Welcome to country by Nathan Moran, Chief Executive Officer of the MLALC The Metropolitan Local Aboriginal Land Council is a significant organisation in our community, we seek to become the most highly visible and most recognised Aboriginal organisation in the Sydney Metropolitan Region. Metro’s continued existence and strength is an important symbol and a vital […]

Uluru Statement: Truth Telling: led by Thomas Mayor, facilitator Session 2 – Uluru Statement from the Heart with Thomas Mayor, facilitator Thomas Mayor is a Torres Strait Islander man born on Larrakia country in Darwin. As an Islander growing up on the mainland, he learned to hunt traditional foods with his father and to island […]

First Nations and environment:   Session 3 Yarning with Mother Earth – caring for country. An interactive Panel discussion led by Bruce Shillingsworth. Panelists -  Michelle Aleksandrovics Lovegrove – Facilitator Michelle is a Ngarrindjeri woman born in Port Augusta, South Australia and brought up in the Illawarra region of New South Wales. Her family and heartland […]

Led by Nicole Laupepa and including Antar and WRN   Session 4 – Yarning - Walking Together – an interactive session led by First Nations colleagues and settler Australians – exploring how we continue to ‘walk together’ for peace with justice in the nation of Australia. Panelists -  Michelle Aleksandrovics Lovegrove – Facilitator Nicole Laupepe Yaama […]

The Third Harmony tells the story of nonviolence, humanity’s greatest (and most overlooked) resource. “To be nonviolent is be an artist of your humanity,” says Palestinian nonviolence leader and founder of the Taygheer Movement, Ali Abu Awwad, in a new documentary about the power of nonviolence and a new vision of human nature. Drawing on interviews […]

People of faith from the Christian tradition and from other faith traditions will speak about how their faith inspires them to work for peace. After short talks, there will be breakout rooms to talk further with a faith leader about their and others’ faith journeys. Speakers on the panel: Rev Dr Chris Walker is a […]

Enjoy listening to a selection of songs from Ecopella, a NSW based choir of people passionate about the environment, peace, social justice.  For information:   miguel@ecopella.org Visit the following link for more information:  https://miguelheatwole.bandcamp.com/ See Raising Peace YouTube here! Tickets from: Eventbrite

We'd love you to drop in to mingle and chat with other Festival attendees. Share your stories and hopes for a peaceful future and yarn about what you have experienced in the Festival so far. Get a ticket now or just drop in - we will share the links to all Festival attendees.   There […]

Anti-militarism activists and an academic will explain how they feel about Australia’s military posture, its engagement in warfare, and the costs and consequences of its alliance with the USA. They will discuss the militarisation and ‘securitisation’ of society, and consider whether these take the nation towards a peaceful future, internally and internationally. Nuclear risks, risk […]

Part of ICAN’s Ban School, this session will focus on the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, zooming in on the campaign in Australia and looking ahead to map the movement that wins. We’ll talk political advocacy, local government, superannuation funds, education and more. Visit the following link for more information: https://icanw.org.au/banschool You can […]

The Urgent Need for a “Killer Robot” Ban SafeGround, as lead organisation of the Campaign to Stop Killer Robots – Australia, hosts this session on the dangers of fully autonomous weapons, or ‘killer robots’ the international efforts to introduce a new treaty to address the weaponization of AI and the Australian context. Join us for […]

The keynote address for Raising Peace will be delivered by His Excellency, Mr. Armando Vargas Araya, Ambassador for Costa Rica. Ambassador Vargas will be introduced by Emeritus Professor Stuart Rees AO. Stuart Rees is Professor Emeritus of the University of Sydney, founder, inaugural Director of the Sydney Peace Foundation, awarded the Order of Australia ‘for […]

The United Nations Association of Australia (NSW) will be conducting a panel discussion on the International Day of Peace focused on the official UN theme for the Day: Recovering better for an equitable and sustainable world As we heal from the COVID-19 pandemic, we are inspired to think creatively and collectively about how to help […]

We'd love you to drop in to mingle and chat with other Festival attendees. Share your stories and hopes for a peaceful future and yarn about what you have experienced in the Festival so far. Get a ticket now or just drop in - we will share the links to all Festival attendees.   There […]

The United Nations Association of Australia (NSW) brings you a webinar on the United Nations' role in maintaining international peace and security. It will cover a range of topics, including: The UN Charter and Universal Declaration of Human Rights United Nations principal organs The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) Department of Peace Operations Action for Peacekeeping […]

Séverine Autesserre is an award-winning author, peacebuilder, and researcher, as well as a Professor of Political Science at Barnard College, Columbia University. She is the author of The Trouble with the Congo, Peaceland, and The Frontlines of Peace, in addition to articles for publications such as Foreign Affairs, International Organization, and The New York Times. […]

The project is aimed at building trust and mutual understanding between the Sydney communities from the Great Lakes region, which were damaged by years of conflicts in the region. Reconnecting and re-establishing the cultural and social values of good neighbourhood that existed between the Great Lakes of Africa communities.   This presentation is to provide information […]

This event is hosted by the Sydney Peace & Justice Coalition which emerged during the 2002-03 campaign against the invasion of Iraq; and Australians for War Powers Reform which is also a response to the Iraq Invasion. Panellists include former Greens Senator Lee Rhiannon, Peter Murphy, Alison Broinowski Tickets from: Eventbrite

What sort of a future dare we imagine for Afghanistan and its people? If we step beyond the confines of the Western democratic project, of political Islam or other similar totalising ideological projects, what could Afghanistan become? Join our all-Afghan panel as we ask one of the most pressing questions of the day. The initially relatively peaceful […]

We take for granted the right to publish and say whatever we want but that’s not a given in so many places. Around the world writers are persecuted for courageously pursuing their craft. PEN International works to protect them and to free them from prison. In this lively conversation you’ll learn about and hear the work […]

WILPF is presenting a conversation about the value of the National Action Plans that meet the UN Resolution 1325+. These Action Plans are calling for attention to help women have a voice and the security they need to be able to flourish in their community.   Panel speakers:  Barbara O’Dwyer, WILPF Canberra Barbara O’Dwyer has a […]

We'd love you to drop in to mingle and chat with other Festival attendees. Share your stories and hopes for a peaceful future and yarn about what you have experienced in the Festival so far. Get a ticket now or just drop in - we will share the links to all Festival attendees.   There […]

Launched in 1991, Creators of Peace is just one of several transformational programs of Initiatives of Change www.au.iofc.org/creators-of-peace, a global network of men and women from many different nations, cultures and religions active across more than 50 countries, all working for a peaceful, just and sustainable world, based on the principle that ‘Change starts with […]

‘Rosemary’s Way’ of Connection Hear the background story of the film ‘Rosemary’s Way’ …how for two decades, Rosemary Kariuki has helped refugee women in Sydney’s west, escape domestic violence, financial distress, isolation and integration into Australian life. Rosemary, the 2021 Australian Local Hero of the Year, is the centre of this emotional and intimate documentary […]

Permaculture is a wholistic approach and can be an influence on creating community and recovering from trauma. For years Blue Mountains Permaculture Institute has been teaching its course in war-torn or recovering countries - as a peace tool towards a culture of Peace. The results from Viet Nam, Cambodia and more recently Afghanistan (until this […]

Knitting Nannas presents 'Give Peace a Dance' The Knitting Nannas is a non-violent activist group, involved in revealing truths to motivate Australian citizens and politicians to take action resolving climate change. You don't need to be a nanna or knit to get involved in uplifting activities towards a positive solution. Join us to learn how […]

Peacebuilding takes many forms. Across the Pacific and Asia, thousands of people and organisations dedicate themselves to preventing violence, negotiating peace and confronting the physical and human legacies of past conflict. In this session, hosted by Peacifica, we will hear from people working in the region and in Australia to build peace in both familiar […]

Facilitated by Tim Costello AO, this panel will explore how new approaches are required to address the climate crisis, and the challenges it creates to peace and security.  The discussion should cover the impact of the climate crisis; the military’s contribution to Greenhouse Gas Emissions; the military response to the crisis, and the implications of […]

Join us for a lively, interactive discussion on what can be learned from successful grassroots peacebuilding strategies in the Democratic Republic of Congo and beyond. The panel will base their discussion on “The Frontlines of Peace: An Insider’s Guide to Changing the World” by Séverine Autesserre. This book was launched in Australia on September 22, […]

International Volunteers for Peace presents a short film of interviews with returned volunteers showing how the experience opened their eyes and hearts. IVP is a member of two International Voluntary Service networks, a movement that began after the first world war in an effort to avert another such catastrophe ever happening again.  Our founder, Pierre […]

In response to the growing awareness of the need for more widespread peace education at all levels, we started with a vision, within our own immediate context, ‘that students and educators in all Christian schools in Australia and New Zealand, of any denomination, will be able to learn about, experience and be invited to live a […]

How can young people work for peace in their everyday life?   ‘Peace’ can seem a daunting and intangible concept located in the realm of academia and global policies, with little practical relevance to our daily lives. Yet, young people across Australia are finding ways to incorporate peace into their daily lives, their social relationships and […]

Marlene Cummins: Musician / Artist / Actor / Broadcaster / Story Teller and a Proud Guguyelandji and Woppaburra Woman.  Marlene was born in the southwest Queensland town of Cunnamulla, and spent her formative years in Winton growing up under the cloud of the Aboriginal Protection Act of the 1950s and 60s. Marlene had a ‘grassroots’ […]

At a time of escalating global crises, a peaceful world has never seemed more important, or felt so far away. But as the Raising Peace festival has shown, Australians are doing so much good work in the cause of peace, from First Nations justice to anti-nuclear advocacy to environmental activism and countless acts of grassroots […]

We'd love you to drop in to mingle and chat with other Festival attendees. Share your stories and hopes for a peaceful future and yarn about what you have experienced in the Festival so far. Get a ticket now or just drop in - we will share the links to all Festival attendees.   There […]

We started our long weekend of looking for alternatives to Australia's increased militarisation to achieve security for all by listening to First Nations perspectives, taking in the Frontier Wars, Aboriginal Diggers, Blackbirding and the impacts of violence on the Gadigal people. The Gadigal of the Eora Nation and their neighbouring clans were the first to […]

The theme for the second day of Raising Peace’s ANZAC weekend (Sunday April 24) was "Alternatives to Australia's security narrative".  Mainstream discussion of the nation’s security is usually limited to talking about defence and the best ways of ‘defending’ Australia, militarily. The most recent manifestation of this approach to security has been the announcement of […]

Our long weekend of peace concluded with discussions of alternative ways forward. We were honoured to have as speakers Professor John Langmore AM, Chair of the Initiative for Peacebuilding at the University of Melbourne and Alison Brionowski AM, former diplomat, author and President of Australians for War Powers Reform. John and Alison discussed the role […]