Ours is the age of turbulence. Climate change is now an existential threat, and so are nuclear weapons. Then we have the long list of armed conflicts, terrorism and the war on terror, rising inequalities of wealth and income, ethnic cleansing and genocide. massive refugee flows and spiralling environmental crises. Adding insult to injury is the rising tide of mindless nationalism, xenophobia, and populist extremism.
But there are promising signs. A treaty to ban nuclear weapons is in the making. Those working for it won the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize. Regardless of government policies, a new ecological consciousness is taking root in most parts of the world, while in virtually every country action on climate change is is under way. And on so many other fronts we see evidence of greater awareness and a renewed willingness to act.
One of the more inspiring developments over the last 20 years is the fledgling movement to rethink the whole question of war and peace. In law, the UN system, labour and social movements, academia, churches and other religious and ethical traditions new voices are calling for a shift from ‘Just War’ to ‘Just Peace’. It is clearly time to question the just war tradition that has informed theology, ethics more generally and international law for the last several centuries.
This project., sponsored by a wide range of organisations and individuals, is part of that movement (details here). It is heralding a new approach to peace ― a deeper understanding of safety.
There is more to safety than protection from physical violence. As the Oxford dictionary tells us, to be safe is to be free of injury, to be healthy, to be whole. Crucial though it is, the absence of war and other physical violence is not enough. Poverty, humiliation, discrimination also injure and maim. And it is not just the living that have a right to safety, so too do future generations. In any case, it is the safety of all living species that must inform our consciousness and our actions.
So the peace we envision is one that is both just and ecologically sustainable – a peace that responds to the cries of the poor, and the cries of the Earth.
Easier said than done, you may think. Our aim is ambitious yet modest. This project explores new directions, new ways of thinking and acting, by placing the focus on Australia. It seeks to create new opportunities for Australians to engage in an emerging a global conversation. The task is demanding yet doable.
We believe a conversation informed by the notion of just and ecologically sustainable peace can help us rethink:
- the relationship between Indigenous and non-Indigenous Australians
- the way we shape our economy and environment
- our long-standing dependence on imperial power, military alliances, and the use of force
- our engagement with the peoples of Asia-Pacific and the diverse cultures and faiths that make up contemporary Australia.
How will our project do this? Through a multifaceted program of dialogue, educational and cultural events that will flesh out a new approach to peacemaking and peacebuilding as an alternative to just war thinking.
The highlight will be a landmark Conference "Earth@Peace" to be held on 23-24 April 2019. Open to all who care for the Earth and humanity’s future, this highly interactive Conference will comprise:
- Presentations by leading experts setting out their perspectives on a ‘just and ecologically sustainable peace’ – they include Professor Heather Eaton (Canada), Professor Chaiwat Satha-Anand (Thailand), Professor Bruce Pascoe (Indigenous Australian);
- Interviews and panel discussions with other leading thinkers;
- Working Groups addressing some of the most crucial questions we face, leading to concrete recommendations for consideration by the whole conference;
- A discussion involving 12 leaders and experts, using a "hypothetical" format, who will be asked to consider the ethical and practical implications of an Australian government attempting to apply the principles of a just and ecologically sustainable peace to our foreign and security policies.
The Conference will be preceded by:
- A public forum 'A World at Peace with Itself: Elusive dream or achievable goal?' that reviews current thinking on the shift from 'just war' thinking to the idea of 'just peace'. The forum will focus on Australia's past and future.
- A four-page pamphlet for wide distribution setting out the current state of thinking on the notion of a ‘just and ecologically sustainable peace’, and its implications for Australia’s domestic and external policies.
The Conference will be followed by:
- A Cultural Evening (open to the public) featuring poetry, art and music around the themes canvased at the conference
- A six-week art exhibition featuring the work of one of the world’s leading peace artists, William Kelly (https://williamkellyart.weebly.com/biography.html) – to be launched at the Conference
- A special showing of William Kelly's Big Picture. Why do oppressive governments first try to silence artists? What is it about art that frightens warmongers so much? Can art temper violence when politics and reason fails? Can art stop bullets? Through the voices of some of the world’s most socially engaged artists and thinkers, William Kelly’s Big Picture explores these questions in the search for an alternative path for humanity. The film is expected to be released around April-June 2019.
- A book with a leading international publisher aimed at the academic and policy-making communities setting out the principles of a just and ecologically sustainable peace and its practical implications for national and international governance, law, diplomacy and interfaith and intercultural dialogue
- An attractive publication accessible to a wider public, featuring art, poetry and short essays based on the themes of the conference.
- A book launch for both publications
- An intensive one-day workshop for teachers and educators presenting a model teaching and learning program around the notion of ‘just and ecologically sustainable peace’ which could be delivered to senior school students, and an expanded version suitable for undergraduate and postgraduate students.