European Quaker peaceworker schemes - an overview SUMMARY This short report is based on a survey of former staff employed by the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva and the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) Brussels in the capacity of Programme Assistants, and those employed by Quaker Peace and Social Witness (QPSW) London in the capacity of UK Peaceworkers between 1989 and 2015. It also includes responses from the two recent Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM) Coordinators, employed by Britain Yearly Meeting since 2013. The results demonstrate that these schemes are very effective at sharing Quaker ideas, values and practices and the ‘faith in action’ component is important to a lot of people who do these schemes, both during and following their placements. The majority of peaceworkers who responded continue to be engaged in social justice work and activism following their placement year. Many indicate that they made enduring connections with fellow peaceworkers and staff members from their placement year and the majority express an interest in staying connected with each other and in mentoring current and future peaceworkers. 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank current and former Representatives and staff members of the Quaker organisations who helped me to track down contact details, the wonderful Woodbrooke tutors and all those who took the time and effort to respond to the survey. Particular thanks are due to Rhiannon Redpath, Heather Rowlands, Christine McCartney and Jude Kirton-Darling for participating in interviews as well as my Quaker peaceworker friends for your support, encouragement, feedback and for inspiring this project. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Haifa Rashed was a programme assistant at the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva in 2012-2013. Whilst she specifically did not include her own experiences in the research, her experience as a peaceworker1 motivated her to conduct this study. In 2015 she was awarded an Eva Koch scholarship at Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre2, which enabled her to undertake this research. November 2015 1 For ease of legibility, all participants in the schemes are referred to as ‘peaceworkers’ throughout this paper 2 Woodbrooke Quaker Study Centre is Europe’s only Quaker study centre, based in Birmingham, UK. See https://www.woodbrooke.org.uk for more. 2 Table of Contents Research questions, method and background ............................................ 4 Survey limitations ................................................................................. 4 The organisations and their placement schemes ....................................... 5 The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) Brussels ....................... 5 The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva ................................ 6 Quaker Peace & Social Witness (QPSW) UK Peaceworkers ..................... 7 Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM) and Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) ....................................................................................................... 8 Survey results summary .............................................................................. 9 How peaceworkers found out about the scheme ................................... 9 Peaceworkers’ prime motivations for applying to the placement .......... 9 The placement itself .............................................................................. 10 Training and support throughout the placement year .......................... 11 Spirituality and Quakerism ........................................................................ 15 Where are they now? ............................................................................... 18 What next? ................................................................................................ 21 Alumni network ..................................................................................... 21 Conclusions and recommendations .......................................................... 22 3 Research questions, method and background The question of how Quakers can appeal to and engage with young people is often asked; yet we don’t know the effectiveness of the current European Quaker-sponsored work placements targeted at young people in this regard. This research considers how effective the placements and their related organisations are at sharing Quaker ideas, values and practices and to what extent these schemes encourage and support growth in the area of an individual’s spirituality in relation to their social justice work. It also explores whether former peaceworkers would be interested in connecting with each other and forming an informal alumni network, with the possibility of meeting, mentoring and collaborating together in years to come. An online survey was set up for anyone who had been a peaceworker or programme assistant in the last 20-odd years at the Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva, the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) in Brussels and from the Quaker Peace and Social Witness (QPSW) UK Peaceworker scheme. The survey was also completed by the two people who have worked for Britain Yearly Meeting (BYM) as Young Friends General Meeting (YFGM) Coordinators. Whilst this post has only existed in its current format since 2013, it is another year-long European-based Quaker placement for young people and thus fit within the remit of the research. The earliest respondent undertook their placement in 1989-1990 and the most recent respondents were peaceworkers from the 2014-2015 cohort. The three main organisations provided contact information for some previous peaceworkers, but weren’t all able to provide a complete record so social media, a letter in The Friend and emails to various Quaker contacts were also employed to track down former peaceworkers. A total of 64 people responded to the survey, including 22 from QUNO, 21 from QPSW, 19 from QCEA and two from BYM. Whilst it is difficult to know precisely how many peaceworkers there have been in the period studied, an estimate is that the response rate was roughly between 40-50% of all participants in the schemes over the last 20 odd years. The responses to the survey are all anonymous. Two case study interviews were conducted, the first with Rhiannon Redpath, who is currently the only peaceworker to have undertaken two of the European Quaker schemes – she was a QPSW Peaceworker in 2012-2013 and a QUNO Programme Assistant in 2014-2015. The second interview was with Heather Rowlands, Christine McCartney and Jude Kirton-Darling, who were Programme Assistants at QCEA in 1999- 2000. Feedback will be given to the three organisations concerned, including where suggestions and criticisms were made. Survey limitations Those contacted who then did respond to the survey are a self-selecting group, and therefore this must be borne in mind when reading the results – those who are still involved in Quaker circles and who had a positive experience of their placement are more likely to have responded. 4 The organisations and their placement schemes The Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA), Brussels QCEA was founded in 1979 to promote the values of the Religious Society of Friends (Quakers) in the European context. Its purpose is to express a Quaker vision in matters of peace, human rights, and economic justice. QCEA is based in Brussels and is an international, not-for-profit organisation under Belgian Law. Since its beginning in 1979, young people have worked alongside the Representatives initially as volunteers and now as Programme Assistants. The Programme Assistant (PA) placement is an entry-level position for young professionals, which includes accommodation and a living stipend.3 Programme Assistants currently specialise in QCEA’s Peace, Economic Justice and Sustainability programmes. “[The role] involves research, analysis, and advocacy through the publication of briefing papers as well as content for our newsletter and blog. Each Programme Assistant is also responsible for a share of administrative and other tasks. QCEA Programme Assistants live and work from Quaker House, located near many of the European Institutions, and also support the lettings and the general organisation of the House. Through your one-year contribution to the wide range of activities undertaken at QCEA, you gain valuable experience of working in European politics and managing the competing demands of a heavy workload.” 4 Who the QCEA Programme Assistant scheme is aimed at The scheme is aimed at “someone who wants to develop a career in European Affairs, politics, advocacy, or research, or specifically in promoting peace, economic justice, or sustainability, or addressing hate crime. Programme Assistants are given support to do their jobs but are expected to use their own initiative, drive, and enthusiasm to make a difference.”5 QCEA states that is has “always recruited Programme Assistants from a variety of backgrounds but has always sought to have at least some Programme Assistants who had a prior connection with Quakerism and with Quakers. This connection could be relatively loose or very close or anything in between.”6 3 QCEA (2009) p.7 4 QCEA Programme Assistant Job Description, 2015 5 QCEA Programme Assistant Job Description, 2015 6 QCEA (2009) p.7 5 The Quaker United Nations Office (QUNO) Geneva What is QUNO? QUNO works to promote peace and justice at the United Nations and other global institutions. QUNO maintains houses in Geneva and New York to serve as QUNO offices and meeting places close to the