Contact:
Greta Zarro greta@worldbeyondwar.org
Allied Groups or Campaigns:
- https://worldbeyondwar.org/findchapter/
- International Peace Bureau: http://www.ipb.org/
- Nonviolent Peace Force: https://www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org/unarmed-civilian-protection?gclid
Mission:
Founded in 2014, World BEYOND War is a global grassroots network of volunteers, activists, and allied organizations advocating for the abolition of war. We work to advance the idea of not just preventing any particular war but abolishing the entire institution. Instead, we call for an alternative global security system based on peace, nonviolence, and demilitarization.
While public opinion has moved against war, we intend to seize this moment to crystallize that opinion into a movement that spreads awareness that war can be ended, that its ending is hugely popular, that war should be ended as it endangers rather than protects, and that there are steps we can and must take to move toward war’s reduction and abolition.
Our work debunks the myths that war is inevitable, just, necessary, or beneficial. Our peace education program lays out the strategies needed to demilitarize security, manage conflict nonviolently, and cultivate a culture of peace. World BEYOND War’s grassroots-led activist campaigns are centered around weapons divestment and closing military bases around the world. Our offerings include books, online courses, webinars, podcasts, mapping militarism charts, the peace almanac, Study War No More study & action guide, fact sheets, conferences, trainings, and much more.
People in 175 countries have signed World BEYOND War’s Declaration of Peace. Add your name. Find a local chapter near you, or start your own. Follow us on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
Our success is driven by a people-powered movement. Sign up as a monthly sustainer to support our work for a culture of peace.
After you have read this introduction, click the blue “View Coming Events” calendar button and you may find opportunities to participate in saving our world. If your group is planning a relevant event, we welcome your contribution to the calendar.
And join the discussion! Please wait a few seconds for the comments to load at the bottom of this page. Then read the ideas other people have shared and reply or add your own knowledge. Thanks!
Is World Beyond War an “anti-War movement” or a “peace movement”?
I wasn’t aware that there was any difference between anti-war and peace movements until I read the Wikipedia article on ‘anti-war movements.’ Here’s what they say:
Hi Beverly,
At World BEYOND War, we call ourselves an anti-war movement – our mission is to abolish the entire institution of war and to establish a just and sustainable peace. We were founded because we saw a need for an organization that tackled the whole institution of war, not just opposing one war, or one type of weapon, but the entire thing. We also are completely nonviolent in our work. Our work is both pro-peace and anti-war, and we try to consciously use both terms in our work, so that we emphasize that we are not only working to dismantle the war machine but to promote a positive vision for a culture of peace.
-Greta
One of your speakers on the podcast about war and the environment indicated that there is more and more a trend toward emphasizing arguments about the cost of militarism. That seems to be a more promising solution than just appealing to people on moral grounds to stop killing. Money, it seems, is what people care about. If they could maintain a huge army without paying a huge cost, they would do so. Therefore, it makes sense to point out just how much they are paying for war, and how many other things they are going without in order to pay for that army.
Absolutely! Our billboard project draws attention to just that! Shockingly, just 3% of U.S. military spending could end starvation on earth. https://worldbeyondwar.org/billboardsproject/ Data also shows that militarism is not actually a good job creator. See our fact sheet on how war impoverishes us: https://worldbeyondwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/FactSheet-Impoverishes.pdf
That money-counting project is fascinating
Maybe we should all make a regular practice of doing what one of those other global projects does: “Move the Nuclear Weapons Money” counts out million-dollar=bills for weeks on end to show how much is spent on nuclear weapons. If we count all the other forms of militarism it’s a whole lot worse!
Yes, absolutely! This connects to our divestment campaign, to highlight the way that our cities and institutions prop up war through their investments: https://worldbeyondwar.org/divest/
See our fact sheets on “War Impoverishes Us” https://worldbeyondwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/FactSheet-Impoverishes.pdf and “We Need $2 Trillion/Year for Other Things” https://worldbeyondwar.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/01/FactSheet-2Trillion.pdf
See graphic attached which makes the comparison between global military spending and how that money could be spent on healthcare, in light of the coronavirus pandemic. Also, see graphic attached with my quote for the Move the Nuclear Weapons Money campaign.
Good for those Irish activists!
Thank you so much for your support! Absolutely; we have to oppose the institution of war in all of its forms. Sign our Declaration of Peace to get involved: https://worldbeyondwar.org/individual/