UCLA Center for the Study of Women

Community organizations producerecords because they engage in organizational functions and have archives of historical value. Although they do not have the resources to create climate-controlled, high-security archives— like, for example, academic archives, government archives, or established heritage institutions, communities find ways to get theirmessages across to wider publics. The International Women’s Network Against Militarism (IWNAM) (previously named the East Asia– U.S.–Puerto Rico Women’s Network Against Militarism) has been organizing biennial internationalmeetings since 1997, bringing togetherwomen who are activists, policymakers, teachers, and students to strategize about the negative impacts of militarism and to redefine security. The meetings initially included women from Okinawa, South Korea, the Philippines, and the U.S. but expanded over time to include women from Puerto Rico and Vieques, Hawai’i, Guåhan, Australia, and the Marshall Islands.