Antinuclear

Petra Ball, Red Cross and Red Crescent – Towards Eliminating Nuclear Weapons

Changemakers – Petra Ball Pro Bono News, October 29, 2012 Petra Ball, International Humanitarian Law Officer for Australian Red Cross in South Australia, is profiled in Changemakers – a regular column which examines inspiring people and their careers in the Not for Profit sector.

Australian Red Cross  is a member of the International Red Cross Red Crescent Movement, the world’s largest humanitarian movement which operates in more than 188 countries. Red Cross has thousands of members, volunteers and supporters who assist in its disaster, international humanitarian law and ongoing everyday work supporting the most vulnerable people in the community, both here and overseas.
What are you currently working on in the organisation?

Planning and preparing for an international conference on nuclear weapons has been almost my sole focus for a number of months now – and here it is, just around the corner! I am really excited about it!

The conference, called Towards Eliminating Nuclear Weapons , focuses on ways to push forward the debate on a legally binding tool to prohibit and ultimately eliminate nuclear weapons, looks at new ways of measuring the humanitarian and environment impacts of use of nuclear weapons and what fantastic initiatives there are coming from civil society – especially young people to keep this critical topic on the radar of the public and the decision makers in our local and international community.

The speakers are all impressive, the topics really stimulating and a weekend in Adelaide in early November is bound to be lovely! One of the great things about the conference is the opportunity to profile the human agency involved in nuclear weapons and we are really glad to focus on the lived experience of nuclear weapons. One of our presenters will be coming from the Marshall Islands, where communities still live with the impacts of nuclear testing, and Junko Morimoto, a Sydney-based survivor of the Hiroshima bombing in 1945 will share her experiences from that time.      http://www.probonoaustralia.com.au/news/2012/10/changemakers-petra-ball#

October 29, 2012 - Posted by Christina Macpherson | General News