COP26 events…….
There are a huge number of events taking place connected with the climate conference in Glasgow, with Saturday 6th November being the main ‘Day of Action for Climate Justice’ worldwide https://cop26coalition.org/gda/ If there is nothing visible happening locally, search and DIY…. In the Republic you can try getting in touch with One Future local action groups https://www.onefuture.ie/ The following events are all Saturday 6th November – Belfast: Corn Market at 12 noon, and making its way to Belfast City Hall for speeches at 1pm, it will conclude at 2pm. Cork: 12:00 noon outside the City Library, 63 Grand Parade. Derry: Gather in Waterloo Place in Derry from 1.30pm for stalls, 2pm Rally and March. Dublin: 12:00 noon at the Garden of Remembrance, Parnell Square East, marching to Leinster House (contact cop26coalitionireland@gmail.com) Galway: 12 noon at Spanish Arch. Limerick: 12 noon at Bedford Row.
Specifically on the considerable military element of global warming (amazingly, not currently counted in national emissions figures) there is an event in Glasgow on 4th November with involvement from World Beyond War and Codepink among others. You can also join lots of events online if you do a web search.
MII conference: …….building resilience and relevance…….
The annual Mediators’ Institute of Ireland conference takes place online on Friday 3rd December from 13.30 – 17.30. The theme is “A year like no other, building resilience and relevance for 2022 and beyond: building business and personal resilience to enable our mediation practice to thrive and grow.” The keynote speakers are Cinnie Noble on “New Beginnings – it’s time to write a new story”, Jeremy Lack on “Applying neuroscience to resilience-building: opening new avenues in cross-border conflicts”, and Justice Paul Kelly on “The changing face of mediation in the courts system”. The conference fee is €50.00 and the full details and booking link will be available on the MII website at https://www.themii.ie/
Irish peace movement history: Bits and peaces
INNATE has two online seminars coming up in November on Irish peace movement history – one about Northern Ireland, the other about international peace work. The webinar on Northern Ireland is at 7.30pm on Wednesday 17th November; the webinar on international peace work in Ireland is at 7.30pm on (the following) Wednesday 24th November. A number of speakers will talk for about ten minutes followed by small group discussion. The speakers on Northern Ireland are Ann Patterson, Anne Carr, Derick Wilson, Geoffrey Corry, Mari Fitzduff and Michael Doherty. Their involvements include the Peace People, Women Together, Corrymeela, Glencree, community relations, and the Peace and Reconciliation Group in Derry. Speakers on international peace issues are Joe Murray, John Lannon, Patrick Comerford, Peter Emerson, and Sylvia Thompson. Their background includes Afri, Shannonwatch, CND (both in the North and the Republic) and peace and ecology. A resources list of publications and weblinks will be circulated to participants (with an opportunity for additions to be made….) To book, 1) Send an e-mail to innate@ntlworld.com clearly stating whether you wish to attend the first, second or both seminars. 2) Please also indicate if you wish to be in a discussion group with a particular speaker and INNATE will try to facilitate this. See also attachment with email edition – and Editorial in email and web editions.
AVP looking for volunteers
AVP/Alternatives to Violence Project are delighted that they have been able to resume in person work and are recruiting new volunteers willing to start the training in the coming months. One Zoom information session about this has already taken place and another is on Tuesday 23rd November at 7pm (for an hour). If you want to attend please contact the coordinator dorothee@avpireland.ie Alternatives to Violence Project is a community of volunteers inside and outside prisons who run experiential workshops in conflict resolution and restorative practices. AVP is for anyone who wants to learn to build better relationships, prevent conflict and resolve it. See also https://avpireland.ie/
ICCL challenges Special Criminal Court
The Irish Council for Civil Liberties has published its submission to the Independent Review Group on the Special Criminal Court which is examining it half a century after its establishment as an emergency measure. ICCL is calling for the immediate abolition of the Court. ICCL highlights six areas of particular concern: the lack of a jury; the dual role of judges as both judge and jury; the extensive powers of the DPP; claims of privilege by gardaí; and the acceptance of beliefs and inferences as evidence. ICCL states that the right to a trial by a jury of one’s peers is a strongly-protected Constitutional right in Ireland. ICCL believes there is little evidence to suggest that jury intimidation is widespread, but if so, this is an issue which should be addressed by measures such as anonymous juries and by legislation at every level of the courts system. See the website at https://www.iccl.ie/ for more details and link to the full 65-page submission.
Housmans Peace Diary 2022
This invaluable aid for peace, social justice and environmental activists contains a World Peace Directory of around 1500 organisations along with the other features that you would expect from a paper diary, including notable dates and space for your engagements. The feature this coming year is on ways that smaller communities can resist being bullied by larger neighbours, and how they can be deterred from invading them. Individual copies are UK£8.95 (reduction for 10 or more copies) plus £2 postage charge for UK or £6 elsewhere. For ordering and further details see www.housmans.com/peace-diary
– The World Peace Directory is also available online at http://www.housmans.info/wpd/ in a fuller version. It is worth reading the background information on the website to get the best use out of it.
Nonviolence in Action: WRI centenary conference
War Resisters’ International is running various online events on the theme “Nonviolence in Action: Antimilitarism in the 21st century” in the period 20th – 28th November; This includes: 1) 100 years of resisting war and its causes, Saturday 20th November 2-4pm UTC with speakers Wolfgang Hertle, Joanne Sheehan, Roberta Bacic and Igor Steck 2) ,Resisting militarism today, Sunday 21st November 2-4pm UTC with speakers Ray Acheson, Dr. Sam Perlo Freeman, Rosa Moiwend, and Mamoun Abdallah. 3) Workshops during the week 4) Sustaining our resistance, Saturday 27th November 2-4pm UTC with speakers Stellan Vinthagen, Sarah Reader & Carrie Hou, and Andrea Ixchíu. 5) Discussion: What’s next? A space to reflect on the future of the antimilitarist movement, Sunday 28th November 2-4pm UTC. Details and booking at https://wri-irg.org/en/nonviolence-in-action Participation is free with a suggested donation of €10/£10 towards costs..
Church and Peace: War is contrary to the will of God
Church and Peace have, along with others, launched a peace appeal “War is contrary to the will of God”. This is in relation to the 2022 World Council of Churches Assembly (WCC) which is to be held for the first time in Germany. The aim of the appeal is for the churches to clarify their positions on Just Peace, nuclear weapons, arms exports and military budgets in the run-up to the Assembly, to courageously contribute to the church and public discussion, to seek dialogue with grassroots and to make clear demands on politicians. See www.ohne-ruestung-leben.de/friedensappell2022 There is a link to sign the appeal, and an English translation is available.
Global Learning and International Development ………
A new book by Centre for Global Education (CGE) Director, Stephen McCloskey, “Global learning and international development in the age of neoliberalism” argues that the international development sector is in crisis which can be mostly sourced to its side-stepping the dominant development question of our age, the neoliberal growth paradigm. It argues that this crisis can be addressed, at least in part, by the sector’s re-engagement with the radical development education process that it helped to foster and sustain for over two decades. For publishers see https://tinyurl.com/nssczuv4 and for CGE see https://www.centreforglobaleducation.com/
Pax Christi: Policymaker’s tool…for sustainable peace
Pax Christi International has launched a new 42-page “A Policymaker’s Tool for Effective, Nonviolent Strategies for Sustainable Peace”. Aimed for policymakers (and all those who want to make nonviolence a matter of policy), it is a short brochure illustrating how nonviolence at the policy level has been proven effective around the world. It can be downloaded at https://paxchristi.net/2021/10/19/new-publication-policymakers-tool-for-nonviolence/
PSNI@20: Reflections on Policing North and South
The joint CAJ-ICCL conference “PSNI@20: Human Rights Reflections on Policing Reform North and South” takes place on Friday 5 November from 9.30am – 1.30pm in Belfast. In-person tickets are sold out but you can join online through www.bit.ly/psniat20 See also https://caj.org.uk and https://www.iccl.ie/
– Regarding Garda reform, ICCL has said that that proposals for improved garda oversight are essential to the garda reform process and must not be watered down. More details at https://www.iccl.ie/2021/rights-group-says-strengthening-of-oversight-essential-to-garda-reform/
The Matrix (vote)
A detailed report on the process of electing an all-party, power-sharing government of national unity, run in relation to Germany through a role-play exercise using a matrix vote, is available on the de Borda Institute website at http://www.deborda.org/home/2021/9/24/2021-14-a-matrix-vote-for-germany.html with explanatory notes.
PSNI security for Dalradian
Controversy has arisen over the PSNI waiving a £437,000 bill for security provided to Dalradian, the company attempting to develop gold mining in the Sperrins. This includes security for explosives. See https://www.facebook.com/SaveOurSperrins/ and https://tinyurl.com/yj3nv3ck
Northern Eco-Congregation gathering
There is an Eco-Congregation online gathering for all those interested in the Northern Ireland/Ulster region on Saturday 4 December 2021, 10.30am – 12.00pm. This event is open to those in the Northern part of the country who are interested in learning how to start their church’s eco journey, work towards their ECI Award and develop their work into the future. Contact info@ecocongregationireland.com to book a place and you will be sent the Zoom link closer to the time. See also https://www.ecocongregationireland.com/