Building Sustainable Security

Building Sustainable Security brought together over 300 people, 49 cosponsoring organizations, and nearly 60 presenters on November 21.  View video of the presentations by Werner Grundl and photographs by Julie O’Neil.

A One-Day Conference • Saturday, November 21, 2015

Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall • Milstein Conference Center, 2nd floor

8:30 am to 5:30 pm

 

Featured Speakers
Noam Chomsky MIT Institute Professor, author, Because We Say So	Michael McPhearson Executive Director, Veterans For Peace; Co-Chair, St. Louis Don’t Shoot Coalition	Harris Gruman Co-Chair, RaiseUp Massachusetts; SEIU	Carl Williams American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts
Cassandra Bensahih Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement (EPOCA)	Barbara Madeloni President, Masachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)	Chung-Wha Hong Executive Director Grassroots International	Susan Redlich 350 Massachusetts divestment core team
Jamie Eldridge Massachusetts State Senator	Will Hopkins New Hampshire Peace Action	Arnie Alpert American Friends Service Committee, Governing Under the Influence project	Chuck Collins Institute for Policy Studies

In the name of national security, our coun­try’s policies  are caus­ing multiple, sys­temic cri­ses.  These include cli­mate ca­tas­trophe, ex­treme inequality, con­stant wars, deep-seated racism, mass incar­ceration, and a militarized cul­ture.

Only large social movements can remove these barriers to genuine security and construct a society based on Sustainable Security.   What is Sustainable Security?

This conference will explore three pillars of sustainable national and world security:

• A fairly-shared global prosperity based on economic, social, and racial justice
• Emergency action to address climate change and build a new, fossil-fuel-free energy system
• A Foreign Policy for All based on even-handed diplomacy, ending our disastrous military interventions, abolition of nuclear weapons, and reclaiming war resources for the urgent needs that face our world

Join Us! in this effort to strategize, collaborate and mobilize for effective action together.  

Register Now to Reserve Lunch and Ensure Workshop Selection

 

Conference Program (subject to change)

8:30 am   Registration, Coffee, Literature Tables

9:30 am    Social Movements for Sustainable Security

Chuck Collins, Institute for Policy Studies, introduction

Jennifer Horsburg, Newton North High School, session chair

Harris Gruman Co-chair, RaiseUp Massachusetts; Executive Director, SEIU Massachusetts State Council

Carl Williams Staff attorney, American Civil Liberties Union of Massachusetts

Susan Redlich 350 Massachusetts, divestment core team 

Cassandra Bensahih Jobs Not Jails; Co-Director, Ex-Prisoners and Prisoners Organizing for Community Advancement (EPOCA) 

Barbara Madeloni President, Massachusetts Teachers Association (MTA)

10:40 am  Sustainable Security and Peace

Rosalie Anders, Massachusetts Peace Action and 350 Massachusetts, session chair

Noam Chomsky Institute Professor Emeritus, MIT

Michael McPhearson Executive Director, Veterans For Peace; Co-Chair, St. Louis Don’t Shoot Coalition

11:30 am International Workshops See full workshop descriptions

Storm in the Middle East: Iran Deal, ISIS War, Syria, Yemen

Stop the Trans Pacific Partnership

New Initiatives toward Nuclear Disarmament

Security vs. the National Security State — Technology, Privacy and the NSA

Links Between US Foreign Policy, Inequality, and Climate Change

The U.S. & China: Dangers & Alternatives to Military & Economic Containment

Climate Crisis: The Road Through Paris

From despair to empowerment–an experiential workshop

1:00 pm Lunch

2:00 pm Struggling for Sustainable Security: Connecting the Movements

Cole Harrison, Executive Director, Massachusetts Peace Action, session chair

The People’s Budget: Jamie Eldridge, Massachusetts State Senator

Building Movements with Global Connections: Chung-Wha Hong, Executive Director, Grassroots International

Impacting Elections: Bird-Dogging the 2016 Candidates.   Roleplay : Will Hopkins Executive Director, New Hampshire Peace Action; Arnie Alpert, American Friends Service Committee, Governing Under the Influence project

3:15 pm Domestic Workshops    See full workshop descriptions

A Green Economy for Massachusetts

Black Lives Matter

Alternatives to Violence, At Home and Abroad

Jobs Not Jails

Building Shared Prosperity in the Commonwealth with the Fair Share Amendment

Build Housing, Not Bombs

Governing Under the Influence: Bringing our issues into the 2016 election

Let’s Talk about War

Building Movements with Lessons from Global Connections

 

4:45 pm  Networking Reception

More information  

Registration and coffee 8:30 am; Program Begins 9:30 am.   Program ends 4:30 pm, followed by Networking Reception.

Members $25 • Non-Members $35  • Students/Low Income $10  • Lunch Included.  

Is there space for me to register?   Yes, there is plenty of space!  Register Now to Reserve Lunch and Ensure Workshop Selection!

Click here for Directions, Parking information, Map, and Agenda.

Student Note-Takers are needed for workshops.  You will earn $30 per workshop and registration fee is free.   Sign up to be a Note-Taker

Sponsored by Massachusetts Peace Action.  Contact: info@masspeaceaction.org, 617-354-2169, for information.  

Co-sponsored by 350 Massachusetts – Cambridge node, Alternatives for Community and Environment, Alliance for a Secular and Democratic South Asia, American Friends Service Committee, Arise for Social Justice, Arlington UJP, Berkshire Citizens for Peace & Justice, Boston Democratic Socialists of America, Boston for Bernie, Boston Homeless Solidarity Committee, Boston South Asia Center, Cambridge Residents Association, Cape Downwinders, Chelsea Collaborative, Clean Water Action, Co-op Power, Criminal Justice Policy Coalition, Dorchester People for Peace, First Parish in Cambridge – Environmental Justice Task Force, Friends Meeting at Cambridge (Quaker) – Peace and Social Concerns committee, Global Zero Boston, Grassroots International, Green-Rainbow Party of Massachusetts and its Boston Chapter, Harvard Peace Acion, Homes for Families, House of Peace – Ipswich, Hub Public Banking, Jewish Voice for Peace – Boston, Massachusetts Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace, Metrowest Peace Action, Milton for Peace, National Priorities Project, Newton Dialogues on Peace and War, North Shore Coalition for Peace & Justice, Poor People’s United Fund, Progressive Democrats of America, Progressive Massachusetts, United for a Fair Economy, United for Justice with Peace, Veterans for Peace – Samantha Smith Chapter 45 & Smedley Butler Chapter 9, Watertown Citizens for Peace, Justice, and the Environment, and Women’s International League for Peace & Freedom – Boston Branch (list in formation).  Can your organization Co-Sponsor the conference?   Click here for details and to sign on.

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