‘Why Today’s Europe Needs Quaker Voices and How You Can Help’
British Friends of QCEA was relaunched recently. Melanie and Andrew Jameson were there.
‘QCEA does not just articulate the issues, it acts on them’
We may have left the European Union but we are still part of Europe. What goes on there still matters. Thank goodness we have a mouthpiece to raise concerns across the continent, and to inform Quakers of important issues.
Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA), based in Friends House, Brussels, does not just articulate the issues, it acts on them: drafting briefings to reach a wider audience, forming alliances, convening meetings with key players, and participating in advocacy and policymaking forums. Furthermore, QCEA is a ‘pattern and example’ of tried and tested Quaker approaches: respectful listening, inclusivity, providing a safe space to bring opposing groups together, nonviolent resolutions, allyship – all encapsulated as ‘quiet diplomacy’.
Within its peace programme, QCEA is opposing the growing trend towards nationalism and militarism fostered by the shady world of the arms trade. Its human rights programme counters the myths and hate speech directed towards migrants, presenting a positive narrative, based on lived experience. The importance of gender equality is stressed. Sustainability is a thread running through all its work. Briefings on all these areas and more can be found on www.qcea.org. A statement on renewing Europe post-Covid is due soon.
These are messages that we need to disseminate more effectively. To this end a relaunch of British Friends of QCEA took place on 20 March under the title ‘Why Today’s Europe Needs Quaker Voices and How You Can Help’. The role of British Friends in our Meetings has evolved from, and includes, the former QCEA correspondents, in order to actively promote QCEA.
A contribution from Jude Kirton-Darling, from a trades union perspective, pointed out that Covid has disguised the economic impact of Brexit. The final agreement on that was only a step away from ‘No Deal’. She warned us that our labour and environmental protections are now weak and at further risk from deregulation as we are drawn towards the United States market. Jude urged us to protest low-wage exploitative practices.
In the section ‘How You Can Help’ it was pointed out that QCEA could not function without our support, relying on grants from Yearly Meetings (of British and European Quakers), the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, and at least half its funding coming from donations from Friends. If you believe we need to keep an effective and successful Quaker presence at the heart of Europe we must support QCEA.
Details of how to donate to QCEA can be found at www.qcea.org.
