First Week Reflections

Hello WILPF US! As I reflect on my first week at WILPF US, I start this second week with gratitude, fire under my feet, and a renewed sense of urgency. Gratitude, for your stories of power and resistance that mobilized change over decades. Fire, because I know I’m surrounded by strong, bold women and allies who are not going to back down in these challenging times. And urgency, because I understand that the human rights and issues WILPF has fought for are at risk, and so we must mobilize in new ways.

Over the coming days and months, I will continue to listen with humility to your stories and wisdom. I will ask hard questions and sometimes challenge the way we do things. Always, I will learn from you. On the latter, I was lucky to be welcomed into long-time WILPF members Libby and Erik Johnson’s home recently in Durham, NC, where I met with eight wonderful WILPF women. I was in town facilitating a dialogue for Rotary Peace Fellows at UNC Chapel Hill and took the opportunity to meet with local WILPF leaders.

It was a special gathering, being in the presence of women who had put in the work to make the community – and world – a better place for the women of my generation and those after me. The warm and welcoming energy in Libby’s and Erik's living room set the tone for how I want to continue engaging with WILPF women across the country – as humans first, with care, and connected by our common goal of kicking patriarchy in the @#!@#.

Throughout my conversations with you these past days, I have heard you say you want WILPF US to grow, be more diverse, continue to do good work locally, and at the same time, unify nationally. You’ve told me you want WILPF to meet the moment we’re in with courage, boldness and tangible action. In other words, you don’t want WILPF to be on the sidelines of history in this existential moment in the US. You want us to be mobilizing and leading. I am committed to collaborating with you all to continue to turn these words into action.

Need your input for Beijing+30

In 1995, at the Fourth UN Conference on Women, also known as the “Beijing Platform”, WILPF called on world leaders to move away from spending resources on increasingly larger militaries and related industries toward peace and development, and to address the role of military expenditures on the health of their societies.

WILPF organized a peace train from Helsinki to Beijing – picking up female peace activists along the route and planning their collective advocacy on the 21-day train journey – to show up strong in Beijing. Due to WILPF’s and other actors’ efforts, the Beijing Platform recognized that military spending, disarmament, foreign occupation, and self-determination, are all women’s rights issues. It also recognized that to bring about peace, feminist movements have key roles to play and that gender approaches must be incorporated. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform: a moment to look back at where we’ve been, where we are now, and to chart a path forward.

This week, I will be joining other WILPF women and representing our US section at events during the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW). As noted in yesterday’s e-news alert, WILPF US will host a parallel event titled “30 Years of Insights from the Peace Train to Beijing”. It will feature segments from the powerful Peace Train documentary by WILPF US luminary Robin Lloyd, followed by a panel discussion on women and the environment at the intersection of armed conflict. As I prepare for CSW, I aim to crowdsource your wisdom. I invite you to answer the three questions I pose below by emailing me with your answers at lindalow@wilpfus.org by this Friday:

• 🌳 When was the first time you remember becoming aware of an environmental issue or armed conflict?
• 🌎 Thinking about where you are now, what action do you want to take personally, locally or globally?
• ❤️ WILPF is a network of bold, strong women. How do you want WILPF to mobilize?

Thank you in advance for your insights which will help inform how I shape the stories I represent at CSW on behalf of WILPF US. If you wish to join the event virtually, please do! Register for the virtual viewing of the WILPF US panel event here. In the coming days and months, I look forward to mobilizing feminist power with you to rejuvenate, mobilize with allies across generations, and continue to do impactful work together.

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Women's International League for Peace and Freedom/US Section

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