This February The Priory Rooms Meeting and Conference Centre and Central England Quakers are celebrating the opening of The Peace Hub with a special all-day launch event; the latest project supported by The Priory Rooms a not-for-profit Birmingham conference venue.

The Peace Hub is the exciting new project created by the Central England Quakers charity; one of four which The Priory Rooms Meeting & Conference Centre profits contribute towards. Located in the heart of Birmingham city centre next door to The Priory Rooms the Hub first opened its doors in autumn 2014. On Thursday 26th February the Peace Hub’s Co-ordinator, the volunteer team and Central England Quakers are delighted to invite the public to the official launch event; celebrating the support received for the Hub’s work so far and to introduce their upcoming project.

The Peace Hub is a centre for everyone who is in sympathy with the Quaker belief that a just and peaceful world is possible if we work together to make change in our own lives and to build local, national and international structures that support peace and justice. Everyone is welcome to pop into the Hub on Bull Street, Birmingham to escape the crush, get a cuppa and discover the exciting and varied ways they can help support this call for action.

The West Midlands Quaker Peace Education Project Peacemakers, who are also funded by Central England Quakers, are based on the first floor above the Hub. The group work in partnerships with local schools to help build more peaceful communities by delivering training to adults and children in skills such as peer mediation and conflict resolution. Peacemakers are teaming up with the Hub on the launch event day to celebrate the success of the Hub’s recent campaign supporting Fair-trade.

Peacemakers have invited local school children to attend workshops about fair-trade at the Hub throughout the day. They will design posters about the cause to be displayed in the Hub, with the public warmly welcomed to pop in and see the children’s’ artwork. You can also explore the fair-trade groceries available to buy there and sign a petition for local supermarkets to stock more fair-trade goods.

On the evening a special reception is being held at The Priory Rooms’ Main Meeting House. From 6.30pm you are invited to a thought-provoking and inspiring presentation about The Peace Hubs’ objectives and campaigns. Starting with a buffet and refreshments hosted by The Priory Rooms you can meet likeminded people to share news and contacts. Then discover the Peace Hubs’ motivating call to promote peace and justice in Birmingham and how they hope to work together with the community.

The guest speaker of the evening is Matthew Burnett-Stuart who will be introducing the Hubs’ next campaign theme; conscientious objection. In 2014 Matthew was awarded one of three UK Peaceworker placements funded by Quaker Peace and Social Witness to support organisations working for peace at local, national and international level. He is placed with Campaign Against Arms Trade (CAAT), where he has worked on the Arming All Sides project.

Arming All Sides is a website which explores how the arms companies operated during and after World War I and the ethical questions this raises. As a history graduate, Matthew had a conventional knowledge of WWI, but work on Arming All Sides has allowed him to uncover an extraordinary hidden history. Matthew’s role at CAAT is to bring this history to wider public attention, including developing educational material for schools.

The Hub’s next theme of conscientious objection is supporting the Central England Quakers “Faith and Action” exhibition at the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery; using original photographs, film, interviews and artefacts to tell the compelling stories of Quakers men and women during the First World War.

Join the evening celebration of this new peace-making project in Birmingham on Thursday 26th February by RSVPing to this special evening reception to office@peacehub.org.uk or 0121 238 2869.
The Peace Hub is located on 41 Bull Street, Birmingham, B4 6AF http://www.peacehub.org.uk/