Churches' Peace Education
Programme The current programmes of the Churches Peace Education
Programme (CPEP) are coming to an end this September. CPEP
has been based in Belfast and running since 1978; it has been
co-sponsored by the Irish Council of Churches and Irish Commission
for Justice and Peace (now Irish Commission for Justice and
Social Affairs which is itself being launched on 13th June),
between them currently representing 16 churches in Ireland.
As well as distributing a wide range of international
peace education materials, CPEP has produced a considerable
variety of original and much valued materials for use in primary
and secondary schools, including materials on human rights,
conflict resolution, affirmation and personal/emotional development.
There has also been a series for general adult education use
on "What the Bible says about...." peace, justice,
reconciliation, poverty, sectarianism, the stranger, the environment
etc. A separate programme has organised cross-community, cross-border
programmes for primary schools on cultural heritage.
The trustees from the churches have decided
to wind up the current CPEP programme at the end of September
(primarily due to the end of core funding) with the loss of
one full-time and two part-time jobs. A history of the project
will be written up and there will be consideration of a research
proposal to look at how the churches can best contribute in
the field of peace education and future directions for the
programme.
Churches' Peace Education Programme, 48 Elmwood Avenue, Belfast
BT9 6AZ, phone 028 (048 from Republic) - 90 66 29 92.
What will we eat as
the oil runs out?
Humanity's present food production and distribution systems
are heavily dependent on inputs of fossil fuels. Unfortunately,
many experts think that world production of cheap, easily-produced
oil will begin to decline within the next five years as the
oilfields from which it comes are depleted. Natural gas production,
so vital for the production of fertilisers, is expected to
begin to decline by 2025 for exactly the same reason. So what
will happen to food availability as a result? A major international
conference 'Food Security in an Energy Scarce World' is being
held in Dublin between June 23rd and 25th to find out. Organised
by FEASTA, the Foundation for the Economics of Sustainability,
in association with the Department of Environmental Resource
Management at the Faculty of Agri-Food and the Environment,
University College Dublin. There is an impressive list of
speakers, too long to print here but including Cait Curran,
Julian Darley, Richard Douthwaite, John Feehan, Anita Hayes,
David Holmgren, Seán McDonagh, Lori Stahlbrand. Full
details and a booking form for the event can be downloaded.
Full conference fee €350, limited concessions at €175.
FEASTA, 10a Lower Camden Street, Dublin 2, e-mail feasta@anu.ie
and phone 01 - 405 3615.
Chernobyl Children's
Project:
Summer respite, day care centre
Over 1,000 Children from the nuclear-affected Chernobyl region
in Eastern Europe are arriving in Ireland for summer holiday,
recuperative breaks with several hundred Irish families, allowing
them to spend time away from their radiation-contaminated
homeland. The children are being brought to Ireland by the
Chernobyl Children's Project's International Rest & Recuperation
Programme. Many are from orphanages in Belarus and the rest
from impoverished family backgrounds. Research undertaken
by the Chernobyl Children's Project International (CCPI) has
shown that taking the children out of their home environment
for even short periods of time can have hugely positive effects
on their overall health, well being, and life expectancy.
Meanwhile Zhitkovitchy Day Care Centre in Belarus
was recently opened in a CCPI lead project with half the money
from Development Co-operation Ireland and the rest from Pfizer
Ireland. The new ecologically designed centre will be an important
resource and provide a wide range of services in an extremely
poor area.
CCPI, Ballycurreen Industrial Estate, Kinsale
road Cork. Phone 021 - 4312999, or visit the website at http://chernobyl-ireland.com
(donations can be made securely on the website or via bank
transfer or cheque).
Partners in Transformation
- Peacebuilding and churches
Partners in Transformation (a project of the Irish School
of Ecumenics and Mediation Northern Ireland) has published
a "Digest of Peacebuilding Resources - for those working
with churches in Northern Ireland and the Republic of Ireland".
It is available on their website as a PDF
file and click on Peacebuilding resource Digest. This
52 page resource lists training and learning opportunities,
material for group discussion, support material, reference
material, and contacts. The aim of the Partners in Transformation
Project is to enhance, nurture, and support the capacity of
churches and faith communities in their calling to be peacebuilders
and agents of transformation. Partners in Transformation,
Irish School of Ecumenics, 683 Antrim road, Belfast BT15 4EG,
e-mail pitsec@tcd.ie and
phone 028 - 90 77 00 61.
Meanwhile, the Community Relations Council in
Northern Ireland has issued "Beyond Sectarianism
- the churches and ten years of the Peace Process",
a pamphlet which is the first in six reflections on the contribution
of the EU Peace II programme. It is available on the CRC website
at http://www.community-relations.org.uk
(click on 'EU News' and then 'Learning from Peace II' and
follow on down).
CAJ - Committee on the
Administration of Justice
CAJ is issuing its latest policing report (9th June) on the
work of the District Policing Partnerships, and Clifford Shearing
of the Patten Commission will be speaking at the launch about
a vision for community policing. A third report in the series
of commentaries on new policing institutions - on the work
of the Police Ombudsman - is with the printer. Three of the
four "Cory" inquiries will be underway into the
murders of Robert Hamill, Rosemary Nelson and Billy Wright
with the launch of the last of these on 22 June. No formal
date has been given for the inquiry into the Pat Finucane
murder but the coming into force of the new Inquiries Act
on 7 June paves its way. Most observers believe that the new
legislation is intended to restrict the possibility of getting
at the truth of this case (and indeed many other issues where
Ministers might otherwise be subjected to effective public
scrutiny). As part of a broader coalition, CAJ hosted an event
(31 May) addressed by Alan Hevesi, NY State Comptroller, who
argued that investment should address social objectives if
it is to undermine and not exacerbate inequalities and a legacy
of disadvantage and discrimination. For details about how
to join the campaign to uphold human rights in NI contact
CAJ, 45-47 Donegall Street, Belfast BT1 2BR; info@caj.org.uk
and web http://www.caj.org.uk/
Phone 028 - 9096 1122.
Meath Peace Group
"Paramilitarism, Criminality and the Good Friday Agreement"
will be the focus of the next Meath Peace Group public talk
to be held on Monday 20th June at 8pm in the Ardboyne Hotel,
Navan, Co. Meath (note venue). The principal speaker will
be the Minister for Justice, Michael McDowell, TD. For further
information contact meathpeace@hotmail.com
and you can also phone 01 - 8259438. Reports and/or summaries
of most of the previous talks held are available on the group's
new website at http://www.meathpeacegroup.org
Identity and Citizenship
The 3rd Annual International Conference organised by the Centre
for Peace Building takes place at the Downings Bay Hotel,
Co Donegal from 23rd - 24th June, on the theme 'Identity and
Citizenship - Contested space'. Speakers include Melanie Verwoerd
(South Africa ambassador), Senator Martin Mansergh, Steven
King, Shalini Sinha and Patsy Dan Rodgers. Admission is free.
To register your interest contact; 074 - 91 54 892 or e-mail
peacecentre@eircom.net
Centre for Peace Building, An Teach Bán, Downings,
Co Donegal.
Have a Gr8 time
If you're involved in the 'Make poverty history' demos coming
up (Dublin 30th June 6.30pm at the Spire, and the biggie at
Edinburgh Saturday 2nd July) or the Wednesday 6th July demo
at Gleneagles itself, good luck, and may the nonviolent force
be with you. There are all sorts of contacts for this - just
ask near where you are. For things in Scotland and UK see
e.g. Peace News for June, or http://www.g8alternatives.org.uk
or http://www.indymedia.org.uk
INNATE nonviolence
We're sometimes so busy covering what everyone else is doing
that we don't share what we're up to. INNATE is an informal
nonviolence network which has its main presence in Belfast.
INNATE provides assistance with resources and training on
nonviolence and related areas. The monthly newssheet, Nonviolent
News (10 issues a year) aims to cover what a range of peace,
campaigning, human rights and solidarity groups are doing,
North and South, east and west, on the island of Ireland.
The monthly meeting of the Belfast networking
group, usually on the third Monday of the month but check
for details, provides an opportunity to network and plan work
on a variety of areas in the field. Most recently INNATE was
involved in another conference on the arms trade, co-sponsored
with the Peace People, and is planning other meetings for
the autumn.
Belfast networking group of INNATE meets next
on 20th June, at 7.30 pm in 7 University Avenue, Belfast.
Anyone interested welcome, come and plan the future, queries
to 90 64 71 06.
Nonviolent
News is usually produced 10 times a year (on
paper) and extended e-mail and web editions
Subscriptions for the printed edition
are; UK£5 or €8 minimum
(£3 or €5 unwaged or you
can have Nonviolent News e-mailed (suggested donation
£2 or €3 minimum).
Additional donations welcome and vital
to keep INNATE afloat. Submissions are welcome - the
deadline for the next issue is noted on the left.
You can browse through previous issues
from the menu on the left.
