PEACE

Individuals have international duties which transcend the national obligations of obedience. Therefore, (individual citizens) have the duty to prevent crimes against peace and humanity from occurring. ~Nuremberg War Crime Tribunal, 1950

peace sector activities held in January 2024

MLK Peace event 21 January, 2024

Compassionate Ballarat partnered with Let’s Talk Peace Ballarat to contribute a webinar discussion as part of the Martin Luther King David 40 Days of Peace program which is an annual event organised by the global Charter for Compassion. This event was entitledTurning ‘the dream’ of Peace into Action, One Compassionate Step at a Time and featured speakers David Hartsough, Founder of World Beyond War; Tim Hollo, Executive Director of the Green Institute; and Gem Romuld, National Director, ICAN. David Hartsough has been working actively across the globe for nonviolent social change and peaceful resolution of conflicts since his personal encounter with Dr Martin Luther King Jr. and he shared his experiences on practicing nonviolence and in taking tangible and compassionate steps toward a peaceful world during.

You can listen to the inspiring presentations here: 40 Days of Peace – Turning ‘The Dream’ of Peace into Action One Compassionate Step at a Time (youtube.com)

peace sector activities held in January 2022

Global Read: Peace in an age of chaos - Steve Killelea, AM

With Let’s Talk Peace Ballarat and the Global Charter, the ACC supported the first Global Read for 2022 with Steve Killelea’s book – Peace in an Age of Chaos. This book outlines the elements of Positive Peace and provides a framework to understand and address the many complex challenges the world faces. As Steve described ‘such global challenges call for global solutions and require cooperation on a scale unprecedented in human history’.

40 Days of peace - the ethics of peace – Tim Costello, AO

To mark the first anniversary of the coming into force of the UN Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) – Let’s Talk Peace Ballarat and Compassionate Ballarat organised a forum to challenge our thinking on how individuals can contribute to the creation of peaceful societies. In this forum, Tim Costello, former CEO of World Vision Australia reflected on the ethical underpinnings of peace at both an individual and systems level.

40 Days of peace common humanity with Dr Debbie Ling

Common Humanity has been mentioned across a wide variety of disciplines and is the foundation of the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights. Common humanity is the recognition that all humans have the same basic needs and wish to be happy and free from suffering. It leads to a sense of connectedness to all people and an understanding of how as humans, our lives are interdependent with others. This presentation outlined some of the research and training approaches that help strengthen common humanity. Dr Debbie Ling is a Lecturer in the Department of Social Work, Monash University, a key contributor to the Monash Centre for Consciousness and Contemplative Studies.

peace sector activities held in January 2021

Let’s Talk Peace, Ballarat Forum 2021

On 22 January 2021 ICAN Ballarat, WILPF Ballarat and Compassionate Ballarat came together to organise an online forum – the day that the United Nations Treaty for the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons enters into force. Ballarat joined cities across Australia in celebrating this important UN Treaty and in highlighting the importance of addressing conflict through peaceful negotiation. In the link below ( beginning at 1.12 mins) you will hear a personal reflection from Indigenous Elder Al Harris, whose past family members were impacted by the Maralinga nuclear tests and guest speaker Prof Tilman Ruff AO, co-president of International Physicians for the Prevention of Nuclear War and a recipient of the 2017 Nobel Peace Prize.

This forum is the first event organised by Let’s Talk Peace – Ballarat, and it finished with a reading of a poem specifically written for this day by Ballarat Writers’ member and performance poet Megan J Riedl.

'Fallout' - written and performed by Megan J Riedl

This poem was commissioned by Let’s Talk Peace Ballarat, was written and performed by Megan J Riedl www.meganjriedl.com; and produced by Green Eggs and Ham www.instagram.com/greeneggsandham.au