See the Conference Blog Posts and Conference Photos and Notes on the Forum   Registration for the conference is complete, but there are still tickets available for the Monday Night event at GW Lisner Auditorium.   Click here for more information    The Peace Alliance Annual Conference! Feb 3 - 5, 2007 Washington, D.C. Featuring  Michael Bernard Beckwith, Denise Brown, Deepak Chopra, Rep. Keith Ellison, Jan Hartke, Rep. Dennis Kucinich, James O’Dea, Marianne Williamson and more... with Special Appearance by Joaquin Phoenix  Now More than ever We must  Connect with hundreds of citizens from across the country who have come to Washington to lobby for a US Department of Peace. Expand your understanding of the US Department of Peace legislation, being re-introduced in the U.S. House and Senate. After two days of education and training, you will walk the Halls of Congress, visiting your members of the House and Senate to lobby for the bill.  Wage Peace  with Marianne Williamson Steven Tyler of Aerosmith Deepak Chopra Congressman Dennis Kucinich Joaquin Phoenix Congressman Keith Ellison  Michael Bernard Beckwith Denise Brown (Nicole Brown Foundation) Jan Hartke Plus leading experts in: Conflict Resolution & Prevention Peace-building & Global Security Human Security: Keeping America Safe and more Click here for full list of speakers and bios. Conference Schedule below...   Registration is complete.  For questions, call (586) 596-8189.   September 2005 Conference Read report and see photos from last year's conference

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LOCATION AND HOTEL
The conference will be held at the beautiful Westin Arlington Gateway in the Ballston section of Arlington, VA, near the Ballston Metro station, which is just minutes from downtown D.C. (address: 801 North Glebe Rd, Arlington VA 22203). This is a brand new "green" hotel. You can reserve your hotel room online now , or call 888-627-7076.  Our special group discount rate is now complete.  If you would like to stay at an alternative hotel that is more affordable, click here for a list that are easily accesible off the metro line.

 

ROOM AND RIDE SHARES
In the past, many people have shared rooms, which can help tremendously with the cost and can be a lot of fun. You can check out our discussion group for room shares and ride shares at http://www.thepeacealliance.org/forum and click on 2007 National Conference in D.C. under the heading: Get Active - DOP Resolutions and Strategy. 

 

CONFERENCE PROGRAM

 

Click here for the full Conference Program. 

 

Please note that Monday and Tuesday are primarily earmarked for visits to Members of Congress on the hill.  Plan to stay through Tuesday to have a better chance at meeting with actual Members of Congress, as many central and west coast districts don’t arrive into D.C. until late afternoon on Monday (meetings with staffers on Monday is still very important).

The Student Peace Alliance will host a variety of events throughout the conference.On Friday, February 2, the Student Peace Alliance will host an optional student/youth day where students will come together to learn about the Department of Peace bill, engage with peace-building experts, and share student and youth organizing skills. On Saturday and Sunday we will host breakout sessions throughout the conference, which will include a planning session to shape the next steps of the student movement for a Department of Peace. More info from This e-mail address is being protected from spam bots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it  

FRIDAY
7:30 to 9:30- Pre-registration and optional ‘Meet and Greet’ reception for anyone arriving early.  There will also be a short performance of the Dept. of Peace inspired play “Gift of Peace”.

SATURDAY
Program officially starts on Saturday.

Program starts at 10:00 a.m. ending at 9:30 p.m.  with lunch and dinner breaks.  
Saturday will include Marianne  Williamson, coaching and education on speaking the bill to our Members of  Congress, break-out time to connect in regions for planning your meetings with  Members of Congress and for skill-building in key areas of the  campaign.

Evening will feature Deepak Chopra joined in Q&A by  Marianne Williamson. Deepak and Marianne will be doing a book signing at the  end of the talk.

SUNDAY
Starts at 10:00 a.m. ending around  9:00 p.m.

Sunday will start off with a Spiritual Celebration of Peace  with Marianne Williamson and Rev. Michael Bernard Beckwith along with some  great music.  

The day and evening will include additional  speakers, along with an informative panel discussion with leading  peacebuilding experts. There will also be more time to practice in our  groups for our congressional meetings.

MONDAY
Monday will be a day to meet with  Members of Congress and/or staffers on Capitol Hill. (Upon registration, we will give you coaching about setting up meetings and connect you with others  who might also be in your district and state.)
 
Afternoon optional meetings for further skill-building and Hill visit debrief (Congressional meetings should take priority).

 The evening will conclude with a Conference Finale: Congressman Dennis Kucinich,  Marianne Williamson and other Members of Congress TBA are joined by Steven  Tyler of Aerosmith, who will provide a special musical performance, at the George Washington University Lisner Auditorium. Tickets to the Finale are included with your conference registration.

TUESDAY
Lobbying on the Hill continues. Members of Congress supporting the legislation are  expected to speak in the House beginning at 10:00 a.m., immediately followed by a press conference on the Hill and a Congressional briefing.  These two events are not public, for members of congress only.

TRAVEL
You can fly into any of the nearby airports, including Reagan National, Dulles or Baltimore. Reagan is the closest, but Dulles is very near as well. If you can get a much better deal into Baltimore, it is only about a 30 minute train ride in. One airline suggestion: Jet Blue Airlines (www.jetblue.com) and Southwest Airlines (www.southwest.com) offer some great specials from many parts of the country. They are not listed on popular discount services like expedia.com or orbitz.com. You need to go directly to their websites. To assure affordable flights, get your tickets early.

CONFERENCE FEE
Conference fee is sliding scale of $250 to $350, (Student rate is $95). Those who are able to pay at the higher end of the scale will help make it possible for those who need to pay at the lower end.

Registration is complete. 
For questions, call (586) 596-8189.