On October 23, 2023, New York peacemakers gathered at the 16th annual William Sloane Coffin, Jr. Peacemaker awards in New York City. This year, Peace Action Fund of New York State (PAFNYS) was pleased to honor Amy Goodman, Host and Executive Producer of Democracy Now!, and Afghans for a Better Tomorrow with the award. Peace Action Geneseo, the student Peace Action chapter of SUNY Geneseo, was also recognized for their organizing work in the 2022-2023 schoolyear with the Don Shaffer Student Peacemaker Award.

At the beginning of this month, I had the honor of attending Gensuikyo’s World Conference Against A & H Bombs as a representative of Peace Action New York State. As a member of a cohort of international delegates, I also represented the United States at the event alongside Joseph Gerson of the Campaign for Peace, Disarmament, and Security. The conference occurred on the days surrounding the commemoration of the 78th anniversary of the U.S. bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki; to be in both of those cities on the day of their anniversaries was impactful and thought-provoking. It was a privilege to listen to the stories of the hibakusha, Hiroshima and Nagasaki survivors. Days after the conference, I am still in awe of the things I witnessed and also feel a sense of renewal of my passion for peace advocacy.

Find a commemoration event near you.

On March 22nd, Executive Director, Emily Rubino and Student & Campaigns Coordinator, Roni Zahavi-Brunner headed north from NYC to visit 9 upstate campus chapters and 4 PANYS community chapters as part of our 2023 Upstate Campus Tour. This annual trip around the state of New York provides a great opportunity for our PANYS state office staff to strengthen our multigenerational organizing network across the state, hear from PANYS chapter leaders about the work they’re doing in their local communities, and build connections with our student organizers who are paving the way for the future of the peace movement. Stops on this year’s 8-day tour included Ithaca, Geneseo, Buffalo, Syracuse, Potsdam, Plattsburgh, Albany, Poughkeepsie, and Westchester.

See what Peace Action New York State has been up to in early 2023!

Over the weekend of February 24-26, 2023, over 30 students from 14 campus Peace Action chapters converged at the 2023 Student Peace Conference in New York City. The event marked an exciting return to in-person conferences after two years of online conferences!