The CAPA Student Network
Virtual Peace Summit
April 2 and 3, 2022
♥ MEET OUR STUDENT LEADERS, SPEAKERS, AND PRESENTERS! ♥
Chicago Area Peace Action’s Student Network is dedicating this year’s Peace Summit to Militarism and the Violence of Climate Catastrophe. Please donate to our Peace Summit Fund to help us make the greatest, most successful student-run summit possible! (Keep reading for the full description and program below!)
CAPA Student Network Peace Summit 2022:
Militarism and the Violence of Climate Catastrophe
It’s no secret that our world is on a fast-moving, downwards slope towards climate catastrophe. But hidden from this discussion is one of the largest contributors to today’s crisis: a global order based on militarization, especially one coming directly from the U.S. military.
If the U.S. military were a nation-state, it would be Earth’s 47th largest carbon emitter. But the intersection goes beyond that. There are military and police forces across the globe shutting down climate protests. States stealing natural resources is becoming a common form of state violence as climate change dramatically reduces global resources. And people of color especially face the worst of any environmental crisis due to the white supremacy ingrained within systems of power.
It is undeniable that, if we want to avert the worst of climate catastrophe, we cannot treat it as an issue of icebergs and plastic bags alone.
Join CAPA’s Student Network this April 2nd and 3rd for our Third Annual Peace Summit. We’ll not only be taking a deeper dive into the environmental degradation/military complex, but what we as a global community can do about it. Importantly, our shared predicament offers us the opportunity to unite across our cultural, ideological, and national differences to address the climate crisis as one, de-escalating militarism and dismantling global norms of violent communication, corporate greed, and imperialism.
But we can’t do it without you!
Climate justice will not come without racial justice, decolonization, and an end to a world order based on violence and militarization. As Naomi Klein said, “We can save ourselves, but only if we learn to let go of the myth of dominance and mastery and learn to work with nature.” Let’s make it happen.
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DAY 1 – Saturday, April 2nd, 2022 (All times CST)
9:00 A.M. Day 1 of Peace Summit Begins
9:10- 9:30 A.M. Meet our Student Chapters: CAPA Loyola, CAPA UIUC, and CAPA DePaul!
9:30- 10:15 A.M. Day 1 Panel: “Situating Climate Resistance within Global Systems of Power “ (read full description here)
- Featured panelist: Charles Fogelman
10:20 – 10:40 A.M. Peace Connect Rooms
- Breakout rooms for attendees to discuss what they’ve learned and meet other activists. Think of it like chatting in the lobby between sessions at an in-person event!
10:50- 11:00 A.M. BREAK
11:00- 11:45 A.M. Breakout Sessions #1 – Choice of the following (for full descriptions of each session, click here):
- Mobilizing America for Climate Security …………………………………….with William French
- Climate Justice and Palestine …………………………………………………..with Mazin Qumsiyeh
- Environmental Peacebuilding Works! …………………………………………… with Amanda King
- Philippines: Environmental Justice and …………with Anakbayan Chicago and CCHRP
the Struggle for National Liberation - Gun Violence in Chicago/ Climate Crisis Intersection
- Mobilizing America for Climate Security …………………………………….with William French
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11:45 A.M.- 12:00 P.M. Closing remarks
Don’t miss out on this program! Register today for the 2022 Peace Summit!
Day 2 – Sunday, April 3rd, 2022 (All times CST)
10:00 A.M. Day 2 of Peace Summit Begins
10:05-10:10 A.M.: Opening Remarks by U.S. Representative Jesus “Chuy” Garcia 
10:10- 10:55 A.M. Day 2 Panel: “Nuclear Weapons’ Impact on Racial Justice, Climate Disruption, & Economic Inequality: How They Degrade our Social Order” (read full description here)
- Featured panelists: Yuki Miyamoto and Vincent Intondi
11:00- 11:10 A.M. BREAK
11:10- 11:55 A.M. Breakout Session #2 – Choice of the following (for full descriptions of each session, click here):
- We Need Green Diplomacy with China ………………………………………………………………….with Jerome Glenn
- Modern Organizing: Moving from ………………………………with Samir Muhammad and Andrew White
Lobbying toward Active Involvements - Social Media as a Tool of Change: Communications Work 101 ………………………………..with Emily Dorrel
- Propelling Change in Carceral Systems through Creative Arts and Activism ……with Orion Meadows
- Importance of the Stop Line 3 Movement …………………………………………………………with Taysha Martineau
- Free West Papua: #landback and Land Stewardship ……………………………………………with Niki Okuk _____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
- We Need Green Diplomacy with China ………………………………………………………………….with Jerome Glenn
- 12:00- 12:45 P.M. Breakout Session #3 – Choice of the following (for full descriptions of each session, click here):
- Challenging the Ideology Behind Wealth and Militarism – the ……………………………with David Swanson
Status Quo of Always Producing and Selling More Weapons - The Art of Compassionate Connection …………………………………………………………………………with Samuel Smith
- What the US Military Doesn’t Want ………………………………..with Samir Muhammad and Lucille Symoniak
You to Know About Climate Change - What Can I Do? Organizations Working on the ……………………………with Shea Leibow and Carolyn Leigh
Intersection of Militarism and the Climate Crisis
- Challenging the Ideology Behind Wealth and Militarism – the ……………………………with David Swanson
12:45- 1:00 P.M. Closing remarks
Don’t miss out on this program! Register today for the 2022 Peace Summit!
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Meet our Student Leaders:
Andrew White
Andrew White is an undergraduate at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, studying Global Studies and Political Science. He is also the current Vice President of the CAPA UIUC Student Chapter. In his work as CAPA UIUC VP, he has researched and written about important legislation, communicated extensively with activists and scholars, and led the Justice for Black Farmers Act campaign. Additionally, he is a James Scholar Honors Student and a member of Inner Voices Social Issues Theatre. His professional interests include education policy, comparative political and policy analysis, and increasing equity through legislation.
Lucille Symoniak
Hi friends! My name is Lucille Symoniak. I am a sophomore at Loyola University Chicago studying Criminal Justice and German Studies. I am from Wisconsin and I love to travel whenever I can. I love being a part of CAPA because it gives me an opportunity to stand up for change in the community and hopefully the world around us!
Jacopo DeMarinis
I am a senior at UIUC, majoring in Economics with minors in Political Science and Spanish. Since I was young, I have been heavily involved in activism; my first protest was against the Iraq War with my mom! Since then, I have participated in the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Women’s March, marched against family separation, and protested for racial justice. Ultimately, I am looking to pursue a career in conflict resolution, and am currently writing a book titled ‘Peacebuilding, an Idea Whose Time Has Come’ to urge young people to get involved in the peace movement.
I am also the co-founder and President of CAPA UIUC. Since our founding in 2020, CAPA UIUC has advocated for climate justice, social justice, and peacebuilding through our campaigns in support of the Clean Energy Jobs Act (CEJA), the Justice for Black Farmers Act, and a Chicago Department of Peacebuilding. And we are expanding rapidly; over the past year, our board and membership have grown and I am looking forward to welcoming the next cohort of student leaders!
Samir Muhammad
My name is Samir Muhammad and I am the lead organizer of Chicago Area Peace Action DePaul. I am a junior at DePaul University majoring in Business Administration and minoring in Economics and I am passionate in anti-war and coalition building.
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Speakers & Presenters:
Shea Leibow
Shea Leibow is an organizer with CODEPINK’s Divest from the War Machine campaign and also organizes with Rising Tide Chicago. They received their bachelor’s degree in the Study of Women & Gender and Environmental Science & Policy from Smith College, and are passionate about anti-war and climate justice movement-building.
Anakbayan Chicago
Anakbayan Chicago is a Filipino youth and student organization fighting against feudalism, imperialism, and corruption for true independence and democracy in the Philippines.
Vincent Intondi
Vincent Intondi is a Professor of History and Director of the Institute for Race, Justice,
and Civic Engagement at Montgomery College. From 2009-
2017, Intondi was Director of Research for American University’s Nuclear Studies
Institute in Washington, DC. Intondi
regularly works with organizations exploring ways to include more diverse voices in the
nuclear disarmament movement. His research focuses on the intersection of race and
nuclear weapons. He is the author of the book, African Americans Against the Bomb:
Nuclear Weapons, Colonialism, and the Black Freedom Movement from Stanford
University Press.
Orion Meadows
Orion Meadows is a Slam Spoken Word Performance Artist, activist, and author. He is a member of NAEFI and a PNAP Learning Fellows participant. He's attained ordination in W. African and African American religious and cultural studies, and has published poetry in online journals like Enhance and In the Belly. His work is also featured in the book You Are Not Alone by Nahlah. He has published 3 books: Inside The Box, Birthmark, and The Rose That Grew Through The Barbwire. Orion currently attends NEIU and performs widely as a proponent of the Hip-hop arts and advocate for marginalized and disenfranchised groups.
Emily Dorrel
Emily Dorrel is the Social Media Communications Director for CODEPINK. She holds a BA in Rhetoric and Media Studies from Lewis and Clark College and a MA in Communication Studies from California State University, Northridge (CSUN), where she worked alongside Reverend James Lawson for his course on nonviolent resistance as part of CSUN's Civil Discourse and Social Change Initiative (CDSC). She's honored to be a part of CAPA's Peace Summit and looks forward to collaborating to make the world a better place.
Charles Fogelman
Charles Fogelman is a human geographer with research interests in international development, gender, and climate change. His current work includes a focus on repairing the wrongs of the past and the present. He teaches in the Global Studies and Women and Gender in Global Perspectives programs at the University of Illinois.
David Swanson
David Swanson is an author, activist, journalist, and radio host. He is executive director of World BEYOND War and campaign coordinator for RootsAction.org. Swanson’s books include War Is A Lie and When the World Outlawed War. He blogs at DavidSwanson.org and WarIsACrime.org, and hosts Talk World Radio. He is a Nobel Peace Prize Nominee and was awarded the 2018 Peace Prize by U.S. Peace Memorial Foundation. He was also awarded a Beacon of Peace Award by Veterans For Peace in 2011.
Swanson is on the advisory boards of Nobel Peace Prize Watch, Veterans For Peace, Assange Defense, and Military Families Speak Out.
Mazin Qumsiyeh
Professor Mazin Qumsiyeh is founder and volunteer director of the Palestine Institute for Biodiversity and Sustainability (PIBS) at Bethlehem University (palestinenature.org). Qumsiyeh published over 160 scientific papers, over 30 book chapters, and several books on topics ranging from cultural heritage to human rights to biodiversity conservation to cancer. He serves on the board of a number of Palestinian youth and service organizations (see also qumsiyeh.org) and oversees many projects related to sustainability of human and natural communities. He is laureate of the Paul K. Feyerabend Foundation award the Takreem award among others.
Carolyn Leigh
Carolyn Leigh has been an activist opposing the U.S.-Saudi war on Yemen since 2016. She recently started hosting Illinois Climate Crisis Caucus meetings every third Thursday of the month. Carolyn was awarded a B.S. in International Finance from Georgetown University and a Master in Traditional Chinese Medicine from Yo San University. She had an acupuncture practice in Los Angeles for 15 years before relocating back to the Chicagoland in 2019.
Yuki Miyamoto
Yuki Miyamoto is a Professor of ethics in the Dept. of Religious Studies at DePaul University where she teaches nuclear ethics, environmental ethics, nuclear discourses in the US and Japan. She has published monographs, Beyond the Mushroom Cloud (2011), Naze genbaku ga aku dewa nainoka (The Narrative Divergence in the Nuclear Discourse) (2020), and A World Otherwise: Environmental Praxis in Minamata (2021), in addition to articles on gender in nuclear discourse. Her current work is to examine discrimination against the atomic bomb sufferers in Japan. She has taken DePaul students to Hiroshima and Nagasaki since 2005.
William French
William French is an associate professor of theology at Loyola University Chicago and director of Loyola’s Peace, Justice and Conflict Studies Program. He has written widely on religious ethics, environmental ethics, and war and peace studies.
Samuel Smith
Samuel M Smith is a long time member of the Champaign Urbana and University of Illinois communities. Although trained as a social worker he is employed at the Krannert Cnter for the Performing Arts in the College of Fine and Applied Arts. In recent years he has had a strong affiliation with the Inner Voices Social Issues program and led the post performance dialogue course.
Sam has interests in community based anti-violence initiatives, is recent President of the Illinois Association of Juvenile Justice Councils and sits on the Illinois Justice Commission’s Racial and Ethnic Disparities Committee.
Chicago Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines
Chicago Committee for Human Rights in the Philippines (CCHRP) is a solidarity organization united to advocate for human rights in the Philippines including the struggle for the protection and advancement of human rights in the Philippines and for the rights and welfare of Filipinos abroad. Our three presenters are Evelyn Zepeda, Dani Monaghan, and Will Arment. Evelyn was born in Guatemala and grew up in Chicago, she loves learning about Filipinx history and the many parallels to Latinx history. Dani organizes locally in Chicago with the United Workers Party and Will is an international solidarity activist.
Amanda King
Amanda King is the Program Associate for the Wilson Center’s Environmental Change and Security Program. She supports public and private convenings centered on advancing and informing policies for multi-sector approaches at the intersection of environment, health, and security. King communicates program activities through digital platform mediums and contributes to program research, analysis, and communications, including authoring articles and serving as Assistant Editor for the award-winning blog, New Security Beat.
Jerome Glenn
Jerome C. Glenn co-founded and directs The Millennium Project, a leading global participatory think tank. His work has helped identify the public’s roles in preventing deployment of future weapons of mass destruction, and he was instrumental in banning the first space weapon. He has published over 150 future-oriented articles, spoken to 300+ organizations, written several books (Future Mind, Linking the Future, and co-author of Space Trek), and is the editor of "Futures Research Methodology Version 3.0" - that and other research is available at millennium-project.org.
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Event Co-sponsors:
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SPONSOR THE PEACE SUMMIT!
In order to ensure this Summit is both equitable and accessible to all activists, we will not be charging a ticket price.
We need your financial support to help bring the best presenters, free of charge, to Chicago area peace activists attending this 2022 Peace Summit. Become a Sponsor to help make this vision a reality!
Please direct any questions about the Peace Summit to Liz B. at CAPA@ChiPeaceAction.org
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