We invite you to host book talks using Medea Benjamin's video presentation of her new book “War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict,” co-authored with Nicolas J.S. Davies.
👉 You can watch the above video presentation on YouTube or on our website.
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Script for a House Event
- “Welcome and thank you for coming to our CODEPINK CEASEFIRE Book Talk & Movie Screening to better understand the war in Ukraine and to learn more about the book “War in Ukraine: Making Sense of a Senseless Conflict” by Medea Benjamin and Nicolas J.S. Davies. Our agenda includes introductions, brainstorms, the movie, discussion and suggestions for action. We know that people on the left, right and in between have different opinions about the war and how to resolve it, so we ask that you disagree respectfully and assume good intentions throughout this event. I’ll start with an introduction. I am …
- Before showing the video about the war in Ukraine, we will again go around and brainstorm questions we have about the war in Ukraine. Do we have a volunteer to jot down the questions? (THANK WHOEVER VOLUNTEERS). Okay, I’ll start with a question. “Why didn’t the MINSK II peace agreement bring peace to Ukraine?’ Who wants to go next? Your question?"
- (SHOW THE VIDEO)
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Turn to the person sitting next to you to discuss:
- "What images stayed with you from the video?"
- "What did you learn from the video?"
- "What questions were answered for you? What questions do you still have?"
- (LEAD A DISCUSSION) “What questions did we ask that were answered in the video? I know I asked why the MINSK II peace agreement did not bring lasting peace to Ukraine. I learned that the agreement succeeded initially, greatly reducing the violence in the Donbas region but that ultimately it failed because Ukraine refused to hold the promised elections for semi-autonomy in the eastern areas. Let’s review our other questions to see if these questions were answered.” (READ BACK THE QUESTIONS AND LEAD DISCUSSION.)
- “Now we are going to talk about next steps for action. CODEPINK is a member of the Peace in Ukraine Coalition that supports a ceasefire, negotiations not escalation, and an end to weapons shipments that serve as a disincentive to peace talks. If you have a phone on you, you can access the coalition and join the coalition if you like. The URL is www.peaceinukraine.org. Again, that's peaceinukraine.org. Let’s take a moment to explore that website." (GIVE ATTENDEES FIVE MINUTES TO LOOK AT THE WEBSITE) “The Peace in Ukraine Coalition encourages us to organize rallies and delegations to congressional and media offices, as well as write letters to the editor. Let’s commit ourselves to doing something to end the war in Ukraine."
- "What can we do as a group to end the war in Ukraine? What should be our next steps?" (GROUP BRAINSTORM, TAKE NOTES FOR FOLLOW-UP AND GET COMMITMENTS)
- "Would anyone like to buy the book?" (If you have copies of the book on hand, you can sell them. If not, suggest your guests visit codepink.org/Ukrainebooktour to buy copies.)
Conclusion
(GIVE PARTNERS TIME TO CHAT. AFTER A FEW MINUTES, BRING EVERYONE BACK TOGETHER.)
"This brings our time together to a close. We want to thank you all for coming and encourage you to buy the book, download the video, share both and take action to end the war in Ukraine. We also encourage you to call your congress members at (202) 224-3121 to ask them to publicly support in a social media post or email to constituents a ceasefire, peace talks and an end to weapons shipments that fan the flames of war.” (If you can motivate guests to make the calls at that time, all the better.)"