Afri’s Féile Bríde
This event, a time for celebration and reflection in the spirit of Brigid’s message of justice, peace and hope, will take place on Saturday 7th February and the venue is Solas Bhríde Centre, Kildare Town. More details will be available on the Afri website and fuller details will appear (just before the event) in the February Nonviolent News.
Ukraine and peace with Nicolas Pitsos
Nicolas Pitsos is a member of the National Executive of Le Mouvement de la Paix, the largest peace movement in France, and one of the major peace movements in Europe. He has been invited to speak at a public meeting at 7.30pm on Wednesday 21st of January in Connolly Books, 43 East Essex Street, Dublin by Irish CND & PANA. On Wednesday 22nd of January from 2-3pm he will have a meeting with members of the Oireachtas. Nicholas will focus on the crisis in the Ukraine. For more information contact: Roger Cole, Chair of PANA, ph 087-2611597. http://www.pana.ie and http://irishcnd.org
NIEL warns on Northern budget cuts for environment
Northern Ireland Environment Link has warned about the possible devastating effect of cuts in environmental spending in Northern Ireland due to the 2015-16 budget. It warns that “Proposed cuts to the Department of the Environment are disproportionate compared to other departments. Many of the organisations that look after your environment are at risk of a 100% cut.” They detail the importance of environmental issues for economy and society. NIEL calls on people to write to the Department of Finance and Personnel and the Department of the Environment (they provide sample text); see here
Peace course in Bangor, Co Down
A 10 week Peace Education Programme called The Art of Knowing Yourself begins Thursday 22nd Jan at 6.45pm in Bangor Library, Co Down, and runs weekly for 10 weeks every Thursday. Each session lasts about an hour. Admission is free and all are warmly invited. This global programme, developed by the Prem Rawat Foundation, offers the opportunity to explore innate qualities we all have within us. The format of the evening is very simple. Those attending watch video presentations about a specific subject each week, and there are opportunities for quiet personal reflection between the different video clips. Click here for the Facebook link to the invitation. Contact John McClean at johnemcclean@gmail.com for more information.
Eco-Congregation in Letterkenny meeting
Leading climate scientist,Emeritus Prof John Sweeney of NUI Maynooth, will be keynote speaker at the next event of Eco-Congregation Ireland (ECI), which will take place in the Regional Cultural Centrein Letterkenny on 13thFebruary 2015 at 7.30pm. All are welcome to this event which will be co-hosted with theRaphoe Justice, Peace and Integrity of Creation Group. Prof Sweeney is currently leading a research programme into the impacts of climate change in Ireland and into the production of climate scenarios for Ireland for mid and end century. “Time is running out for taking decisive action to avoid dangerous climate change,” says Prof Sweeney. “In Ireland political paralysis and vested interests are preventing us from meeting our agreed international obligations. As individuals and a society our ethical responsibilities demand we take seriously what is generally agreed to be the major problem of the 21stcentury.” Following Prof Sweeney’s talk, members of two eco-congregations will give short presentations about the steps they have taken to ‘green’ their churches. ECI will be asking for a suggested donation of €10 to cover costs. See here for more information.
Another missed deadline on the Climate Bill
Afterpitiful progress was made at international climate negotiations in Lima in December, campaigners have said they are disappointed to see yet another deadline pass on the introduction of climate legislation in Ireland. The Climate Action and Low Carbon Development Bill was expected to be published in mid-December but it was dropped from the Cabinet’s agenda and will now only be published in January. Commenting, Coordinator of Stop Climate Chaos, Ciara Kirrane said:
“Deadlines set by government for the introduction of the climate Bill have been repeatedly missed over the past 2 years. Phil Hogan said the Bill would be introduced by the end of 2013 and .... the Taoiseach said it would be published before the end of the current Dáil session. Moreover, the Statement of Government Priorities for 2014-2016 committed to the enactment of climate legislation before the end of 2014. The slippage is disappointing and frustrating, considering we are now two years without a climate strategy.”
She continued “What we now need to see in January is a prioritisation of the Climate Bill. We also need to see significant improvements in many important areas of the Bill, especially relating to how low-carbon is defined and whether the advisory committee is trulyindependent. The Bill must, at a minimum, take into account the recommendations of the Joint Oireachtas Committee on the Environment, Culture and the Gaeltacht who consulted widely on the draft Bill last year and arrived at a set of recommendations that were agreed to by all parties.”
Further information is available at http://www.stopclimatechaos.ie Follow SCC on Twitter @SCC_Ireland and on Facebook
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