Quaker peace education expert keynote speaker at university symposium

Ellis Brooks, peace education co-ordinator at Quakers in Britain, addressed teachers, academics and peace educators at the University College London symposium on July 7 on the importance of peace education.

Man holding microphone
Ellis Brooks, photo credit: Tabatha Fireman for LEAP

The recent Quaker peace education report, Peace at the Heart, was recommended reading for the event, attended by 70 people, online and in person.

Ellis discussed implementing peace education against a backdrop of ongoing war, the delivery of STEM lessons by arms companies in schools, and the cultural and structural violence in British education.

Ellis told the audience: “I hope this group will empower educators to confront the normalised narratives around the militarism in society, so that young people can bring critical thinking and moral reasoning to bear on these issues."

The new Peace Education Special Interest Group at UCL came into being through Quaker support for teacher education at the college.

Read the Peace at the Heart report here