Forthcoming Events
and speeches
Meeting time is: 11-5 pm
Quaker Meeting House, Frederick Street, off York Street, Belfast, Northern Ireland, BT15 1
________________________________________________________________________
This meeting is open freely to all whom have the long term interests of peacemaking in Britain and Ireland. It is the hope of this symposium to encourage a healthy debate between both Irish and British peace thinkers, activists and spiritual leaders, so as to vision together a long- term peaceful future for both Britain and Ireland.
The Truth and Reconciliation Commission for Britain and Ireland (TRCBI) will examine testimony concerning all aspects of the conflict in Ireland, and allow persons who have perpetrated acts of cruelty and injustice to come forward and apologise to those whom they have wronged, whether in Britain or in Ireland, and also to empower those working for peace and reconciliation to come forward and tell their own stories.
We invite representatives of those who participated, or took part in the conflict, from whichever perspective, to come forward and share their testimony, and hopefully explain how the path of peace and non-violent political conflict resolution is, in the long run, more effective than the path of violence ever could be. We are also keen to invite representatives of all the diverse religious and spiritual communities of Ireland and Britain to send representatives to the meeting who are interested in the advancement of interfaith dialogue for peace.
Given the recent upsurge of killings in Northern Ireland there is a danger that the fragile peace could yet be jeopardized by those who believe in violence … Join us and please get involved with the work of the TRCBI at whatever level you are able.
********************************************************
Chairing the meeting is Dr. Thomas Daffern, a Governor of the Saor Ollscoil na h’Eireann and
Director of the International Institute of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy (www.lulu.com/iipsgp)
Speakers include Vijay Mehta author and chair of Action for UN Renewal, Professor K. Larres, University of Ulster, along with British and Irish peace thinkers, activists and spiritual leaders for the advancement of a long term peaceful future for Britain and Ireland.
please contact us in advance at:
TRCBI,
International Institue of Peace Studies and Global Philosophy, Rhos y Gallt, Llanerfyl, Nr. Welshpool, Powys, Wales, SY21 OER
Tel/Fax: 01938 820586 (m) 07951 600959
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Conference on Nuclear Disarmament
Beyond Obama – Priorities Towards Nuclear Abolition
Public meeting
2.00-4.30 pm and 6.00-8.00 pm
Monday, 20th July 2009
Room 4a, House of Lords, London
Speakers include:
Lord Hannay of Chiswick, Ambassador CHUN Yung-Woo (Republic of South Korea), Rebecca Johnson, Colin Archer, Frank Barnaby, Brian Cooper, Frank Jackson, and Vijay Mehta.
"It's time to send a clear message to the world: America seeks a world with no nuclear weapons."
In his short presidential tenure, Obama has already stated that nuclear terrorism is "the gravest danger we face." It remains to be seen if these words are backed up with concrete steps. The time is right now for 189 countries who signed up to the Nuclear non-Proliferation Treaty to fulfil their commitments for a world free of nuclear weapons. India, Pakistan, Israel and North Korea are nuclear weapons states but outside the NPT treaty, should be persuaded for the reduction and eventual abolition of their nuclear arsenal for a safer world.
Supported by the Commonwealth Journalists Association
For registration and further information please contact:
Vijay Mehta (vijay@vmpeace.org 02 027 377 2111)
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17th February 2009
7.00pm to 8.30pm
Friends House, 173 Euston Road, London NW1 2BJ
Annual Erskine Childers Lecture 2009
"Saving succeeding generations from the scourge of war"
Speaker: Mairead Corrigan Maguire
Nobel Peace Laureate
for the full leaflet view the Leaflet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Universal Declaration of Human Rights – Event in Scotland
Tuesday 9th December 2008
View this article here
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
28th May 2008
Hilton Athens, Greece
Rethinking the way we do business
CEO & CSR 2008
Topics are:
Cradle to Cradle: Introducing the Concept
Green Finance
Sustainable Buildings
Climate Change Solutions
Vijay Mehta will be the keynote speaker on ‘Climate Change Solutions’
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
14th May 2008
6.30pm - 8.30pm
Oxford Town Hall
“5 years of war in Iraq: What role can the United Nations
play in building peace and security.”
Speakers: Tony Benn (former MP, Minister and President, Stop the War Coalition),
Cllr John Tanner (Mayor of Oxford),
Chair Vijay Mehta
for full details view: leaflet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
23rd April 2008
7pm-9pm
The U8 Partnership for International Development,
Magdalen Auditorium, Magdalen College, Oxford, OX1 4AU
'The Role of Global Institutions in Tackling Poverty'
V. Mehta is
the keynote speaker for the event
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
19th April 2008
Saturday 10.30am to 4.30pm
World Disarmament Campaign, Spring conference and AGM
Wesley Chapel, 43 City Road, London
Speakers: Frank Barnaby (nuclear scientist),
Vijay Mehta co-chair or World Disarmament Campaign (WDC)
Edward Davey M.P.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
2-5th April 2008
'Athens 3'
Third Annual Conference of the New School of Athens (NSOA)
Athens, Greece
V. Mehta is a panellist and speaking on 'reform of global institutions
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
28-30 March 2008
Exeter University
Exeter
United Nations Association
Annual Conference
Contact: Nick Branson, UNA-UK, 3 Whitehall Court, London SW1A 2EL
branson@una.org.uk
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
27th March 2008
The United Nations and Student Association (UNYSA) of the University of St
Andrews
St Andrews, Scotland
The role of the UN in 21st century global politics?
Panellists include:
- Vijay Mehta (chair of Action for UN Renewal)
Professor Oliver Richmond (University of St Andrews)
- Dr Martin Barber, (former director, UN Mine Action Service, New York)
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
25th March 2008
The Gandhi Festival of Non-Violence
British Library Conference Centre
"The Life of Gandhi"
6.30pm
For full details see the enclosed 'Invite'
and Booklet
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Date to be confirmed
Oxford Environmental and Ethics Organisation
'Climate change, sustainable development and the role of the United
Nations'
Oxford University
V. Mehta is the keynote speaker
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Saturday, 23rd February 2008
Action for UN Renewal AGM
'The
Protection and Promotion of Human Rights and the role of the United Nations'
Guest speaker: Geoffrey Robertson QC
Friends House,
Euston Road, London
V. Mehta is acting chair of Action For United Nations Renewal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Tuesday, 19 February
2008, 5.30pm
Labour Action for Peace, AGM and public meeting
Friends House, Euston Road, London
'Britain's special relationship should be with the United Nations, not the
USA'
V. Mehta is a speaker along with Tony Benn and Jeremy Corbyn MP
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Wednesday, 13 February
2008, 5.30pm
UNA Leeds
'Reform of the United Nations, and the role of UN in peace and international
security'
The Rupert Beckett Lecture Theatre, University of Leeds, Leeds, LS2 9JT
V. Mehta is the keynote speaker
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Monday, 3rd December 2007 4.00 pm
BBC World Service TV interview
Interview with Vijay Mehta about climate change for the opening of the
UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP)
in Bali, Indonesia.
BBC Centre, London
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Bringing Democracy to Burma –
What can the UK government do to promote and implement the rule of law
and the UN Charter?
Tuesday 4th December
2007 7-9 pm
House of Lords, Committee Room 4A, London
Speakers include:
Rt. Hon. Lord (Peter) Archer Q.C.
Anna Roberts (The Burma Campaign UK)
John Rowley (Gandhi Foundation)
The current deteriorating situation in Burma, needs to be addressed urgently, where a military dominated government is handling its people brutally, stamping out protest and curbing human rights and civil liberties. The meeting will explore ways in which a dialogue can be started between the detained opposition leader, Ann San Suu Kyi, and Burma’s junta for a change from the military dominated government to a fully fledged democracy.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Fortune Forum, The Summit
Venue: The
Royal Courts of Justice, Strand, London
30 November 2007, 7.00 - 11.00pm
Vijay Mehta is a co-founder and trustee of Fortune
Forum, a charitable organisation raising funds for poverty reduction,
environmental degradation, combating worldwide diseases
and peacebuilding.
Speakers to the event included:
- Prime Minister Gordon Brown MP
- Caroline Lucas MEP
- Sir Bob Geldof
- Sir David Frost
- Daryl Hannah
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Climate
Change: How It Impacts Us All
5-7 September 2007
United Nations, 60th
Annual Department of Public Information Non-Governmental Organization (DPI/NGO)
Conference
United Nations
Headquarters, New York, USA
Vijay Mehta will be
speaking on the following two workshops:
Beyond Kyoto: Working Together to Preserve the Planet
This workshop will address the need to confront the challenges of climate change by mitigation, adaptation and global cooperation. It will consider how new political momentum can be created through greater public awareness of the urgency of the issues. It will discuss in some detail how governments, the private sector, large NGOs and civil society at large all have a vital part to play. http://www.enn.com/top_stories/article/28243
And it will show the essential role of the United Nations system in coordinating efforts, disseminating reliable information, and providing a framework for the negotiation, securing and effective monitoring of new global agreements.
Military Wars and the Environment
This workshop deals
with the fact that the military is the biggest polluter to the environment in
the form of remnants of war (land mines, cluster bombs, air-dropped bombs,
artillery shells, grenades, mortar, rockets). They contaminate a wide area, are
the cause of civilian deaths and injuries and create fear and trauma for the
safety of civilians. Furthermore, the effects of biological and chemical warfare
against the environment in the form of radiation, toxicity and air pollution are
well known. It will also discuss the new protocol to the UN convention governing
explosive remnants of war. It will look at civil society and NGO initiatives to
have a total ban on weapons as they have lasting health and environmental
ramifications.
Reforming the UN
for the 21st Century
Action for UN Renewal, Essex
Hall, 2 - 6 Essex Street, London, WC2R 3HY
Thursday, 9 August 2007, 7.00 - 8.45pm
Speaker: Joseph E. Schwartzberg (Professor Emeritus, University o Minnesota)
Vijay Mehta is chair of Action for UN Renewal
----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Annual Erskine Childers lecture
'The growth and importance of individual action and
its increasing influence in the field of human rights and United Nations
reform’
Action for UN Renewal
Friends House, Euston Road, London
12th June 2007, 7pm
Speaker: Kate Allen, (director, Amnesty International)
Chair: Rt. Hon. Lord (Peter) Archer Q.C.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------