We are again doing a potluck, so bring a dish to share and let me know if there are any dietary needs we need to be aware of.
A reminder of what we’re about: We are meeting as participants in local peace groups and social justice groups to collaborate, share, learn, and brainstorm!
To prepare for this meeting, please brainstorm some ideas of what we want the goals and/or mission of this group to be, so we can agree on a common purpose and direction.
We are pushing the symposium back a half hour because of a book launch that Project Ploughshares is hosting. Project Ploughshares and the Centre for Peace Advancement are presenting the launch of Ernie Regehr’s book, “Disarming Conflict: Why peace cannot be won on the battlefield.” This event is on the 4th floor of the Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel in the gallery space. Feel free to stop by before our symposium event!
The symposium will be held from 5:30-7:30, also on the 4th floor of Conrad Grebel in the Centre for Peace Advancement, in the Fretz Seminar Room.
Who’s involved in the Kitchener-Waterloo Peace and Social Justice community? And do we all know each other? Emily Mininger from PeaceQuestKW wants to meet us all, and is hosting a Peace and Social Justice Symposium:
From: Emily Mininger <e.mininger@gmail.com> Date: Thu, 8 Oct 2015 20:40:54 Subject: Kitchener Waterloo Peace and Social Justice Community Symposium
Hello!
You’re invited to a Peace and Social Justice Community Symposium. We’re inviting different groups active in the area of peace and social justice in the KW community to come together, share their work and experiences, and brainstorm about future possibilities for collaboration in an effort to obtain a “snapshot” of the KW Peace and Justice community as it is currently. We have many people in the KW community working for peace and justice, and there is a wealth of knowledge to be shared. Come participate in this community conversation and help us learn together.
This event is taking place at Conrad Grebel University College on October 29th. The program of the evening will run from 5-7pm 5:30pm – 7:30pm and include introductions, a brief roundtable about who people are and what work they do, discussions about challenges and strengths of working in the KW community, and brainstorming common goals and possible avenues for collaboration.
Local Peace Group Hosts Panel Discussion “Is War Ever Black and White?”
By Emily Mininger
April 14, 2015
Waterloo, ON — Local peace group PeaceQuest KW is hosting a panel discussion event “Is War Ever Black and White? Recolourizing the Reality of War on April 30th at Stirling Mennonite Church.” This free public event is features speakers Marlene Epp, professor of History and Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Waterloo; John Siebert, Executive Director of Project Ploughshares; and Andrew Thompson, Director, Amnesty International Canada Board.
As we are currently in the midst of commemorating the 100th anniversary of World War I, PeaceQuest wants to use this as an opportunity to raise conversations about working towards peace. April 22nd- May 25th marks the 100th Anniversary of the Battle of 2nd Ypres, and so PeaceQuest KW seeks to hold a conversation about the complex nature of war around this prominent anniversary. To quote PeaceQuest KW facilitator Emily Mininger, “Instead of glorifying our past conflicts, we should be motivated by horrific violence to ensure that it never happens again. PeaceQuest encourages Canadians to reflect on how we can learn from these tragedies to build a brighter future.”
Much of the time, news and popular media, war is painted as a black and white image- us vs. them, evil vs. good, hero vs. villain. As we’re commemorating the 100th anniversary of WWI, the “Great War” is often depicted as a just and noble war in which we heroically defeated the evils of the Central Powers. But is that really the case? Can a conflict that caused the deaths of over 9 million combatants and 7 million citizens truly be noble?
This panel discussion hopes to dig into a complicated reality, as we replace the monochromatic commemorative narrative with a full colour version that illustrates the true complexity of war from WWI to our present conflicts.
This event is being hosted in collaboration with PeaceQuest, Stirling Mennonite Church’s Peace and Justice Working Group, the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement at Conrad Grebel University College, and Educators for Justice.
Our next KW Peace meeting is on Thursday, 7 April 2016 from 6:00pm to 8:00pm at Stirling Avenue Mennonite Church Fellowship Hall, 57 Stirling Avenue North
CC0 – Public Domain license. 
