AW@L Declaration

Solidarity . Creativity . Action

We are here to recognize that war and colonialism are destructive and un-ethical force, to encourage others and raise awareness, to challenge ideas and perspectives, to confront systems of domination and oppression, to take responsibility (especially for our privilege), and to utilize our collective power to effect change. We approach our actions and the basis for all our relationships as being defined by solidarity. We are dedicated to protecting the environment and natural systems that sustain all life.

We believe that most global, political and corporate institutions serve the needs of the privileged and continue to widen the gap of wealth distribution. We are dedicated to promoting, supporting and creating social change that targets the global injustices of poverty, environmental degradation and war. We avoid rigidity in all our stances. We will organize on a consensus oriented basis, and work towards a decentralization of power, and non-hierarchal organization. We believe that change must always come from below and we are devoted to grassroots activism.

Creativity allows for constructive criticism of the contemporary, and suggests alternatives for the future. We will use creativity to call attention to the consequences, impacts, voices, experiences and realities of injustice . We will employ creativity to address the issues, and to counter-act apathy and the mythologies of war and peace. Creativity ties solidarity into action in meaningful ways, and is crucial in the search for alternatives to systems of domination and oppression.

We apply the term 'action' broadly. We mean not only traditional direct action tactics, but also any other form of engagement that serves to educate, inform, raise awareness, or otherwise persuade people towards realizing a peaceful culture and a world without war. We are committed to action that confronts, disrupts, challenges, and publicly engages institutional, corporate and systemic barriers to justice and peace. We recognize that our actions and tactics have consequences that extend beyond ourselves and our immediate groups.

We recognize that war and colonialism are ongoing destructive and un-ethical forces and that we have a responsibility to oppose injustice in all its forms. We are committed to being a force of resistance and voice of dissent through solidarity, creativity and action.

June 2009