Triennial

The War Resisters' International Triennial Conference, which took place in Dublin/Ireland from 3-9 August 2002, invites groups and individuals to take action on 11 September, using the text below - alongside their own text - as a joint statement.

Please read this paper carefully.

Make sure it reaches the WRI representative in your organisation, and/or the person who will be representing you at the Triennial.

Who is running for the WRI Council elections?

Of all the candidates nominated by WRI sections, 11 have accepted to run for elections. Although the constitution states that 12 Council members need to be elected, there are not enough candidates to do so. In addition, it is likely that the constitution will be changed to "up to 12".

Ellen Elster, Norway Nominated by War Resisters League, USA About me

Very recently have become a grandmother to a boy, all my children are now grown up. I have taken part in the work of the Norwegian Section (FMK) and WRI since 1970's. FMK's activities in the later years have diminished and it has been natural to take part in different groups and coalitions such as Norwegian section of WILPF, antiwar-network, anti-NATO work.

War Resisters' International

Triennial Conference

3-10 August 2002 in Dublin, Ireland

Florencia E. Mallon
Department of History
University of Wisconsin-Madison, U.S.A.

Elected and appointed positions chosen or confirmed at the 1998 Triennial Conference

Chair: Joanne Sheehan, USA

Treasurer: Andreas Speck, Germany

Vice-chairs: Peter Jones (Australia), Cecilia Moretti (Argentina), Osman Murat Ülke (Turkey)

Internationally elected council members:

War Resisters' International, an international pacifist network with affiliates in over 30 countries, discussed the war and humanitarian crisis in Kosovo/a at its Triennial conference in Porec, Croatia, 20-26 September 1998.

About 40 workshops were held during the five days of the open conference. A full list of workshops and their convenors is available in the WRI archives.

Morning plenaries

The morning plenary sessions featured announcements, world news, and short presentations from participants who came upon their nonviolent activism in difficult and threatening circumstances:

Serdar Tekin from the Izmir War Resisters' Association described how he and war resister Osmat Murat Ülke sat around a table one night in the early '90s working out a strategy for resisting militarism in Turkey. "We thought we were the only ones in the country. We are very isolated because of the very militaristic and authoritarian society."

We want to thank all those who made this Triennial possible through their financial support:

Stiftung Umverteilen (Germany), Objeción Fiscal (state of Spain), Folkereisnig Mot Krig (Norway), Norwegian Government, 23rd October (Netherlands), Caritas (Belgium), WRI Chechnya/Russia Fund, Danish Peace Council, Solifonds-Die Grünen (Germany), Committee for Conflict Transformation Support, UNESCO Etxea (Basque Country, state of Spain), Peacefund Canada, Myrtle Solomon Memor

ARK for Beginners

WRI's programme on nonviolence and social empowerment WRI Strategic Planning Electronic Networking ARK for Beginners Two members of ARK staff

This
workshop will give a brief history of Antiwar Campaign Croatia and an overview
of its current activities.

Objectives

Howard Clark and Vesna Terselic

Nonviolence is not about supplanting one set of leaders with a new set, but about people discovering and exercising their own power - against oppression and exclusion, for participation and peace.

In this theme group, participants will reflect on the movements, groups and activities in which they are or have been involved at three levels: