International Women's Network Against Militarism

Educational Projects

Recollection: Newsletter

Peace Activist Dictionary

Speakers Bureau

PROJECTS

International Women’s Network Against Militarism

WGS has helped to sustain and support this Network. We meet in person every 2 years at international meetings hosted by different country groups. 

The International Women’s Network Against Militarism was formed in 1997 when forty women activists, policy-makers, teachers, and students from South Korea, Okinawa, mainland Japan, the Philippines and the continental United States gathered in Okinawa to strategize together about the negative effects of the US military in each of our countries.  In 2000, women from Puerto Rico who opposed the US Navy bombing training on the island of Vieques also joined, and in 2004 women from Hawai’i.  A timeline showing key events puts the International Women’s Network in historical context.

The Network is not a membership organization, but a collaboration among women active in our own communities who share a common mission.  WGS will host the Network’s 6th international meeting in the Bay Area, September 2007.

At the founding meeting in Okinawa, May 1997, women gathered to share information on US military operations in our various countries. Participants decided to meet again in Washington, DC, October 1998 to bring their experiences to US organizations, and Members of Congress and their staff.  The third meeting, entitled “Redefining Security: International Women’s Summit,” was timed to coincide with the G-8 Summit in Okinawa, June 2000. The Network met in South Korea in 2002 and in the Philippines in 2004.  Each meeting has sessions that are open to the public, as well as site visits and in-depth discussions for participants. The next international meeting will be in the San Francisco Bay Area in 2007.

To promote, model, and protect genuine security by creating an international women’s network of solidarity against militarism.

• To strengthen our common consciousness and voice by sharing our experiences and making critical connections among militarism, imperialism, and systems of oppression and exploitation based on gender race, class and nation
• To contribute to the creation of a society free of militarism, violence, and all forms of sexual exploitation, in order to guarantee the rights of marginalized people, particularly women and children, and
• To ensure the safety, well-being, and long-term sustainability of our communities

PAST MEETINGS  (1997, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2007)

Educational Projects
Our current projects are this English-language website which provides a vision of genuine security and educates about the effects of military operations, particularly on women, children and the environment.  We also develop and sponsor educational events, talks, and other resources.

Events Calendar
December 7, 2006: Reports from Korea—Gwyn Kirk and Christine Ahn
AFSC, 65 -9th Street, San Francisco. For more info contact            

February 9-10, 2007: Paradise Occupied: Environmental and social implications of US military presence in Okinawa – Yoko Fukumura and Gwyn Kirk. For more info see www.biologicaldiversity.org

(Re)Collection
(RE)Collection is a newsletter that illuminates the work of those committed to a culture of peace. (RE)Collection developed from the collaboration of U.S. based activists who are part of the WGS connection. WGS envisions a world of genuine security based on justice, respect for others across national boundaries, and economic planning that meets people's needs, especially women and children. WGS work toward the creation of a society free of militarism, violence, and all forms of sexual exploitation, and for the safety, well-being, and long-term sustainability of our communities.

March 2008 Newsletter:
Country Reports Mar '08
Country Highlight -- Hawaii
Insight Interview: Gwyn Kirk
Calendar of Events Mar '08

Contact: recollection@genuinesecurity.org

Peace Activist Dictionary (Korean, English, Japanese, Spanish, Pilipino)
This is in English Japanese, Korean, Spanish and Pilipino. It has grown out of our work together and has served to deepen our communication as a Network.
Description:

            The Politics of Translation article
            Dictionary Sample
            Order

Speakers Bureau:  
Women for Genuine Security core group members are available to speak on college campuses, in classrooms, to community organizations and faith-based groups.

Topics include:

• Militarism and Violence against Women
• Redefining Security for the 21st Century
• Military Security: An oxymoron?
• Impact of military operations on the environment and human health in East Asia
• Transnational Women’s Organizing: The first ten years of the East Asia-US-Puerto Rico
• Women’s Network
• Translation as political work
• Textile arts in women’s peace work

Please contact us at info@genuinesecurity.org to schedule a talk.