NoWar2019 Pathways to Peace – Limerick, Ireland October 5-6

limerick | anti-war / imperialism | event notice Tuesday August 27, 2019 20:52 by pana - World Beyond War

World BEYOND War’s fourth annual global conference on the abolition of war will be held on Saturday and Sunday, October 5th and 6th, in Limerick, Ireland, and include a rally on the 6th at Shannon Airport, where U.S. military forces routinely pass through in violation of Irish neutrality and of laws against war.

We’ll be marking the completion of the 18th year of the endless war on Afghanistan, as well as the 150th birthday of Mohandas Gandhi.

See list of 2019 speakers at https://worldbeyondwar.org/nowar2019speakers

You can read about and watch videos of past conferences here: 2018 Toronto, 2017 Washington, 2016 Washington.

Location: Great National South Court Hotel
Address: Raheen Roundabout, Raheen, Limerick, V94 E77X, Ireland. Google map. https://www.google.com/maps/place/South+Court+Hotel/@52.6275764,-8.6662686,495m/data=!3m2!1e3!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x485b5b441083546f:0x784601fc6db2c241!8m2!3d52.6275732!4d-8.6640799
Timing: 9 to 6:30 Saturday October 5th, and 9 to 2:30 Sunday October 6th, followed by 3:00 to 5:00 rally and tour at Shannon Airport.
Shannon Airport Address: M3XP+V4 Lismacleane, County Clare, Ireland. Google map. https://www.google.com/maps/place/Shannon+Airport/@52.6996605,-8.9168798,17z/data=!3m1!4b1!4m5!3m4!1s0x485b41dad0f8b40b:0x6bf3c305b024f8dc!8m2!3d52.6996573!4d-8.9146911

Facebook event to share. https://www.facebook.com/events/1319757461513723/

Tweet to re-tweet. https://twitter.com/WorldBeyondWar/status/1155822027938439170

Instagram post to like. https://www.instagram.com/p/ByDTqJkgDO4/

Registrants for the conference can get reimbursed by World BEYOND War for travel cost to get there and back, up to 50 euros. Registrants can also get a discounted rate to stay at the hotel Friday and/or Saturday evenings, and can stay additional nights at the standard rate. Or particpants can stay at our Peace Camp for free! Details on these and other options are at our rides and lodging board.

Limerick is easily accessible from Shannon Airport or by bus from Dublin Airport.

AGENDA:

Saturday October 5

9:00 to 10:00 a.m. Welcome and hear from World BEYOND War organizers from around the world: Leah Bolger, Greta Zarro, Barry Sweeney, Liz Remmerswaal Hughes, Joseph Essertier, Tim Pluta, Heinrich Buecker, Al Mytty, et alia.

10:00 to 11:15 a.m. Nonviolence: The Foundation of Peace
Mairead Maguire, Kathy Kelly, Vijay Mehta.
Moderator: Pat Elder.

11:45 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Irish Neutrality & the EU
Roger Cole, John Maguire, Clare Daly.
Moderator: Barry Sweeney

1:00 to 2:15 p.m. vegan lunch provided.

2:30 to 3:45 p.m. Human and Environmental Rights: Sanctions, Wars, and Refugees.
Maya Evans, Foad Izadi, Pat Elder.
Moderator: Liz Remmerswaal Hughes

4:00 to 5:15 p.m. Participatory Workshops and Discussions

1) Divestment 101
Greta Zarro, Aine O’Gorman.
Grassroots-led war divestment campaigns are springing up all over the world, from students organizing to divest university endowments from weapons manufacturers and war profiteers, to municipalities and states coming together to divest public pension funds from the war machine. In this workshop, we’ll talk through the steps needed to start up a divest campaign in your community. Using examples from fossil fuel and weapons divestment campaigns, we’ll identify effective strategies & tactics for engaging community members and influencing decision-makers.

2) Youth Activism and Peace in Schools
Luke Addison, Vanda Proskova.
This interactive workshop will explore ways in which young people can be introduced to peace activism. Luke Addison and Vanda Proskova will co-host this open floor workshop which will facilitate ideas on how to grow youth campaigns in your area and delve into ways to give youth a voice so that young people can actively participate in peace activism. The workshop will be educational as well as interactive, so that everyone will get to experience and discuss the life of a young peace activist.

3) Creating a Culture of Celebrating Peace
Liz Remmerswaal Hughes, David Swanson
Participants will examine the ways in which our cultures celebrate peace or war. We’ll brainstorm ideas for creating or reinvigorating peace holidays, heroes, actions, symbols, art, and public acknowledgments. How can peace and the courageous work of opposing war be made more present and influential in our daily lives? We will strategize around one or more ideas and report on our proposals to the full conference.

4) Activism to End the War on Afghanistan
Kathy Kelly, Maya Evans, Hakim Young
This skill building workshop will draw from experiences of Dr. Hakim and the Afghan Peace Volunteers regarding their efforts to foster critical thinking about crucial questions they face. One primary question asks why military strategies are still the accepted ‘norm’ in Afghanistan (and the world). Hakim will describe skills and actions the Afghan Peace Volunteers develop as they work to promote, in the long term, an end to war in Afghanistan. Maya Evans, who coordinates Voices for Creative Nonviolence in the UK, will provide information to help us understand the typical life of an Afghan woman. Kathy Kelly will discuss how individuals and non-governmental groups, primarily in the west, can make reparations to Afghan people for the suffering world governments have caused, by assisting efforts to heal the environment, reduce income inequalities and promote unarmed peacemaking.

5) Closing Bases to Protect the Environment
Pat Elder, Glenda Cimino.
U.S./NATO war-making has contaminated the land, water and air around the world while poisoning millions. These installations routinely consume and recklessly discard staggering amounts of lethal and carcinogenic materials, some that will poison humanity for a thousand generations. Participants will be asked to bring their laptops or share computers with others to research their government’s adherence to international protocols like the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants. They’ll explore ways to research contamination in their own backyards. Participants will research military status of forces agreements, (SOFAs) to understand the responsibilities of the U.S. military and their home government regarding environmental contamination. Activists will be directed to complete a template to be used to draft letters to local, national and EU officials demanding additional information, compliance with existing accords, and/or the development of more stringent national and/or local laws.

6) Using Music to Build the Movement
Laura Hassler
In this interactive, participatory workshop led by the Director of Musicians Without Borders, and limited to 30 participants, those taking part will learn skills to make use of music in their activism to end war. Musicians Without Borders’ working principles are: safety, inclusion, equality, creativity, and quality. In this ‘taster’ workshop, Laura Hassler will lead participants in participatory exercises exemplifying these principles and introduce various approaches within the training program.

5:30 to 6:30 Reports Back From Workshops
Moderator: Marc Eliot Stein

8:30 Film screening and discussion with the filmmaker: Palestinian Refugees in The Lebanon: No Direction Home, by Peadar King.

See list of speakers.

Sunday October 6

9:00 to 10:15 a.m. Demilitarising Security: Closing Bases, Outlawing the Arms Trade
Mairead Maguire, Dave Webb.
Moderator: David Swanson

10:30 to 11:45 a.m. Activism to Abolish War
John Reuwer, Kristine Karch, ______.
Moderator: Foad Izadi

12:00 to 1:15 p.m. Plans for Shannon and Ireland Today and in the Days to Come:
Barry Sweeney, ed horgan, Tarak Kauff, Kenneth Mayers, John Lannon.
Moderator: Leah Bolger

1:15 to 2:30 p.m. vegan lunch provided.

3:00 to 5:00 p.m. Rally and tour at Shannon Airport.

Informal networking, strategizing, and open-mic Sunday evening at Peace Camp near Shannon and Monday morning.

See lots more including videos at https://worldbeyondwar.org/nowar2019/