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Building Sustainable Security
November 21, 2015 @ 9:30 am - 5:30 pm

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 |
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![]() Noam Chomsky |
![]() Michael McPhearson |
![]() Harris Gruman |
![]() Carl Williams |
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![]() Cassandra Bensahih |
![]() Barbara Madeloni |
![]() Chung-Wha Hong |
![]() Susan Redlich |
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![]() Jamie Eldridge |
![]() Will Hopkins |
![]() Arnie Alpert |
![]() Chuck Collins |
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
Alternatives to Violence, At Home and Abroad
Building Shared Prosperity in the Commonwealth with the Fair Share Amendment
Governing Under the Influence: Bringing our issues into the 2016 election
Building Movements with Lessons from Global Connections
4:45 pm Networking Reception
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.
Read more about Sustainable Security
Details
- Date:
- November 21, 2015
- Time:
-
9:30 am - 5:30 pm
- Event Category:
- Events
- Event Tags:
- Barbara Madeloni, Carl Williams, Cassandra Bensahih, Chung-Wha Hong, Climate Change, Conference, Economic Justice, Foreign policy, Harris Gruman, Michael McPhearson, National security, Noam Chomsky, racial justice, Social Justice, Sustainability, Will Hopkins
Organizer
Venue
- Harvard Law School, Wasserstein Hall
-
1585 Massachusetts Ave
Cambridge, MA 02138 United States + Google Map