Europe – a castle or a community?
Friends to hold conference in Brussels
The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) and Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) are holding a joint conference in Brussels from 4 to 6 December entitled ‘Castle or community? Quakers’ role in building the new Europe’.
The organisers explained that the title has been left ‘deliberately broad to provide space for Friends from all across Europe to develop a vision for Europe together, through a strengthened Quaker community’.
One hundred and ten Friends are scheduled to attend, half from Britain Yearly Meeting and the remainder from twenty-one other countries.
‘Friends will gather to develop a vision for a just and peaceful Europe,’ said conference organiser and QCEA sustainability officer George Thurley, of Sussex East Area Meeting.
‘In recent months Europe has more closely resembled a castle than a community. Now is the time to reflect on how to create lasting change in Europe,’ he added.
Speakers include: Rachel Bayani, representative of the Bahá’í to the European Union; Doris Peschke, general secretary of Churches’ Commission for Migrants in Europe; and Arne Springorum, clerk of Prague Quaker Meeting.
Quaker MEP Molly Scott‐Cato will give the keynote address on ‘Building the Europe we’d like to see’.
This year three Friends will be involved in facilitating the conference: Julia Bush, of Britain Yearly Meeting; Lina Jordan, of QCEA British Committee; and Susanne Jalka of Austria.
