Reasoning Workshop report
(Presenters are encouraged to submit a brief report of the outcomes of the workshop to contribute to the final report of IEPC. Please feel free to hand in your written reports to Tara Tautari or alternatively, send them electronically to tta@wcc-coe.org)
1. Title : Military Spending versus the Spending to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs)
2. Organisers and panelists : International Peace Bureau and Pax Christi International – Panelists:
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Binalakshmi Nepram (from International Peace Bureau) Founder, Manipur Women Gun Survivors Network Secretary General, Control Arms Foundation of India
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Peter Paul Ekker (from Pax Christi International) Nuclear Disarmament Bureau, IKV Pax Christi, The Netherlands
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Jessica Brown (from Pax Christi International) Youth Coordinator, Pax Christi International
3. Purpose and context of workshop :
a. To network and brainstorm best practices for coordinated international advocacy campaigns highlighting military spending – especially spending for nuclear weapons – in light of financial commitments states have made in 2000 in signing the United Nations Millennium Declaration.
4. Main issues addressed :
a. Military expenditure – the ethical implications of unchecked global military spending from our different national contexts
i. This especially highlighted the experience of India and the region of the Indo-Burma border as a case study to guide the discussion
b. Development assistance in light of the MDGs – discussing the role of emerging economies and comparing the responsibilities of historic ‘donor’ states – to share experiences and government spending priorities attendees had advocated/worked on in our various spheres of influence
c. The role of young people in promoting advocacy objectives on these issues; the importance of revitalizing the conversation in our churches and organizations; the importance of new media and other uses of pictorial charts and statistics to ‘shock the conscience’
5. Possible follow-up and/recommendations :
a. Possible follow-up included: an e-mail listserve of attendees, to promote future campaign coordination, networking, and to discuss best practices and lessons learned post-April 12th 2011’s Global Day of Action on Military Spending
b. Recommendations included: a continued commitment to connecting grassroots and high-level advocacy work in our organizations- this could be achieved through a monthly listserve update that highlighted what attendees were working on in their organizations
6. Useful links/ references :
a. http://www.m4dev.org/suta.htm# (video game for youth and the MDGs)
b. http://ipb.org/i/index.html
c. www.cafi-online.org
d. www.paxchristi.net; www.paxchristiyouthforum.net
e. http://www.ikvpaxchristi.nl/UK/below_our_task_campaigns.htm
7. List/ number of participants :
a. 31 participants