WILPF 30th Triennial Congress Blog

WILPF Thirtieth Triennial Congress Blog
June 23-29, 2008
Indianola, Iowa- Simpson College

By Courtney Johnson, WILPF Intern and Y-WILPF member

June 23, Tuesday
Discussion began about the further development of YWILPF.  YWILPF is a division of WILPF that reaches out towards the younger generations (35 & under). It has been decided that Leflora Cunningham- Walsh and Monika Kinkel will be the 2008- 2011 representatives on the board of directors. The primary goal of YWILPF is to increase membership. Creating clubs at college campuses will reach out to a younger generation and expand membership.  These clubs will also provide consistent funding for WILPF because most colleges provide money to their organizations.  Amnesty International is an example of a similar NGO that has used student organizations as a way to gain members, and reach out to a younger generation.  Another way we plan on obtaining membership is through recruitment at the Republican and Democrat National Convention. These conventions are a great opportunity to advertise WILPF's philosophies to individuals who share a similar political mindset.  Once we gain new members ideas we plan on holding skill-building/ guest speaker workshops that will teach new members efficient ways of campaigning.  These workshops are a great opportunity for the older WILPFers to pass their knowledge along to the new members.  A few long-term goals for YWILPF are to create international internships with other sections of YWILPF to educate and to attend international congresses.

Wednesday, June 24
The formal opening of the National Congress was in the evening during a dessert hour sponsored by the Des Moines branch.  Marybeth Gardam led the water ceremony in which each member poured a sample of water from their respective area into a communal bowl to represent the national gathering.  Following the water ceremony was a performance titled Water is Life by the Gateway Dance Theatre, led by Penny Furgerson.  The interpretive dance taught the valuable lesson that water is sacred and should not be abused or owned by free for all to use in a conservative manner.

Thursday, June 25
Plenary- Another World is Here and We are making it possible Moving Forward Plenary

The third plenary of the day was the report on the several campaigns and issue committees.  The current campaigns are Water, Disarm, and Middle East.

During the evening the bidding for the silent auction opened and members gathered to watch the Des Moines Opera production of Elixir of Love.

Friday, June 26
The Morning Plenary was led by Sha'an Mouliert and was a discussion on White Privilege.  She used an episode of the series called Heart to Heart Conversations to educate members and inspire discussion.  The film was complied of various opinions of white individuals from diverse demographic levels.  After the viewing Sha'an asked, what story/opinion did we relate to most and why? It was hard for me to necessarily pick a specific individual to relate to however, what the film did teach me was the almost blatant fact that even in a community that may appear to be equal whites are still given privileges.  During the film I reflected on my high school experience and realized that my "diverse" high school was quite unbalanced.  In high school I participated in the Gifted Program, which is a selective public school program that is provided for students who show exceptional promise in academics.  At my public high that prides itself on being diverse, only two African Americans participated in this program.  In order to achieve true diversity members of all races need to have equal representation in specific programs, honors, careers, and furthermore need to interact harmoniously together.  If interested in learning more about White Privilege visit the website at www.wilpf.org/bbc.

Following the morning plenary was a discussion on the proposals for mini-grant applications.  Mini-grants are given to a member who makes a valid argument for a political need.  Grants range from $250- 4,000, and in order to keep the funding incessant it is proposed the 10% of the mini-grant should be returned after the conclusion of the program.  There was discussion over branch domination and a possibility that members within a branch might have to decide on top proposals to submit that way the mini-grants can be evenly distributed throughout the nation.  The application for these grants is available on the national WILPF website.

Throughout the afternoon there were various workshops and each member chose two to attend.  Palestine Perspective in Peacemaking was led by Barbara Taft, Odile Hugonot Haber and Hanan Awwad, a member of the Palestine Section.  During this workshop it was stated that the most promising solution to the Israel/ Palestine Conflict is to create two separate states.  Attempting to create a one state will not be a peaceful solution because either party will not legitimize the others government and therefore eliminate its sovereignty.  The United States needs to stop favoring the Israeli government and allow communication with the Hamas-led Palestine government.  The United States needs to become a neutral peaceful party and help both nations develop their own states. Communication with Palestine is difficult due to ferment opposition from Jewish lobbying groups.  Leaders of the Middle East Campaign group urge members to work with J Street, a Jewish peace group to promote legislation that evaluates both nations' needs and will therefore create a peaceful solution to the conflict. 

The second workshop I attended was called Venezuela Rising.  This workshop was led by Natali del Carmen Fani, who is the Associate Director of the Venezuela Information Office in Washington, D.C.  She used a documentary of the democratic election of Chavez to show that the citizens of Venezuela appreciate and admire their leader, and that he has created health care and food programs for the poor.  This portrayal of Chavez contradicts the typical American assumption of Venezuela's "harsh dictator." The American government feels threatened because Venezuela provides vast amounts of oil to the United States and Chavez does not comply with every wish of the United States.  In the documentary it was shown the anti-Chavez advertisements dominated the commercial media because of the corporations that controlled it. Public Relations media experts were sent from the United States to help the anti- Chavez's campaign, which only proves how threatened the American government feels.  Despite efforts from out government Chavez still won the election by a strong majority.  This workshop opened my eyes to not believe what the media and the government wants me to think but instead research further to truly understand the details of United States foreign policy.

After the conclusion of the afternoon workshops the members socialized in a wine and cheese reception for the incoming board.  The causal atmosphere allowed members to create relationships with WILPF members across the nation.  Following the "board to board reception" was a speech by Amy Goodman, the executive producer of Democracy Now!, an independent news program airing on 700 radio and television stations in North America.  She spoke about how important it is to be thoroughly educated about current events, and how commercial media is not necessarily the best resource because it is owned by corporations that have the capability to twist and eliminate certain details. She finished her speech in a book signing.

Saturday, June 27
Throughout the Congress the Raging Grannies performed for WILPF members however on this Saturday the Grannies traveled to a farmers' market in downtown Des Moines to spread their talent to the public.  Following the performance the grannies and their WILPF fan club returned to Simpson College to continue with the congress.  The morning plenary was a discussion of International WILPF and the sister organization, Jane Addams Peace Association (JAPA).  There are over 37 sections involved in WILPF internationally, the headquarters in Geneva Switzerland.  The international system was illustrated in a butterfly diagram, with one wing dedicated to committees and organizational structure while the other represented politics and campaigns, while the body represents the international board and WILPF members.  Susi Synder, the Secretary General of WILPF talked about the success of PeaceWomen, and how it influenced the creation of the UN Resolution 1870 that makes rape a crime of war.  This was a major win for WILPF and for women activists internationally.  During this session JAPA was defined to be an organization that holds funds for WILPF.  If members make donations to this organization the money will be used for WILPF and the donation will be tax deductible.

            The first workshop I attended in the afternoon was a session on how to conduct a "perfect meeting."  I learned that it is essential to appoint a time watcher and a "vibe" watcher, someone who pays attention to the emotions of the group.  Each meeting should have a specific agenda and it is the time watchers responsibility to make sure each individual speaking stays within their time limit so that every item on the agenda can be accomplished.  One can ask the moderator for more time and the group can collectively decide what should be cut from the agenda if they feel it is important to carry on the current discussion.  To help stay within your time limit in meetings it is important to send out the agenda with at least one days notice. This way members have an opportunity to prepare and collect their thoughts.  It is also important to watch out for impromptu announcements because they often take long and could easily be stated through an email. 

            The second workshop of the day was the Real Cost of War.  What many consider the real cost to be is the amount of lives lost.  Currently the Iraq war is the 2^nd most deadly United States war and one of the most expensive.  It is calculated that in 2009 it will be a trillion dollar war, over 8 billion of that expense is borrowed money.  Those figures do not include every expense because of the privatization of military products.  This workshop included an open discussion on how we personally felt the cost of the war affected us.  From economic reasons, to the general reputation of American citizens the war in Iraq has changed the United States in a negative way.  The question is what can be done?

            During the evening we attended a formal dinner and listened to the awards presentations.  The James Cheney Freedom Prize was awarded to Sha'an Mouliet and Chris Morin for their work in creating equality for all, and the Feisty Woman Award was given to Peg Mullen for her outstanding achievements over the years in the Des Moines Branch.  After the awards ceremony members listened to Fran Korten, the publisher and director of Yes! Magazine.  She spoke about current issues and how WILPF is a fantastic organization that is making a difference. 

Sunday, June 29
The final meeting was the presentation of the incoming board and the traditional "passing of the torch" ceremony.  Each member of the old board said out loud one issue that they will be passing on to the new board and tossed a piece of paper into a bowl to symbolize the initiation.  After the incoming board introduced themselves formally the YWILPFers formally announced their plans that they had developed earlier in the week to the members of WILPF.  The congress closed in a ceremonial dance that all WILPFers participated in.  The 2008 Congress would not have been the same had it not been for the commendable work by the Des Moines branch, and I would just like to reiterate my gratitude for creating such a remarkable event.