2024 was another year of ‘heavy going’ for those believing in nonviolence and the nonviolent resolution of conflict. Wars in Sudan, Ukraine and Gaza – and in particular European, including often Irish, responses to these illustrated a staggering lack of humanity, imagination and any meaningful resolve in moving to deal with them and then beyond them to grapple with the wider tragedies of global heating and global poverty and injustice.
In relation to INNATE’s media work, Nonviolent News was published in its full 10 monthly issues, with news supplements for the other two months. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/category/nonviolent-news/ Issues for the email and web editions were typically 12 pages; the paper edition is just the first two pages of news. There is a huge amount of other material on the website and some of it is listed there (see home page). INNATE also published an account of Laura Coulter’s peacebuilding work in Northern Ireland context as a pamphlet, Building bridges, Bridging gaps https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/Laura-Coulter-Building-Bridges-Final-24.12.pdf
The INNATE photo and documentation site https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland seems to have become an overnight success – after 16 years! Before August 2024 there had been typically 1,000 photos opened a week (you can see photos without opening them but to see the accompanying text or more details in the photo then it needs clicked on to open). The rate at which photos have been opened tripled or quadrupled in August and the period since then. There are 56 album topics on the site including a new one on Lex Innocentium/The Law of the Innocents 697 CE / 1997 / 2024. The INNATE coordinator spoke on Irish peace history at the Birr launch of Lex Innocentium 21st C. https://lexinnocentium21.ie/
StoP/Swords to Ploughshares Ireland, an anti-militarist and arms trade network which INNATE was involved in setting up in 2020 on an all-island basis, continued its work including trying to raise the issue of protection of the ‘Triple Lock’ on the deployment of Irish troops overseas which much of the Irish establishment, including Fianna Fáil, is so keen to ditch in an effort to be ‘good Europeans’ (= believers in EU militarisation) and NATO fellow travellers. Through involvement with Afri, the INNATE coordinator was part of a presentation on the Triple Lock to an Oireachtas committee. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/53739610022/in/dateposted/
Although FOR England was the lead party in a webinar with Majken Jul Sørensen on nonviolent resistance in the context of Ukraine, based on her pamphlet on that topic, INNATE was a sponsor of this, along with Cymdeithas y Cymod in Wales, and initiated the discussion which led to the webinar. https://innatenonviolence.org/wp/2024/04/02/the-possibility-of-nonviolent-resistance-in-the-contemporary-world/
INNATE also hosted political philosopher Ramin Jahanbegloo during a visit to Northern Ireland in November in which he spoke at events for the Hume O’Neill Chair of Peace at Ulster University, Conflict Textiles, and INNATE, including an INNATE webinar on Nonviolence and Democracy Building. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sp0OJ8mH2fA We have also been involved in discussion to help find suitable speakers on Northern Ireland for a major peace conference in Germany.
Meanwhile peace movement materials from and collected by INNATE covering nearly fifty years and which were donated to PRONI, the Public Record Office in the North, are being catalogued – 481 pages to date….
While wider work on peace trails has been in abeyance since Covid, there were numerous Belfast city centre and Ormeau peace trail walks run for individuals and groups, including one for the Migrant Centre Peace Project for whom we will be running a workshop on approaches to conflict in early 2025. https://www.flickr.com/photos/innateireland/54080114989/in/dateposted/ As usual there was an INNATE summer social event in Belfast.
INNATE exists on a financial shoestring, is entirely voluntary, and depends on subscriptions and donations to keep the lights on, and we appreciate people’s generosity. A financial statement is available on request. There is the opportunity for anyone anywhere to be involved with work supporting INNATE, and most meetings are held remotely; if you might be interested in looking at involvement, we can have a chat. We also welcome unsolicited articles and photos for possible publication.
Rob Fairmichael, Coordinator, February 2025