Youth Anti-War Organizers & Young Iraq Vets Talk Strategy On Ending The War

New Market, TN As the death toll of US troops in Iraq tops 2,500, and the nation turns 230, a diverse gathering of Americans under 30 will gather at the historic Highlander Center in rural Tennessee to strategize about building their generations movement to end the war in Iraq.

From July 7-9, young members of Iraq Veterans Against the War, student peace activists, and youth leaders from across the nation will meet together at the historic Highlander Center, site of key leadership gatherings of the Civil Rights movement in the 1950s and 60s. Representing more than 20 progressive youth organizations, participants in the STORY Collaborative to End the War are working to redefine what their peace movement looks like. Building diverse alliances led by youth and young Veterans, these savvy young activists are using new media, digital story telling, and cultural strategies to send their peace message.

Young people today are up against some major challenges, including putting an end to this illegal war that is morally and fiscally bankrupting our country, and impacting our entire generation, said Katie Joaquin, an organizer of the STORY Collaborative from Oakland, CA. We are converging at Highlander to share our stories from personal accounts of Fallujah to kicking Army recruiters off our campuses - and, as young people who are inheriting the war on terror, we are strategizing about how to build a real future of peace and justice.

The STORY Collaborative is a partnership of Iraq Veterans Against the War, the War Resisters League, and the Student Farmworker Alliance, convened by the STORY program (Strategy, Training and Organizing Resources for Youth) at smartMemea progressive multi-issue strategy organization. This unique alliance has tapped into diverse youth based constituencies from coast to coast and is using new communications strategies to organize the next generation of the peace movement. Participants are coming from California, Oregon, Washington, Arizona, North Carolina, Illinois, Iowa, Maryland, New Hampshire, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, New York, Vermont, Massachusetts, Tennessee, and Puerto Rico.

Through digital story telling strategies, and using personal media tools like ipods, myspace, and cell phone camcorders, STORY Collaborative participants are documenting their experiences on the y(our) story online blog pages at changingthestory.org/iraq. As the collaborative convenes, youth and young veterans will be using this web space to continue their dialogue and share their insights and stories with their peers.

We are the echo-boom, Millennial generation and we are online, networked, and have a lot to say about the atrocity that is the war in Iraq, said Stephen Funk, a young Conscientious Objector from San Francisco. We are students, war resisters, veterans, artists, visionaries, media makers, bloggers, bike riders, baristas, and storytellers. We are part of military families. We are part of Immigrant families. We are the new face of the peace movement and we are getting together to, talk strategy, share our stories, make music, create and collaborate to end the war in Iraq.

The STORY Collaborative to End the War strategy retreat runs July 7-9, 2006. More information at: www.changingthestory.org/iraq To give: www.smartmeme.com .

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FRIENDS: Thank you for your generous support for our work to deepen the antiwar alliance of youth and young veterans at the STORY Collaborative to end the war, and also thanks to the Funding Exchange (http://fex.org/) for an emergency grant of $1,000!

Even with this support, smartMeme is still struggling to cover costs for plane travel. It is expensive, but we feel that a national gathering is needed and are bringing folks from as far away as Seattle and Puerto Rico. Please help sponsor young Iraq Veterans and youth organizers to attend the upcoming STORY Collaborative anti-war strategy gathering at the Highlander Center - We need to raise another $4000. Every $10 to $100 to $1,000 donation helps! If you can't afford to help at this time please forward this request to friends and family that might be able to help us bring these young soldiers together with other anti-war organizers.

To Give: https://secure.groundspring.org/dn/index.php?aid=9879

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smartMeme: strategy - training - communications
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STORY: Strategy, Training, and Organizing Resources for Youth
...building a culture of strategy
www.smartmeme.com/story
http://www.changingthestory.org/ iraq
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