Nonviolence

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WRI's Nonviolence Programme promotes the use of active nonviolence to confront the causes of war and militarism. We develop resources (such as the Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns) and provide nonviolence training to groups seeking to develop their skills.

WRI's Nonviolence Programme:

  • empowers grassroot activists in nonviolent campaigns, through resources, publications and by leading training in nonviolence;

  • coordinates regional nonviolence trainers' networks;

  • educates the WRI and wider network of the connections between economics and war.

We believe the goals of peace and justice will eventually be achieved through the persistent work of grassroots movements over time, in all countries and regions. Our mission is to support these movements, helping them gain and maintain the strength needed for the journey they face, and to link them to one another, forming a global network working in solidarity, sharing experiences, countering war and injustice at all levels.

The front cover of our Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns

Resources

Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns

In 2014 we published the second edition of our Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns, a book to accompany and support social change movements. The book – written by over 30 seasoned activists - has been translated into over ten languages, and several thousand copies have been sold. A wide variety of movements, campaigns, trainers and individual activists from around the world have made use of the Handbook.

The English and Spanish version of the Handbook can be bought from the WRI webshop.

The German version of the Handbook is published and sold by Graswurzelrevolution.

For information other editions/languages, please contact us at info@wri-irg.org.

Empowering Nonviolence

From April 2017, the Handbook – and lots of other content – will be available online on our new Empowering Nonviolence website. Empowering Nonviolence allows users to browse the content of the Handbook, helping to make activists and movements more effective in their campaigning and direct action, more strategic in their planning, and to become more sustainable, as they learn from others and share stories and ideas.

New Worlds in Old Shells

When we think of nonviolent social change we often think of protests, direct action, banners, placards, and crowds in the street. Often these actions are saying “No!”, resisting the causes of violence and war, and they are very necessary. As important though, are the communities and organisations “building a new world in the shell of the old”, saying “yes!” by putting into practise the emancipatory, nonviolent, empowering ways of working and living we hope – one day – everyone will experience. Gandhi coined the word “constructive programmes” to describe this sort of social change, and we are currently writing a new publication exploring these ideas, called New Worlds in Old Shells.

Nonviolence Training

The Nonviolence Programme is a direct response to needs expressed by activist groups for nonviolence training and resources, especially focusing on campaign strategies for nonviolent direct action (NVDA). The training tools and materials we use are designed to facilitate the groups that contact us in the processes they initiate and lead. We do not prescribe a particular way of taking action; our goal is to train and empower local nonviolence trainers, to build independent, local capacity with the groups we work alongside.

World Without War is a member of War Resisters' International based in South Korea, and is one of the most successful pacifist and antimilitarist movements in Asia, taking action on issues such as the arms trade, ending mandatory male conscription and activist empowerment. This year, WWW is celebrating its 20th anniversary by celebrating its achievements, reflecting on its challenges, and envisioning the coming years/decades. To mark this occasion, we interviewed front-line activist Jungmin Choi.

The website War on West Papua was launched in July. The website identifies a wide-range of weapons and military equipment used by the Indonesian security forces in their ongoing occupation of West Papua.

In July, ROAR Magazine published an article by our Nonviolence Programme worker Andrew Metheven, exploring the "militarism" in militarised policing around the world.

WRI's Nonviolence Programme has published a new interview with a representative from the Save Sinjajevina campaign, who managed to stop NATO soldiers from using a unique pasturelands in the highlands of Montenegro for training and target practice.

Subhash Chandra, a member of WRI's executive committee from Nepal travelled to India from 25th January to 1st February to participate in JaiJagat 2020 yatra- a year long foot march that began on 2nd October 2019 from Rajghat, India and will end on 2nd October 2020 in Geneva, Switzerland. Jai Jagat means 'victory to the world'.

WRI's Empowering Nonviolence website is full of stories and strategies for nonviolent resistance! We've recently uploaded a number of new stories exploring programmes and project focused on building a “new world”.

Noviolencia2018

On Saturday 24th March, WRI staff member Andrew Metheven gave a presentation at Noviolencia2018, a conference for Spanish activists in Madrid.

All over the world, activists are taking nonviolent action for a more just, more peaceful world. Empowering Nonviolence is a new website, and a project of War Resisters' International's Nonviolence Programme, offering campaigning resources and nonviolence training to grassroots activists around the world. It is based on the text of our Handbook for Nonviolent Campaigns, and offers the opportunity for writers to submit their own articles and stories.

Moses John (South Sudan) and Jungmin Choi (South Korea) are members of WRI's Council, and attended protests in London against the DSEI arms fair. They both gave speeches about the impact of the arms trade in their countries and around the world - you can hear some of what they had to say in this video.

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