At the end of May, PBI-USA held a National Gathering, bringing together PBI field volunteers and staff (current and former), members of our growing National Coordinating Committee, multiple colleagues from PBI Canada, as well as PBI supporters for a weekend of reconnecting, reimagining, and recommitting to the work of PBI-USA.
Over three days, in-person and virtual participants discussed current global challenges facing nonviolence activists and opportunities for PBI-USA to strengthen ourselves in the coming months and years. A SWOT analysis was performed to identify our organizational strengths and weaknesses as well as the opportunities and threats that lie ahead. A highlight of the Gathering was hearing from Brent Patterson, PBI Canada director, who shared the Canada team’s Turtle Island proposal:
Turtle Island Project: At the PBI General Assembly in November 2024, PBI Canada presented a proposal to explore opportunities to accompany the indigenous land struggles of North America. In follow up to that proposal, PBI-USA brought the proposal to the National Gathering. Gathering participants expressed strong interest in collaborating with PBI Canada to look at a positive role that Peace Brigades International is having and could additionally have on Turtle Island (North America). Over the next several months, PBI-USA intends to engage in a working group with PBI Canada to discuss areas for collaboration and we plan to explore opportunities to support specific categories of organizations and social movements currently at risk in North America, including Indigenous peoples, the LGBTQIA+ community, and organizations supporting migrants and refugees especially along the Mexico/US border. PBI-USA has engaged in solidarity work in recent years with these vulnerable communities and we look forward to exploring more deeply ways we can support social justice movements and rights defenders in the U.S. facing state repression and violence.
The National Gathering also included a meeting of the PBI-USA National Coordinating Committee. NCC members analyzed the data from the SWOT analysis and identified items to incorporate into the current and upcoming operational plan for the organization. The NCC also created new workgroups to explore the Turtle Island Project and other priorities.
With the planned departure of Pat Davis from the role of U.S. advocacy director and with the Trump administration’s hostility towards fundamental rights both at home and abroad, the NCC also took advantage of the Gathering to reimagine our approach to providing advocacy support to the defenders we accompany. We discussed the following structure for the short term:
- Activate a new PBI-USA Advocacy Committee, with leadership from DC-based NCC members like Daniella F. Burgi-Palomino and Andrew Miller;
- Increase involvement of U.S. citizens who serve on field projects with U.S. advocacy;
- Redouble PBI-USA participation in the global PBI Advocacy Working Group;
- Coordinate regular dialogues between PBI-USA and PBI teams accompanying defenders, in part to understand their needs around U.S. advocacy.
Thank you to everyone who supported the National Gathering either through your donations or participation. We look forward to the exciting work ahead and to exploring new ways to support those resisting state violence and state repression both at home and abroad. Click here to find new ways to get involved with PBI-USA