Nonviolent resistance to Militarism
Event Date: 22nd September 2023
Location: Internet, September 22nd-24th, 2023
Early-bird ticket prices end tomorrow, August 15. Register today!
We’ve been busy preparing for World BEYOND War’s annual global conference, #NoWar2023: Nonviolent Resistance to Militarism, which is coming up next month on September 22-24—and we’re excited to announce our speaker line-up!
Throughout three days of virtual panels, training, and discussion sessions, #NoWar2023 will make the case for the efficacy of nonviolent resistance as a tool for conflict resolution, highlighting case studies from around the world of unarmed civilian based defense against invasions, occupations, and dictatorships.
Day 1 on September 22 begins with a welcome address, featuring WBW’s Executive Director David Swanson and WBW Board President Kathy Kelly, plus short messages from WBW chapters around the world. Peace researcher Jørgen Johansen will present the keynote address “The Potential of Nonviolent Resistance to Occupation and Militarism,” discussing lessons to be learned from the last one hundred years, from the successful German ending of the French Occupation of Ruhr 1923 to struggles in Ukraine 2023. After setting this context, we will hear a panel sharing examples of unarmed civilian protection and accompaniment around the world, featuring Jhony Arango of Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Colombia and Marna Anderson, Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce USA, moderated by Randy Janzen. We’ll conclude day 1 with a virtual peace concert by Dame Pa’ Matala, a group that presents a social message and an idea of conscience with the firm intention of strengthening grassroots work, against war and for peace, mixing avant-garde trends and rhythms with Latin American folkloric principles.
Day 2 on September 23 begins with a panel on nonviolent resistance to overthrow dictatorships & occupations, moderated by Ivan Marovic, Executive Director of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. This panel will share the courageous stories of activists who have used nonviolent resistance in the face of militarized violence, including Liberian activist Vaiba Flomo, who was instrumental in bringing an end to Liberia’s 14-year civil war through advocacy, protests, and political organizing; and Karen Spring, Co-Coordinator for the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN), who has lived and worked in Honduras since the U.S. and Canada-backed 2009 military coup. Following the panel, we will have a training on “Halting War With Nonviolent Struggle” with author/activist Rivera Sun, the Program Coordinator for Campaign Nonviolence. In this session you will learn how anti-war and peace activists can be more strategic and effective in our work, and understand how to craft strategy in broad and tangible ways. We will then conclude day 2 with a panel on the current war in Ukraine, sharing examples of active nonviolent resistance to the ongoing conflict. This panel will include a discussion of the Zaporizhzhya Protection Proposal by WBW board member John Reuwer and other speakers to be announced!
Day 3 on September 24 begins with a panel on community & land-based nonviolent resistance against colonial occupation & state-sanctioned violence, moderated by WBW Canada Organizer Rachel Small, and featuring Juan Gómez Ruiz, a member of the Civil Society Organization of the Las Abejas de Acteal in México; and Carlos Zorrilla, a leader in the successful effort to defend the cloud forests of the Intag Valley in Ecuador. Building off of the conference sessions, we will then hear a debate on the current war in Ukraine, moderated by WBW board member Koohan Paik-Mander, in which 3 perspectives will be argued: 1) Russia had no choice but to invade Ukraine, argued by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, 2) Ukraine had no choice but to fight Russia, argued by journalist James Brooke who works as the Ukraine/Russia columnist for The New York Sun, and 3) Russia and Ukraine both had options better than war, argued by WBW Executive Director David Swanson. Come with your difficult questions for our debaters on the use of nonviolence as a tool for conflict resolution and whether war can ever be justified. We will then conclude the #NoWar2023 Conference with breakout rooms to reflect on the conference sessions, and strategize about ways to take action for peace and ending war.
Throughout the 3-day online event, we will also make space for networking and virtual expo booths, to facilitate peer-to-peer interaction between attendees, speakers, and our conference sponsors. #NoWar2023 creates a much-needed space for global community building, reflection, learning, and skills sharing.
There are also opportunities for endorsement and sponsorship of the event. #NoWar2023 already has 8 sponsors and 40+ endorsers —can you help us grow these numbers?
Endorsement means that the endorsing organization will be listed on the conference materials and will help promote the event through its organizational email list, website, and/or social media channels.
Sponsorship comes at different levels, starting at $125 USD, and includes various perks, including event tickets, social media posts to WBW’s channels promoting the sponsor, and a virtual expo booth at the conference to interact with attendees in real time.
Hope to see you at #NoWar2023 this September 22-24!
Greta Zarro
Organizing Director
World BEYOND War
P.S. If you’re on Facebook, help us spread the word by inviting your Facebook friends to the event here!
Less than 1 month until #NoWar2023: Register today!
Dear Peter,
I can’t believe we are less than 1 month out from our annual global conference, #NoWar2023: Nonviolent Resistance to Militarism, happening virtually on September 22-24 to celebrate the International Day of Peace. u-eLFmY1murHKH14jrIQpjLA-2POc6qP4n_mcdo8ezOGYfPE4ew7wEB7Uh6IpLx4r7bor9OEzapr8NSGZurs6aplQd2dzaafs065nOxtFJhjVWguUu9RIHq2vpudGpRxIRcIcXf3vzkH8zFtugB0imuR45LyD32xFOgHVhpJUXTBHPnWK3_QUAZJVDM6SNoM67fLxkMXpT58g8jCvjivYTTNdZnXdxZ4GhQ/3zd/1YFjgAQ2QK6FJy9HnKUnrw/h4/mge3QRgnc3ZsmFfp_r1jYgcwoMLJMstl-ON2_0UhqkQ”>conference website, and getting the Zoom Events platform set up for this 3-day online conference. I can say that I’m blown away by this year’s line-upof over 30 speakers from 16 countries, who will be sharing incredible stories about the use of nonviolent resistance against invasions, occupations, dictatorships, and militarized violence.
Over 70 organizations have endorsed or sponsored the event, which says something about the relevance of this year’s theme. #NoWar2023 tackles the quintessential question that many of us peace activists grapple with: how do we maintain a nonviolent stance when the bullets are flying overhead? We will hear examples of unarmed civilian protection and accompaniment in Latin America; Liberian women who came together to end a bloody civil war armed only with white T-shirts and the courage of their convictions; conscientious objectors in Ukraine and Russia who are refusing to fight each other; land defenders in Palestine who employ nonviolent tactics like planting olive trees to resist Israeli laws that encroach on their ancestral lands; and much more.
There are too many exciting sessions to highlight in one email (view the full schedule on the website here!); below are just some of the sessions to look forward to (including a live debate with David Swanson on whether war in Ukraine is justified – scroll down for details):
Day 1 on September 22 features a panel on unarmed civilian protection and accompaniment around the world, with Jhony Arango of Community Peacemaker Teams (CPT) Colombia; representatives from Peace Brigades International (PBI) Honduras; and Marna Anderson, Director of Nonviolent Peaceforce USA. Este panel incluirá interpretación español-inglés.
Day 2 on September 23 begins with a panel on nonviolent resistance to overthrow dictatorships & occupations, moderated by Ivan Marovic, Executive Director of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict. This panel will share the courageous stories of activists who have used nonviolent resistance in the face of militarized violence, including Liberian activist Vaiba Flomo, who was instrumental in bringing an end to Liberia’s 14-year civil war through advocacy, protests, and political organizing; Karen Spring, Co-Coordinator for the Honduras Solidarity Network (HSN), who has lived and worked in Honduras since the U.S. and Canada-backed 2009 military coup; and Safoora Arbab, a scholar/educator who will tell the history of the Pashtun nonviolent resistance movement, the Khudai Khidmatgars.
Day 2 of the conference includes a training with the celebrated author/activist, Rivera Sun, who is also the editor of Nonviolence News and the Program Coordinator for Campaign Nonviolence. This training will explore the toolbox of nonviolent tactics and explore how to craft strategy, how to make small changes for big impacts, and how to prepare to take action – mentally, spiritually, emotionally.
Day 3 kicks off with a panel on community and land-based nonviolent resistance, featuring Juan Gómez Ruiz, a member of the Civil Society Organization of the Las Abejas de Acteal in México; Carlos Zorrilla, a leader in the successful effort to defend the cloud forests of the Intag Valley in North Western Ecuador; and Daoud Nassar of the Tent of Nations in Palestine. Este panel incluirá interpretación español-inglés.
The final day of the conference wraps up with one of WBW’s signature events, a debate with David Swanson on whether war is ever justified. Moderated by Marcy Winograd of CODEPINK, we’ll hear 3 perspectives debated: 1) Russia had no choice but to invade Ukraine, argued by former CIA analyst Ray McGovern, 2) Ukraine had no choice but to fight Russia, argued by journalist James Brooke who works as the Ukraine/Russia columnist for The New York Sun, and 3) Russia and Ukraine both had options better than war, argued by WBW Executive Director David Swanson. Tune in to hear the arguments and ask our debaters the tough questions about the efficacy of nonviolence when the tanks are rolling in.
This is just a sampling of the many sessions we will hear throughout the 3-day virtual conference from September 22-24. Visit the conference website for the full schedule here.
There are still opportunities for endorsement and sponsorship of #NoWar2023!
Sponsorship comes at different levels, starting at $125 USD, and includes various perks, including event tickets, social media posts to WBW’s channels promoting the sponsor, and a virtual expo booth at the conference to interact with attendees in real time.
Hope to see you at #NoWar2023 later this month!
Greta Zarro
Organizing Director
World BEYOND War
P.S. If you’re on Facebook, help us spread the word by inviting your Facebook friends to the event here!