You can change the world, step by step
Step 1 Empowerment
Educate
yourself. Knowledge is power. Read WPP materials like Women
and Peacemaking or The Life of Bertha von Suttner.
Educate
others. Share what you know. Donate WPP videos to your local
school or place of worship or a subscription of the WPP newsletter
to your local library.
Step 2 Peace
Form a
women peacemakers group in your community. Peacebuilding
is a group activity. Ask for our leaflet ‘How to Start and Maintain
a Women’s Action Group’.
Twin with
a women’s peace group in another country. Ask for a
copy of the WPP’s annual May 24 International Women’s
Day for Peace and Disarmament, with its international directory of
women’s peace groups and suggestions for actions.
Step 3 Development
Become
a supporter. See in the donations section how you can support women
overcoming violence.
Stay connected.
Join our mailing to keep in touch with women peacemakers around the
world.
Further suggestions
Support the
United Nations 'Decade for a Culture of Peace and Nonviolence for the
Children of the World' (2001 - 2010). Contact IFOR for more
information.
Make a
special effort to reach girls: talk with Girl Scouts/Guides or other
girls' groups about how war and peace affect girls. Share an action
with them like writing a letter to a government official or to women
and girls in one of the groups listed in the May 24 action packs.
Sponsor
an essay contest for girls to express their ideas about creating peace.
Translate and
reprint articles from the May 24 action packs (please credit the pack
and don't forget to send us a copy!) to educate others about the issues.
Encourage
groups to include ending violence in their agendas and events, and to
increase their support for women in that part of the world working for
peace.
Inform your
networks (your women's organization, place of worship, school, labour
union or work place) about May 24 and possible solidarity actions for
women peace activists.
Hold a
gathering to write legislators on topics like ratifying the nuclear
test ban treaty; or the transfer of military funds to meet human needs;
or whatever is necessary for your community.
Encourage
your religious leaders to speak out in support of peace. Organise a
workshop on women and peace issues at a seminary, rabbinical school,
madrasa or other places where religious leaders are taught. Encourage
their libraries to carry books and magazines on women and peace.
Issue a press
release rating your legislators on their efforts for women, peace and
justice.
Encourage
your school and community libraries to display on May 24 books by and
about women peacemakers (for example, set aside a table near the
entrance), violence against women, or about women as decision makers.
Organise a
public panel, demonstration, or film showing on May 24, to highlight
women's work for peace. Invite women decision-makers, and women leaders
from different ethnic and religious groups in your community to speak
about women's role in stopping violence.
Organise a
discussion group on ways to support women working for peace in conflict
situations.
Ride public
transportation on May 24 and distribute information to women about
local peace groups. Include telephone numbers for peace organizations
and organizations that work to empower women and girls.
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Plan a
photo exhibit or music festival with local artists that highlight the
work of grassroots women peace activists.
Co-ordinate
a city-wide essay contest for middle and high school students with a
special focus on the work of women and girls for peace.
Work with
the local or state media to acquire programming space where women peace
activists can be highlighted.
A Book or Movie Club is a good way to meet like-minded
people. It’s a way to deepen our understanding of women’s
and men’s roles in peace and war, and the influence gender
has in conflict and peacebuilding, through reading and discussions.
Contact community
organizations and ask them to feature a grassroots woman peacemaker
in their newsletters.
Invite
women from all sides of a conflict in your community to come together
on May 24 in order to explore ways to reduce tensions within the
community or neighbourhood.
Write
letters of support to the groups profiled in this year's pack on May
24, to express your solidarity for their work. Twin your group or
network with a women’s peace group in another country.
Create a
web site about what women are doing for peace and justice in your
community, or link your existing site to ones listed in this pack.
Create
awareness in your community by holding marches and demonstrations for
peace, which call for public commitment to end violence. Carry posters,
banners, etc., which contain clear messages and demands for the local
government.
Invite
members of your community to write and submit poems, which reflect how
violence against women during conflict has affected their lives as well
as the lives of close friends and relatives. Ask your local newspaper
to publish some of these poems and/or ask a local bookstore to hold
poetry reading, which features these poems and their authors. Hold a
silent candle light vigil at the end of the readings in memory of all
women and girls who have lost their lives to war.
Sponsor an
essay contest, which focuses on the positive steps that governments
have taken to ensure women's decision-making in security issues.
Include recommendations for how your city, state or national government
can further promote a culture of peace.
Hold a
festival with other groups or women business owners in your town to
celebrate women and a culture of peace. Include music, dance and
theatre performances as well as information booths to create awareness
of women's role in creating peace.
Contact
your local radio or television station and see if they would be willing
to donate time for a public service announcement on an issue related to
women and peace and disarmament.
(For information about how to plan a radio campaign, contact the World
Association of Community Radio Broadcasters (email: tachi@amarc.org.ec).
Ask
stores, libraries, city government buildings, local radio stations,
etc., to declare themselves “violence free spaces” on May 24.
Activities for this space might include, giving women an opportunity to
talk about solutions to tensions within the community, or about
international security, which they might not normally have the
opportunity to do.
Invite
local women's organizations together to speak on how women can
contribute towards a culture of peace.
Learn more
about the work of the International Fellowship of Reconciliation and
the International Peace Bureau: write to our offices for more
information.
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