View source for Quaker Peace and Social Witness

{{Short description|British Quaker committee}}
{{More citations needed|date=April 2009}}
[[File:Friends Council Service logo.png|200px|thumb|Historical logo of Friends Service Council.]]
'''Quaker Peace & Social Witness''' ('''QPSW'''), previously known as the '''Friends Service Council''', and then as '''Quaker Peace and Service''', is one of the central committees of [[Britain Yearly Meeting]] of the [[Religious Society of Friends]] – the national organisation of [[Quaker]]s in [[UK|Britain]].  It works to promote British Quakers' [[Religious Society of Friends#testimonies|testimonies]] of [[Testimony of Equality|equality, justice]], [[Peace Testimony|peace]], [[Testimony of Simplicity|simplicity]] and [[Testimony of Integrity|truth]]. It works alongside both small local and large international [[pressure group]]s.

In 1947, the then ''Friends Service Council'' received the [[Nobel Peace Prize]] jointly with the [[American Friends Service Committee]], on behalf of the Quakers.

==UK Peace Work==

''Peace Campaigning and Networking'': aims to encourage a wider and deeper understanding of the peace testimony and to promote [[disarmament]] and work against [[militarism]].

''Turning The Tide'': promotes positive social change and helps groups to increase their effectiveness using active nonviolence.

''Peace Education'': supports a range of initiatives for peace education in schools through advising and supporting teachers involved in conflict resolution and peer mediation programmes.

==Social Witness==

''Economic Issues'':  works with grassroots organisations to bring change to UK government, IMF and World Bank policies. QPSW also aims to influence the environmental and social policies of UK based transnational companies.

''Crime & Community Justice'': works to promote the concept of restorative justice, responds to government papers and oversees the "Circles" Scheme.

''Circles of Support & Accountability'': works with groups of trained volunteers and recently released sex offenders.  It aims to reduce re-offending and enable the ex-offender to integrate into society in a healthy way.  In 2007–08, the initiative has been passed to [http://www.circles-uk.org.uk/index.php?id=23 Circles.uk], and while Quakers may continue to be involved as volunteers, the organisation has shifted into a new phase as an emerging national network of volunteers of all faiths and none.

''Quaker Prison Ministers'': work within multi-faith prison [[chaplaincy]] teams to offer spiritual support and friendship to prisoners of all faiths and none.

''Quaker Housing Trust'': is [[Britain Yearly Meeting]]'s own housing charity.  QHT helps local Quaker-supported social housing projects through advice, loans and grants.

''Parliamentary Liaison'': seeks to express the values of the Society of Friends in the context of current political discussion.

''The Friends Educational Foundation'': is a group of charitable funds, which QPSW administers on behalf of Meeting for Sufferings.

==Global work==

''Uganda'': the role of QPSW in Uganda is to support, train and offer consultancy to groups and organisations working on peacemaking and peacebuilding.

''Post Yugoslav countries'': working on the background facilitation of real truth and reconciliation and dealing with the past, QPSW has workers in Bosnia, Croatia and Serbia.

''Middle East'': QPSW manages the UK/Ireland [[Ecumenical Accompaniment Programme in Palestine and Israel]], sending human rights observers to accompany peace activists in their nonviolent actions.

''Quaker United Nations Office'': [[QUNO]] in Geneva concentrates on three areas; Disarmament and Peace, Human Rights and Refugees and Global Economic Issues. QUNO works in [[Geneva]] and [[New York City]] to consult with the [[United Nations Economic and Social Council]] on behalf of the [[Friends World Committee for Consultation]].

''South Asia'': QPSW works to strengthen the nonviolence movement in the Indian sub-continent by helping to link peace and social change organisations.

QPSW and [[American Friends Service Committee|AFSC]] received the [[List of Nobel Peace Prize laureates|Nobel Peace Prize]] in 1947, as representatives of the Quakers.

==History==
The roots of QPSW are in the missionary work done under the name of ''Friends' Foreign Mission Association'' (1868–1927). With the decline of the missions, the ''Mission Association'' merged with the ''Council for International Service'' (1919–1927) to form the ''Friends Service Council'' (1927–1978). Which was renamed ''Quaker Peace and Service'' (1979–2000), known as ''Quaker Peace & Social Witness'' since 2001.

==See also ==
{{div col|colwidth=28em}}
*[[American Friends Service Committee]]
*[[Conscientious objector]]
*[[Global citizens movement]]
*[[International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons]]
*[[List of peace activists]]
*[[Mohandas Gandhi]]
*[[Peace]]
*[[Peace Organisation of Australia]]
*[[Peace symbol]]  - [[Peace flag]]
*[[Quakerism in Sichuan]]{{div col end}}

==References==
* {{Nobelprize}}

==External links==
*[https://www.quaker.org.uk/our-organisation/committees/quaker-peace-and-social-witness-central-committee QPSW website]
*[https://quno.org/ Quaker United Nations Office]
*[http://www.mundus.ac.uk/cats/7/235.htm Mundus] – Archives of QPSW

{{Nobel Peace Prize Laureates 1926-1950}}
{{1947 Nobel Prize winners}}
{{Religious Society of Friends}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Quaker charities]]
[[Category:Quaker organisations based in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Organizations awarded Nobel Peace Prizes]]
[[Category:Christian nonviolence]]
[[Category:1927 establishments in the United Kingdom]]
[[Category:Quaker organizations established in the 20th century]]