WHERE ARE WE MARCHING?
Tuesday 11 July
Debate 6.30 – 8pm, exhibition open until 9.30pm
Imperial War Museum, Lambeth Rd, SE1 6HZ
Click here for Tickets
A live debate, running alongside a major exhibition at IWM London, People Power: Fighting for Peace.
What is the future of protest in the UK and globally? Join comedian and political satirist Mark Thomas, Jim Waterson (Political Editor, Buzzfeed) and leading peace protesters including Kate Hudson (Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament) and former SAS soldier Ben Griffin (Veterans for Peace UK) as they discuss key issues, from the historical roots of protest to the role of social media in modern movements. This interactive debate will also explore current protest and peace movements to try to answer where the future of protest is marching.
The ticket price includes entry to People Power: Fighting for Peace, the UK’s first major exhibition to explore the evolution of the anti-war protest movement from the First World War to the present day. A unique combination of more than three hundred items takes visitors on a journey from the First World War to the present day, looking at how peace activists have influenced perceptions of war and conflict.
This event has been produced with the IWM Youth Advisers.
Suitable for: All ages
https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/where-are-we-marching-the-future-of-protest-tickets-35233485303
Veterans For Peace UK 
One aspect of the changing face of war and associated militarism which needs to be confronted is the professionalisation of the armed services and the consequent ultra-sophistication of weaponry, for the use of which it would seem that hi-tech competence is required. In short, the present-day service-person is depicted as , still ,a “Boys’ Own” figure, yet his/her real expertise is more valuably in distance killing.
Further, the days when people actually remember National Service or their parents being called up are fading away, and so any personal connection with the military is disappearing for the great majority. Military families are to a large extent sealed off from the lives of “civvies”, and this tendency is exploited by the Toffs , who are more than happy to distract from any real reflection on war and peace.Peace is becoming a dirty word for so many, seduced by the awful glamour of “our boys”; earlier thoughts that killing people is wrong are absent or virtually expunged.This sad situation has arisen quite rapidly, imho, and needs urgent attention.The encouraging of children to manipulate lethal weapons is a point to take up, urgently.Finally,some simple point to make is that the conference is at the Imperial War Museum, whose very name evokes the glories (!!) of Empire.Think about it.