THIS EVENING Young peaceworkers at work

PEACE. It's a great idea. But what does it mean in practice, and how do you actually do it, on the the ground, in day-to-day realistic situations?

Young Peaceworkers at work is an interactive workshop presented by two young Quakers who will not only tell you, but show you and involve you too.

Rhiannon Redpath is placed with Gender Action for Peace and Security, working on the issue of women in Afghanistan.

Owen Everett is placed jointly with War Resisters' International and Forces Watch, working on countering the militarisation of young people.

They are part of the one-year popular Peaceworker scheme run by Quaker Peace and Social Witness for the last 20 years.

Hear about their experiences, share their enthusiasm. Inspiration is guaranteed!

The talk and workshop runs on Monday 26th August 2013, from 7.30-9.00pm, at the central Quaker Meeting House in Victoria Street, Edinburgh, EH1 2JL. Tickets can be bought at the venue and cost £5.

This is part of the joint Just Festival, Edinburgh Peace Initiative and Quaker lecture series.

More here.

Time to celebrate!

SO the Just Festival closing celebration has ended here at St John's... but the work is still far from over. There's a full day's festivaling tomorrow, for a start.

Then there's equipment to be packed away, accounts to be done, reports to be written, stats to be processed, farewells to be made... and ideas and lessons stored and digested for 2014. The logistics are considerable.

But right now, people are gathering in the Church hall to relax, chat and celebrate. Everyone deserves a little time out!

"An amazing three weeks..."

"AN amazing three weeks" - that is how chair of the Just Festival board chair Raymond Baudon summed up his experience of 2013. 

He gave a brief outline of the extraordinary range of events - art, drama, music, conversation, photography, talks and performances - which have gone to make up Just this year.

"It all began with a flamenco flashmob in front of hundreds of people... and since then around 10,000 people have passed through St John's for various events," he noted.

Just has also utilised a range of further venues and cooperated with the Quakers and other civic organisations in putting on the festival.

Raymond extended a particular thanks to all the sponsors, to director Katherine Newbigging, to Beata, Annika and the whole staff team, to the board, and to the team of volunteers.

Before the singing of Auld Lang Syne, led by Scotpipe, Tom Lea (Alwaleed Cantre, University of Edinburgh) from the board made a small presentation to Raymond Baudon, who has handled the kind of challenging issues that accompany any such event with professionalism and good humour.

Katherine ended by inviting people into the hall for refreshments - and reminding us that there is still one full day's worth of Just events on Monday 26th August!

Hands of friendship from Poland

POLISH communities make up a rich and important part of the life of Edinburgh, as well as other places in Scotland and across these islands.

Kapela Dudziarska from Poznan, Poland and BARKA presented and played some evocative and emotionally charged music from their homeland, to rapturous applause at the closing event and celebration for Just Festival 2013.

"The common resonance of the string sound and a distinctive Polish bagpipes with the pipes known and loved in Scotland was very noticeable," one audience member noted.

The band played five different short tunes and have been collaborating with Scotpipe on a charity concert.

BARKA is a Polish homeless group, and has been raising money across Edinburgh in festival season, collecting £310 so far.

The aim is help to rehabilitate people of who have become homeless while in the UK, and it has been going for some 20 years now. "Thank you for supporting us," was the message to Just.  The Polish Centre for Culture and Education also brought a message of greeting this evening.

Beata Skobodzinska, the coordinator of Just Festival, who has done another remarkable job this year, hails from Poland herself.

"Since she joined the festival in 2012 as the Festival Administrator, the office has been a very happy place full of laughter and an occassional Polish song," commented colleague Annika Wolf.

The Polish community has been established in Scotland for many years, since at the end of the Second World War many veterans settled after being posted here. When Poland joined the EU in 2001, an opportunity arrived for a new generation of Polish immigrants to work and study in the UK.

Polish immigrants are currently the largest group of immigrant workers in the city, with the health, further education and tourism sectors accounting for the majority of employers. The City of Edinburgh Council estimates that Edinburgh’s Polish community consists of 8,000 residents.

Many have formed their own community networks and have settled in areas such as Leith, London Road and Marchmont. A variety of Polish shops, services and cafes are available throughout the city region, especially in Edinburgh.

Another great turnout...

ONE of the many encouraging features of Just Festival 2013 has been the attendances. The Just Together closing event and celebration at St John's was no different. 

Katherine leads the way

JUST Festival director Katherine Newbigging made time, as usual, to talk to people and make sure everything was in order for tonight's official closing event and celebration at St John's Church in Edinburgh.

Katherine has been involved with Just and its predecessor, the Festival of Spirituality and Peace, in various capacities since 2008, latterly as coordinator and - since last year - director.

She is among the youngest major festival directors in Britain, but has built up a great body of experience and excellent relations with the whole range of people (artists, agents, technicians, staff, volunteers and other specialists) needed to put a demanding event like Just on.

Just is now an established part of the Edinburgh scene, and as soon as this one is wrapped, planning will start for 2014. As was the case this year, the festival will also take on a number of events across the calendar.

The Just festival has broken box office records in 2013, with some 145 events, 450 performances and around 30,000 people coming along.

TONIGHT AT 8pm: Just together... a celebration!

TONIGHT at 8pm, we celebrate what has been another extraordinary and record-breaking Just Festival (formerly the Festival of Spirituality and Peace) with a 'wrap event' at St John's Church.

Scots pipers will welcome us in and see us out. There will be a swansong or two for Just from the amazing Africa Entsha - of course - along with dance from Ragmala, Polish music, a cameo from Creepie Stool, a reflection from Rabbi Rosen, the Just Festival volunteers bursting into song, and more...

We also look forward to hearing from festival director Katherine Newbigging and chair of the hard-working board, Raymond Baudon.  There will be refreshments in the church hall afterwards.

But don't get the idea that this is the end of Just for 2013!

We will still have a full day left, Monday 26th August. That will be your last chance to see the moving Tejas Verdes, to reflect on Living Our Values, to meet Young Peacemakers, to hear the Canto del Paradiso, to be moved by Sacred Earth, to hear Africa Entsha, to see Creepie Stool... and to answer the question (in a multi-ethnic, multicultural, multi-belief society), "More Tea Imam?"

Also, of course, you can have a final peak at the remarkable In Sight of Peace photo-exhibition: Ian Berry of Magnum offers a unique view of South Africa, past and present, in its quest to leave apartheid behind - without forgetting the torment, and while learning the lessons.

Further previews of all of those events coming up soon here on Just Festival News...

Meantime, Just Together, the official closing event - tonight, 8pm, St John's Church Edinburgh (corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road, venue 127).

It's free, but donations to our charities, Mary's Meals and Waverley Care, and to the ongoing work of Just, will be welcome.

Getting stuck in to the future

WELL, no, we don't mean in an aggressive way - but not just talking, finding a new way of putting together our views so that we can make a difference!

That was what happened at Just Festival the other evening, as part of the session looking at citizenship and identity in Scotland, whichever way the referendum goes in September 2014 (and as part of the public exchange in the build-up to it).

Perry Walker of the inspirational New Economics Foundation (nef) brought along with him an abbreviated version of a word game which enables people to express themselves and hear one another in fresh ways. It involves choosing and linking words and phrases.

You can see people busy getting stuck in to the exchange (in the nicest way possible!) in our picture, with Perry supervising proceedings.

The Church of Scotland (with Imagining Scotland's Future) and So Say Scotland, who also held a Just workshop,  are among those rolling out cafe-style civic conversations and we think about the future direction of our country, these islands. Europe and beyond.

The full live blog from the Just conversation about Scottish identity and citizenship can also be found here.

The cost of peace

HERE'S a trailer for the touching and profound film Two-Sided Story, on the quest for reconciliation with justice in Israel and Palestine today.

It shows at 4pm, Sunday 25th August, St John's Church Hall, £6.

Showing our true colours

"WE had a great time at the Just Festival. We met some really inspirational people!"

That was the comment made by TRUE (Tackling Racism, Uniting Everyone), founded by young people in Edinburgh.

We at Just were delighted to have them here, too.

TRUE write: "We aim to challenge racism, not only within our schools and communities but also globally. Follow us on twitter here. Email us@: truecolours_group@hotmail.co.uk. Link to our facebook page. Suscribe to our youtube channel."

Here's the picture they took...

Israel, Palestine... Two-sided story

ON Sunday afternoon, Just Festival has a special screening of the moving, insightful and thoughtful film Two-Sided Story.

It is a narrative involving 27 Palestinians and Israelis meeting for a unique project called ‘History through the Human Eye’.

Bereaved Palestinian families, Orthodox Jews and religious Muslims, settlers, ex-soldiers and ex-security prisoners, and citizens of the Gaza strip; each holds their own historical truth and shares their own emotional baggage with each other.

As Archbishop Elias Chacour, a Palestinian and citizen of Israel who has struggled tirelessly and nonviolently for a just peace in the land has observed: a settlement in Israel-Palestine, which must offer security and recognition for all people, is not just about politics. It is about disarmed truth, and recognising in each other a wounded bother and sister, not an enemy or a threat.

Tor Ben-Mayor • Israel Palestine 2010 • 1h15m • Hebrew, Arabic/English subtitles Rated 18.

The hall at St John's Church (corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road, venue 127). Tickets are £6 and can be purchased at the cash-only box office at the venue.

Sponsored by Parents Circle - Families Forum (PCFF), which is a grassroots organization of bereaved Palestinians and Israelis. The PCFF promotes reconciliation as an alternative to hatred and revenge.

Learn to be a world-changer

SITTING around pontificating about the state of the world. Moaning about how the world needs to head in a different direction. Actually doing something to change it.

Which of those three options is best?  How do we move from theorising and complaining to acting?

One way is to hear the stories and experiences of people who have taken the difficulty and challenge of change into their hands and done something with it.

In what is certain to be an encouraging conversation at St John's Church at 2pm on Saturday 24th August, you will have the chance to meet inspiring young people who balance homework with changing the world.

They have had a positive effect on those they set out to help and their friends and families. What motivated them to be the change they wanted to see in the world (Gandhi) and what we can learn from them?

The interviews with our panellists will be followed by an open discussion. ​ 

The speakers will be representatives of Mary’s Meals, Fast Forward,  Eczema Outreach Scotland,   TRUE Colours, and Stonelaw High Fair Traders.

The chair will be Sean Lewis from Edinburgh and Lothians Regional Equality Council.

Tickets cost £5 and are available online or from the cash-only box office at the venue.

More information here. 

Seeds of bitterness, milk of kindness...

THE recent revelations about direct CIA involvement in the 1953 Iranian coup d'état (known in Iran as the 28 Mordad coup) bring back very personal memories for Yousef Ahadi, who heads up the operation at the Persian Tent.

The overthrow of the democratically elected government of Iran, and of Prime Minister Mohammad Mosaddegh, took place on 19 August 1953, orchestrated by the UK (under the name 'Operation Boot') and the United States (under the name TPAJAX Project).

Yousef's mother was taking part in a protest against the dictatorship, with Yousef alongside her... the outcome of which is that he reckons the CIA owe him at least a bottle of milk!

Much more seriously, though, he explains in this interview with Just Festival News why the latest revelations need to bring about a real change of heart in the West - and in the world as a whole - away from violence and injustice, and towards a better way of living together.

The legacy of the bitterness between Iran and the West can be found in part in the tragic events which unfolded 60 years ago this month. You can also find out more about Yousef's mother's story here.

Listen to the full podcast here.

Beginning again with religion

RELIGION is a 'hot topic' one way or another. Some love, some loathe, many go meh... but you can't ignore the diverse belief mix that now makes up a modern plural society.

Many of us think we know a lot about one faith or another, but we're also embarrassed by how little we know. What's more, as author Owen Cole once wisely observed: "People who have different beliefs to you don't live in books, they live down your street."

So... Ever wondered what makes food halal? How karma works? Or why Sikh people wear turbans? 

In the series 'A beginner's guide to religion' you will get to find out this and much, much more.

Each evening we will explore a different religion with a speaker from that faith.

Learn the history and teachings of each belief system, and hear personal accounts belonging to a faith tradition in 21st century Scotland and beyond.

The series is being put on by the Edinburgh Inter Faith Association. You can find full details here. Continues 21st  and 22nd • 17:30 – 18:30 each of those evenings.

By donation. Venue: Cornerstone Bookshop, EH2 4BJ (at St John's Church, corner of Princes Street and Lothian Road, Edinburgh).

Exploring the resonance of Lindisfarne

THIS is Edinburgh’s and Just Festival's contribution to the 1300th anniversary celebrations of 'The Lindisfarne Gospels' which contain the earliest surviving translation of the Gospels into English.

Dedicated to St Cuthbert, who established Edinburgh’s first church nearby, it reveals an amazing blend of Scots, Saxon, Roman, Coptic and Muslim influences.

Ray Simpson of Lindisfarne, author and founding guardian of the international Community of Aidan and Hilda, tells the amazing story of the Gospels, discusses how they may inform Scotland’s independence debate and inspire Christian-Muslim interface.

The tale leads into a meditation on the portraits of the Four Gospel writers as archetypes of the Warrior, Magus, Lover and King.

Signed copies of Ray’s new book 'The Lindisfarne Gospels' will be available.

Full details here.

Values for Scotland's future

THE So Say Scotland workshop at Edinburgh's central Quaker Meeting House last night (20th August) ended with a group photo...

Making Scotland a welcoming society

HOW will the increasing rate of migration to Scotland play out in the developing Scottish Independence Referendum discussion?

Can Scotland become a welcoming society, whichever way the vote goes? And what of the living conditions, economic and social / cultural contributions and aspirations of those coming to the country, both on a temporary basis and more long-term?

These and other issues will be discussed in this important conversation today (Saturday 17th August, 2-3.30pm, £5) at St John's Church Hall, as part of Just Festival 2013.

The speakers will be Hanzala Malik MSP, Pat Elsmie (Migrants' Rights Scotland), Fiaz Khan (Council of Ethnic Minority Voluntary Sector Organisations Scotland), and Jon Busby & Joyce Juma Phiri (the Welcoming Association). The chair will be Denboba K. Natie (LINKNet).

Full booking details here, or buy a ticket at the cash box office at the venue.

Damned rebel bitches

YES, you read that right! An afternoon of rebellion was enjoyed by participants at Just Festival yesterday afternoon (Saturday 10th August), gathering at the Quaker Meeting House in Edinburgh.

The 'Damned Rebel Bitches' in question were four remarkable, unsung Quaker women whose actions reverberated around the 19th century - writes Anna Schwoub.

"History-based fun" was on the agenda, with guest speakers including the eminent historian, James Walvin.

The event, sponsored by the DRBs Scottish Women’s History group, included art and debate. "Heroic women are sparsely commemorated - let's create our response," was the message.

Just how sparsely? Well, it was revealed that there are over 200 statues in Edinburgh alone. Of these, shockingly, just two are of women and two are of dogs.

That's not limited to Edinburgh either, participants observed. And there was naturally talk of the abuse that women have faced on social media after the campaign around lack of women's images on postage stamps, too.

Making women visible is a major issue in addressing gender inequality, gender injustice and gender-based violence in these islands and beyond.

Linking history and present struggles, as well as acknowledging the heroes of the past, is a vital step forward.

Women’s History Scotland exists to promote study and research in women’s and gender history, particularly for those working in Scotland or working on Scottish themes. It has a commitment to history at all levels and aims to provide a network of information and support to all. Browse our website for news of activities and projects concerning women’s and gender history in Scotland.

Social action and ancient Indian culture

SOCIAL activist Kirti Vekriya is speaking at the Just Festival exhibition of Indian civilisation today, Sunday 11th August, at 12.15pm.

The exhibition itself marks the 150th anniversary of the birth of Hindu monk Swami Vivekananda. He was a dynamic Hindu monk whose message of a universal humanity and honouring a divine presence in each person seems as relevant today as it was during his own time.

Just Festival is hosting an exhibition on Ancient Indian Civiiisation and Swamiji’s teachings right through to the end of the month, as part of our exploration of different traditions, beliefs and cultures.

During 2013, the Exhibition will be visiting over 100 towns and cities on tour across Scotland, England, Wales and northern Ireland.

Tea, cake and death?

IN an age and western culture which often prides itself on its openness, death remains a taboo subject for many - or at least one that is skirted around rather prosaically.

Yet the one thing we human beings can be certain of is that we will all die. Traditionally, religion and other spiritual paths have been committed to enabling us to face death positively, not simply because of particular and differing beliefs about what might follow, but in order to be able to live without fear and make the most of life.

At 'Death Cafés' people come together in a relaxed and safe setting to discuss death, drink tea and eat delicious cake. It might sound unusual, but a light-hearted natter can the darkness out of the subject, whether you believe in life beyond death (and life) or not.

Two such Cafés are taking place as part of the 2013 Just Festival, both at Punjab’n De Rasoi on Leith Walk, EH6 5DT. The first is this afternoon, 3-5pm, Saturday 10th August. The second is next Saturday, 17th August, between the same times.

On both occasions, Punjab’n De Rasoi will provide traditional refreshments served at a Sikh funeral.