Network for Peace

an update on the Millennium Villages project which aims to achieve all the UN Development Goals by 2015 in 14 clusters of villages in 10 African countries of various ecology and levels of development. So far on track. Come for a Case Study DVD (Mwandama, Malawi) & discussion. In the context of current controversy about the UK’s commitment to Aid for Development, including a recent critical report on its effectiveness, it is important that we are told the Good News too! RSVP essential.

With Rose Gottemoeller. President Obama's Acting Under Secretary of State for Arms Control and International Security, and the chief negotiator on the New Strategic Arms Reduction Treaty (START) with the Russian Federation. Chair: Nik Gowing. In association with the Weapons of Mass Destruction Awareness Programme.

Bradley Manning is back in court on Wed 6 June for three days.
We will be holding a vigil in Chester; meet under Eastgate clock at 3pm.
More info:
http://wiseupforbradleymanning.wordpress.com/2012/05/18/wed-6-june-solid...

9 August: Annual Pax Christi Nagasaki Vigil, Westminster Cathedral Piazza between 10.00 - 5.00. Prayers at 11.30 and 3.30.

6 August: Annual Pax Christi Hiroshima Vigil, Westminster Cathedral Piazza between 10.00 - 5.00. Prayers at 11.30 and 3.30.

Time of silence, readings and prayers to mark this international day. All welcome.

"Dingly Dell", Paices Hill, next to AWE Aldermaston, (opposite Young's Industrial Estate), near Tadley, Berkshire. Outside the Atomic Weapons Establishment where the UK’s nuclear weapons are made (How to get there: see http://www.aldermaston.net/camp/visit).
Noon Fri 10/08/12 (cocktail party evening of Sat 11/08/12) to noon Mon 13/08/12. An extended weekend of women only non-violent discussion and activity.

Followed by a Q&A with directors' Friedrich Moser & Matthieu Lietaert author of Webdocs - Survival Guide for Online Filmmakers.
Brussels is the second biggest lobbying capital of the world. With the existence of a strong, well organised and deeply rooted lobby network directors Friedrich Moser and Matthieu Lietaert raise the question who really runs the European Union.

19.00 Keynote speaker: Gavin Sheppard, marketing director, Media Trust.
19.30 Panel discussion: The future of newsgathering and the changing media landscape.
Moderated by: Nikki Bedi, a television and radio presenter.
With: Paul Lewis, special projects editor for the Guardian.
Matthew Eltringham, editor of BBC College of Journalism.
Mark Evans, head of home news at Sky News.
Ravin Sampat, editor at Blottr.
In partnership with The Media Trust.

Renowned investigative journalist, author and documentary film-maker John Pilger will be joining us to look back on half a century of reporting from around the world.

Followed by an extended Q&A with director Julia Bacha.
When Israeli activists arrive to protest the takeover of the East Jerusalem half of Mohammed El Kurd's home, the Palestinian teenager comes of age in the face of continuous tension and unexpected cooperation in his backyard.
My Neighbourhood goes beyond the headlines that normally dominate discussions of Jerusalem and captures the rarely heard voices of those striving for a shared future in the city.

Followed by a Q&A with directors Emad Burnat and Guy Davidi.
For the birth of his fourth son, Palestinian villager Emad Burnat bought his first camera. This is also the moment a separation barrier is being built in his village Bil'in. The self-taught cameraman begins filming the events around him - and ends up with five broken video cameras. The footage of each of them tells a different part of the story of his village's non-violent resistance to the Israeli army.

As the United States begins to prepare to leave Afghanistan, the message being portrayed by the media is that the Afghan National Army (ANA) is taking control and running operations.
But when foreign troops have gone home can Afghanistan depend on the ANA to keep the country from civil war?
WIth: Dawood Azami, visiting scholar and award winning broadcast journalist working for the BBC World Service in London.

Filmmaker Fredrik Gertten took on the multinational corporation Dole Food Company and its PR army and won. Upon the release of Gertten's blockbuster documentary Bananas!*, which recounts the law suit 12 Nicaraguan plantation workers brought against Dole, his tenacity and journalistic mettle were tested to their limits when he was hounded by Dole's lawyers and PR firms.
Gertten will be at the Frontline Club to give a masterclass in filmmaking against the odds.

Followed by a Q&A with director Stephen Maing.
High Tech Low Life follows two citizen journalists who tell the untold stories from inside China. Zola is a smart, tech-savvy and playful youngster from rural China; Tiger Temple is a 50-something self-proclaimed citizen reporter living in Beijing. Armed with digital cameras, cell phones and laptops, they each travel the country to report stories that would otherwise remain unknown.
This screening is in partnership with London Open City Docs Fest (21-24 June)

Followed by a Q&A with director Katia Jarjoura
With the presidential elections scheduled at end of May, a possible run-off mid June and the trial verdict of President Hosni Mubarak expected, Goodbye Mubarak goes back to the period before Egypt's leader was ousted by the people.

Followed by a panel discussion with director Jill Emery (other speakers to be announced)
In Ukraine: From Democracy to Chaos Jill Emery and Jean-Michel Carre explore this complex country, its geopolitical importance in Europe, and its unfinished struggle for democracy. The political divisions between east and west Ukraine that gave rise to the Orange revolution in 2004 have deep roots and still dictate today's political reality.

Recent government proposals to allow increased police and intelligence agencies' monitoring of email and social media communications have angered civil liberties campaigners who claim they are a breach civil liberties.
Join us as we discuss to what extent security services should be able to monitor our cyber activity. Is this form of cyber surveillance a threat to the public's civil liberties or necessary to keep them safe? Can a balance be struck?

In the past two decades documentaries have become recognised as an innovative cultural form. Rather than just observing, they are now thought capable of creating change.
BBC Storyville Nick Fraser will be in conversation with director of Journalism at the Reuters Institute John Lloyd to discuss the evolution of documentary, its defining nature and the future for this form of storytelling.

Following on from the Winter Warm Up in January (http://bit.ly/KyHO9r), and the Big Six Energy Bash in May (http://bit.ly/KyHZBJ), join us for a day of reflection and future planning:

-- How can we continue to connect the dots between economic, climate and social injustices?
-- How can we strengthen links between the anti-cuts movement, Occupy, community action and climate groups?
A travel pool will be made available to help cover transport costs.
A kidspace can be made available - please email manchester@climatecamp.org.uk if you think you might require one.