair way, and addresses a number of concerns about small-scale solar. Friends of the Earth says it means the Taoiseach and the Minister for Environment must keep their promise to support solar power for ordinary citizens not just big business. For further details see online and other news items on the website.
Engaging citizens in community led transitions
An Taisce, Feasta, the Green Foundation Ireland and Cultivate are co-ordinating a conference on this topic on Friday 22nd September - 10.00 - 16.30 at WeCreate Workspace, Cloughjordan Ecovillage, Tipperary. This conference, which is part of a research project by members of the Environmental Pillar on Citizen Engagement, will bring together researchers, NGOs, and community activists to explore this question. This is an invitation-only event: to request an invite convergence@cultivate.ie and info at www.feasta.org
Convergence festival: Coming together....
...for a healthier, happier, more sustainable future. Convergence Festival 2017, 16th – 30th September, celebrates Ireland's response to the global challenges we face — through transformative, community-led approaches to meet our climate targets and implement the UN's Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) for a fair, healthy and low-carbon future. Across Ireland, citizens, social enterprises and communities are already using social innovation, co-production and collaborative consumption to strengthen resilience, foster their local economies, and create new jobs in areas such as food, transport, energy, education, housing and waste. Join the conversation in Dublin, Carlow, Cloughjordan, Galway, Cork and Limerick. Full details and booking www.cultivate.ie phone 0505 560561 or convergence@cultivate.ie
Death of Dawn Ruth Nelson
We very much regret to record the death of Dawn Ruth Nelson of Pennsylvania, USA on 21st August, aged 65. A Mennonite pastor, Dawn was formerly a member of the then Mennonite community in Dublin and, among other things, involved with the (coincidentally named) predecessor to INNATE, 'Dawn' magazine.
Death of David Bleakley
We regret to record the death of David Bleakley, who died in Belfast in late June, aged 92. He was well known in political and church circles, and had various involvements which have been recorded in mainstream obituaries. However, he also saw himself as a peace activist and was, for example, a member of the (now defunct) Fellowship of Reconciliation in Ireland (FORI). His wife, Winnie, predeceased him.
INNATE Survey
INNATE has a questionnaire marking 30 years and all responses will be appreciated to assist INNATE in continuing and developing its work on peace and nonviolence. Please see www.surveymonkey.co.uk/r/GT6KT8H
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