A time & place to learn peace.
In the spirit of creating a time and place to ‘learn peace’, the Launceston and Tamar community will come together for a three-day festival. It will provide a framework in which individuals and organisations can define and share what ‘peace’ means to them.
The Festival will celebrate the roles of art, diversity, education and sport in building community cohesion and goodwill between people. Community groups, organisations and individuals will be invited to, under the Festival banner, conduct activities that support the concept of community kindness, tolerance and non-conflict resolution.
Over 50 local organisations and groups participated in the 2015 Festival and attracted direct participation by over 7000 people. It was that amazing response that has driven the Trust to make the Festival a regular winter event for Launceston.
Many schools, churches, sporting and service clubs ran peace-themed activities including assemblies, exhibitions, guest lectures, writing projects and community service activities. Larger organisations hosted significant art exhibitions, public lectures and forums while, at a community level, choirs, orchestras and theatre companies presented formal and informal performances.
Festival participation does not need to be about creating work or spending money. It can be about existing groups overlaying a theme of peace onto existing activities – art and writing projects, the selection of books or films for clubs and societies, street parties .. there are no rules!
It is hoped the organisations that shape and inform community thinking will take strong leadership roles in using their influence and capacity to play a part in building awareness of the societal and economic benefits that exist in more peaceful communities. These ‘thought leaders’ may focus on the economic pillars of peace: the economic impacts of domestic and street violence on destination brand and appeal, workplace productivity or the costs associated with managing violence in our communities.