WILPF in Pittsburgh

Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) is not new to Pittsburgh. There have been members of the League here for years; at one time the Pittsburgh members organized into a small activist community (called a "branch") within the US section. WILPF has sections in about 37 countries and nearly all continents.

In fall 2003, a southwestern Pennsylvania branch was re-established as Pittsburghers came together to confront the current militarization and economic injustices. One of the chief organizers of WILPF/Pittsburgh – as well as of the local Raging Grannies -- is Edith Bell:

The overall aim of WILPF since its founding 89 years ago, has been not only to eliminate war as a means of resolving differences, but to work to establish the psychological, economic, social and political conditions that make peace possible.

A gender perspective along with an on-going gender analysis is a strong component of WILPF’s program. Men members of WILPF share this feminist vision.

The vision of the organization fits well into the Thomas Merton Center broad-based, diverse vision and approach to social change: to "link and challenge root causes of oppression, especially racism, sexism, heterosexism, militarism, economic disparity, and political disempowerment" and to "build and strengthen relations and movements for justice, peace, and radical democracy among people all over the world." (US WILPF Mission Statement).

A Bit of Background

WILPF was founded in 1915 during World War I when more than 1000 women from both warring and neutral countries met in the Hague, Netherlands, to seek an end to the bloody conflict. Women social workers and suffragists saw that the war was destroying everything that they had spent their lives working for: Jane Addams, Alletta Jacobs, the first woman physician in the Netherlands, Rozika Schwimmer, Hungarian suffragist, Emily Green Balch, economist from Vassar College and other visionaries were among the attendees and organizers.

Following the Hague conference teams of four women visited key heads of state to request negotiations and an end to hostilities.

WILPF’s international headquarters are in Geneva, Switzerland; the US office is in Philadelphia. At the local and national level there is great diversity and autonomy in the way WILPF is organized in different political and social situations, as for example in Israel, Palestine, Burundi, Norway or the USA.

The League is a membership organization, meaning that the members have a voice in deciding program and policies. The logistics of "giving voice" are challenging due to differences in language, lack of economic resources, different political ideologies and cultural differences. Members come from war-ravaged countries and from countries that make war. This makes the dynamism and exchange at international meetings intense at times.

What keeps WILPF together in its work are local communities of activists and the annual and triennial international meetings. The next major meeting will be an International Congress August 16 – 21 at Kungälv, Sweden.

Though basically a volunteer organization, a valiant staff in Geneva and in New York, plus national WILPF offices in different countries, develop program resources and actions according to national needs and priorities.

In the United States there are four major campaign areas: "Challenge Corporate Power, Assert the People’s Rights," "DISARM: Dismantling the War Economy Campaign," "Uniting for Racial Justice U.F.O.R.J.E." and "Women and Cuba Campaign: Building a U.S. Women’s Movement to Normalize Relations with Cuba."

WILPF was instrumental in the founding of CodePink, the Raging Grannies and United for Peace and Justice – groups which give much new vitality, creativity and leadership to our antiwar work.

Want to be Involved?

WILPF members worldwide will take to the streets March 20 for the convergence against the Iraq war and occupation. WILPF/Pittsburgh, CodePink, the TMC, the Rosenberg Institute and others are sponsoring an Empty Shoes and Memories display in Market Square March 19, 11 – 2 pm.

Susi Snyder, Director of WILPF UN Office in New York, will be a major speaker at these events and at an evening event on the role of women in conflict and post-conflict. (See calendar).

There are many ways to be a part of WILPF. There is room for every kind of participation according to what one wants to and is able to do. To quote Edith Wilson, the reward comes from being part of the "community of women worldwide who want to work for peace and against conditions that further violence."

For information about WILPF/Pittsburgh contact Edith Bell at edith.bell4@verizon.net or Karen Peterson at 412 521 7187.

- By Regina Birchem, Irwin, PA
Former WILPF International Vice President

Left to right: Jen Geiger, WILPF Program Coordinator, interns, Grace Baiye and Jovana Ruzicic, and Jody Dodd, WILPF leadership and outreach coordinator at the October 25, 2003, demonstration in Washington, D.C. to end the occupation of Iraq.

Vision Statement of US WILPF:
WILPF envisions a transformed world at peace, where there is racial, social, and economic justice for all people everywhere – a world in which:
• The needs of all people are met in a fair and equitable manner.
• All people equally participate in making the decisions that affect them.
• The interconnected web of life is acknowledged and celebrated in diverse ways and communities.
• Human societies are designed and organized for sustainable existence.

Mission Statement of WILPF
WILPF members create the peaceful transformation they wish to see in the world by making connections that:
• Provide continuity with the past so that knowledge of historical events and patterns informs current activities for change.
• Create analysis and action that reflect and reinforce each other.
• Link and challenge root causes of oppression, especially racism, sexism, heterosexism, militarism, economic disparity, and political disempowerment.
• Build and strengthen relationships and movements for justice, peace, and radical democracy among people all over the world.

WILPF on the Web
www.wilpf.org

• U.S. WILPF:
Information about the National Campaigns, Issue Committees, and upcoming actions. Find contacts for WILPF branches, read the most recent statements on current events or find out about the Jane Addams Peace Association. Download copies of campaign study materials, fliers, and other useful tools.

• International WILPF:
Links to Sections around the world, as well as addresses and e-mail information for offices at the United Nations and in Geneva. The site also has information on international internships.

• Reaching Critical Will:
Reaching Critical Will addresses the information needs of nuclear neophytes as well as disarmament activists.

• Peace Camps:
Carol Cutter of the Los Angeles WILPF branch has created a new web page all about Peace Camps. The purpose of the web page is to provide a directory of U.S. (mostly WILPF sponsored) Peace Camps and a repository for resources.

• PeaceWomen:
www.peacewomen.org
PeaceWomen.org seeks to nurture communication among a diversity of women’s organizations by providing an accessible and accurate information exchange between peace women around the world and the U.N. system