Jewish, Christian, and Muslim Perspectives on Peace and Justice: Part Three
Join us for Session Three presentations by Shakil Choudhury, Educator and Consultant, Anima Leadership, Nancy Kelly, retired Lutheran pastor, and Louisa D’Amato, a news reporter from the The Record and member of the local Jewish community.
Project Ploughshares, in partnership with the MSCU Centre for Peace Advancement, Conrad Grebel University College and St. Jerome’s University, presents
Canada and the Global Arms Trade
How weapons exports may fuel human rights violations and armed conflict
Chair: Cesar Jaramillo, Project Ploughshares
Panelists
Hilary Homes, Amnesty International Canada
Steven Chase, The Globe and Mail
Kenneth Epps, policy advisor to Project Ploughshares
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.
Despite widespread opposition, the process moves onwards with the Bill C-23 called the “Fair Elections Act”. End of March, it passed second reading in the House of Commons by a vote of 149 to 131 – with all opposition parties and independent MPs voting against it. If passed into the Fair Elections Act, it would: eliminate vouching, disallowing voter ID cards as valid identification of residence, change regulations surrounding campaign financing, limit the ability of Canada’s chief electoral officer to speak publicly, and more.
April 23rd at 7 p.m. at W-K United Mennonite Church in Waterloo, we are hosting “Is Fair Elections Act Fair?” Awareness Panel to talk about the impact of the proposed changes for low-income people, seniors and youth, Aboriginal population, people with disabilities, homeless.
W-K United Mennonite Church
15 George Street, Waterloo ON N2J 1K6 [map]
A special event to mark UN World Water Day that includes a poster exhibition, two keynote speakers and a career fair.
Keynote speakers are the CRI’s Water Grandmother Cecelia Brookes and Dr. Monique Dube.
The Water Institute and its graduate student group SWIGS are marking UN World Water Day with a day-long event that includes a poster exhibition, two keynote speakers and a career fair. Join us, our WLU partners from Laurier Institute for Water Science and the Cold Regions Research Centre as well as some of the Water Institute’s External Partners in the EIT building.
Host: The Water Institute Event website: World Water Day 2014 Location: EIT – Centre for Environmental and Information Technology
Room 1015, 200 University Avenue West, Waterloo, ON N2L 3G1 Canada
You are invited to a special screening of Pandora’s Promise.
There will be a short introduction by Dr. Peter Poruks, Ph.D., Manager of Regulatory Affairs, the Canadian Nuclear Association, who will also be available for questions following the screening.
This screening is open to all students and the public.
Impact Partners, in association with Vulcan Productions and CNN Films, presents PANDORA’S PROMISE, the groundbreaking new film by Academy-Award®-nominated director Robert Stone. The atomic bomb and meltdowns like Fukushima have made nuclear power synonymous with global disaster. But what if we’ve got nuclear power wrong? An audience favorite at the Sundance Film Festival, PANDORA’S PROMISE asks whether the one technology we fear most could save our planet from a climate catastrophe, while providing the energy needed to lift billions of people in the developing world out of poverty. In his controversial new film, Stone tells the intensely personal stories of environmentalists and energy experts who have undergone a radical conversion from being fiercely anti to strongly pro-nuclear energy, risking their careers and reputations in the process. Stone exposes this controversy within the environmental movement head-on with stories of defection by heavy weights including Stewart Brand, Richard Rhodes, Gwyneth Cravens, Mark Lynas and Michael Shellenberger. Undaunted and fearlessly independent, PANDORA’S PROMISE is a landmark work that is forever changing the conversation about the myths and science behind this deeply emotional and polarizing issue.
PEACE & JUSTICE STUDIES ASSOCIATION STUDENT CONFERENCE 2013
Thursday, October 17, 2013 – 8:00 pm to Saturday, October 19, 2013 – 7:00 pm
What is PJSA?
The PJSA (Peace and Justice Studies Association) is a non-profit organization formed in 2001. It is a professional association for scholars in the field of peace and conflict resolution studies. It is the North American affiliate of the International Peace Research Association. This year, the PJSA Conference is co-hosted by Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) and Conrad Grebel University College (CGUC, UW). The conference starts on Thursday Oct 17th, 8:00 pm, ends on Saturday Oct 19th, at 7:00pm
The conference will take place at both Wilfrid Laurier University (WLU) and Conrad Grebel University College (CGUC).
Two actions, two events: Petition against tax evaders, Citizens’ Climate Lobby, Israeli settlements, Dorothy Day documentary
Here’s the latest newsletter from Eleanor Grant:
Hello KW peace and justice supporters.
Two Events and two Actions:
ACTION 1 on Tax Evaders:
The G8 meeting this week in Northern Ireland will discuss a public registry to prevent individuals or corporations hiding their income or profits behind shell companies. But to implement this much-needed plan, the G8 needs unanimity. CANADA can either be the reason it fails, dooming us all to billions in extra taxes, or it can be the champion that ensures the deal passes.
In early May we passed the milestone of 400 parts per million of carbon in Earth’s atmosphere. This trend must be reversed if there’s to be a sustainable future on this planet.
There will be an initial meeting, at the organizer’s home, on Sat June 1, with lots more to follow. If you’d like to get involved in this, please let me know and I’ll put you in touch.
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EVENT 1 on Israeli Settlements:
Thurs May 30, 7 to 9 pm,
UW Student Life Centre, Multi-Purpose Room:
EVENT 2 on Dorothy Day, founder of the Catholic Worker movement:
Tues June 4 at 7 pm,
Queen St Commons (43 Queen S Kit):
Documentary Screening: DON’T CALL ME A SAINT
Local sponsor Isaiah Boronka writes: Dorothy Day’s life and the movement she founded exemplify an approach to issues surrounding peace and justice that place an equal emphasis on personal commitment & change as on social change – her remarkable life and the movement she helped start has had a profound influence on many, including KW’s own Working Centre.
Community accountability was the buzzword of this year’s School of Public Interest, titled ‘(En)gendering Resistance: Exploring the possibilities of gender, resistance and militancy.’ The weekend long conference, organized by the Waterloo Public Interest Research Group at the University of Waterloo, was an engaging, though sometimes disjointed, community affair which played host to a diversity of feminists from across southern Ontario and beyond, converging around the question of gender liberation.
