Save Your August 2021 Weekends for a Special WILPF Event

By Darien De Lu
President, WILPF US

September 2020

In August 2021, WILPFers across the US will share one significant benefit of the pandemic. Yes – for all of their many negatives, these strange, stressful, and isolating times have also offered us a few benefits. If you, in the last few months, have seized the opportunity to transcend distance – participating virtually in some conference, presentation, concert, or play, happening somewhere hundreds or thousands of miles away, you know what I mean. We’ve all had to confront negatives of COVID-19; now very many of us can take advantage of this one positive aspect and join in the 2021 national WILPF Congress – the most egalitarian Congress ever!

Yes, our 2021 Congress, originally planned to be in California, will instead be on your computer or smart phone. With the help of the dedicated Congress Program Committee, our tech staff, and the Congress Coordinator (to be hired – see below!), the Congress will be a dynamic virtual event! We look forward to many of the aspects of our usual Congresses: an opening night reception (with shifting breakout rooms, so that you can have small-group conversations to get to know other WILPFers), plenary session presentations (in which everyone present can hear!), cultural events, and workshops. Especially, we look forward to featuring a range of branch-produced events

What will be missing? Of course, the reception will have to be BYOB, but maybe you can treat yourself to something special, since you’ll save so much due to no travel costs! And we’ll miss out on the temptation to try to fit so much into each day, because we’ll be starting later and ending earlier, in order to accommodate those in time zones from the east coast to the west. (My apologies to our Hawai’i members, yet you, too, are likely to find the schedule somewhat friendly.)  Similarly, we’ll avoid “weekend overload”; as a virtual Congress we can extend over two weekends, without unthinkable accommodations and meal expenses! We may even offer a few mid-week bonus sessions, to keep us in touch and on track.

With the lack of geographical restrictions, the Congress is excited to incorporate the women and power of branches and at-large members for individual program elements. Our branches and individual members are a rich and diverse resource, and we’ll have the opportunity to highlight them, with regional focuses. Our forward-looking theme is WOMEN, POWER, and SOCIAL JUSTICE: Building from Strength. That theme connects to an upcoming national WILPF initiative, which will provide special assistance to a pilot group of branches, to identify their strengths in order to build their community of branch membership and activism.

This Congress will be about branches – and about all of us. We want you – especially those of you who haven’t been able to experience a Congress before! No travel costs, no housing costs, no high catered-meal costs – no problems due to dietary restrictions or a snoring roommate! – and the registration cost will be lower than usual. This is your chance to be inspired by your fellow WILPFers from across the country!

Perhaps you have some extra qualifications, so that you might want a special role in this Congress – a paid role? We’re looking for applicants for the Congress Coordinator position, which is part-time until about two weeks before the Congress. See this draft job description, and please contact me if you – or someone you know – could use more information: President@wilpfus.org.

Also, I’d be glad to hear from anyone who has questions or suggestions for the Congress. Watch for more details and plans, coming in future months!