Building a movement for peace
Quakers' historic efforts to build a more peaceful world take a new turn this month as six young people begin new work in a unique scheme to build movements, run by Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW).
Steve Whiting, of QPSW, explains, “Quakers have 350 years' experience of working for peace. One of the ways we do this today is through our peaceworker scheme. We employ one-year workers and place them with peace organisations to support their work at local, regional and international level. The peaceworkers are paid and gain experience to help them build a career in the field of peace. The idea is to strengthen relations in the peace movement."
The scheme has been running for around 20 years. Around 50 peaceworkers have taken part in the UK.
New peaceworkers will begin shortly:
- Three begin work at Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) in Geneva. They are Cat Baker as Programme Assistant, Human Rights and Refugees;
- Cassie Moll as the Peacebuilding and Climate Change Programme Assistant;
- Nora Meier as the Food and Sustainability Programme Assistant.
- Philip Wood will work with Scientists for Global Responsibility, in Lancaster;
- Hannah Larn with the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Foundation for Peace (TPJBF4P); and
- Sarah Robinson with War Resisters' International and Campaign Against Arms Trade in London.
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I believe our responsibility to address these issues begins at home
- Sarah Robinson
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They are all enthusiastic and determined to make a difference. Sarah Robinson summed up their motivation, saying,
“I believe that issues of peace and economic and social justice are intimately interconnected and that our responsibility to address these issues begins at home.
"As such I am very excited and grateful to be given this opportunity to work for two such excellent organisations focusing both on what we can do to change our own actions to make the world a better and safer place and international solidarity."