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A culture of peace at
National Eisteddfod
Delyn Harris & Arfon Rhys
This National Eisteddfod of Wales
took place in Flintshire from 4 to
11 August. As usual, among the
hundreds of stands was Pabell
Heddwch  the Peace Tent.
Inside were displays, informa-
tion, petitions and workshops
from CND Cymru, the Welsh Centre for International Affairs and
others.
Cymdeithas y Cymod, the Fellowship of Reconciliation in
Wales, launched its new website
www.cymdeithasycymod.org.uk.
Hiroshima Day, which falls during the Eisteddfod each year, was
marked with an interfaith service
in the Churches Together tent.
At the heart of the Eisteddfod,
when crowning of the bard, the
crowd is asked: "Oes heddwch?
Is there peace?" They reply: "Heddwch. Peace".
While cynics may point out
there is precious little peace in a
country making war on Iraq,
bombing Afghanistan, and supporting oppressive regimes, there
is a quiet culture of peace at work.
Youth organisation Urdd Gob-
aith Cymru sends an annual message of goodwill to the children of
the world, while the nationalist
political tradition in Wales is
strongly anti-militarist.
A study of Welsh people who
view themselves as internationalists found that many attributed
their commitment to cultural diversity and solidarity with oppressed
people to a range of Welsh traditions and institutions from the
Urdd Gobaith Cymru and the chapel, to miners' solidarity.
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