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New publications from WILPF
Post date: Fri, 11/04/2016 - 07:15

Women sorting and washing minerals at Site Kansonga in DRC. Credit: Annie Matundu Mbambi/WILPF.
 

WILPF International has recently released three new reports, which may be of interest to all members.
 

1. WILPF Report: From War to Sustainable Peace: A Solidarity Dialogue between Bosnian and Ukrainian Women Activists

This is a report of the views and opinions expressed by women activists from Bosnia and Herzegovina and Ukraine during a “Solidarity Dialogue” in Sarajevo (organized by Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation and WILPF) to share experiences and contribute to a better understanding of women’s contribution to conflict and post-conflict transition. It recognizes parallels between the situation in Ukraine with the earlier conflict and current situation in Bosnia and Herzegovina. There are many important lessons shared in this report in terms of peacebuilding and women’s contribution, but also on the value of sharing of experiences.

Download or link to “From War to Sustainable Peace” 
 

2. WILPF Report: Life at the Bottom of the Chain: Women in Artisanal Mines in DRC

This report is very timely, as it was released just a few days before the second session of the intergovernmental working group on a legally binding instrument on transnational corporations and other business enterprises, scheduled to take place in Geneva October 24-28, 2016. There was an IB resolution in June on this topic.

The report documents gender discrimination, slavery-like conditions, deterioration of reproductive health, violence, forced displacement, and sexual exploitation experienced by women in (and because of) artisanal mines in the DRC, and it is part of WILPF’s action aimed at bringing to light human rights violations relating to the activities of business enterprises, their impact on women, and their relationship with the root causes of conflicts, showing thereby the necessity of a legally binding legal framework to prevent such violations.

The report is based on a research paper, “Inquiry into the Human Rights Violations Suffered by Congolese Women in Artisanal Mining in the Province of Haut-Katango,” by Annie Matundu Mbambi, President of WILPF Democratic Republic of the Congo (WILPF DRC), and Léonnie Kandolo, member of WILPF DRC. In spring 2015, Annie Matundu Mbambi and Léonnie Kandolo traveled to the Haut-Katanga region in DRC and visited three artisanal mining sites to conduct research on human rights violations suffered by Congolese women in artisanal mining.

The report is funded by the Channel Foundation. WILPF is part of the Treaty Alliance.

Download or link to “Life at the Bottom of the Chain: Women in Artisanal Mines in DRC”

Further resources related to this report:

3. WILPF Analysis: General Debate of the 71st Session of the General Assembly

This is an analysis made by the PeaceWomen team in New York. The following Gender Index includes all references to gender, women, girls, gender equality, violence against women, and women’s participation made in statements delivered during the general debate of the seventy-first session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA).

Download or link to WILPF Analysis: General Debate of the 71st Session of the General Assembly

Download an infograph on the most important findings

 

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Remembering Paij Wadley-Bailey
Post date: Fri, 11/04/2016 - 07:04

Paij Wadley-Bailey. Credit: Still from Goddard College video on Vimeo.

WILPF US has received word of the death on August 18, 2016, of Paij Wadley-Bailey, of Montpelier, Vermont. She was 77. She chose to end her life with the medical assistance provided by Vermont’s Death with Dignity legislation. Paij was a member of the board, serving as WILPF US secretary in 2008 and 2009.

WILPF member Tura Campanella Cook remembers board meetings with Paij: “She certainly was an important participant in the October 2008 board meeting of which I was a member. We would begin every meeting with a racial justice item. Paij led us in an African women’s tradition of Walking the Map.”

Paij grew up in West Hills, CT. She earned a master’s degree in social ecology from Goddard College in Plainfield, VT, and a master’s in education from the University of Vermont at Montpelier (UVM). She was responsible for developing the Lesbian & Gay Studies Program and Center at Goddard College and was also the first coordinator of the LGBTQA Services Program at UVM, while concurrently serving as faculty at each of these colleges.

Paij was a member of Central Vermont WILPF since 1995. Montpelier member Esther Farnsworth remembers that “Paij encouraged our branch to support the formation of WILPF in Rwanda, and took part in a fund raiser for the Rwanda Section. She sang with the Raging Grannies, even went to Washington, DC, to rage against NAFTA. Paij could be seen at the Farmer’s Market with petitions about abolishing nuclear weapons, corporate power, and closing Vermont Yankee. She was serious about speaking out on the militarism in our country, but she also sprinkled some humor into our meetings.”

She worked as director of the Vermont Anti-Racism Action Team, which maintains a hotline for complaints about racism in public schools. After learning about former WILPF US President Jean Gore’s pioneering project in Colorado, Reading to End Racism, Paij started RER in Vermont. This is an initiative to help eliminate racism by bringing community members into the classroom to read progressive books to children.

Glenn Hawkes, now director of the Ward Brook Center, which provides practical training for Rwandan teachers, students, and administrators, asked Paij to assist him with outreach work in Rwanda beginning in 2002. She made five or six trips to Rwanda, staying for several weeks at a time, teaching English as a Second Language to women who were working with people living with HIV/AIDS. She worked in partnership with local African women to form a chapter of WILPF in Rwanda.

Robin Lloyd wrote a memorial column about Paij in the Burlington, VT “Peace & Justice News” (see page 6). Nat Frothingham, editor and publisher of Montpelier’s local paper, “The Bridge,” wrote a tribute to Paij Wadley-Bradley, with remembrances of her life and work. And Goddard College has posted a video of Paij Wadley-Bailey speaking.

We also remember—

Ellen B. Blosser, WILPF US life member, died in December 2015.

Adele Kearney, who joined WILPF in 2011, passed away Thursday, October 6, in Sacramento, California. She died quietly in her sleep after a nice dinner with her daughter.

Margaret Dawson Stein, member of the Peninsula/Palo Alto Branch, who died Sunday, September 18, in Freemont, California.

(More on the lives of Margaret Dawson Stein and Ellen B. Blosser will appear in the fall/winter 2016 issue of “Peace & Freedom” magazine.)

 

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Important information technology announcements
Post date: Fri, 11/04/2016 - 06:56

WILPF US has migrated and updated its email list serve accounts. To be sure you have the correct information. And, join WILPF on Twitter!

Updated email list serves

When using a list serve name, please double-check that you are using the correct spelling.

Please note the following list serves have changed:

List Name Email address
Nominating Committee nominating@groups.electricembers.net
2016 Board 2016-board@onlinegroups.net
2015 Board 2015-board@onlinegroups.net
Branches branches@onlinegroups.net
Disarm disarm@onlinegroups.net
Earth Democracy earth-democracy@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-Finance wilpf-finance@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-Nominating wilpf-nominating@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-Personnel wilpf-personnel@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-Program wilpf-program@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-Steering wilpf-steering@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-Development wllpf-development@onlinegroups.net
WILPF US COP 21 wilpf-us-cop-21-attendees@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-Minigrant wilpf-minigrant@onlinegroups.net
WILPF-TeamEarthDem wilpf-team-earth-dem@onlinegroups.net

Please make sure to delete all old list serve names from your address book by going to the CONTACTS or ADDRESS BOOK tab or icon in your email provider window.

Keep Up with WILPF on Twitter

Did you know WILPF International and WILPF US both use the social networking service Twitter to share some of their latest news and actions? Are you unsure what Twitter is all about but want to learn more, so you can also help promote WILPF activities?

Here are some instructions to get you started actively “following” WILPF US on Twitter. (Depending on what kind of computer or device you use, there may be slight differences in the steps to take.)

Twitter instructions

  1. Starting at the WILPF US website’s home page (wilpfus.org), scroll down to “Stay Connected” in the lower, right-hand corner.
  2. Click on the Twitter icon to get to the WILPF US Twitter page.
  3. A box will appear in the upper right-hand corner asking you to log in to your Twitter account if you already have one, or to sign up for an account if you do not.
  4. If you do not have a Twitter account, click “Sign Up.” This will bring you to a “Join Twitter” page where you will enter your full name and email address (or phone) and create a password.
  5. If you weren’t prompted to add a phone number, you may be asked to do so when you click “Next”: you may enter a phone number or select “Skip.”
  6. Next you will select a username.
  7. You will then be asked to set up your profile. You can indicate what your interests are; choose to import names from your contact list; and review suggested people to follow.
  8. After setting up your profile, you will be brought to your personal Twitter page. From there, you can use the search feature to find WILPF US’s page and “follow” it.
  9. You can “like” WILPF US’s posts by clicking the heart button beneath the post. You can also “retweet” a WILPF US post, which will then show up on your page.
  10. To tweet something at WILPF US and have it appear in its Twitter notifications, begin your tweet with @wilpf_us, and then complete your tweet. Your tweet will not appear on the WILPF US profile but will let WILPF US know it has been mentioned.

More resources

 

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WILPF opposes the Trans Pacific Partnership...and so should you!
Post date: Mon, 10/31/2016 - 14:25

CORPORATIONS v DEMOCRACY ISSUE COMMITTEE

The TPP threatens national sovereignty and eliminates the rights of local governments to protect their citizens’ health, environment and local economy.  It will exacerbate global warming and ship more jobs overseas. 

WILPF US recommends these ways you can act to oppose the TPP.

  • Learn what’s at stake
  • Watch and share this short two minute video:
  • Click here then scroll down to see which foreign corporations would be empowered with new rights to challenge the local zoning and environmental laws of your community.   
  • Click here to see where your elected representatives stand on this issue, then contact them to convince them to vote NO on the TPP. 
  • Order TPP OCCU-CARDS and share them with your community to alert them to the dangers of this corporate theft of rights. Hand them to your Congress members and insist that they defend our national security by voting NO on TPP.  

Learn more about Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom at www.wilpfus.org
Connecting human rights and economic justice to the roots of war since 1915.

This is part 1 of a 4-part campaign to introduce YOU to WILPF.
Your support helps us continue our advocacy work in 40 branches across the US, working on issues of voter rights, a Constitutional Amendment to reverse Citizens United, food security, media consolidation, sustainable energy, people over profits, and economic justice…especially as they impact women and families.

Your donation of $25 or more on GIVING TUESDAY, Tuesday, Nov. 29th supports our work.
Donate at www.wilpfus.org/donate.

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Apply to attend the 61st UN COSW
Post date: Thu, 10/20/2016 - 07:12

Apply to attend the 61st United Nations Commission on the Status of Women

By Dixie Hairston, Program Coordinator, 2017 UN Practicum in Advocacy and Local2Global

WILPF US will be sending a delegation to the 61st Commission on the Status of Women March 11-18, 2017 in New York City as part of WILPF’s UN Practicum in Advocacy, open to students and to WILPF members.

NEW DEADLINE: Friday, December 5, 2016 5:00pm EST

Delegates are selected to bring WILPF perspectives into conversations with government and NGO representatives, learn the ropes, and prepare to take UN advocacy strategies and campaigns back to their local branch and beyond. In additional to a call for applications from WILPF US members, as part of the UN Practicum in Advocacy, students from universities across the country will participate as delegates. Practicum participants will contribute to the official documentation of both official and informal meetings. The Practicum will provide ample opportunities for peer-to-peer and intergenerational learning, exploration of career opportunities in international relations and increased competence in advocacy work.

The Local2Global program is designed to bring local WILPF voices into our national and international work and as a way to facilitate intergenerational cooperation between seasoned WILPF activists and activists just becoming familiar with WILPF via the Practicum. Typically, but not always, Local2Global participants have long resumes as activists and Practicum participants are burgeoning advocates. Therefore, there are many ways the two groups can connect, learn from one another, and both be wizened and refreshed by the other.

The Local2Global program is comprised of the same elements of the UN Practicum with a few distinct differences. Local2Global participants are required to be WILPF members in good standing, be active in their local chapters, and submit a reference letter from a fellow WILPF-US member on their behalf.

In order to enhance the learning opportunities available via this program, we are encouraging Practicum Alumni and WILPF US members to apply. We feel that the knowledge and expertise of practicum alumni will further strengthen the lasting effect this program has on participants.

For more information please contact Dixie Hairston, Programs Coordinator for the UN Practicum in Advocacy at practicum-mail@wilpfus.org

Nondiscrimination statement: It does not discriminate on the basis of race, color, national or ethnic origin, citizen status, ancestry, age, religion or spiritual creed, disability or handicap, sex or gender, pregnancy, gender identity and/or expression, sexual orientation, military or veteran status,  genetic information,  or any other characteristic protected under applicable federal, state or local law.  Retaliation is also prohibited.

 

 

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WILPF US Election Details
Post date: Mon, 10/17/2016 - 16:55
  • Friday, September 2, 2016: Nominations deadline
  • Sunday, September 18, 2016: Applications deadline
  • Mid October 2016: Ballots mailed out to current WILPF US members
  • Saturday, October 22, 2016 (4 pm eastern, 1 pm pacific): "Meet the Candidates" Conference Call
  • Saturday, November 19, 2016: Ballot postmark deadline
  • Monday, December 5, 2016: Election results publicized
  • March 2017: First board meeting, new term

Positions up for Election for 2016

Complete three-year term positions

  • Membership Development Committee Chair
  • Treasurer

Positions filling in the remaining one year of a term

  • At-large Board Member (does not chair any board standing committee)

To find out more about the elections guidelines and nominees, please email nominationscommittee@wilpfus.org .  Service on the national board requires adherence to various terms and conditions of board service.

Job Descriptions

 

 

 

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Board elections this Fall!
Post date: Mon, 10/10/2016 - 15:15

Elections for board representatives are coming soon. Watch for the envelope with your ballot materials. Members will be voting for: Treasurer, Membership Development Chair, and At-Large. Candidates’ resumes and statements will be posted by October 7 at wilpfus.org/story/candidates-documents

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Branches support Standing Rock
Post date: Tue, 10/04/2016 - 12:54

Volunteers with truck loaded with supplies for Standing Rock. Courtesy of Al Frente de Lucha Facebook page.

On September 19, 2016, WILPF US and its Earth Democracy and Advancing Human Rights national issue committees issued a statement of solidarity with the Standing Rock Sioux Tribe and other First Nations who oppose construction of the Dakota Access Pipeline, Water Is Life: WILPF US Stands with Water Defenders against the Pipeline.

Since the statement was sent out, a couple of WILPF Branches have reported on their support efforts, which have been in partnership with other groups in their communities.

From Greeley, Colorado

Elaine Schmidt, chair of the Greeley CO Branch, reports that WILPF in Greeley joined with several groups—from the UU church, Presbyterian church, and a Chicano center—to help fill a truck with goods, blankets, clothes, water and juices, and more that left Sunday, September 18, to go to Standing Rock in North Dakota. They will continue to act in support. In addition to being a WILPF member and chair of the Greeley Branch for 40 years, Elaine has worked for over 30 years with a group that joins in many struggles, Al Frente de Lucha (which, in 2016, celebrated 47 years of fighting for justice in the Latino community).

Of her own personal experiences, she writes: “We have worked on all of the WILPF issues. I remember many years ago, someone from WILPF called to say that Cesar Chavez was organizing people to not buy grapes and Gallo wine and to boycott the stores that were selling these. Mary Willoughby and I drove around and found a group at Safeway boycotting grapes, and there we met Mil Hart who was with about eight Latino/as, and we stopped and joined them. This same Mil Hart was the one who organized sending a truck to the Indians and also started Occupy here in Greeley. And, of course, WILPF is always there in the forefront of the struggle. We started here with just six people, in 1964, and we are still in the forefront of the struggle in Greeley. We have had people come and speak about Bernie, Hillary and the Democrats and some from the Green Party, and many struggles for peace and justice.”

From Auburn, California

Millee Livingston, Life Member-at-Large, Auburn, California, writes: “Ours is a community action, involving some WILPF members, some Unitarian Universalists members, and a large amount of community members. We are sending warm clothing, some medical supplies, some art materials and some dried food items. We are sending some warm jackets, etc. for the children as well. It will probably be 3-4 big boxes.”

 

 

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Vermont WILPF Gathering celebrates 15th year
Post date: Tue, 10/04/2016 - 12:46

Standing, L to R: Joan Ecklein, Nancy Wrenn, Kristina Borjesson, Beth Adams, Robin Lloyd, Charlotte Dennett, Mary Hansen Harrison, Barbara Soros, Paki Weiland, Eileen, Nancy Ramsden, Ariane Blondin. Kneeling: Virginia Pratt, Katherine ‘Max’ Vose, Ana Santoyo, Caryn Feinberg, Marlena Santoyo.

The 15th annual Vermont WILPF Gathering at Wing Farm, Rochester, VT, took place in late August (27-31), with some 22 WILPF women from Vermont, Boston, Philadelphia, New Jersey, and Iowa in attendance. Host and organizer Robin Lloyd pointed out that this occasion was somewhat different from earlier gatherings. The first day featured the “opening” of the Bone and Rag Shop Gallery in a room in a former cow barn on the property, with a demonstration of simple weaving of a sort that might have been used by the earliest white settlers on the land, followed by a fascinating slide show and talk on the art of tracking, including photos of animals that Robin’s niece and her partner had taken on nearby fields and hills.

Robin had recently attended the World Social Forum in Montreal and learned about the Kilimanjaro Initiative from her longtime friend Njoki Njehu, who runs a women’s empowerment center, Daughters of Mumbai, in rural Kenya. The initiative is a project of women across Africa who will be gathering together in October at Mount Kilimanjaro to proclaim the importance of women’s land rights. (Watch an animated video about their quest.) Robin adds, “We wanted to send a message of solidarity to the women of Africa with our group photo.”

A report noting the many highlights of the gathering will soon be posted on the VT WILPF Gathering website. Our group conversation on the last day brought us together in concern for our country and our democracy with questions we want to share with all of WILPF. These were questions that were sparked at dinner the night before, when the question “Is Hillary as bad as Trump?” was heatedly debated.

Is our democracy going to survive? Are we at a tipping point? Several participants felt that we are facing fascism, and it is terrifying. Others asked, what is fascism?

  • A middle class that is angry and seeking scapegoats.
  • People being arrested and jailed for immigration reasons: terror imposed on an entire underclass in this country.
  • The militarization of the police with the excess weapons of war; the fact that globalization is not working; and robotization is taking over the workplace—all are factors leading us into an oppressive future.
  • The Reichstag fire in Germany was blamed on the Communists and led to a rule of terror against workers. Black people have been terrorized during and after slavery.

Many voters may look at the situation and simply decide not to vote. How can we get the key issues of war and peace before the candidates and the public? How can we save ourselves before we fall off the cliff? Mindless activism is not the answer. We must think of ourselves as a resistance force. We must become more focused.

As a result of this discussion, several of us decided to attend the September World Beyond War conference in Washington, DC.

 

 

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“Protect Our Water” campaign
Post date: Tue, 10/04/2016 - 12:43

Yes on Z. Credit: Courtesy of Protect Monterey County.

By Luana Conley, Protect Monterey County

The Protect Monterey County coalition’s campaign for Measure Z, the Protect Our Water: Ban Fracking and Limit Risky Oil Operations Initiative is in full swing. Impressive endorsements have been flooding in, including the Monterey Bay Central Labor Council, SEIU Local 1000, the California Nurses Association, the California Federation of Teachers, the Sierra Club, the Center for Biological Diversity, the National Resources Defense Council, numerous elected officials, farmers, ranchers, student groups, business owners, and influential community leaders.

The campaign has been honored by separate visits from both Dolores Huerta, co-founder with Cesar Chavez of the United Farm Workers union, and Dennis Banks, founder of the American Indian Movement, to exhibit solidarity with the pipeline protests at Standing Rock, North Dakota.

Polling shows the YES on Z message wins when it is heard above the din of radio and television advertising by Chevron and ExxonMobil blanketing our airwaves. Big Oil also has paid armies working to oppose the measure, but hopes remain high that the negative impression of “fracking” and all that it represents will win the day, and YES on Z supporters are working the phone lines and canvassing in targeted neighborhoods.

Monterey County people intend to take their future out of the hands of Big Oil and corrupt government officials. We can decide via the initiative process whether the water upon which our life depends will be protected.

The Salinas River and the groundwater beneath it has always been the lifeblood of this region. Oil companies, including Chevron, ExxonMobile, and Shell, currently are pumping millions of gallons of contaminated wastewater from their oil operation into the aquifers that the people and the farms that are the “Salad Bowl of the Nation” rely on and must protect for future generations. This is all in violation of the Federal Safe Drinking Water Act, but corporations seek and expect exemptions so they can continue their illegal and immoral contamination for profit.

Their irresponsibility pollutes our air, contaminates our water, corrupts our politics, and threatens an already seismically active region with increased threat of earthquakes.

Measure Z will ban fracking and acidizing, phase out wastewater injection, and stop the drilling of new oil wells that threaten the water, health, and future of this region.

The Salinas River, John Steinbeck’s “upside down river,” sustained life for thousands of years in this region. With the passage of Measure Z, it will continue to sustain life for generations to come. Water is Life.

 

 

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