Peace News Summer Camp

Roy St Pierre loved Peace News Summer Camp and Peace News Summer Camp loved Roy.

These are a few of the many, many photos taken by Roy at Summer Camp over the years:

Group picture at PN Summer Camp 2013:

Roy himself would camp with his peace flag and his bicycle. He labelled this 2013 photo ‘my little spot’:

The sun shone on our corner of Shropshire, and 120 of us at Peace News Summer Camp enjoyed five lovely days of reflecting, re-connecting, recovering, and recharging our batteries.

R.E.S.P.E.C.T.

The highlight of the camp was definitely the joyous celebration of the 20th anniversary of the Seeds of Hope Ploughshares…

Please book now for a wonderful five days of family-friendly community and discussion! This year, the camp is called ‘With My Hammer’, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the historic ‘Seeds of Hope East Timor Ploughshares – Women Disarming for Life and Justice’ action. Entertainment is provided by the mighty Seize the Day! a world-class political folk band.

The camp costs £20–£135 for over-14s; £5-£30 for people 1-14 (by parental income); under-1s are free. Food (three…

This year the theme of Peace News Summer Camp is ‘With My Hammer’, to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the historic ‘Seeds of Hope East Timor Ploughshares – Women Disarming for Life and Justice’ action. The anniversary of the four women’s acquittal falls on the Saturday of the camp, 30 July.

There will be a workshop with at least two women who hammered on the Hawk jet due to be exported to Indonesia, and also women from the Seeds of Hope support group, who played…

Nobody in my early life – myself included – would have suspected that I had a future as a troublemaker ahead of me. Growing up in rural Suffolk in the 1970s, the youngest of four siblings, there didn’t seem to be much wrong with the world. I don’t recall my family discussing politics, and although my father listened to the news every day, I never paid it much attention.

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The entertainment at this year’s Peace News Summer Camp was just brilliant. Poet of the people John Hegley had the audience both in the palm of his hand and on the ground with laughter. With him was bookseller Celia Mitchell, reading poems by her husband, Adrian Mitchell. And the Saturday evening finished with a storming set by Robb Johnson, back for the second year by public demand.

The previous evening, we had had Pilar Lopez’s moving survey of the Spanish Revolution/…

In this world of Facebook activism and online petitions, we think that there is a vital place for face-to-face meetings, for conversations around campfires, for chatting while doing humdrum but essential chores together, for games and songs as well as analysis and facts. Face-to-face community, we believe, is an essential part of the glue that holds strong movements together.

That’s…

Robb Johnson, singer, song writer

The big news is that our entertainment at this year’s Peace News Summer Camp features not one but two amazing performers. Robb Johnson, the brilliant radical folk singer-songwriter whose gig was a highlight, if not the highlight, of last year’s camp; and the sensational John Hegley, one of Britain’s most innovative and popular comic poets and songwriters.

Peace News Summer Camp gives grassroots activists a chance to come together…

Corrymeela Community, in County Antrim in Northern Ireland, is celebrating 50 years of peacemaking this year with a summer festival called Aperture – a space through which light travels (Friday 31 July to Sunday 2 August). These are almost exactly the same dates as Peace News Summer Camp (Thursday 30 July to Monday 3 August)!

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End of camp photo in front of the main marquee, 4 August 2014. Photo: Roy St Pierre

This year’s Peace News Summer Camp yet again enjoyed magnificently-sunny weather, marvellously-enriching workshops, and a spirit of warmth and inclusiveness that is hard to find.

Human rights campaigner Peter Tatchell brought decades of activist experience to bear in his workshop on ‘The ABC of Campaigning — How we won same-sex marriage’; Kofi Klu scrutinised the concept of reparations…

This year, the main theme of Peace News Summer Camp (31 July – 4 August) is countering the militarism and jingoism around the centenary of the First World War, which is why the camp is called ‘The World is My Country’.

We’re bringing peace and justice activists from Belgium, France, Spain and other countries across Europe to help us mark the…

We’re bringing peace and justice activists from across Europe to help us mark the centenary – and to ‘Declare Peace’ on the 100th anniversary of the day that Britain declared war on Germany. We will also have workshops and discussions, practical skills sessions, delicious vegan food cooked by Veggies, films, fun and DIY entertainment, a bar, a campfire, and activities and facilities for children and families.

We are delighted to be welcoming well-known and well-loved peace activists…

Robb Johnson will be performing songs from
his highly-acclaimed Gentle Men album about
his grandfathers and the First World War.
Photo: Eric the Fish

This year we are delighted to be welcoming to Peace News Summer Camp Britain’s top peace researcher, professor Paul Rogers of Bradford School of Peace Studies; Emma Sangster, co-founder of ForcesWatch, one of the most exciting anti-militarist projects of recent years; Bruce Kent, Britain’s best-known and best-loved peace…

The Peace News Summer Camp started in 2009. A five-day participatory, family-friendly event that attempts to embody many of the characteristics of the future society towards which we’re working – inclusive, democratic, participatory, renewably-powered and environmentally sustainable.

 An opportunity for a broad spectrum of people – activists, community organisers and other people working for and exploring radical social change – to come together and develop our intentions, priorities…