Earth Democracy at the Democracy Convention

By Nancy Price, Member, Leadership Team, Earth Democracy Issue Committee

Join WILPF at the Democracy Convention in Madison, Wisconsin, August 7-11 and meet up with members of the Corporations v Democracy, Earth Democracy and DISARM/End Wars Issue Committees and many WILPFers from near and far. 

WILPF is a National Sponsor and the Earth Democracy Issue Committee is hosting two panels for the Earth Democracy conference, one of nine that make up the Democracy Convention. 

Madison WILPFers are invited to a Peace and Freedom Dinner at the Bethel Lutheran Church, 312 Wisconsin Avenue (map) on Thursday, August 8 from 5-7 pm. The church is only a short walk from the downtown campus of Madison College in central Madison. This dinner will feature local food cooked by them and WILPF friends.

The first Democracy Convention in 2011 was a great success. Check out the 2013 Agenda and register now.  Here, you can download printable drafts of the Earth Democracy agenda and confirmed speakers.

The nine conferences that make up the convention are: Constitutional Reform, Economic Democracy, Race & Democracy, Local Democracy, Education for Democracy, Earth Democracy, Representative Democracy, Media, and Democratizing Defense. For the first 2011 Democracy Convention, I was invited to organize the Earth Democracy conference and was invited again this year. The programs for each of these will be posted on the convention website as soon as they are finalized.

WILPF is sponsoring two panels. The first will be the pared-down Earth Democracy Workshop that has been presented at three CA Branches; and the second is a Teaching Earth Democracy panel organized by Susan Freiss of the Madison Branch and including several of her public school teacher colleagues.  

We would also like to introduce Emily Busam, Program/Administrative and Earth Democracy Issue Committee summer Intern.

Emily will be our summer intern working in a variety of ways to support the Earth Democracy Issue Committee, assisting first of all in finalizing new materials to the website for the four sub-committees and for the Earth Democracy Workshop: Local Action Tool Kit. 

Emily is a student at Lawrence University in Appleton, WI, where she is majoring in Environmental Studies. As she wrote to me, “I am very excited to be part of a group of such strong and socially aware women. I look forward to working with and learning from you.” She’ll be in the Boston office on Mondays, Wednesdays from 10 am to 4 pm. 

How Emily came to be a WILPF intern is an example of serendipity—one of my mother’s favorite words. Initially, I met Emily third hand through a friend that I made more than 10 years ago when I worked for CA State Assembly Woman Audie Bock, first Green Party member in the legislature. Emily was looking for some assistance on shaping a research proposal for a Watson Travelling Fellowship for the year following graduation from college and she was interested in talking with someone who had worked on water issues. One thing let to another and Emily and I had long conversations over the spring during which she learned about WILPF and the Earth Democracy Issue Group . . . and applied for the Internship . . . and, as they say, the rest is history. You can reach Emily via email at ebusam@wilpfus.org.