World Beyond War: NoWar2026 Conference

Our annual conference is starting in 2 days! Join us THIS weekend from Friday, October 23 to Sunday, October 25 on Zoom for 3 packed days of panels, breakout rooms, and live performances. Register!

We have an incredible line-up of more than 40 speakers from dozens of countries worldwide, who will be unpacking how war drives mass displacement and how militarized borders block the movement of people fleeing violence. The very same weapons companies profiting from violent conflict are working with governments to militarize borders. And importantly, we’ll envision what a world beyond the violence of both wars and borders could look like. Get your ticket here!

$5 USD covers all 3 days of online sessions. No one turned away for lack of funds. Reply to this email for a scholarship ticket if the registration fee is a barrier.

We’ll kick off this Friday, October 23 at 1:00pm ET (find the time in your time zone) with opening remarks from World BEYOND War’s Co-Founder David Swanson. We’ll hear short reports from WBW chapter coordinators from around the world who will share their latest activities. 

Then we’ll hear a live musical performance by Taína Asili, a dynamic singer carrying on the tradition of her Puerto Rican ancestors, fusing past and present struggles into one soulful and defiant voice. We’ll end day 1 with a powerful opening panel on ”Border Imperialism: The Militarization of Borders & Criminalization of Migrants,” featuring Josephine Solanki (Transnational Institute), Todd Miller (The Border Chronicle), Syed Hussan (Migrant Workers Alliance for Change), moderated by Dr. Sarah Turnbull (University of Waterloo).

Day 2 (Saturday, October 24) starts at 9:00am ET (find the time in your time zone) with a live performance by Cameroonian spoken word poet Penboy. Our first panel of the day is “Case Studies of Militarized Borders & Demilitarized Zones” with Hannah Lee (Korea Peace Now! Grassroots Network), Dr. Wesam Amer (former Dean of the Faculty of Communication and Languages at Gaza University), and Adriana Jasso (AFSC’s U.S./Mexico Border Program), moderated by Pakistani geopolitical scientist Khawaja Hammad Akbar. 

Day 2 continues with a hybrid session, taking place in-person in Amsterdam and live on Zoom, to discuss the European Union’s increase in military spending and border militarization, centering voices from the migrant justice movement across Europe. We’ll conclude the day with a panel on “How War and Militarism Fuel Displacement,” featuring Helena Maleno Garzón (Caminando Fronteras), Yasmin Ullah (Rohingya Maìyafuìnor Collaborative Network), Norbert Byambo Kagosi (WBW Isingiro Nakivale Chapter), moderated by Mir Rahimi (Founder of Edu-Change).

Day 3, Sunday, October 25, kicks off at 12:00pm ET (find the time in your time zone) with a live performance by Palestinian poet Farah Chamma. Sal Corbin of DC Peace Team then guides us through an interactive workshop on “Nonviolent Communication: Breaking Free from Limiting Beliefs.” 

Our final panel ”Migration is Beautiful: The Case for Open Borders” features activist and writer Harsha Walia, writer and campaigner Gracie Mae Bradley, journalist John Washington, moderated by Afghan-Australian scholar Dr Mujib Abid. We conclude with closing words of wisdom from WBW Board President Kathy Kelly.

See you this Friday at #NoWar2026!

Greta Zarro
Organizing Director
World BEYOND War
[email protected]