Join us for VFP's 25th Anniversary Convention!
Lifting the Fog of WarVFP 1985-2010
25 Years of Working for Peace
Mark your calendars now for the 2010 Convention, which will celebrate VFP’s 25th anniversary and look ahead to the unfinished work of promoting peace and progressive politics in a time of global war and economic retrenchment. The meeting will be held from August 25-29 and, fittingly, in Maine, the birthplace of Veterans For Peace in 1985. Portland, Maine, a vibrant, beautiful coastal city located on a peninsula in Casco Bay, will be the host city for the Convention under the sponsorship of VFP Chapters 1 and 3. The Convention Headquarters will be the Holiday Inn by the Bay Hotel and Convention Center.
The 25th Anniversary Convention is a unique opportunity for progressive, activist veterans from around the country to come together to understand the organization’s past, to meet and enjoy its present, and to help plan its future in these fraught times.
Come to Maine in August. Let the voices of veterans be heard in their collective strength.
Convention Highlights
- Poetry event recognizing the editors and contributors to Winning Hearts and Minds, and Demilitarized Zones, collections of poems by Vietnam veterans, followed by open mike.
- Opening reflections by Jerry Genesio, a principal founder of Veterans For Peace.
- Opening keynote by Chris Hedges, one of the country’s most prolific and provocative progressive writers.
- A Public Meeting in Portland featuring the NAACP, Native American and labor organizations, and representatives of Portland’s immigrant and marriage equality communities. Entertainment by Inanna, a dynamic women’s drumming ensemble.
- Friday evening lobster bake on nearby Peak’s Island.
- Breakout sessions to bring the concerns and ideas of the membership to the organization’s leaders and to set policy goals for 2010-2011.
- Banquet featuring Noel Paul Stookey, of the revered group, Peter, Paul and Mary
- March and rally around the city of Portland ending at Post Office Park
For more information and to register: http://www.vfpnationalconvention.org/
Live streaming parts of the 2010 Veterans For Peace convention
We are excited to be able to stream parts of the 2010 Veterans For Peace Convention on the web. The following is the schedule of events we will be streaming. All times are Eastern Daylight Time.
Thursday 8/26: Opening Ceremony 10 am New Hampshire Room
Workshops:
Palestinian Occupation and the Gaza Occupation: Multiple Perspectives 1:15 pm Massachusetts Room
Organizing for VFP's Second 25 years Thurs. 3 pm Oxford Room
Friday 8/27: Plenary 1 10:30 am New Hampshire Room
Strengthening Our Movement, Linking War and the Economic Crisis At Home with Mary Beth Sullivan, Sarah Bigney, Jo Comerford, Gary Higginbottom, and Jose Vasquez
Workshop:
Experimental Presentations Of Non-Invasive PTSD Treatments 1:15 pm Lincoln
Room
Saturday 8/28: Banquet 8 pm Vermont Room Keynote speakers are Ann Wright and Chris Hedges, music by Noel Paul Stookey
View the video stream including the entire schedule and the embedded video. You can also view the stream and chat with other viewers. Either one will work. All sessions will be archived for future viewing.
You should have an updated version of Flash to see the video stream - the convention link above has directions on how to get that. The biggest reasons for people having a problem with the video stream will be a slow internet connection or an outdated Flash plugin.
For more information, contact Nate,
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