Raising Peace

We are delighted to bring you the sixth and final episode of this series the Raising Peace podcast! This one is rather special for us, as instead of hearing from other people, this time we are telling our own story.From its beginnings in 2020 with a small group who had a shared desire to 'raise peace' and bring together like minded people, this episode offers a surprisingly uplifting and energising insight into what happens when you build a community founded on shared values and mutual support.How did the idea come about? What does 'Raising Peace' mean? And what effect has it had on the Raising Peace network members? More than just learning and sharing a lot about peace, for many members being part of Raising Peace has itself been a peace journey. Make yourself comfortable and have a listen.The song Tomorrow, performed by Margaret Walters, was written by Peggy Seeger and is used here with her permission.

This episode of the Raising Peace podcast presents a talk from our 2023 festival, when we heard from educators in Australia and Italy who are standing against the increased militarisation of our schools and universities. ‘Minors and Missiles’ is a report by the Medical Association for the Prevention of War that describes the many ways in which defence companies are influencing school curricula. Like the tobacco industry and others before them, the defence industry is seeking to embed itself in the minds of our impressionable young people.Today you will hear in depth presentations from Elise West and Cristina Pighini.Elise West is from the Medical Association for the Prevention of War and also from Teachers for Peace. She is the lead author of MAPW’s report, Minors and Missiles.Cristina Pighini is a secondary school teacher and member of the Italian Observatory Against The Militarization Of Schools And Universities.An unedited version of this talk, along with many others, can be viewed on the Raising Peace website.

This extended episode features four peacebuilders who talked about their work at the 2023 Raising Peace Festival. The pursuit of peace takes many forms. Our earlier episodes looked at some of the 'big issues' but it's just as important in much more locally and personally, no matter where you are. This episode explores peace and justice initiatives in Ballarat, in the work of the Knitting Nanas and in peacebuilding among First Nations communities across northern and central Australia.Dr Larraine Larri is a proud member of the Milton Ulladulla District Knitting Nanas on the south coast of New South Wales. She is an eco-feminist activist artist educator and social researcher and her PhD focussed on the Knitting Nanas.Madonna Quixley is the co-convener of Let's Talk Peace Ballarat.  Ippei Okazaki is Principal Consultant at One Pacific Dispute Resolution. He is a highly experienced, nationally accredited mediator with a proven track record of serving vulnerable and disadvantaged clients for over 15 years. Dr Helen Bishop is a Kungarakan woman of the Northern Territory. Helen champions dispute resolution as a means of closing the gap in service provision as a constructive tool to enable greater access to restorative justice, effective governance and peacebuilding practices. You will also hear from Raising Peace's Gill Burrows, who moderated the discussion.You can watch the full video of this podcast and view many other talks on the Raising Peace website: https://raisingpeace.org.au.

Australia’s new strategic alliance with the USA and United Kingdom, AUKUS, brings challenges to a peaceful future, and not only for Australia and our immediate neighbourhood. It’s also a real concern for the US and UK themselves. We explored this issue at our 2022 Raising Peace festival where we heard from speakers from each country in the alliance, and we've added an update on development since.Kate Hudson is General Secretary of the United Kingdom Campaign For Nuclear Disarmament Bruce Gagnon from the USA is coordinator and co-founder of the Global Network Against Weapons And Nuclear Power In SpaceThe episode starts with the thoughts of much admired political commentator and retired diplomat Bruce Haigh. Bruce died earlier this year and is sadly missed by many. Today’s podcast is dedicated to Bruce in recognition of his lifelong dedication to peace.

Orienting a country towards peace is not only possible, it's been done. In this episode we hear from Dr Alison Broiwnowski, Rev Dr Thorwald Lorenzen and Costa Rica's past Ambassador to Australia Victor Vargas on how we might bring this about. They were speaking at the 2022 Raising Peace festival.