|
 |
|||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
||||||||||||||||||||||
|
Ploughshares E-Newsletter
"Hope nurtures our shared work to banish the instruments of violence and promote the ways of justice and peace." The staff at Project Ploughshares wishes our E-Newsletter subscribers a joyous holiday season. Announcements The Presbyterian Church in Canada Internship The Presbyterian Church in Canada and Project Ploughshares invite applications for the 2009-2010 Peace and Human Security Internship with Project Ploughshares in Waterloo, Ontario. The internship will run from September 2009 to April 2010. Applications close March 31, 2009; click here for details. New and Retiring Ploughshares Board Members Project Ploughshares recently welcomed six new board members. New treasurer, Scott Beech of Waterloo, succeeded long-time treasurer, Philip Creighton of Toronto. Scott is a management consultant with a communications firm. The United Church of Canada, one of nine sponsoring churches of Project Ploughshares, appointed Lawrence Cumming of Ottawa and Jeanette Liberty-Duns of Saskatoon to replace Martin Rumscheidt of Halifax and John Barker of Stratford. Lawrence is an international development consultant and Jeannette is a retired United Church minister. New members-at-large are Scott Kline, professor of religious studies at St. Jerome’s University, and Nathan Funk, professor of peace and conflict studies at Conrad Grebel University College. Tom Rodger, a retired Presbyterian Church minister in Sarnia, was appointed by The Presbyterian Church in Canada to replace Anne Wright Gedcke of Waterloo. Moira Hutchinson of Toronto, past chair of Project Ploughshares, also completed her term. Our heartfelt thanks to outgoing board members, Philip Creighton, Martin Rumscheidt, John Barker, Anne Wright Gedcke and Moira Hutchinson for their many years of service. Program Updates On November 18, Senior Programme Associate Ken Epps, Programme Associate Maribel Gonzales and other members of the Small Arms Working Group (SAWG) of Peacebuild met with government officials from the Non-Proliferation and Disarmament Division of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada in Ottawa. Issues discussed were Government priorities and plans for small arms control, SAWG’s planned activities, and potential areas for cooperation between SAWG and the Government. Project Ploughshares is the coordinator of SAWG which includes as members, Amnesty International, Antennes de paix–Montréal, Group of 78, Kashmiri Canadian Council, Oxfam Quebec, Quaker UN Office, and the Small Arms Firearms Education and Research Network. Afghanistan Senior Policy Advisor Ernie Regehr participated in a November 18 briefing on Afghanistan with Lt. Gen. Michel Gauthier, Commander of Canadian Expeditionary Command, held at the Royal Canadian Military Institute in Toronto. He also participated in an Ottawa meeting on November 24 of the NGO steering committee, hosted by Peacebuild Canada, planning an international conference on reconciliation prospects in Afghanistan. Space Security Program Associate Jessica West participated in the annual Canadian Space Society Summit, November 21-23, in Montreal. Titled “What’s Next for the Canadian Space Industry,” it explored future opportunities for the Canadian commercial space sector and concluded with a session on the need for a national policy on space. For more on why Canada needs a comprehensive national space policy, read Jessica's Winter 2008 Monitor article, “A Common Priority: A Space Security Policy for Canada". Nuclear Nonproliferation Ernie Regehr and Jessica West participated in a November 5-7 conference of the Nuclear Energy Futures Project, a collaborative research project between the Centre for International Governance Innovation and the Canadian Centre for Treaty Compliance on the implications of a nuclear energy revival for nuclear safety, security, and nonproliferation. Ernie chaired a panel on South and Central Asian Perspectives. Local Group Visits Executive Director John Siebert visited the local Ploughshares groups in Edmonton and Calgary November 17-20. In Edmonton he was a guest lecturer in classes at Kings University and the University of Alberta, and spoke to a public gathering at City Hall for the presentation by Ploughshares Edmonton of the 2008 Salvos Prelorentzos Peace Award to the Arab/Jewish Women’s Peace Coalition. In Calgary John was the guest on CBC Radio’s “Wild Rose Forum,” a one-hour radio call-in show. The topic was, “Is Canada still in the peace business?” He also made a presentation at the monthly meeting of Ploughshares Calgary on peacebuilding among pastoralists in East Africa. Other Meetings and Speaking Engagements John Siebert attended a meeting of the Sudan Interagency Reference Group in Ottawa on November 5, and followed up with discussions at Foreign Affairs and CIDA on peacebuilding in the Horn of Africa. On November 15, Program Associate Grant Birks spoke about Ploughshares' work at Calvin Presbyterian Church, Kitchener. On December 8, Ploughshares hosted officials from Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada for discussions on small arms control, space security, and Canadian military exports. The day included a roundtable lunch at Conrad Grebel University College with professors working on peace and security issues from the University of Waterloo and Wilfrid Laurier University. Benefit Event On December 4 Southminster United Church in Ottawa hosted a presentation, The Human Right to Peace, by Senator Douglas Roche (ret’d), chair of the Middle Powers Initiative and former Canadian Ambassador for Disarmament. Mr. Roche was introduced by the Rt. Hon. Joe Clark. Proceeds from the evening were donated to Project Ploughshares. We thank members of Southminster United Church for organizing the event, the other sponsoring organizations, Douglas Roche for his inspirational presentation, and all those in attendance who made contributions to Project Ploughshares. Project Ploughshares in the News Efforts weren’t in vain: Juba talks didn't end in a deal with the Lord's Resistance Army, but life for Ugandans has improved Documents and Publications Now Online Small Arms Proliferation and Misuse: Toward a Caribbean Plan of Action The Ploughshares Monitor — Winter 2008 Letter to the Minister of Defence and the Minister of Foreign Affairs and International Trade concerning the Convention on Cluster Munitions Disarming Conflict The Ploughshares E-Newsletter is a regularly issued publication that is intended to keep readers current with new Ploughshares publications, research and program updates, and special events. Comments on the newsletter are invited at plough@ploughshares.ca. Back issues are available here. To subscribe or unsubscribe from this newsletter, please click here.
|
|||||||||||||||||||||
 |
l 
l 
l
l 
l 
l 
l 
l 
l  |
 |