Peace Hub workshop highlights anti-austerity measures
Birmingham Peace Hub asks 'Anti-Austerity, but Pro What?'
More than sixty people visited the Central England Quakers project the Peace Hub in Birmingham on 18 February for a workshop entitled ‘Anti-austerity, but Pro What?’
The event was the first of a two-part series. It aims, the organisers said, to ‘set out a concise, inclusive and easily understandable alternative to neoliberalism’. The speakers at the first instalment were Christine Berry of the New Economics Foundation, Karen Leach of Localise West Midlands, and Neal Lawson of Compass. The main focus of the workshop was a ‘world café’ discussion with all participants, led by independent facilitator Andrew Lightheart.
‘We explored what our alternatives to austerity and neoliberalism are: hence “Pro What?”’ Peace Hub coordinator Peter Doubtfire explained.
‘This week focused on collecting ideas, finding points of common ground and looking for patterns in our ideas and how we express them. Next week we’ll aim to boil these ideas down to something more succinct and think about how we can communicate our principles to the outside world,’ he added.
The event was jointly organised by Compass West Midlands, Localise West Midlands, Jubilee Debt Campaign and the Peace Hub.
