As thousands will converge in Chicago during the international summits of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) and the Group of 8 (G8) this spring, WRL and a group of organizations* committed to ending U.S. militarism and its maintenance of economic injustice globally are looking to you and to your organizing networks to help us create and shape our counter-NATO/G-8 summit conference on May 18 & 19.
We'll also be joining community organizations, anti-war groups, and social justice activists from all over the country at the May 19 march and rally organized for the first day of the NATO/G8 meetings.
Our counter-summit will provide a unique opportunity to build our movements locally, nationally, and globally, as it brings together peace and justice activists from across the U.S. and internationally to share and deepen our analyses, to develop and build our campaigns, and to sharpen our vision, agendas, strategies, and skills for future organizing.
Our plenaries and workshops will focus on:
- NATO’s new role as a global military and war fighting alliance.
- Ending U.S. wars and occupations.
- The G8 and its role in promoting globalization.
- Current organizing for workers and immigrant rights and an end to poverty.
- Economic justice campaigns focused on cutting military spending.
- Skills-building and training for people organizing at the intersections of anti-militarism and economic justice within and outside the U.S.
The workshops will be cutting-edge, in some cases providing background, history, and current analysis about NATO, U.S. war plans, the G8, and globalization, with many others focused on current organizing work and the how-tos of building effective campaigns. Our priority is building strong relationships among grassroots groups, community organizations, and organizations working in the Global South and U.S.-occupied places, whose vision and leadership we want to center in our work for peace and justice. We also hope to include several “how to” workshops focused on organizing and building effective campaigns.
For information about the counter-summit, including workshop proposal forms, registration forms, and an updated list of plenary speakers, check out the Network for a NATO-Free Future website at www.natofreefuture.org
To connect with groups organizing on-the-ground in Chicago, contact our WRL-Chicago Local.
For more info on WRL at the NATO/G8 summits, check out the NATO/G8 page on our website!
*Coordinating organizations include:
Alliance for Global Justice
American Friends Service Committee
CODEPINK
Fellowship of Reconciliation
Grassroots Global Justice Alliance
Peace Action
US Peace Council
War Resisters League
Western States Legal Foundation
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom
