education

Thu

Mar

2016

The All-seeing Eye: The Police Teaching in Schools

New translation available

Submitted by hannah

By Burgos Online

The article, “El ojo que todo lo ve” or “The All-seeing Eye” by Burgos Online paints a picture, but not for the purpose of artistic beauty, but rather...

Tue

Jun

Young People, the Military, and the Aftermath of the UK’s General Election

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 23/06/2015 - 15:59

It has been more than a month since the General Elections in the UK which ended up with a Conservative Party majority in the Parliament. We asked Forces Watch* to review these results and their implications on the militarisation of youth in the UK for Antimili-Youth.

Mon

Jun

Welsh Gov told to review the way British military recruits in Welsh schools

Submitted by hannah on Mon, 22/06/2015 - 11:38

By Daily Wales correspondent

The Welsh Government has been told to review of the way the British Armed Forces are allowed to recruit in Welsh schools.

A Welsh Assembly report raises concerns about the high level of visits made to Welsh secondary schools when compared to other parts of the UK.

It also questions whether the regular visits are providing pupils with a fair and balanced view of military life.

An investigation was carried out in response to a Welsh Assembly petition from a group called, Cymdeithas y Cymod (Fellowship of Reconciliation).

The petition highlighted the fact that Britain is the only state within NATO or the European Union to allow the military into schools.

Britain is also alone within the Europe in recruiting 16-year-olds into the armed forces.

War veterans call for rethink on recruitment of 16-year-olds

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 22/06/2015 - 11:03

Former professionals condemn recruitment of teenagers by ‘pushing the notion of a noble military career to children’

A group of British war veterans will launch a campaign this week against enlisting 16-year-olds into the military.

Britain is the only state in Europe or Nato that still enlists minors, a policy criticised by the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child, the parliamentary joint committee on human rights and other groups including Child Soldiers International and British Quakers. The organisation Veterans For Peace (VFP) is demanding change, but the MoD says it depends on 16-year-olds for a quarter of the intake needed to sustain UK forces.

Tue

Jun

Many Yemeni Children Carry Guns Instead of Pens

Submitted by antimili-youth on Tue, 16/06/2015 - 18:12

By Samar Qaed, Al-Fanar Media

SANA’A—Hussein Ahmed goes with his friend Ali Daily to an inspection point next to the Olympic Center, North Sana’a, where he was recruited at age 16 by the Houthi Movement.

“The movement gave us weapons and a daily schedule for our guard duty at the checkpoints,” Ahmed said.

Ahmed, who is supposed to serve as a soldier for two years, is not the only one who joined the armed groups at an early age. Unicef has reported that more than 10,000 children have been recruited for armed forces in Yemen since 2011.

In April of this year alone, Unicef said, at least 140 children were recruited by armed groups, 115 children died in fighting, and 172 were injured. All that happened as a result of the conflicts that began on March 26 between the forces led by Saudi Arabia, the Houthi Movement, and the proponents of former president Ali Abdullah Saleh.

Mon

Jun

Nobel laureate Satyarthi says up to 500,000 child soldiers worldwide

Submitted by antimili-youth on Mon, 15/06/2015 - 16:57

Geneva (AFP) - There are up to 500,000 child soldiers around the world, Nobel laureate and child rights activist Kailash Satyarthi said Friday, terming it the worst form of child abuse.

Satyarthi, who is attending an International Labour Organization summit in Geneva, said global funding for education -- the best means to fight child labour and servitude -- had gone down dramatically over the past four years.

"There are between 400,000 and 500,000 child soldiers across the world but the actual numbers could be far higher because there are hidden militant groups kidnapping children and forcing them to use guns," he told reporters.

Sat

Jun

U.S. Muslims Take On ISIS’ Recruiting Machine

Submitted by Gary on Sat, 13/06/2015 - 23:49

Humera Khan, the founder of Muflehun, a think tank that focuses on countering violent extremism, during a youth leadership and safety conference in Avon, Conn., in November. Credit Katherine Taylor for The New York Times

By Laurie Goodstein

STERLING, Va. — Imam Mohamed Magid tries to stay in regular contact with the teenager who came to him a few months ago, at his family’s urging, to discuss how he was being wooed by online recruiters working for the Islamic State, the extremist group in Syria and Iraq.

Tue

Jun

US Military involvement with Colleges - bigger than it seems

Submitted by hannah on Tue, 09/06/2015 - 10:48

The US Military influences higher education through a variety of mechanisms

The US military regards colleges as a crucial component of their defence strategy, and has developed a well-resourced and sophisticated position of influence within the US higher education system. Campuses have become an extension of the US military complex and key sties for recruitment, training, and military research.

Student Militias - The Reserve Officers' Training Corps (ROTC)

Founded in 1916, the ROTC exists in over 1,000 US colleges, and provides military training to students, with the aim of producing the next generation of armed forces officers. ROTC Students are provided with a scholarship to college, on the condition that they complete four years of active military service once they graduate. ROTC graduates also serve an additional four years in the reserves after their active service.

Thu

Jun

Arms companies are making money by taking over UK schools

Submitted by hannah on Thu, 04/06/2015 - 14:33

By Andrew Smith

Corporations have already established a growing foothold in many UK schools, but the idea of Europe's biggest arms company running a school still seems like something out of an Orwellian nightmare.

Tue

Apr

Veterans For Peace Chicago Billboard Campaign

Submitted by Gary on Tue, 28/04/2015 - 21:03

"Very glad to learn about this outstanding initiative, and I wish you the greatest – well-deserved – success." Noam Chomsky

"Regarding any input I have about your work to demilitarize public education in Chicago, it has my wholehearted support. We should be teaching our children how to resolve conflicts in a peaceful and constructive way." Roman Catholic Bishop Thomas Gumbleton

What We Are Doing

Veterans For Peace Chicago Billboard Campaign

Tue

Apr

Europe's biggest arms maker to run UK schools

Submitted by hannah on Tue, 28/04/2015 - 10:40

The British government has chosen Europe’s largest arms manufacturer as its preferred sponsor of an under-performing school in northwestern England, prompting criticism by anti-arms trade activists.

The UK-based BAE Systems, which made £15.4 billion in profits last year, is set to take over Furness Academy in Barrow, Cumbria, in September by setting up a trust to run the school under its submarine-building plant based in the town, SchooWeek journal reported Friday.

This is while Sam Robinson, university coordinator for the Campaign Against the Arms Trade (CAAT), described the decision as “deeply worrying.”

“The idea [BAE] could soon be playing a significant role in running one of our schools is deeply worrying,” added Robinson.

He further said, “It … gives them direct access to potential future employees and often allows them to influence the curriculum to suit their employment needs.”

Pages

Languages

Countering Military Recruitment

WRI's new booklet, Countering Military Recruitment: Learning the lessons of counter-recruitment campaigns internationally, is out now. The booklet includes examples of campaigning against youth militarisation across different countries with the contribution of grassroot activists.

You can order a paperback version here.