Announcement

The conference format has changed! Please join us on Saturday the 25th of April from 9:00 am to 5:30 pm for a day of discussion and potluck. Lunch will be at 12:00; we would love to have you bring a dish, but please come even if you are unable to do so! We will meet at Cranberry Commons in Burnaby (4272 Albert Street, 1 block north of Hastings, 3rd block west of Willingdon). Come for all or some of the day. Registration and parental release forms are no longer required.

Connect to the event page on Facebook at: www.facebook.com/events/1616913055194575/

Download a full schedule here: Western Conference Schedule

Lectures

We will be joined in person by a few speakers who will share their knowledge with us (see lecture titles and info below). We will also take part in a panel of War Resisters by live broadcast happening in the Eastern Conference. There will also be opportunity to join in a lecture by Jamie Swift.

Three Generations of War Resisters Speak Out

Frank Showler, WWII resister, Tom Riley, Vietnam war resister, and Dean Walcott, Iraq War resister will be sharing their experience and involvement with the War Resistors campaign to stop the deportation of Vets back to the US.

History of Canadian Movements for Peace

Presented by Elsie Dean

The topic of this presentation and discussion will be based on the history of the Canadian movements for peace. Elsie Dean’s experience in working for peace goes back to the end of the Second World War and the introduction of nuclear weapons and she feels some knowledge of this history is important for peace activities going forward. Dean will share her experiences and learning from participating in the struggle to overcome militarism since World War II. There will then be opportunities to mull through and discuss magazines, newspaper clippings, posters, etc. produced by the Canadian peace movements during the last half of 1900’s.

Christian Peacemaking in the Face of Militarismcpt

Presented by Anita Fast

There are no easy answers to the violence and injustice that permeates the world we inhabit. Yet when a call issues forth that we “seek peace and pursue it” (Ps.34:14), how can we, as Christians, respond? Drawing on the facilitator’s experiences as a volunteer with Christian Peacemaker Teams in Israel/Palestine, this workshop will engage participants with the possibilities of Christian peacemaking, as well as the theological and political issues that arise when we begin to practice creative, non-violent alternatives to violence. The workshop will assume a pedagogy consistent with methods used in the field of ‘peace education’, which seek to create dynamic, participatory spaces of sharing and creating knowledge.

Contested Terrain: How Canadian War Commemoration Has Changed … and Been Changed

Presented by Jamie Swift
Canada’s wars have been noble causes. Soldiers invariably defend peace and freedom. At least, that’s the Official Story. Yet myths of valour and sacrifice play an important role in shielding militarism from critique. Jamie Swift will examine the contending cultures of commemoration, exploring how and why we remember war.
Kingston writer Jamie Swift is the author (with Ian McKay) of Warrior Nation: Rebranding Canada in an Age of Anxiety.

Children at the Conference

Children of participants are welcome at the conference, but we are unable to provide childcare for insurance and safety reasons. Please contact Jessica Klaassen-Wright () for possible childcare options.