Oxford Group

Oxford Friends Of Neve Shalom-Wahat al Salam (NS-WaS)

Peace is Possible
An Open Forum
Chaired by Bruce Kent,

Vice Chair of The Movement for the Abolition of War

The Friends’ Meeting House, Oxford
Sunday 17th May 2009 at 6pm - 8.30pm

Free Tickets available from the Friends’ Meeting House, from 1st May
Donations Welcome, to bring NS-WaS children to Woodstock

Joining Bruce on the panel will be:
Susan Denton-Brown, Chair of the Gandhi Foundation
Iman Monawar Hussain, from the Oxford Central Mosque, mentor, and teacher; has led a number of groundbreaking initiatives in the fields of peace and interfaith education
Lisa Slater, Headteacher, Woodstock C.E. Primary School, which maintains a friendship link with NS-WaS Primary School.

6.00 Welcome and Introduction

6.15 to 7.15 Bruce Kent, Susan Denton-Brown, Imam Monawar Hussain, and Lisa Slater will each speak for 15 minutes about their involvement with peace issues.

Break for refreshments
Time for discussion about issues aired and questions to ask the panel

7.45 to 8.30 Any Questions chaired by Bruce Kent


Profiles of Panel Speakers:
BRUCE KENT needs little introduction. For most people he has, since the 1980s and before, been the most dynamic, deeply involved and high profile peace activist in Great Britain. Some of us are old enough to have been inspired by him when he was General Secretary of the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament. His many appearances on TV and radio have made him a household name. For the last 10 years he has been committed 'Movement for the Abolition of
War' (MAW) of which he is the current Vice President

SUSAN DENTON-BROWN first became associated with Neve Shalom-Wahat al-Salam (NSW-aS) in 1988 when, as Head of RE and Citizenship at Tanbridge House School in Horsham, she was asked to pilot and promote an education project 'Dealing With Conflict', based on the conflict transformation methodology of the School For Peace based in NS-WaS. She has maintained strong links with the village and was herself trained there to be a facilitator between groups in conflict. An advocate of non-violent approaches to conflict and education for peace, she won a Farmington Fellowship at Harris Manchester College in 2002 to research the life and teachings of Mohandas Gandhi, and their relevance to current global issues. After several years of association with the Gandhi Foundation she now has the role of Chair.

LISA SLATER Head Teacher of Woodstock CE Primary School writes "Our School has enjoyed links with the Primary School in NS-WaS for five years, and we are proud to have this special and very privileged connection. As educators we have the capacity to influence attitudes and challenge perceptions. The link between our two schools actively promotes community cohesion and working towards a society in which there is a common vision and sense of belonging. We want our children to appreciate and value the diversity of people's backgrounds and circumstances. Our work with NS-WaS Primary School provides a real context for Citizenship Education within our curriculum, and to developing a shared understanding. Having gained at a personal level from visiting NS-WaS, I believe a reciprocal visit from pupils at their primary school would benefit not just the pupils involved, but the wider communities of both schools."

IMAM MONAWAR HUSSAIN read Theology at Oxford University majoring in Islam and the West. He trained as an Imam at the Muslim College in London. Monawar has spoken at many educational institutions and forums throughout the UK and has taken part in several TV documentaries about Muslims in Europe. He is currently trialling a programme he devised himself entitled 'The Oxford Muslim Pupils Empowerment Programme', seeking to engage Muslim pupils within a school context, that has been highlighted nationally by government. He is also the Muslim tutor at Eton College. He served as a commissioner on the 'Commission for the Future of Volunteering', and continues to support the work of volunteers in England. Passionate about interfaith work, he has led on a number of groundbreaking initiatives in the fields of interfaith and peace education.