After four months of organizing, 70 registered participants, 30 sponsoring organizations and a dozen internationally and nationally renowned presenters (and over 100 individual updates to this webpage) the Nuclear Resister, Nukewatch, and the Oak Ridge Environmental Peace Alliance are very sorry to announce that the Stop the New Nuclear Arms Race Conference is cancelled.
Uncertainties about restrictions on travel and gatherings have compelled the hosting venue to cancel activities at least until the end of May. We want to express our disappointment at losing the chance to work with you. We also want to thank everyone who was working to help make the conference a success, not the least our amazing presenters.
We also want to affirm that the work goes on, unabated by the virus or the cancellation of our conference. We will be exploring more ways to develop collaborative efforts with colleagues around the world as we work together to rid the planet of nuclear weapons.
SEVENTY-FIVE YEARS after Hiroshima, Nagasaki, and Trinity, nuclear weapons are still an existential threat; the Doomsday clock has just been moved up to 100 seconds til midnight; nuclear weapons states are investing trillions of dollars to upgrade their weapons systems.
At the same time, peace movements around the world are gaining strength, bolstered by the compelling authority of the Treaty on the Prohibition of Nuclear Weapons.
The problem of nuclear weapons will not be solved by non-nuclear nations alone—those of us living in nuclear weapons states and under the nuclear umbrella have a primary obligation not just to work for, but to achieve abolition.
STOP THE NEW NUCLEAR ARMS RACE will bring together activists from around the world to talk about how we can use the tools available to us—the Treaty, the work of Don’t Bank on the Bomb, the merging voices of faith communities, resistance efforts at weapons sites, localized nuclear-free-cities efforts, ICAN’s report on University ties to nuclear weapons production, Back from the Brink, direct actions at military bases, and more—in collaborations that are mutually supportive and effective.
WORKSHOPS
The Treaty that Bans the Bomb
Seth Shelden, UN Liaison
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Ardeth Platte and Carol Gilbert
International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons
Don’t Bank on the Bomb
Susi Snyder
PAX, The Netherlands
Campus Connections to the Bomb
Alicia Sanders-Zakre
ICAN, Geneva, Switzerland
Local Initiatives to Ban the Bomb
Jackie Cabasso
Western States Legal Foundation/ Mayors for Peace
K A Garlick
Citizens Council of Western Australia
Nonviolent Resistance to the Bomb
Marion Küpker
Büchel ist Uberall campaign, Büchel, Germany
Susan Crane
Redwood City (CA) Catholic Worker
Other Speakers
John Schuchardt, Plowshares Eight
Hideko Tamura, hibakusha (via Skype)
OH, AND ANOTHER THING…
2020 marks the 40th anniversary of the Nuclear Resister, Nukewatch, and the Plowshares movement. So plan to celebrate these anniversaries with cake, music, and fun!
WHO SHOULD COME?
New to nuclear weapons? The conference is a great place to start learning. Been here since the Freeze days? Come share your experience and learn what is happening now. The Conference will have workshops, strategy sessions, panel presentations, music, and opportunities for networking, celebration, training and action.
Everyone who wants to be part of a coherent movement, blending multiple strategies, to get rid of nuclear weapons. Whether your strategy is resistance, divestment, legal challenges, direct action, education, local organizing, political action—we are stronger when we understand and collaborate with each other.
WHY TENNESSEE?
Maryville, TN, is 20 miles from the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, TN. Y-12 is an active nuclear weapons manufacturing facility. Today, Y-12 makes highly enriched uranium cores for W76-2 warheads and is currently building a new bomb plant, the Uranium Processing Facility, to continue production for decades.
SCHEDULE
The conference begins Friday evening with a chance to hear from participants about the work being done around the globe.
Saturday, we’ll have presentations followed by in-depth workshops focusing on many of the efforts happening in the US, Europe and elsewhere.
Sunday will include time to share ideas and develop collaborative strategies. As the Ban Treaty enters into force, it will provide additional leverage to reduce the reach of nuclear weapons states; as weapons are withdrawn from foreign soil, the pressure will mount on weapons states to fulfill the promise they made in the Nonproliferation Treaty.
Monday morning—a trip to the bomb plant! We’ll go to Oak Ridge for a nonviolent demonstration against the nuclear weapons work being done at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex.
LOGISTICS Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson airport is 10 minutes from Maryville College. We expect to provide ground transportation for participants. Rooms at Maryville College are en suite—two to a room, two rooms share a bathroom.
GET MORE INFO
New to nuclear weapons? The conference is a great place to start learning. Been here since the Freeze days? Come share your experience and learn what is happening now. The Conference will have workshops, strategy sessions, panel presentations, music, and opportunities for networking, celebration, training and action.
Everyone who wants to be part of a coherent movement, blending multiple strategies, to get rid of nuclear weapons. Whether your strategy is resistance, divestment, legal challenges, direct action, education, local organizing, political action—we are stronger when we understand and collaborate with each other.
WHY TENNESSEE?
Maryville, TN, is 20 miles from the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex in Oak Ridge, TN. Y-12 is an active nuclear weapons manufacturing facility. Today, Y-12 makes highly enriched uranium cores for W76-2 warheads and is currently building a new bomb plant, the Uranium Processing Facility, to continue production for decades.
SCHEDULE
The conference begins Friday evening with a chance to hear from participants about the work being done around the globe.
Saturday, we’ll have presentations followed by in-depth workshops focusing on many of the efforts happening in the US, Europe and elsewhere.
Sunday will include time to share ideas and develop collaborative strategies. As the Ban Treaty enters into force, it will provide additional leverage to reduce the reach of nuclear weapons states; as weapons are withdrawn from foreign soil, the pressure will mount on weapons states to fulfill the promise they made in the Nonproliferation Treaty.
Monday morning—a trip to the bomb plant! We’ll go to Oak Ridge for a nonviolent demonstration against the nuclear weapons work being done at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex.
LOGISTICS Knoxville’s McGhee Tyson airport is 10 minutes from Maryville College. We expect to provide ground transportation for participants. Rooms at Maryville College are en suite—two to a room, two rooms share a bathroom.
GET MORE INFO
The conference begins Friday evening with a chance to hear from participants about the work being done around the globe.
Saturday, we’ll have presentations followed by in-depth workshops focusing on many of the efforts happening in the US, Europe and elsewhere.
Sunday will include time to share ideas and develop collaborative strategies. As the Ban Treaty enters into force, it will provide additional leverage to reduce the reach of nuclear weapons states; as weapons are withdrawn from foreign soil, the pressure will mount on weapons states to fulfill the promise they made in the Nonproliferation Treaty.
Monday morning—a trip to the bomb plant! We’ll go to Oak Ridge for a nonviolent demonstration against the nuclear weapons work being done at the Y-12 Nuclear Weapons Complex.
LOGISTICS
GET MORE INFO
You can email us for information: actionfortheban@gmail.com.
FAMILIES ARE WELCOME! There will be childcare during day sessions for kids 2-12. Up to 2 children (10 and under) can sleep for free in their parents’ room. The meal plan for children under 10 is $48 for the weekend. Parents are responsible for their minor children. Please indicate your expected childcare needs on the registration form.
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT! Registration is now open! Go to orepa.org/registration-form to reserve your space. You will find detailed information about housing at Maryville College. Registration is $200 per person for shared room accommodations. A limited number of single rooms may be available at a cost of $300.
Space is limited; beds are available on a first come, first served basis. And we have a hard deadline for registrations of April 24 in order to finalize our contract with the college.
NEXT GENERATION SCHOLARSHIPS
CLICK HERE TO RESERVE YOUR SPOT!
Space is limited; beds are available on a first come, first served basis. And we have a hard deadline for registrations of April 24 in order to finalize our contract with the college.
NEXT GENERATION SCHOLARSHIPS
A limited number of scholarships are available for Next Generation participants (under 30). Contact OREPA at orep@earthlink.net for information.
YOU CAN SUPPORT THE CONFERENCE
We welcome endorsements and sponsors from organizations or individuals. Sponsors are asked to contribute 40 dollars ($1/year to celebrate the anniversaries of Nukewatch and the Nuclear Resister—what a bargain!). Sponsors will be listed in the conference program and registration packet, on a poster in the registration area, on the website and in email promotions, and will be provided table space for literature at the conference.
Endorsers will be listed on the conference web site and e-mail promotions. It’s free to be an endorser—though we’re happy to accept contributions!
We welcome endorsements and sponsors from organizations or individuals. Sponsors are asked to contribute 40 dollars ($1/year to celebrate the anniversaries of Nukewatch and the Nuclear Resister—what a bargain!). Sponsors will be listed in the conference program and registration packet, on a poster in the registration area, on the website and in email promotions, and will be provided table space for literature at the conference.
Endorsers will be listed on the conference web site and e-mail promotions. It’s free to be an endorser—though we’re happy to accept contributions!
Contributions will be used to defray costs of the conference and to provide modest scholarships for young activists.
CLICK HERE TO SPONSOR OR ENDORSE THE CONFERENCE
SPONSORS
Appalachian Peace Education Center
Beatitude House Catholic Worker
Brandywine Peace Community
Christian Peacemaker Teams
Concerned Citizens for Nuclear Safety
East Tennessee Presbytery Peacemaking Committee
Ellen Ferranti, MD
Footprints for Peace
Ground Zero Center for Nonviolent Action
House of Peace
Donna Howard
Kings Bay Plowshares Support Group
Ellen Klaver
Alfred Meyer
Michigan Stop the Nuclear Bombs Campaign – MISTNBC
Dr. Art Milholland & Dr. Luann Mostello
National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee
Nipponzan Myohoji, Great Smoky Mountains Peace Pagoda
Norfolk Catholic Worker
NYC War Resisters League
Nuclear Watch South
Guy Larry Osborne
Pax Christi USA
Peace Action Wisconsin
Physicians for Social Responsibility
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Arizona Chapter
Physicians for Social Responsibility, Florida Chapter
Pioneer Valley War Tax Resistance
Redwood City Catholic Worker
John and Carrie Schuchardt
Smart Set
John and Nancy Stewart
Veterans for Peace, Chapter 80
Voices for Creative Nonviolence
West Knoxville Friends Meeting
Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom – US Section
World Beyond War
ENDORSEMENTS
Baltimore Hiroshima-Nagasaki Commemoration Committee
Baltimore Nonviolence Center
Ban Uranium Mining Permanently collective (BUMP, Australia)
Highland Presbyterian Church
Iowa Peace Network
Nuclear Age Peace Foundation
Proposition One Campaign for a Nuclear-Free Future
Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice
Rosalie Riegle
Veterans for Peace National
Veterans for Peace, Middle Tennessee
Vredesactie (Belgium)
XR Peace (UK)
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