The Peace & Justice Centre has worked since 1980 to promote nonviolence, human rights, conflict resolution, disarmament and ecological sustainability and to create a culture of peace across Scotland. We aim to act as a catalyst for a more peaceful and just Scotland.
The P&J Centre in Edinburgh
We are a hub for peacebuilding based in Edinburgh and serving Scotland. We maintained a meeting space and drop in centre in Edinburgh fom 1980 until the recent pandemic, and we are now actively seeking new premises sothat we can re-open that resource, We aim to share space with our partner organisation, Secure Scotland. If you have suggestions, please email Janet or Jane . The main criteria can be seen here.
P&J Events
We run lots of events promoting peace and nonviolence throughout the year including (for instance) ‘Kites not killer drones’ , participating in Edinburgh’s Festival summertime, our annual Conscientious Objectors Day event and in celebration of UN International Peace Day on 21st September. More impromptu events are often arranged or supported in response to particular crises, like the invasion of Ukraine, or opportinities for celebration like UN progress in disarmament or conflict resolution.
Our Projects
The pandemic meant an enforced break from our Peacebuilding in Schools in schools and we are now in the process of rethinking our peace education and outreach work. In this new post lockdown era, there is an increased understanding of the links that working for peace has in the urgent work to address the climate emergency, with Me Too and Black Lives Matter helping to ensure that we develop our peace education in a global context. We would welcome contributions about how we respond in our education work in and outside schools. If you have ideas or know of important and significant initiatives, please email Jane or Janet.
For many years, The Peace & Justice Centre ran Cooperative Games sessions in schools across Edinburgh and Glasgow. Working through Cooperative games and activities the foundation sessions helped to develop a culture of peace and begin to address conflict. Further conflict resolution sessions could build skills in class groups to prevent and resolve conflict and within schools to put in place processes for restorative justice.
A more in-depth programme followed on from the Cooperative Games course and builds towards a whole school approach with training for teachers and pupils in class groups to develop sustainable practices in Nonviolent Communication, a Restorative Practice of Conflict Resolution, and Peer Mediation . This work can be explored here and will inform a new programme.
140,000 Origami Cranes: Remembering Hiroshima Project
The origami cranes project gave us the chance to engage people in their communities to remember all those killed by the Hiroshima atom bomb and raise awareness of the Treaty On the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons (TPNW) as well as learning a new creative skill.
Our new exhibition, emerging through the arts and activism programme, is Consequences, which will be preented at Out of The Blue in Ausgust 2022. Consequences focusses on the humanitarian, political and envoronmental impact that nuclear weapons have and continue to have in the world since 1945, captured in a range of media and as well as images and prints, the poetry Library has partnered with P and J for this event. see more about Consequences. Find more info about Scottish work for the TPNW
Conscientious Objectors Memorial Project
The Peace and Justice Centre is now working with UN House Scotland and a consortium of organisations in Edinburgh and across Scotland to establish a memorial to Conscientious Objectors and all those who oppose wars Find out more about the project.
Campaigning for Divestment from the Arms Trade
We have teamed up with Edinburgh Campaign Against the Arms Trade to call on the Lothian Pensions Fund to divest from arms companies. Peace & Justice Centre Coordinator Brian Larkin testified at the Petitions Committee (testimony starts at 8 minutes) of Edinburgh City Council.
Don’t Bank on the Bomb Scotland
The Peace and Justice Centre initiated the formation of a network in Scotland working on the Don’t Bank on the Bomb campaign, based on the work done by Pax in the Netherlands and the Don’t Bank on the Bomb Report. Keep up to date and find out how to get involved with this programme CLICK HERE.
We organised a launch of the campaign in Scotland with a public meeting and an event at Scottish Parliament. Read the report from the launch here.
Internship Programme and Student Work Placements
Most of the work of the Peace & Justice Centre is done by volunteers. We offer lots of great Volunteer and internship opportunities for people to get involved, learn skills and make a difference. For more info CLICK HERE.
