Richard Seebohm
The Quaker Council for European Affairs is still both your Quakerly voice in Europe and your unique window on Europe – and not just about the European Union.
Perhaps you have been on one of its study tours, perhaps you see its bimonthly newsletter Around Europe. Perhaps you have already responded to appeals like this one.
It is easy for me to say it, but now seems a critical time to take stock of the myriad issues that crowd in on its traditional programme areas – peace, human rights, climate. Bad faith and hints of corruption, corrosion of democracy, militarisation of every policy strand, environmental effects of conflict, data and cyber threats, refugees, threats to freedoms, energy crises, Ukraine.
I could go on.
QCEA now has a sparky new director, Tracey Martin – some Friends may know her, she was until now at Woodbrook. She has until the April QCEA General Assembly meeting to formulate a strategy and staffing plan to face up to all this. More resources will make her task that much easier.
I shall be leaving leaflets in the Meeting House, but here are the contribution basics.
One way: go to the the qcea.org web site and click donate.
Bank transfer
Account: British Friends of QCEA
Number: 00004748
Sort code: 40-52-40
Reference: Oxford appeal
Cheque or charity voucher
Payee: British Friends of Quaker Council for European Affairs
Address: BFoQCEA, 33 Shaw Lane Gardens, Guiseley, Leeds, LS20 9JQ
Gift Aid via Martin Ford, our treasurer
About QCEA*
The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) works to bring a vision based on the Quaker commitment to peace, justice and equality to Europe and its institutions. We seek to build support for humane, non-military policies at the EU level, both inside and outside its borders. We do so in the spirit of peaceful cooperation which forms the foundation of European politics.
We have been based in Brussels’ European Quarter since our foundation in 1979.
We currently operate two programmes focused on peace and human rights. Our peace programme works to promote non-violent conflict resolution based on the concept of “shared security,” with a view to challenging the idea that international security can only be guaranteed by military means. Our human rights programme seeks to advance a more humane approach to migration and asylum in Europe, and focuses on less visible migration policy areas such as child immigration detention.
QCEA is a member of advocacy networks EPLO (European Peacebuilding Liaison Office) and HRDN (Human Rights and Democracy Network), as well as a number of Quaker networks. We are an international not-for-profit organisation (AISBL) under Belgian law.
*Quaker House image above and the text of this article are reproduced with permission from the QCEA.
| Previous Article | Next Article |
Back to February 2023 Newsletter Main Page
Forty-Three Newsletter • Number 526 • February 2023
Oxford Friends Meeting
43 St Giles, Oxford OX1 3LW
Copyright 2023, Oxford Quakers