NEWS

Walking the talk in Tucson
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 13:34
Walking the talk in Tucson

Nuclear Resister group, Tucson All Souls Procession, November 6, 2016. Credit: The Nuclear Resister

By Gretchen Nielsen, Tucson, AZ

Tucson, the home of Raytheon Missile Systems and Davis Monthan Air Force Base, is also home to the “Nuclear Resister”, and its editors, Jack and Felice Cohen-Joppa. WILPF US is undoubtedly familiar with the “Resister,” as it reports acts of nonviolent resistance to war, networking worldwide, supporting activists imprisoned for “walking the talk,” and all movements that peacefully and actively reach for changes needed to rescue and heal our planet.

For example, Felice and Jack led us literally to “walk our talk” in the annual All Souls Procession, November 6, Jack moving sure-footedly under a beautiful, huge puppet of Sadako festooned with a garland sample of the 1,000 paper cranes she created to set free with her message of peace (some of the members of the Tucson WILPF Branch helped to make the puppet). Felice, even with a sore back, walked the distance, keeping our group marching together (after she had done all the planning, make-up, costumes, and fed us pumpkin muffins.)

The Cohen-Joppas are, in my opinion, “where it’s at” in every sense of the word. Once a month they haul out their anti-war signs and encourage us to demonstrate at the gates of our town’s two institutions we would most like to retool and change from killing to healing. They remind us that we have an open-air venue for saying in War towns everywhere: “NOT IN MY NAME.”

 

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Congressional run for WILPF Portland member
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 13:31
David Delk

Candidate David Delk in League of Women Voters Portland Video Voters Guide interview, www.progparty.org.

By Natasha Beck, Portland OR Branch

Let’s congratulate one of our own WILPF Portland members who ran for Congress in Oregon on the Progressive Party slate.

David E. Delk, WILPF member and member of the Economic Justice Action Group of the First Unitarian Church in Portland, ran against Democrat Representative Earl Blumenauer in Portland’s 3rd Congressional District.

David has been active in Portland Move To Amend, working hard to get money out of politics and to reverse Citizens United with a constitutional amendment.

Running for office is a huge commitment, win or lose. David received 7.3 percent of the vote, or 26,000 votes. If you’d like to drop David a note to thank him for his effort and to congratulate him on his run, you may reach him at 112 NE 45th Ave., Portland OR 97213.

 

 

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Celebrating Jeannette Rankin
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 13:29
Jeannette Rankin

For Congress, Jeannette Rankin, Republican Ticket, circa December 1917.

By Don Knutson, WILPF US Life Member

On November 5, the Sacramento Valley Branch of WILPF commemorated the centennial anniversary of the election of the very first woman to the United States Congress, Jeannette Rankin, a Montana Republican and lifelong pacifist. This took nearly 130 years after the founding of the Republic! We invited Jeanmarie Bishop from Phoenix, AZ, the author of the play “A Single Woman,” about the life of Rankin, to appear at the California Stage in midtown Sacramento. Her play had been performed at that same stage in 2004 for a two-week run. Preceding her performance, the local Raging Grannies performed suffragette songs in a sing-along.

Bishop mentions in her work that shortly after Rankin’s election in 1916, a gentleman wrote to “The New York Times” in a Letter to the Editor complaining that Rankin’s election was “illegal” because when the Constitution refers to the functions of a member of Congress, it is always “he” or “his.” This reminded me that the Founding Fathers never had any intention of including women in their “democracy”—a breathtaking realization I never learned in high school. Coupled with the burden of the Electoral College they bestowed upon us, we should reevaluate any luster they may have retained over the ages.

Along with a couple of friends, Bishop performed as Rankin in the company of an audience of about 300 and detailed that she was elected on November 7, 1916, and was very quickly confronted with the prospect of the US entering WWI. Along with some 50 other Congress members, she voted against it and soon followed that action by initiating the process that resulted in the 19th Amendment, the amendment that gave American women the right to vote and was enacted in 1920. In 1918, with her term up and her congressional district having been gerrymandered by the Montana Democratic Party, she decided to run for the US Senate but was not successful. During this time, she served as a founding officer of the American Civil Liberties Union, which was highlighted in the recent movie “Loving,” about the interracial Virginia couple who married in 1958 in Washington, DC, and who were then prosecuted for their marriage by their native state. With the help of the ACLU, the couple was vindicated in a 1967 decision of the US Supreme Court, a major achievement of the civil rights movement.

After many years of traveling to India to further develop her Gandhian-based pacifist principles, Rankin returned to Montana and in 1940 ran again for Congress and was elected. And, in December 1941, she was the only member of Congress to vote against going to war with Japan. Such a principled and courageous stand from which we can all find inspiration!

For more on Jeannette Rankin, visit “Jeannette Rankin: Suffragist, Congresswoman, Pacifist” at Women’s History Matters.

 

 

 

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Speak up! Bylaws Committee seeks input, participants
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 13:20

By Darien De Lu, Ad Hoc Bylaws Committee Chair

What changes in our Bylaws will help make WILPF US structurally and procedurally more effective? That’s the question the national Bylaws Committee is seeking input on, as well as volunteers to contribute to the discussion.

The committee welcomes WILPFers to help build better Bylaws by sending in suggestions and by stepping up to participate in the committee discussion and work. In next year’s WILPF US elections, members may be asked to vote on substantial changes, which will be considered and framed in the next few months. What works—in your branch, in other membership-driven organizations you know of, in your experience?

What parts of the Bylaws should be changed, because they might be out of date or forgotten? Is consensus decision-making beneficial in our procedures? What powers do we wish to keep in the hands of the members? What authority and power might the members wish to delegate to the national board? Are you (WILPF US members only) interested in visiting and/or being part of the Bylaws Committee?

You can read the current WILPF US Bylaws on our website. At the 2017 WILPF US Congress, the Bylaws Committee will present a workshop on the Bylaws and possible changes.  We welcome your comments and questions about the Bylaws, the amendment process, and the Congress workshop! 

Please send your ideas, questions, or requests for further contact to Darien De Lu, via email to bylawreview@wilpfus.org or by phone at 916-739-0860.

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Peaceful Toys Promenade
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 11:53
Peaceful Toys Promenade.

Peaceful Toys Promenade. Credit: Margaret Pecoraro.

Submitted by Margaret Pecoraro, Tucson Branch

Members of the WILPF Tucson Branch held the first of their two annual “Sidewalk Welcome to Shoppers” on Black Friday, November 25, urging shoppers to buy peaceful toys for the youth of our society during this Christmas season. Joined by “Santa Claus” and wearing bright and festive colors and carrying signs—such as “Grannies know best! Promote Peace. No War Toys!”—members of the “Peaceful Toys Promenade” greeted shoppers outside a Tucson Toys “R” Us.

The second promenade will take place December 18, the last Sunday before Christmas, outside Walmart. The Tucson Branch invites all to join them.

The two Peaceful Toys Promenades, now a Tucson Branch tradition of about 20 years, first originated with Pat Birnie, a long-time WILPFer. Among the participants in the Black Friday 2016 promenade were Elizabeth Brizzard, Mary DeCamp, John Jorgensen, Stephanie Keenan (with a “bookmobile” of “freebies”), Luise Levy (in a beautiful cape with the words “Give Peace Love”), Deborah Livingston, Gretchen Nielsen, Garth (Pat) and Margaret Pecoraro, Patty Walker, and Stuart Thomas (as Santa Claus). 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Earth Democracy
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 11:45

Bolivians protest against water scarcity severely affecting the South American country. La Paz, Bolivia, November 18, 2016. Credit: hispantv.com.

By Nancy Price, Earth Democracy

What is our moral obligation? The three main dams supplying water to Bolivia’s largest cities—La Paz and El Alto—are no longer fed by Andean glaciers, which have provided up to 28 percent of city water. Demand now outstrips supply.

This Bolivian crisis as reported in recent articles makes clear how heartbreaking this crisis is for Bolivians and Mother Earth—articles such as: “Bolivian Water Crisis as Glaciers Vanish”; “Bolivia’s Severe Water Shortage Triggers National Emergency”; and “Bolivian President Orders Army to Tackle the Water Scarcity in La Paz.” As recently as November 23, thousands marched in La Paz, demanding a few liters of water. Now it is reported that some are fleeing to Peru in search of water, yet Peru also depends on glacial water sources that are disappearing.

Will the Bolivian government or the Andean states remain stable in the face of this crisis? Let’s remember that the 2006 drought in Syria, which drove devastated famers into urban areas that the state was unprepared to assist, is cited as one of a complex of causes that led to civil unrest and, ultimately, the war.

As citizens of the country with the second highest carbon footprint, behind China, what is our moral obligation to people in countries that are far less able to meet the climate crisis and deal with water shortages? What is our moral obligation to all people, exemplified by those now at Standing Rock, who risk their lives to keep fossil fuels in the ground to lessen global warming, to stop the overuse and pollution of critical fresh water supplies, and to support an emergency transition to a clean, renewable, and sustainable energy economy?

In the book he co-edited, “The Secure and the Dispossessed: How the Military and Corporations Are Shaping a Climate-Changed World,” Nick Buxton presents his research and analysis on the preparations that the Pentagon and transnational corporations are making to militarize security responses to the unfolding climate crisis. He explores how the climate security agenda is playing out in the arenas of food, water, and energy. The implications for social and environmental justice are potentially very disturbing, as authoritarian solutions are increasingly recommended, such as guarding against climate change refugees rather than providing support. At the same time, Buxton discusses alternatives undertaken by people to cooperatively adapt and build a just response to the climate crisis. Here’s a short video of Nick speaking about his book.

Clearly, the military and allied corporations stand to profit from climate conflicts, migrations, climate disasters, and much more. We only have to look at Syria and Standing Rock to understand what Buxton is predicting if we don’t take action and respond compassionately in this time of global crisis. You’ll have to read this compelling book—a perfect opportunity for a Branch reading and discussion project—to grasp the full scope of his argument and his suggestions for action.

Here are actions to take now:

Even though the DAPL easement to build the pipeline across tribal land and under the Missouri River has been denied, the fight is not over! In the days and weeks ahead, here are the 10 questions we need to be asking (scroll to the bottom of that web page for the questions).

Most recently, the Take Action Took Kit, which the Corporations v Democracy and Earth Democracy Issue Committees have prepared, was posted to the WILPF US website. Marybeth Gardam and I hope you find this a useful resource.

 

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Fracking in Pennsylvania
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 11:34
The WILPF Mobile and participants on the trip to view fracking sites

The WILPF Mobile and participants on the trip to view fracking sites in Dimock, PA. Photo courtesy of Judith Elson.

By Judith Elson, Greater Philadelphia Branch Earth Justice Committee

The Earth Justice Committee of the Greater Philadelphia Branch received a mini-grant to fund a one-day guided tour of fracking sites in Dimock, Pennsylvania. On November 12, we rented a minivan, hired a local guide and videographer, and visited various fracking sites in Dimock, Pennsylvania, home to Cabot Oil and Gas and other companies fracking shale, seven days a week. We were able to see the wells, pipes, compressors, contaminated water, and ruined property. We visited residents who have been impacted by fracking. They have no clean water to drink or to bathe in. They have to pay for weekly water delivery and store it in large water buffalo tanks that are delivered each week. They told us how fracking has impacted their lives, medically, financially, and environmentally.

We filmed our tour and will present this video in February at a gathering of Philadelphia environmental groups and other interested Philadelphians. Much needs to be done to alert the public to what is happening about 150 miles from Philadelphia. Highly toxic carcinogens like benzine and radioactive radium from fracking operations are polluting our drinking water and poisoning our fish. Stay tuned for an update after our presentation.

 

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New England Retreat
Post date: Fri, 12/02/2016 - 11:29
Attendees at the fall 2016 WILPF New England Retreat

By Krystal Kilhart, 2016 Communications Intern

The Boston Branch sponsored this fall’s WILPF New England Retreat the weekend of October 21 and 22. The retreat provided WILPF members in the New England area the opportunity to gather and introduce themselves to each other and to hear from speakers on issues of race and the environment.

On Friday, Pat Hynes, a retired environmental engineer and professor of environmental health and the current director of the Traprock Center for Peace and Justice in Western Massachusetts, gave a presentation titled “War and Warming: Can We Save the Planet without Taking on the Pentagon?” Hynes spoke about the importance of acknowledging the oversized responsibility of the US military for greenhouse gas emissions and environmental destruction.

On Saturday, DiDi Delgado, a founding member of Black Lives Matter, Cambridge, and the head of operations for the Society of Urban Poetry, and Stella Panzarella, a member of Showing Up for Racial Justice (SURJ), Boston, and a facilitator for White People Challenging Racism, spoke on the topic “The Movement for Black Lives.” They discussed the goals and actions of Black Lives Matter and how WILPF members can most effectively be allies in their critical work.

Attendees at the fall 2016 WILPF New England RetreatThree WILPF members were honored with the Jane Addams Spirit in Action award for their many years working in peace and justice movements. The three awardees were Sue Gracey, Audley Green, and Klare Allen.

Sue Gracey was the WILPF point person for almost 10 years in the struggle for environmental justice against a proposed biosafety level 4 lab in Boston (BSL-4 labs are used in research, storage, and cultivation of toxic biological substances and fatal pathogens). She helped organize WILPF members, along with other groups and individuals, to appear at dozens of public hearings, demonstrations, and meetings with representatives and to write letters to the editor.

Audley Green has been active with WILPF for over 50 years. She revived the Boston Branch of WILPF and has served on the International Board of WILPF. She has been active in racial justice work, and she collaborated with Simmons College to organize an annual celebration of International Women’s Day.

Klare Allen is active in racial justice and environmental work. She has also been active in representing and organizing people in Roxbury and has been a key organizer against the biosafety level 4 lab in Boston.

Photos: Attendees at the fall 2016 WILPF New England Retreat. Credit: Eileen Kurkoski.

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Take Action Tool Kit
Post date: Wed, 11/23/2016 - 06:56

Earth Democracy & Women, Money & Democracy
Issue Committees of WILPF US

 

Tools for Education
(more Tools for Education will be posted as compiled)

At present we are focusing on two major campaigns –

The Human Right to Health & Safe Food and Climate Justice+Women+Peace 

The website for each campaign has fully developed campaign materials for education and taking action. Please visit these websites and get involved as an at-large member or as a Branch. We welcome your engagement and commitment to these important issues and through our campaigns we CAN and WILL make a difference.

Please let us know how you are implementing aspects of these campaigns in your local community and what has worked for you. It is important to us that we all share stories of success, and ideas on how to better reach out to community members, to city government and to potential allies and partners, and to those corporations and business whose policies and practices we are working to change.

Let us know your questions and suggestions for additional content and actions.
Let us know about the films, books and other materials that you have found particularly useful.

Please contact Marybeth Gardam - mbgardam@gmail.com or Nancy Price - nancytprice39@gmail.com

Human Right to Health & Safe Food Campaign
To print out a 8.5 x 11 card click here
And, don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the blog and “leave a reply.”

Climate Justice+Women+Peace  Campaign
To print out a 8.5 x 11 card click here
To print out 11 x 17 card click here

Education on Fracking

Crude Beyond BeliefThe Earth Democracy Group of the Fresno Branch has produced “Crude Beyond Belief” – a 40 minute DVD documenting fracking in Kern County, located in California’s Central Valley. Jean Hays organized the fracking tour that was led by Kern County water and air expert Tom Frantz and filmed by the Fresno local Community Media Access Collaborative.  Despite California’s reputation has a climate leader, Kern County is the nation’s third largest oil-producing state trailing only Texas and North Dakota. Almost 75% of the oil extracted in California comes from Kern County and the county is home to 95% of the fracking that occurs in the state

Please show “Crude Beyond Belief” at a house party or local public event. For more information, actions to take and how to order the DVD click here

Tools for Action

Be creative and well-prepared. Actions can be just as creative, colorful, attention-getting for press coverage and as effective for education and mobilization as you make them. Depending on what you are attempting to accomplish, your choice of actions will vary, but the key is to create an action that will have the impact you seek to achieve and  create mobilization around and support for the issue you are working on.

Actions can be small or large, quiet or noisy, depending on the kind of visibility and reaction you seek from local elected representatives, from the general public, and from the focus of your action or campaign. Actions can be as simple as holding signs in a public place, handing out literature at events or demonstrations, along a march route or at your Farmers Market.

  Climate Justice+Women+Peace Card  

To order the Human Right to Health & Safe Food Card, click here
To  order the Climate Justice+Women+Peace Card, contact Marybeth Gardam at  mbgardam@gmail.com stating the number of cards desired and your mailing address. WILPF members  can order bulk quantities for free; branches and members only pay for mailing costs.

Select Your Audience for an Action.  

Actions can take place in many different kinds of venues: at city council, town or county meetings or local or county government commission meetings; at your state legislature; at special events that your WILPF Branch sponsors or at other kinds meetings where you wish to show support or opposition.  You can stage actions at your elected Congress Member’s district office, or at specifically targeted commercial business, bank or other offices whose policies and actions you wish to highlight, bring attention to and protest  

Or, you can hold a silent vigil at the same time and place every week or month with signs and handouts to let people know what you are standing for. Keep in mind that making your chants, slogans and messages cleaver, imaginative and fresh, and artistic with bright colors and images gives you a better chance of having media coverage/photos.

Have someone assigned to take photos or videos of your event to share on social media and with WILPF US.  Keep us informed so we can use your work to inspire others.

Need some resources for how to frame you topic and campaign?

Center for Story-Based Strategy

Organizing for Power, Organizing for Change  to learn about strategy and campaigns 
Be sure you know what is permitted and not permitted in your community and if necessary for the type and size of the action you are planning proceed  accordingly. If you are engaging in non-violent civil disobedience, you may wish to have proper training and adequate legal support and representation if needed. Be sure to know your rights.  You may want to have bail money arranged and someone designated to bail you out.   Here are some sources:

Civil Liberties Defense Center and click on Resources and “Know Your Rights” for a video presentation.

Know Your Rights – National Lawyers Guild

American Civil Liberties Union

Tools for Being Your Own Media

One of the best ways to build public awareness about WILPF and WILPF US’s mission and program is to be your own media – to engage with various medial platforms and to create your own media. Here are some examples. Everyone has skills, but not everyone has the same skills. Most of all, it is just important to engage at the level you are most comfortable with and where you know you can and will be most effective.  

Social Media – Raise awareness about the issues you care about or that your Branch is working on through all social media.

Facebook: Like, Comment, and Share from the WILPF US and Branch pages. Create a Branch Facebook group page and keep it up to-date with lively information and photos.

Twitter: @WILPF_US
The @ sign sends your twitter message to the WILPF Twitter page

What is the hashtag # sign used for? It is used to categorize Tweets by a keyword or word sequence. People use the hashtag # symbol before a relevant keyword or phrase in the Tweet to categorize these Tweets and help them show up more easily in a Twitter search.

Clicking on a hash-tagged item in any message shows you all the other Tweets that include that hashtag. Using a # helps to lead individuals to conversations and discussions pertaining to that specific topic or theme. Using a hashtag helps to build up interest in the specific topic and attracts twitter readers to it.  The more hashtags you use in your tweet the more people will be made aware of our campaigns, materials and Infographic Cards

Here are some hashtags to use for the Climate Justice+Women+Peace Campaign:

#ClimateJustice   #ClimateJusticeWomen   #ClimateJusticeWomenPeace

Here’s are some hashtags to use for the Human Right to Health & Safe Food Campaign

#HumanRights   #HumanRightsViolations   #HumanRight2SafeFood   #NoGMOs  #GMWatch #BoycottGlyphosate  

Op-Ed: Write and submit an opinion piece to your local and regional newspapers. Be sure to identify yourself as a WILPF member and with your specific Branch affiliation. You may wish to collaborate with a member of an Issue Group Leadership Team member on a specific topic.  

Tips for writing an Op-Ed (To be posted)

Letters to the Editor:  Submit a Letter to the Editor to your local newspaper. This is an important way to reach possible new members and local allies to build support for the issue you are working on. Furthermore it lets your Congressional Representative know what you are concerned about locally and what WILPF US’s position is on specific issues in relation to both local and Congressional policy. You Congress Member’s District staff do keep track of local issues and brewing policy controversies and advocacy.

Tips for writing a Letter to the Editor (To be posted)

 

Read more >>>
Take Action Took Kit
Post date: Tue, 11/22/2016 - 05:06

Earth Democracy & Corporation v Democracy
Issue Committees of WILPF US

 

Tools for Education
(more Tools for Education will be posted as compiled)

At present we are focusing on two major campaigns –

The Human Right to Health & Safe Food and Climate Justice+Women+Peace 

The website for each campaign has fully developed campaign materials for education and taking action. Please visit these websites and get involved as an at-large member or as a Branch. We welcome your engagement and commitment to these important issues and through our campaign we CAN and WILL make a difference.

Please let us know how you are implementing aspects of this campaign in your local community and what has worked for you. It is important to us that we all share stories of success, and ideas on how to better reach out to community members, to city government and to potential allies and partners, and to those corporations and business whose policies and practices we are working to change.

Let us know your questions and suggestions for additional content and actions. Let us know about the films, books and other materials that you have found particularly useful.

Please contact Marybeth Gardam - mbgardam [at] gmail.com or Nancy Price - nancytprice30 [at] gmail.com

Human Right to Health & Safe Food Campaign
To print out a 8.5 x 11 card click here
And, don’t forget to scroll down to the bottom of the blog and “leave a reply.”

Climate Justice+Women+Peace  Campaign
To print out a 8.5 x 11 card click here
To print out 11 x 17 card click here

Education on Fracking

Crude Beyond BeliefThe Earth Democracy Group of the Fresno Branch has produced “Crude Beyond Belief” – a 40 minute DVD documenting fracking in Kern County, located in California’s Central Valley. Jean Hays organized the fracking tour that was led by Kern County water and air expert Tom Frantz and filmed by the Fresno local Community Media Access Collaborative.  Despite California’s reputation has a climate leader, Kern County is the nation’s third largest oil-producing state trailing only Texas and North Dakota. Almost 75% of the oil extracted in California comes from Kern County and the county is home to 95% of the fracking that occurs in the state

Please show “Crude Beyond Belief” at a house party or local public event. For more information, actions to take and how to order the DVD click here

Tools for Action

Be creative and well-prepared. Actions can be just as creative, colorful, attention-getting for press coverage and as effective for education and mobilization as you make them. Depending on what you are attempting to accomplish, your choice of actions will vary, but the key is to create an action that will have the impact you seek to achieve and  create mobilization around and support for the issue you are working on.

Actions can be small or large, quiet or noisy, depending on the kind of visibility and reaction you seek from local elected representatives, from the general public, and from the focus of your action or campaign. Actions can be as simple as holding signs in a public place, handing out literature at events or demonstrations, along a march route or at your Farmers Market.

  Climate Justice+Women+Peace Card  

To order the Human Right to Health & Safe Food Card, click here
To  order the Climate Justice+Women+Peace Card, contact Marybeth Gardam stating the number of cards desired and your mailing address. WILPF members  can order bulk quantities for free; branches and members only pay for mailing costs.

Select Your Audience for an Action.  

Actions can take place in many different kinds of venues: at city council, town or county meetings or local or county government commission meetings; at your state legislature; at special events that your WILPF Branch sponsors or at other kinds meetings where you wish to show support or opposition.  You can stage actions at your elected Congress Member’s district office, or at specifically targeted commercial business, bank or other offices whose policies and actions you wish to highlight, bring attention to and protest  

Or, you can hold a silent vigil at the same time and place every week or month with signs and handouts to let people know what you are standing for. Keep in mind that making your chants, slogans and messages cleaver, imaginative and fresh, and artistic with bright colors and images gives you a better chance of having media coverage/photos.

Have someone assigned to take photos or videos of your event to share on social media and with WILPF US.  Keep us informed so we can use your work to inspire others.

Need some resources for how to frame you topic and campaign?

Center for Story-Based Strategy

Organizing for Power, Organizing for Change  to learn about strategy and campaigns 
Be sure you know what is permitted and not permitted in your community and if necessary for the type and size of the action you are planning proceed  accordingly. If you are engaging in non-violent civil disobedience, you may wish to have proper training and adequate legal support and representation if needed. Be sure to know your rights.  You may want to have bail money arranged and someone designated to bail you out.   Here are some sources:

Civil Liberties Defense Center and click on Resources and “Know Your Rights” for a video presentation.

Know Your Rights – National Lawyers Guild

American Civil Liberties Union

Tools for Being Your Own Media

One of the best ways to build public awareness about WILPF and WILPF US’s mission and program is to be your own media – to engage with various medial platforms and to create your own media. Here are some examples. Everyone has skills, but not everyone has the same skills. Most of all, it is just important to engage at the level you are most comfortable with and where you know you can and will be most effective.  

Social Media – Raise awareness about the issues you care about or that your Branch is working on through all social media.

Facebook: Like, Comment, and Share from the WILPF US and Branch pages. Create a Branch Facebook group page and keep it up to-date with lively information and photos.

Twitter: @WILPF_US
The @ sign sends your twitter message to the WILPF Twitter page

What is the hashtag # sign used for? It is used to categorize Tweets by a keyword or word sequence. People use the hashtag # symbol before a relevant keyword or phrase in the Tweet to categorize these Tweets and help them show up more easily in a Twitter search.

Clicking on a hash-tagged item in any message shows you all the other Tweets that include that hashtag. Using a # helps to lead individuals to conversations and discussions pertaining to that specific topic or theme. Using a hashtag helps to build up interest in the specific topic and attracts twitter readers to it.  The more hashtags you use in your tweet the more people will be made aware of our campaigns, materials and Infographic Cards

Here are some hashtags to use for the Climate Justice+Women+Peace Campaign:

#ClimateJustice   #ClimateJusticeWomen   #ClimateJusticeWomenPeace

Here’s are some hashtags to use for the Human Right to Health & Safe Food Campaign

#HumanRights   #HumanRightsViolations   #HumanRight2SafeFood   #NoGMOs  #GMWatch #BoycottGlyphosate  

Op-Ed: Write and submit an opinion piece to your local and regional newspapers. Be sure to identify yourself as a WILPF member and with your specific Branch affiliation. You may wish to collaborate with a member of an Issue Group Leadership Team member on a specific topic.  

Tips for writing an Op-Ed (To be posted)

Letters to the Editor:  Submit a Letter to the Editor to your local newspaper. This is an important way to reach possible new members and local allies to build support for the issue you are working on. Furthermore it lets your Congressional Representative know what you are concerned about locally and what WILPF US’s position is on specific issues in relation to both local and Congressional policy. You Congress Member’s District staff do keep track of local issues and brewing policy controversies and advocacy.

Tips for writing a Letter to the Editor (To be posted)

 

Read more >>>

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