27.08.2015

The Peace Foundation Aotearoa is holding a
‘World Without War: Action for Peace’ conference

Is it naive to want warfare to end?

With some 17,000 nuclear weapons in existence, and 1,800 of these on high-alert status, ready to be launched within minutes, can we still wage and win a major war?

Add to that artificial intelligence, robots, drones, nanotechnology, advanced biochemical weaponry and we might wonder how we are going to avoid an accident let alone a war.

All this military spending cost the world $ 1547 trillion in 2014 alone.

U.S. President Woodrow Wilson once said that World War One was the “war to end all wars”, however one hundred years later we are nowhere near that vision.

The Peace Foundation Aotearoa/New Zealand invites all who have an interest in a future without war to share in the crucial responsibility of formulating practical and evidence based action proposals that can make a difference.

Dr John Hinchcliff, AUT Vice Chancellor Emeritus and President of the Peace Foundation affirms that, “It is far better to contribute with ideas for action than sitting on the sidelines and forgetting about the real world. Perhaps just one action proposal might make a difference.”

Some 40 people with expertise will share their knowledge as the basis for understanding the threats and developing realistic actions that might make a difference. These include politicians such as the Mayor of Wellington, Hon. Phil Goff, Richard Northey, senior academics from AUT, the University of Auckland and Waikato University, experts against violence and war from Sweden and NZ, critics concerned about high tech weaponry, leaders representing our youth, the UN, Maoridom, education and religions.

Action plans emerging from this conference will be circulated and shared internationally. This will mean finding ways to cooperate with like minded people engaged in peacefare around our world. This includes those hosting events to mark the United Nations International Day of Peace on the 21st September.

The Peace Foundation will host, at this Conference, the Australasian premier of a remarkable film about a man who made a difference: “The Man Who Saved the World.”

The ‘World Without War: Action for Peace’ Conference will be held in the Sir Paul Reeves Building, Auckland University of Technology, 19 - 20 September 2015.

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