Women’s Voices from the Americas The Struggle for Justice, Peace and Care for the Earth
We began 2026 with the abduction of a president and his wife in the Americas by the world’s most powerful military power. At the same time, its largest warship—capable of carrying more than 80 fighter jets—patrolled the Caribbean Sea under the pretext of combating “narco-terrorism,” echoing the invasion of Iraq once justified by the false claim of weapons of mass destruction. Prior to this abduction a political leader who openly called for her own country to be bombed to force regime change was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize. Subsequently the awardee handed over the award to the leader of that same global power, who not only threatens to dominate the Americas but also led the invasion of Iran – with the aim of another regime change – while justifying the onslaught on Palestine and Lebanon. Across the Americas, billions of dollars are being poured into militarisation even as the majority of people struggle simply to survive. For generations, their lands and resources have been extracted and plundered to produce wealth for a small global elite.
What, then, is peace?
It is a militarised peace imposed from above—one designed not to “liberate’” people, but to preserve the power and wealth of the few.
This webinar brings together six women leaders from Colombia, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States who work with grassroots movements to mobilise communities for justice, peace, and care for the Earth. Their stories reveal what peace means to the most marginalised peoples of the Americas. In Brazil, women confront violence by building collective community power. In Canada, Indigenous peoples—the First Nations—are reclaiming their heritage and sovereignty. In Colombia, communities demand the return of their lands from extractive mining that has devastated their lives. In Mexico, resistance continues against the deadly nexus of drug cartels and the military, whose brutality has deeply scarred society, especially women. In the United States, activists call for slashing military budgets that fuel wars abroad and redirecting resources toward healthcare, welfare, and social care for the most vulnerable.
Peace is not granted; it is won through these interconnected struggles. It rises from below from those who care for each other and the Earth, not from above who do not care for the children and women who die in hundreds of thousands!
— April 11: Untangling the Geopolitical Knots of the US National Security Strategy– Ana Esther Ceceña, Geopolitical Latin American Observatory, Institute of Economic Research, National Autonomous University of Mexico
— April 25: Indigenous Resistance in the Age of Militarized Racism, Misogyny, and Elite Impunity– Angela Sterritt, Gitxsan Nation, award-winning investigative journalist and author of Unbroken
— May 2: Critical Mineral Strategies in the North and Mining in the South – the Energy Transition Effect in Latin America– Diana Salazar, Latin America Coordinator, London Mining Network
— May 9: Women, Agrarian Reform, and Territory in the Brazilian Semiarid: Struggle, Memory, and the Persistence of Knowledge– Rute Ferreira Barbosa, National Institute of Historic and Artistic Heritage (IPHAN), Ministry of Culture, Brazil
— May 23: The Nexus of Empire, Mexican State and Drug Cartels : Women’s Resistance and Search for Peace– Lisa Sanchez, security expert and political analyst, Latin American Consortium on Militarization, Citizen Security and Democracy
— May 30: Resistance to America First and Forever Wars: Women’s Voices–Aber Kawas, candidate for State Senate, NY This English-language online webinar series will give participants an opportunity to learn from women leaders in the Americas about their interconnected struggles.
Each week, a guest speaker will share for 40 minutes, followed by small group discussions, and a question and answer time. We will discuss strategies used in each of the speakers’ contexts to build peace and justice, and to care for the environment, and our role to respond as members of international society.
Each session will last about 90 minutes.
— Where? Zoom
— When? Saturdays 7 AM in Mexico City, 2 PM in Dublin, 10 PM in Seoul
— Who? 20-50 participants who commit to join the full program.
Conversational English is required. There is no participation fee. Hosted by: St. Francis Peace Center, Jeju Island, Korea; Irish School of Ecumenics, Trinity College Dublin, Ireland; Geopolitical Latin American Observatory, UNAM, Mexico
To apply, please email Kaia and Yunita at st.francispeace@gmail.com
