The Massachusetts Campaign for a U.S. Department of Peace

Peace Alliance Fourth Annual Conference

By Don Orne, in Marblehead: Seven hundred peace builders, from forty-eight states went to Washington DC on February 2-6th to help turn Peace into a political force. They went into the halls of Congress and lobbied for the creation of a cabinet level Department of Peace.

On February 5th 2007, legislation to establish a U.S. Department of Peace was reintroduced into the U.S. House of Representatives by Congressman Dennis Kucinich. It was co-sponsored by several other members of congress.

This bill would provide much needed assistance to efforts by city, county and state governments to coordinate existing programs as well as to develop new programs based on best practices, nationally... It would support our military with complementary approaches to peace building and create and administer a U.S Peace Academy that would be designated to act as a sister organization to the U. S. Military Academy.

Read more: www.madop.org/node/127

Peace Alliance Conference Report

By Matthew Albracht: We had an amazing conference in D.C. this past weekend, it was a huge success. There were over 1000 people who joined us at one point or another. In attendance were Department of Peace activists representing 45 states -- a leap in representation over our September 2005 conference. Our presence was most certainly felt in D.C., and in particular on Capitol Hill.

The conference started Friday night with a phenomenal performance of the Gift of Peace play, and ended Monday night at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium, with heartfelt words from seven members of Congress, followed by Congressman Kucinich, leading us in a chant of " 808, 808, 808 " (the new bill number) and then finished with a crowd stirring performance by Steven Tyler, which had all of us buzzing with an excitement that most of us are probably still experiencing. In between were powerful speakers, training on lobbying and speaking powerfully for the legislation, time for practice and coaching for our Hill visits, more inspiring music, and of course, lots of celebration.

On Monday and Tuesday, we had over 220 congressional meetings and many more drop-in office visits! On Tuesday, The Peace Alliance participated in a press conference and a congressional briefing in support of the legislation. Our panel of peacebuilding experts -- along with Marianne Williamson and members of Congress -- shared eloquently and powerfully why we must make the work of peacebuilding a core national focus and investment.

We have heard from so many of our fellow activists, sharing how powerful it was to be in our nation's capitol working for this historic initiative. The thrill that comes from visiting a congressional office with fellow citizens, urging their support for the Department of Peace, is hard to put into words but incredible to behold. Each of us brought our faith in what is possible to bear upon our elected officials, and it certainly had its impact.

You can go to our site now and read our blog from the conference with first hand reports from attendees. You can also see many more photos posted on our forum . Check our website over the coming days for much more on our conference. We will be posting more photos, audio and video links, as well as attendee feedback.

We are so grateful for all of you who joined us in Washington. We are also grateful to all of you who have supported this campaign. This is more than just a political movement; together we are creating a new way of being in politics and in the world. By putting our efforts and attention on what is possible in the realm of peacebuilding, we can help shape the world we dream of.

In gratitude,

Matthew Albracht
The Peace Alliance

Visit www.conferencerecording.com to purchase video and audio of the conference. Some excerpts can be heard at www.thepeacealliance.org

“ We are providing the food and the fuel to allow citizens to imagine a world that works for everybody ” . – Marianne Williamson, President of The Peace Alliance

“ Nothing is more important. Nothing is more important. Nothing is more important! ” – Azim Khamisa

Strategies for MA Peacebuilders
in the Next Months

Lobbying: I ntroduction of a bill in the Senate has become a national priority for the Department of Peace Campaign. The Peace Alliance is asking Senator Kennedy to take a leadership role in this. Eight of us in Massachusetts visited the Senator ’ s Foreign Policy Fellow, Mike Stanton, on Capitol Hill, who gave us forty-five minutes to answer his questions and to describe the mission and the functions of the Dept of Peace, legislation for which, on that very day, Feb. 5, was re-introduced in the House by Congressman Dennis Kucinich (HR 808). We stressed the importance of the Department ’ s role in providing the infrastructure for coordinating and supporting the many programs in communities and schools, nationwide, in teaching peacebuilding skills for nonviolent conflict resolution and violence prevention. Participants in the Conference wrote many postcards to the Senator, which we then delivered in our visit to his office. It is important that the calls (202-224-4543, and 617-565-3170) and cards keep coming to the JF Kennedy Building, Government Center, Boston, MA 02203.

In addition, calls and faxes and e-mails should continue to go to our Representatives who are not yet Co-sponsors of HR 808: Rep. Richard Neal, District 2, Rep. Barney Frank, District 4, Rep. John Tierney, District 6. Rep. Micheal Capuano, District 8, Rep. Stephen Lynch, district 9, and Rep. Wialliam Delahunt, District 10. We visited staff of Frank, Tierney, Capuano, and Lynch. Please follow up with calls!

The heat is on, now! Listen to the audio files, on the Peace Alliance web, especially of the panelists on Human Security: Making America Safe. - passionate advocacy for the Dept of Peace, to support work, such as theirs, in conflict resolution training, and violence prevention programs, happening throughout the nation, and in other countries, but fragmented and needing replication. “ We know enough ” , said Tricia Jones, Conflict Education Professor at Temple University. “ We just need coordina tion and support.! ”

Talking Points which will help you, from the Conference: www.thepeacealliance.org/content/view/288/1/

Coming up: A Spring Festival at the Acton Jazz Cafe!

Mother's day events, including real pies to the legislators' offices, asking for a piece of the (budget) pie.

Please write to us, call us. . Tell us the skills and talents you'd like to use in this campaign. Let us together find ways to make the Department of Peace a reality. Email or call Pat Simon or Jason White, using the contact information on the letterhead.

In peace, Co-coordinators

Pat Simon ( psimon@gis.net ),
Jason White ( jason@propeace.net )

State Co-coordinators