One Thousand Cranes to Ukraine

A Peace, Justice and Friendship Gathering of One Thousand Women

Flying from Washington to London, Paris, Berlin then to Kiev, 500 women from the West join 500 women from the East flying from China, India, Russia to Kiev. Our mission is (1) in support of women lawyers of the International Criminal Court as they convene a tribunal adjudicating the conflict in Ukraine; (2) to hold a Women’s World Assembly for discourse, dialog and discussion concerning the current realities and future possibilities for life on Earth; and (3) to establish connections and friendships that will help us build a world that works for everyone.

Logistics: A Boeing 747 carries 660 people. The Airbus 380 carries 850 people. Two chartered planes, one coming from the East and the other from the West, will be sufficient to carry the 1000 participants. The Congressional Exhibition Center Parkovy in Kiev has a seating capacity of 1150 in the Exhibit Hall Theatre. The Center has 26 meeting rooms and large exhibit areas. To facilitate communication each participant will have a handheld translation device such as the Muama that translates into 36 languages.

Why the International Criminal Court (ICC) and not the World Court (WC)? Ukraine has petitioned the World Court to adjudicate the crimes of the Ukraine conflict. However, the WC is a body established by the United Nations and is currently headed by a United States lawyer. It would seem that the WC would not be trusted to be without bias in this case. Furthermore, the WC was established to judge the crimes of nation states as a whole. In contrast the impetus for the ICC came from non-governmental organizations affiliated with the UN and was established to try individuals for crimes against humanity. The conflict in Ukraine is complex and involves a number of individuals from several countries. Thus the ICC would seem to be the best court of law to investigate and adjudicate the conflict that broke out in Ukraine. The proceedings of the ICC can be held in the Hall Theatre. Several of the meeting rooms will also be designated for the use of the ICC.

A World Peoples Assembly is a non-governmental convening body for the people of the world to meet in serious consideration of the state of the world and to chart ways forward to building a world that works for everyone. The Kiev Women’s World Assembly will focus on a number of themes and issues of concern while meeting in 20 of the Center’s meeting rooms, issuing daily reports, and convening from time to time in the Hall Theatre. The Kiev World Peoples Assembly will issue a consensus statement at the end of the Thousand Cranes to Ukraine gathering.

Cultural and educational programs will be held in the evenings in the Hall Theatre and throughout the day in the Exhibit Hall. Space throughout the Congressional Exhibition Center will be available for the use of Ukrainian people who wish to make special presentations. 

Media: A limited number of passes will be available to journalists who will daily (and ongoing via livestream) report the proceedings to the world. Several of the meeting rooms will be designated for media use.

Participants: The Thousand Cranes will be selected by coordinating councils in both the East and the West and will be based on participant location and biographical information. In addition to meeting in the Congressional Exhibition Center, some participants will be travelling to several regions of Ukraine in order to gain further understanding and information about the situation.

Why women only? The power in our world has been predominantly held by men for the past many centuries if not thousands of years. The rules and institutions, even when in the current era a woman may be at the helm, have been formed and enforced predominantly by the male gender.  A Thousand Cranes to Ukraine is women only in order to begin to balance the separate but equal power of the feminine and the masculine attributes. We would include in these feminine attributes traits such as nurturance, sensitivity, cooperativeness, expressiveness, humility, empathy, affection, kindness, helpfulness, understanding, intuition and the capacity for deep feelings. We acknowledge that individual men and women often express both masculine and feminine qualities in varying degrees. Overall, however, women express a greater proportion of feminine qualities than do men.  The power and presence of these feminine orientations and expressions are greatly needed in our world at this time. 

Why the “crane” symbol? Crane symbolism and meanings include peace, grace, devotion, faithfulness, travel, open-mindedness, aspiration, longevity and transformation. These elegant birds appear in the mythology and folklore of many cultures around the world.  (https://www.uniguide.com/crane-symbolism-meaning-spirit-animal)

Funding:  Potential sources for funding a Thousand Cranes to Ukraine are being approached at this time.

If you are interested in joining the Coordinating Councils or Advisory Groups for a Thousand Cranes to Ukraine contact: alannahartzok@gmail.com  Ph: 1-717-357-7617