NJPN Conference will focus on: 'Hope! A verb with its sleeves rolled up'

Tim Livesey

Around 160 Justice and Peace activists from around England and Wales will attend their 44th annual gathering next weekend in Derbyshire, focusing on the theme, 'Hope! a verb with its sleeves rolled up'. The National Justice and Peace Network of England and Wales (NJPN) aims for its conference 22-24 July at Swanwick to look at ways of building a hopeful and sustainable future.

Keynote speakers, interactive workshops and liturgical celebrations have all been organised by NJPN, alongside planning partners ACTA, Christians Aware, Joint Public Issues Team, and Stella Maris. The conference has a strong ecumenical flavour this year and NJPN patron Rev Ruth Gee, Assistant Secretary of the Conference of the Methodist Church in Britain, will lead the Saturday afternoon liturgical celebration. Mass will be celebrated on the Sunday by Fr Dominic Robinson SJ, Chair of Westminster Justice and Peace Commission.

Conference Chair, Tim Livesey, is CEO of Embrace the Middle East, which works with Christian partners in Egypt, Lebanon, Israel, Palestine, Syria and Iraq serving marginalised and excluded communities. He has had 19 years in a variety of roles in the Foreign Office and Downing Street, including four years running the UK's development programme in Nigeria.

Keynote speakers include Irish diplomat Philip McDonagh who played a part in the Northern Ireland peace process in the build-up to the Good Friday Agreement. He later served as Head of Mission in India, the Holy See, Finland, Russia, and the OSCE (Organisation for Security and Cooperation in Europe). Fr Patrick Devine, SMA, Director of the Shalom Centre for Conflict Resolution and Reconciliation in Kenya, works to mitigate conflict and poverty in Africa. In 2013, he was honoured with the International Caring Award, whose previous recipients include the Dalai Lama, Bill Clinton, and Mother Teresa. Andy Flannagan, Executive Director of Christians in Politics, will call for structural change across our society in the direction of justice. He juggles his political work with his career as a singer-songwriter and will be performing on Saturday evening.

Workshops include issues of domestic poverty and universal credit, Salford's Guardians of Creation project, restoring dignity to prisoners and their families, Church Action for Tax Justice and Interfaith work on Justice and Peace. A Just Fair will host 25 stalls, including Together for the Common Good, Green Christian, Christian Climate Action, Columbans, Missio, World Council for Christian Meditation, Fairtrade, Palestinian Goods and Global Justice Now.

A 'Signs of Hope' session on Sunday morning will include four presentations from representatives of organisations working for peace and non-violence, nuclear issues, peace education with young people and tackling climate change. These include Aisling Griffin, Pax Christi's Education Worker and John Paul De Quay of the Ecological Conversion Group and NJPN's Environment Working Group.

The conference will provide separate programmes for children and youth. Food at the conference is guided by LOAF principles (Local, Organic, Animal Friendly, Fairly Traded). Where possible vegetables, dairy products, some desserts, lamb and eggs are locally sourced. Eggs are also free range and lamb is outdoor reared. Tea, coffee, juice, honey and sugar are Fairtrade and oats are organic.

For more information see: www.justice-and-peace.org.uk/conference/