The ceremony will take place in front of the memorial stone for conscientious objectors in Tavistock Square, London. White poppy wreaths will be laid at the memorial, followed by two minutes' silence.
With contributions from:
- Kate Smurthwaite - left-wing, feminist activist, comedian and writer. Kate performs all over the UK and internationally, and stars in the News at Kate video series. She has worked with asylum seekers through Women For Refugee Women and Women Asylum Seekers Together. She appears regularly as a panellist on television shows such as Question Time, Woman's Hour and the Jeremy Vine show.
- Rebecca Johnson - ecofeminist peace and disarmament activist. Rebecca spent five years living at Greenham Common. She has since worked with the UN on international peace and justice, climate action and nuclear disarmament, and served as first president of the Nobel Peace laureate ICAN (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons).
- Yurii Sheliazhenko - from the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement. We will hear a contribution sent to us by Yurii from Ukraine. Yurii is an activist, legal scholar and public intellectual campaigning tirelessly for peace.
- Russian Movement for Conscientious Objectors - We will hear a statement from fellow peace activists in Russia opposing the current conflict.
More information about the contributors below.
Attending in person - Come to Tavistock Square in London at 12 midday. Everyone is welcome to attend.
Watching online - If you can’t make it in person, please join us online to watch the live stream. No registration required. Simply visit the PPU's Remembrance and White Poppies page at the time to watch and join the discussion: www.ppu.org.uk/remembrance-white-poppies
If you're on Facebook, please join and share the event: https://www.facebook.com/events/535367711757539/
Kate Smurthwaite is a left-wing, feminist activist, comedian and writer. She is host and star of the News at Kate video series, and performs all over the UK and internationally. Her campaigning work has included almost a decade as spokesperson for Abortion Rights UK and working with female asylum seekers through Women For Refugee Women and Women Asylum Seekers Together. Kate appears regularly on TV shows including Question Time, Woman's Hour, The Today Program and the Jeremy Vine show. Her writing has been published in The Guardian, The Independent, The Telegraph, The Mirror, Cosmopolitan, Stylist, New Statesman and New Internationalist.
Dr Rebecca Johnson is an ecofeminist peace and disarmament activist who spent 5 years living at Greenham and has gone on to work with various organisations and the UN for international peace and justice, climate action and UN treaties including the 2021 Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons, serving as first president and International Steering Group co-chair of the 2017 Nobel Peace laureate ICAN (the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons).
Yurii Sheliazhenko is a Ukrainian pacifist, public intellectual and legal scholar. He campaigns for peace, disarmament, the abolition of conscription and democratic civilian control over military affairs. He is executive secretary of the Ukrainian Pacifist Movement, which is a member of the European Bureau for Conscientious Objection, a section of War Resisters’ International and a member of the International Peace Bureau. He is a Research Associate at the Faculty of Law of KROK University in Kyiv. His research is focused on legal theory and history, peace and conflict studies, and the philosophy of law.
London, WC1H 9EX
United Kingdom