WAND Women Join PeaceLinks

By Melissa Beck, Metro Detroit WAND Member

Peace Links Conferees: left to right: Laurel Westmoreland, Kate Hilgenberg Lauren Dobbins Webb, Liz Hinton

WASHINGTON, D.C. – In December, WAND members joined peace advocates from around the nation for the Conference of Women for Responsible National Security, hosted by PeaceLinks. The conference launched a two-year campaign to end ongoing reliance on nuclear weapons.

Betty Bumpers, founder of PeaceLinks, charged, “If you don’t participate and shape the future, someone else will do it, and they’re doing it right now.”

A new generation of peacemakers expressed their commitment and readiness to act. Ali Fischer, President of the U.S. Student Association, explained that younger women need to feel that they can make meaningful contributions to peace efforts: “They need to know that they are altering the ways that decisions are made.” STAND Co-founder Elizabeth Hinton concurred, “Young women need to find a passion outside of boys, clothes, and their bodies. It is our job to do this.”

Conference participants shared ideas and visions during the closing ‘Call to Action.’ The event generated momentum for the Back from the Brink Campaign, which focuses on taking nuclear weapons off hair trigger alert. To become involved in this campaign, contact the WAND National Field Office at (404) 524-5999 or membership@wand.org.