transform! europe takes part in the World Peace Congress organised by the International Peace Bureau (IPB), the oldest and largest international peace network.
The Second World Peace Congress will bring together a wide variety of experts and advocates from all around the world. Speakers will come from all kinds of disciplines and backgrounds, including both high level representatives and grassroots level voices. It will equally involve diverse fields: peace organisations, feminist and civil rights groups, labour unions, environmentalists, educators, religious and spiritual leaders, development workers, human rights advocates, and more.
During the three days of the congress, there will be talks and lectures by more than thirty speakers. Featured names include Noam Chomsky (Scientist and Activist), Vandana Shiva (environmental and social activist), Jody Williams (political activist and Nobel Peace Laureate), Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva (Former President of Brazil), Jeremy Corbyn (Member of Parliament of the United Kingdom), Duarte Pacheco (President of the Inter-Parliamentary Union), Wada Masako (Japan Confederation of A- and H-Bomb Sufferers Organizations) and Beatrice Fihn (Executive Director of the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons).
The full programme is available here.
The conference will have a hybrid format, many of the activities will also be available online.
transform! europe events in the framework of the 2021 IPB Conference:
Workshop: Racism and War: Breaking the Cycles of Violence
Workshop: Towards a New Left Concept of Security
Exhibition: Colours of a Journey
Workshop: Racism and War: Breaking the Cycles of Violence
Saturday, 16.10.2021
12:00-13:30 (CET)
Language: English
Location: Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull
and online
Racism, an ideology deeply rooted in white western societies has been instrumental for the justification of wars, violence and oppression throughout history. In today’s world, racism is also the governing ideology of migration politics – refugees and migrants have been continuously framed by political leaderships as a “threat to national security” and either let to die or are cluttered in gated camps under inhumane conditions. Frontex is patrolling the European border in military gear rather than engaging in search and rescue missions and even commits illegal push-backs. In the USA, despite the ongoing mass mobilisation of antiracist movements, hopes that the Biden administration will change course in migration governance have been disappointed. On the contrary, last September, 10,000 Haitians were deported back to the island that is plagued by natural catastrophes, poverty and violence. Amidst the economical tensions between China and the USA, anti-Asian racism is also on the rise. In past and present, racism has enabled war and war has enabled racism. During this workshop we will analyse the current discourse in the USA and Europe and discuss strategies that will help us break this cycle of violence. In which way is everyday antiracism a contribution to peace? Is peace possible in a racist society?
Inputs by:
- Cristina María Zamora Gómez, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) Spain, Málaga (online)
- Kazembe Balagun, Rosa-Luxemburg-Foundation, New York (online)
- Nasim Lomani and Steki Metanaston, Athens (online)
- Marga Ferré, Co-President, transform! europe, Madrid (online)
- Carrie Hou, Abolish Frontex (online)
Moderation: Katerina Anastasiou, transform! europe
Workshop: Towards a New Left Concept of Security
in cooperation with the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Brussels Office
Saturday, 16.10.2021
20:30-21:30 (CET)
Language: English
Location: Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull
In contemporary dominant right-wing politics, security has become synonymous with state surveillance, police oppression and the militarisation of borders, thus serving the economic interests of the security and arms industries rather than the security of people. During this workshop, we seek to open a space to discuss left approaches and strategies that are capable of addressing the interwoven threats to the security of the majority: environmental collapse, war, injustice, extreme wealth accumulation, eroded social systems, and health care. The discussion will be initiated with a brief presentation of a workshop series and the corresponding report by transform! europe and the Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Brussels Office, highlighting considerations for a new left concept of security.
Workshop facilitators:
Axel Ruppert, Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung Brussels Office, and
Katerina Anastasiou, transform! europe
Exhibition: Colours of a Journey
Saturday, 16.10.2021
20:30 – 21:30
Language: English
Location: Blanquerna – Universitat Ramon Llull
The paintings are also accessible online via the Colours of a Journey website
Against the backdrop of growing political, economic and environmental insecurities, millions are forced to leave their lands and homes. Striving for safety and dignity, many of these people embark upon a dangerous and often life-threatening journey to Europe. We, the activists and researchers of the Colours of a Journey-team, believe that the marginalised, the oppressed, the invisible must be given space to voice their experiences and stories. This is the only way we can create a different narrative that will provide for a strong alternative to the current politics of fear, restore conditions for solidarity and trust, and hereby fortify the foundation of our common life in Europe. Colours of a Journey, launched in 2017, is a platform designed to collect and exhibit paintings and illustrations done by children who just arrived in Europe. In these paintings, the children have visualised their past, present and, most importantly, their hopes for the future.
Why did these people leave their homes? What does their life look like now? What kind of a future do they envision for themselves?
Art as a medium that bridges linguistic and cultural barriers and images are often better able to communicate complex experiences and emotions than words. Our primary objective is to curate a digital platform (archive) – Colours of a Journey – that hosts memories and stories of refugee and migrant children. The platform is designed to collect and exhibit paintings and illustrations done by children between the age of 6 and 18 and addresses in various supportive structures that work with them and/or host them.