story

The STORY Collaborative to end the war in iraq brings young people together to share our stories and strategize to end the war. From July 7-10 2006 we gathered at the Highlander Center in Tennessee to share our stories, strategize, and deepen the alliance of young Veterans of the war in Iraq, peace and counter-military recruitment activists, young people working for the rights of immigrants, and young members of military families.

Collaborative Report Back HERE! CheckOut our video Blog!

Download the Findings -- We Are the Ones We've Been Waiting For: Youth Voices on the Future of the Anti-war Movement, a 6 page summary of our work at Highlander.

The Collaborative Convergence! Together, youth and young Iraq veterans are gathered at the Highlander Center in Tennessee to strengthen our work to end this war and demilitarize our future. This intensive strategy retreat is a project of smartMeme STORY Program (Strategy, Training & Organizing Resources 4 Youth), War Resisters League, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Student/Farmworker Alliance.

Just after our nations’ 230th birthday, just after the number of US service people killed in Iraq has climbed to over 2,500, we are came together to strategize, revitalize and strengthen the work to end the war, and bring our friends, families, class mates, and loved ones home from Iraq for good. Together at the historic Highlander Center, site of key leadership gatherings of the Civil Rights movement in the 50's + 60s, we were reconnecting with our roots in the movements against racism, militarism, and greed —as well as working to re-imagine what “the peace movement” looks like in the 21st century. We are the echo-boom, Millennial generation, and we are working for peace using new media, storytelling, cultural work, and organizing.

We are students, war resisters, veterans, artists, visionaries, music makers, bloggers, bike riders, baristas, and storytellers. We are part of military families. We are part of immigrant families. We are working class, middle class, multi-racial, Muslim, Jew, catholic, secular, from the cities and the country, from the north and south...We're all that (and more!) We are the new face of the peace movement, and we are getting together to talk business, talk strategy, share our stories, make music, create and collaborate to end the war in Iraq!