The Raising Peace Festival is run by volunteers but we do incur some costs in running our events. We welcome any donations to support our work.
Raising Peace Festival!
Thank you for coming to the festival. We hope that you enjoyed it as much as we enjoyed bringing it to you. You can watch videos of all the festival events here.
Raising Peace features in an article in the Australian Muslim Times. AMUST editor in chief Zia Ahmad was a contributor to the Faith & Peace panel at the Festival.
About Raising Peace
You’re invited to join ‘Raising Peace’ a festival of over 30 organisations devoted to the importance of PEACE.
This festival will run virtually for 10 days from 16 – 26 September 2021. The dates are clustered around the International Day of Peace on September 21, the day on which the United Nations annually calls for 24 hours of non-violence and cease-fire.
Despite certain, contemporary leaders hearing ‘the drums of war’, the impulse for peace within the broad Australian community has a long history and remains strong. The organisers intend raising the profile of peace, to revive it as a topic of conversation, at a time when this is becoming an urgent need.
One remarkable feature of the coming event is the diversity of participants; it is a rare coming together of peace groups from widely different traditions. Two of the initiating groups (IVP and WILPF) each boast a century of work in the area. The third group (IPAN) a mere ten years.
Some 30 events will be featured – from ‘Indigenous Views on Peace’ to ‘Peacebuilding in Practice’. Raising Peace will explore the significance peace has to First Nations people, women, youth, refugees and the environment. It will look at the different ways we define and understand peace, from the absence of war to peacekeeping, peacebuilding and peacemaking.
Join us as we celebrate and express the necessity for peace through panel discussions, webinars, forums, workshops, films and more. Join us in moving towards a world that is less war-ravaged, more equal, just, inclusive, sustainable, humane and healthy.
☮ Peace Festival ☮
For now a taste of what to expect.
The program begins on the evening of 16th September with inspirational speakers at State Parliament Theatrette. The remainder of the program will take place online with, 20 peace organisations involved in a varied program of events: films, discussions, speakers, workshops. Each day will have a theme related to peace, including:
First Nations
Faith and Peace
International Day of Peace
Women Peace and Security
Environment, Asia-Pacific
Activism and Unionism
Disarmament and Anti-militarism
Law and Justice and Diplomacy
Co-learning and non-violence
Youth and Education
Migrants Refugees and Exiles
The Future of the Peace Movement
International Volunteers for Peace (IVP) and The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF, NSW) both celebrated their centenaries in 2020. They joined with the Independent and Peaceful Australia Network (IPAN), to hold Raising Peace, a series of events to mark those centenaries and draw attention to United Nations International Day of Peace (21st September).
The Peace Festival will include: exhibitions, speakers, discussion forums, workshops, films, music, activities and entertainment.
Participating organisations so far:
Australia West Papua Association, Australians for War Powers Reform, HandUp Congo, Independent and Peaceful Australia Network, International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons, International Volunteers for Peace, Maritime Union of Australia, Marrickville Peace Group, Medical Association for the Prevention of War, Pace e Bene Australia, Pax Christi, Peace and Conflict Studies Sydney University, Peacifica, PEN Sydney, People for Nuclear Disarmament, Religious Society of Friends NSW, Safe Ground, Sydney Knitting Nannas, Sydney Peace and Justice Coalition, Sydney Peace Foundation, Uluru Statement from the Heart, United Nations Association of Australia, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom NSW, Women’s Reconciliation Network, Initiatives of Change / Creators of Peace, Soka Gakkai International Australia, Rosemary Kariuki African Women’s Group NSW, Great Lakes Agency for Peace and Development International.
Event Overview...
Our Vision
This event will showcase and celebrate a broad range of initiatives, ongoing efforts and successes in promoting peace.
We will share knowledge, inspire, increase visibility, encourage new collaborations, attract and engage young people.
Aims
- Showcase the multitude of methods employed to work towards peace
- Draw attention to United Nations International Day of Peace (21 September)
- Strengthen collaboration and relationships between peace organisations, study centres and inter-related issues, eg. First Nations, Climate Change
- Engage with young people
- Explore a world where war is no longer an option
- Promote the delights of living in peace
- Promote understanding across cultures
His Excellency Mr Armando VARGAS ARAYA, Ambassador of Costa Rica, has agreed to be our keynote speaker at Raising Peace.
This is a relevant news article from the Canberra Times:
Costa Rica abolished its military. Other countries can too