Dear Reader,
Climate change has been very much in the news in September. When the United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres convened the Climate Action Summit in New York, he recognised that climate change is probably the biggest threat to world peace and urgent action is needed by world leaders to deal with the problem as a matter of urgency.
On a local scale, Coventry Climate Action Network (organised by the Coventry United Nations Association) is working to encourage individuals, businesses and local government to take action to reduce their carbon footprint.
Coventry Lord Mayor's Committee are putting the final touches to plans for the Coventry Young People’s Peace and Reconciliation Conference to be run in November funded by the National Lottery Community Fund. It will focus on listening to the voices and feelings of young people concerned about the epidemic of violence and knife-crime. They will then work together with peace activists to generate ideas for new projects that can be run in schools and communities.
Coventry and Warwickshire Children's Peace Poem Competition is now in full swing and already receiving poems with the theme of human rights. If you know any children aged 16 or under make sure they tell their RE or English teacher to visit the peace poem website covpeacepoem.uk
The new edition of the classic book "Ruined and Rebuilt" is currently being prepared for the printer. We are delighted that the Archbishop of Canterbury's heartfelt tribute will appear on the back cover of the book. In the book, Provost Richard Howard describes how he tried to save the cathedral, decided it would have to be rebuilt and led the team which achieved this mighty effort.
More information about all this below, plus other peace and reconciliation related events in Coventry and the wider world.
Please do let us know of any peace-related news or activities happening in or near Coventry and we will be happy to add them to our website http://coventrycityofpeace.uk and include them in a future edition of this newsletter.
Philip Brown
Chair, Coventry Lord Mayor's Committee for Peace & Reconciliation
covlmpc@gmail.com