Challenging the Militarisation of Youth in Scotland

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Event date(s): 
28/04/2015 - 18:00 to 29/04/2015 - 17:45

The event is FREE, but please book a place at
https://eventbrite.co.uk/event/16176103160/

The Ministry of Defence have ramped up their recruitment efforts. The military are visiting more and more schools nationwide, especially in lower income areas. There has been a surge in the number of Cadet Forces and Troops to Teacher programmes. The Government and MOD have together created The British Armed Forces: Learning Resource 2014, targeting 5-16 year olds, emailing it to every school in the country.

We are reaching new levels of militarisation of youth in the UK and Scotland.

This is an invitation to an event exploring the military's engagement with young people in Scotland. It will feature:

Owen Everett, Education Campaign worker at ForcesWatch* giving a report on armed forces visits to schools in Scotland;

Ben Griffin, ex-SAS soldier from Veterans for Peace UK** speaking on Recruitment and the Militarisation of Youth;

[Third Speaker]

There will also be a screening of the short film 'Engage: the military and young people', which was made by teenagers.

The UK military spends millions of pounds each year on its 'youth engagement' programme, including around 11,000 armed forces visits to state secondary schools and colleges, and huge Cadet Forces. These initiatives concern many people, particularly given that the two main aims of them are recruitment into the armed forces - which carries much higher risks for the youngest, most disadvantaged recruits (the UK is the only country in the EU that recruits 16 year-olds into the armed forces) - and to give children a positive view towards the armed forces that they will carry into adulthood.

On April 29th we will host a workshop ‘What is militarism? And how to counter it?’ 6pm. Destination TBC.

*ForcesWatch is a small not-for-profit organisation based in London that critically scrutinises the ethical basis of the recruitment of young people into the UK armed forces, and the growing presence and influence of the military and military approaches in different areas of UK society (especially the education system), raising concerns as to whose best interests these are really in.

**Veterans For Peace UK is an anti-war ex-services organisation that;
1. Educates on the true nature of military service and war.
2. Resists war and militarism through nonviolent action.
3. Stands in solidarity with people affected by militarism and war.
Their ultimate aim is the abolition of war as an instrument of foreign policy.

*** [Third Speaker info]

The event is FREE, but please book a place at
https://eventbrite.co.uk/event/16176103160/

These workshops are organised by Resist Militarism Network, with the support of the Centre for Human Ecology, Forces Watch and Veterans For Peace.

28th April 2015 marks 100 years exactly since the International Congress of Women at The Haig to call for the end of WW1. Chrystal McMillan was an audacious anti-war activist from Scotland who attended the Congress. This event is also a celebration of resistance against war and militarism 100 years ago, as well today. You can find a report on the historic event here: https://archive.org/details/internatcongrewom00interich

For more information on The British Armed ForcesWatchs: Learning Resource 2014 please see:

Quaker Peace & Social Witness: Stop the War Coalition British Armed Forces: Propaganda in the classroom?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wB9JD6P1RCM&feature=youtu.be

Forces Watch Report: http://forceswatch.net/sites/default/files/ForcesWatch_response_British_Armed_Forces_Learning_Resource.pdf

The British Armed Forces Learning Resource 2014 can be viewed in full at:
http://www.armedforceslearningresources.co.uk/

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