According to organisers Pace e Bene, the US Campaign Nonviolence Action Days 2023 involve 4,915 activities between 21 September – 2 October, ‘our BIGGEST year yet.... and a reflection of 10 years of relentless outreach, collaboration, and persistence’.
This year’s Campaign Nonviolence events include: a nonviolent vigil at an arms fair in Washington, DC; the 11 Days of Global Unity Summit; a nationwide Fast For Peace; a DIY solar installation action; a primary school peace walk; a Sing Out For Peace chorus and a violence de-escalation training.
Pace e Bene go on: ‘Picketing against nukes. Theater performances by survivors of school shootings. Free healing festivals with healthcare practitioners. Disruptive protests for climate justice. In hundreds of ways, people are on the move. They’re mourning victims of violence by making vows of nonviolence. They’re hosting film screenings and community discussions. They’re holding a 24-hr nonviolence vigil. The list includes thousands of actions. Over 60,000 people are involved.’
The 12 days of action are built around eight ‘calls’: the International Day of Peace
(12 September); ‘Take Action To End Violence’; ‘Racial Justice Healing Circles’; ‘Acts of Kindness & Mutual Aid’; ‘Sound The Alarm For Climate Action’; ‘Divest From Violence’; the Campaign Nonviolence March; and International Day of Nonviolence Teach-ins (2 October).
Partner organisations include: Sandy Hook Promise (‘protecting children from gun violence’); the Elders Climate Network; Project Say Something (affirming Black lives through communal health programs); World BEYOND War; Hip Hop Caucus; Nonviolent Peaceforce; and the Catholic Nonviolence Initiative.
Part of Campaign Nonviolence is the Pace e Bene ‘Nonviolent Cities Project’, where organisers work to embed nonviolence in every part of the city, including local government, the police, schools, libraries, the healthcare system, religious communities and nonprofit organisations.
Originally Franciscan, Pace e Bene is now an independent, non-denominational faith-based group dedicated to spreading the power of nonviolence.