You may not believe this, but Peace News is now counting down to our 75th anniversary. Yes, Peace News began life on 6 June 1936! During 2011, our 75th year of existence, we will be springing a number of surprises.
Most of our “Remaking Peace News” projects are designed to get PN out to a wider readership, and to make PN more useful to a wider array of groups and movements. Some initiatives we will be keeping under wraps for now, some we can reveal. We will definitely be re-publishing Howard Clark’s valuable pamphlet Making Nonviolent Revolution, and publishing an updated history of Peace News (enlarging it from the 50th anniversary edition back in 1986). We will also be holding at least one major central London event – and are looking for supporters around the country willing and able to organise benefit events for Peace News to mark 75 years of nonviolent resistance.
If you would like to be involved in organising events (either in London or locally), or taking part in our publicity drive (going to festivals will be a significant part of it), then please do get in touch. Peace News is going to need active supporters more than ever.
In fact, we may well be renaming subscribers and donors “Sustainers” to make it clear how much we depend on your support to survive and to develop to meet the challenges of the 21st century. PN is financially reasonably healthy, but we’re ambitious to achieve more. There’s never been a greater need for radical, committed nonviolence. There’s never been a greater need for Peace News. And we’ve never had a greater need for you!
Please contact Claire on 020 7278 3344 to be put on our special list of volunteer 75ers.
In mourning
You may notice some odd features of this issue (like the repeated advert for the Network for Peace on the back page, well deserved though it is).
There may even be fewer pages than normal (hard to tell at the time of writing this editorial). This is because the editors have been in a state of shock since John Rety, Emily’s father, died on 3 February.
Please forgive any resulting shortcomings in this issue. Normal service will be resumed shortly.