On this week’s episode of Talking Radical Radio, Scott Neigh speaks with Florence Stratton and Ed Lehman. They are both long-time peace and social justice activists, and they speak about the work of PeaceQuest Regina to build a culture of peace in high schools and in the community at large.
Today, the peace movement is not nearly as visible in the mainstream as it has been at certain moments in the past — 2003, for instance, or points in the 1980s, or in the late 1960s. Yet a wide range of activities to oppose war and militarism, and to promote peace with justice, continue to happen in communities across the country. Take, for instance, Regina, Saskatchewan: It has not one, not two, but three active peace groups. PeaceQuest Regina is the newest of these, and is a local affiliate of a national organization. Since the chapter in Regina was founded in 2014, they have done plenty of work both on their own and in conjunction with the other peace groups in the city to counter our dominant culture of war and injustice and to build a culture of peace. This has included numerous educational interventions in the community through things like peace walks, teach-ins, memorials, and more. And it includes work specifically focused on challenging militarism in the education system through opposition to provincial government attempts to institute a program offering military training to high school students. They claim a partial victory in this campaign, as the program was suspended this year due to low enrollment, though the government intends to push forward with it again next year. PeaceQuest Regina will be continuing their opposition to it and also ramping up efforts to get a Peace Studies course added to the high shcool curriculum. Stratton and Lehman talk with me about the hard work of building a culture of peace in the community and in schools, and what a Canada that truly embraced peace might look like.
For more information on the work of PeaceQuest Regina, click here.
Talking Radical Radio brings you grassroots voices from across Canada. We give you the chance to hear many different people that are facing many different struggles talk about what they do, why they do it, and how they do it, in the belief that such listening is a crucial step in strengthening all of our efforts to change the world. To learn more about the show check out its website here. You can also follow us on FaceBook or Twitter, or contact [email protected] to join our weekly email update list.
Talking Radical Radio is brought to you by Scott Neigh, a writer, media producer, and activist based in Hamilton (formerly Sudbury), Ontario, and the author of two books examining Canadian history through the stories of activists.
