Title: Women for Meaningful Summits Records
Inclusive Dates: 1984-1997

Creator:

• Women for Meaningful Summits

Call Number: Mss 1026; PH 6517; Audio 1438A

Quantity: 2.8 cubic feet (7 archives boxes), 32 photographs (1 folder), 1 poster (1 oversize folder), 1 tape recording and 1 disc recording

Repository:

Wisconsin Historical Society, Division of Library, Archives, and Museum Collections

Archival Locations:

Wisconsin Historical Society (Map)

COLLECTION MAY BE STORED OFF-SITE: see catalog entry to request materials and for additional information.

Abstract:

Records of Women for Meaningful Summits, a social action organization based in Washington D.C. and initially established in 1985 as Women for a Meaningful Summit (WMS) to promote political responsibility and ensure a meaningful outcome of the 1985 Geneva summit meetings between U.S. President Ronald Reagan and the leader of the former Soviet Union, Mikhail Gorbachev. WMS became fully incorporated as a non-profit in 1987 and the name changed to Women for Meaningful Summits/USA. Along with establishing themselves as a presence at international summits, WMS became a clearinghouse for the activities of other social action groups, peace organizations, and feminist organizations. The collection contains meeting minutes, bylaws, articles of incorporation, correspondence, financial records, summit and event materials, international relations information, media coverage, and records of partner organizations.

Language: English

URL to cite for this finding aid: http://digital.library.wisc.edu/1711.dl/wiarchives.uw-whs-mss01026

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

 ↑ Bookmark this ↑

The social action organization, Women for a Meaningful Summit (WMS), was established in July of 1985 in Washington D.C. as an ad hoc coalition of women. The group formed in anticipation of the November 1985 summit meeting between Reagan and Gorbachev. The summit, held in Geneva, Switzerland, was the first meeting in six years between the two world superpowers, the United States and the Soviet Union. The topics covered during the summit ranged from nuclear weapons, America's Strategic Defense Initiative popularly known as “Star Wars,” arms control, regional conflicts, and human rights. The goal of the members of WMS was to raise public, media and governmental expectations for the summit meeting.

The founding members of WMS agreed from the outset that their approach would be firm and unambiguous. They were determined to bring global awareness to the importance of halting nuclear testing. It was agreed that the WMS approach would be neither confrontational nor strident, and that members would disassociate themselves from illegal civil disobedience. All of the women participating in the summit delegation were carefully briefed both stateside and in the summit location. The intention of WMS was to be a strong, substantive and important political presence during the summit talks. It was agreed that the women invited to form the delegation would represent broad and diverse professional fields. The 1985 delegation included elected officials, university presidents, athletes, performing artists, public policy experts, educators, scientists, businesswomen, authors, philanthropists, and organization leaders. WMS saw the high quality and seriousness of the delegation’s membership as a means to enable the delegation to successfully raise positive attention to their message.

The initial delegation in Geneva consisted of thirty-five women. The main objective of the group was to make their presence, hopes, and goals known to the international leaders and media. The delegation delivered requests for meetings with the superpower leaders and their wives. General Secretary Gorbachev held a forty-five minute meeting with the WMS delegation and Reagan sent a state department official to meet with the women. A petition with thousands of signatures, urging an end to nuclear weapons testing, was delivered to both Gorbachev and the U.S. government representative.

WMS was eager to involve women from the communities surrounding Geneva and made an effort to connect with all the European women in attendance. Efforts at the initial summit became the cornerstone for a strong international constituency that was lead by former first lady of Greece, Margarita Papandreou. Papandreou, as the WMS International Liaison, hosted multiple international conferences and initiated an international campaign in which women from many countries sought signatures on a petition to stop all nuclear weapons explosions.

After two years of successful action, WMS had grown to become a worldwide network dedicated to ending nuclear weapons tests, preventing the escalation of the arms race into space and encouraging the reallocation of the world’s resources from military purposes to funding human needs. By 1987 WMS had matured and was ready to establish itself as a permanent, ongoing coalition of organizations and individuals linked to international concerns, programs, and women’s networks. The organization was rearranged to reflect its permanent status. The name was changed to Women for Meaningful Summits/USA, also known as WMS/USA, and a board of directors was established. The board of directors was made up of not fewer than twenty and not more than thirty-five women; organizations and individuals were represented. The board of directors was elected annually and elected officers who appointed committees and approved the executive director. WMS/USA policy stated that the cultural, ethnic and economic diversity represented in the American population would be reflected at all levels of governance. The organization’s founding statement and policies were laid out and the group was formally incorporated as a 501(c)(3) nonprofit educational organization. The principal goals of WMS/USA continued to focus on establishing a presence at international summits, but the desire to address long-term goals was added to the agenda. These goals included efforts to reduce military forces, explore alternative defense strategies and empower women through educational programs. During the late 1980s, WMS/USA also served as a clearinghouse to alert people of the important work of participating social action groups and various international programs.

The records of Women for Meaningful Summits were created in the normal course of business. The majority of the records originate from the home office based in Washington D.C. Summit information and incoming correspondence was typically produced in the creator’s state or country of origin. Most of the records date from 1985, when the organization first formed, until 1997.

The records in this collection are arranged into five series: GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS, FINANCIAL RECORDS, EVENTS AND SUMMITS, PARTNERSHIP FILES, and VISUAL MATERIALS.

The GENERAL ADMINISTRATIVE RECORDS provide a concise overview of the day-to-day operations of the organization. Mailings, correspondence, copies of the newsletter, press releases and newspaper clippings provide a sense of how the organization was run. The collection contains little biographical information on WMS presidents or board members.

The FINANCIAL RECORDS contain the organization’s tax information, funding proposals, grants, information on large donations, fundraising lists and financial statements.

The EVENTS AND SUMMITS records contain advertisements, invitations, correspondence, event announcements, lists of attendees, event receipts, pre-summit briefings, press releases, delegation materials, and summit materials. Events are the activities hosted by WMS, typically in Washington D.C. Hosting events served as means to educate, or celebrate with member and endorser populations. Summits were the political meetings held by international government officials and attended by WMS delegations. These files are an invaluable part of the collection, providing an accurate timeline of the activities of WMS.

The PARTNERSHIP FILES consist of correspondence and published items from endorsing organizations. When WMS first started, the founding organizers sent out a letter and participation form to numerous groups requesting endorsement and support for their cause. The intent of the letter was for organizations to use the materials provided to coordinate membership and establish networks. WMS hoped that through local functions member organizations would be able to raise awareness about the upcoming summit. The goal of WMS was to form a coalition of endorsing organizations, who would then call for substantial action to reverse the arms race. The purpose of having a list of endorsing organization was twofold: first the list would be presented to Gorbachev and Reagan in the form of a petition. Secondly WMS wanted to establish itself as a well-supported organization. Response to the initial letter was positive and numerous diverse organizations became partners with WMS. WMS’s relationship with endorsing organizations is reflected in the partnership files.

The VISUAL MATERIALS series consists of photographs of WMS delegations at various summits and an oversize poster entitled “Rating the Summit;” The poster appears to be signed by members of the 1987 WMS delegation.

Acquisition Information

Presented by Sarah Harder, Eau Claire, Wisconsin, June 5, 2006. Accession Number: M2007-006

Processing Information

Processed by Amy Dwyer O’Shea (Practicum student), May 2007.

Mss 1026	Series: General Administrative Records
Box   1 Folder   1	Bylaws, 1987
Box   1 Folder   2	Board Meeting Minutes, 1985-1994
	Correspondence
Box   1 Folder   3	1985-1997
Box   1 Folder   4	Administrative, 1992-1996
Box   1 Folder   5	Documents of Incorporation, 1987-1989
	Endorsers
Box   1 Folder   6	List, 1985-1989
Box   1 Folder   7	International List, 1986
Box   1 Folder   8-10	Margarita Papandreou, 1985-1989
Box   1 Folder   11	Founding Statements, The Beginning, 1985
Box   2 Folder   1	International Delegation Contact Information
Box   2 Folder   2-3	Media, Press Releases, Correspondence, 1985-1992
Box   2 Folder   4	Networks, USA, 1985
Box   2 Folder   5	News clippings, 1985-1990
Box   2 Folder   6	Press Contact list, 1980-1989
Box   2 Folder   7	Projects, 1988-1997
Box   2 Folder   8	Radio spot, Joanne Woodward, 1985
1438A/1	Audio recording Physical Description: 1 open reel
Mss 1026	Series: Financial Records	⇧
Box   3 Folder   1	Financial Statements, 1985-1990
	Funding
Box   3 Folder   2	Center for Education on Nuclear War Grant, 1987
	Donations
Box   3 Folder   3	1987-1993
Box   3 Folder   4	Genevieve Vaughan, 1986-1988
Box   3 Folder   5	Susan Clark, 1987
Box   3 Folder   6	Financial Proposals, 1985-1987
Box   3 Folder   7	Fundraiser List, 1986
Box   3 Folder   8	Tax Exempt Number and Legal Papers, 1986
Box   3 Folder   9-10	Tax Forms, 1988-1993
Box   3 Folder   11	Tax Reports, 1991-1993
	Series: Events/Summits	⇧
	Events
	1985
Box   4 Folder   1	New York
Box   4 Folder   2	Vivian's Film, November 15th
	1986
Box   4 Folder   3	Five Continent Peace Initiative
Box   4 Folder   4	Hill Briefing Breakfast
Box   4 Folder   5	Women and Global Security Forum
	1988
Box   4 Folder   6	US-USSR Women's Exchange
	1989
Box   4 Folder   7	WMS Reception at Mott House
Box   4 Folder   8	WMS Reception
	1990
Box   4 Folder   9	WMS International Papua New Guinea
	1992-1993
Box   4 Folder   10	WMS Meaningful Women Awards
	1995
Box   4 Folder   11	Beijing
	1998
Box   4 Folder   12	Round Table
	Summits
	1985-1986
Box   4 Folder   13-14	Geneva
Box   4 Folder   15	Media coverage
Box   4 Folder   16	Organization Briefing
Box   4 Folder   17	Press Conference, October 16th
	1986
Box   4 Folder   18	Athens I
Box   5 Folder   1	Athens II
Box   5 Folder   2	Iceland
Box   5 Folder   3	Press Information
	1987
Box   5 Folder   4	International Women Correspondence Summit, D.C.
Box   5 Folder   5-7	US-USSR Summit, D.C.
Box   5 Folder   8	Moscow, USSR-USA, Briefing Materials
	1988
Box   5 Folder   9	Moscow, USSR-USA
Box   6 Folder   1-2	Brussels
Box   6 Folder   3	Costa Rica Conference
	1989
Box   6 Folder   4	Moscow II
	1990
	Soviet American Women's Summit
Box   6 Folder   5-7	Washington, D.C.
Box   6 Folder   8	Congressional Breakfast
Box   6 Folder   9	Site visits
	Series: Partnership Files	⇧
Box   7 Folder   1	Committee for National Security, 1988-1989
Box   7 Folder   2	D.C. Government/D.C. commission for Women, 1986
Box   7 Folder   3	Delta Sigma Theta Sorority, Inc., 1986
Box   7 Folder   4	Exploratory Project on the Conditions of Peace/EXPRO, 1986
Box   7 Folder   5	Grandmothers for Peace, 1984-1989
1438A/2	“Dear World… I Really Love You” : audio recording Physical Description: 1 LP
Mss 1026 Box   7 Folder   6	Greeley Foundation, 1986-1988
Box   7 Folder   7	Humanitas/International Human Rights Committee, 1986
Box   7 Folder   8	International Alliance of Atomic Veterans, 1986
Box   7 Folder   9	Mothers Embracing Nuclear Disarmament/MEND, 1986
Box   7 Folder   10	National Women's Political Caucus, 1988-1989
Box   7 Folder   11	NATO Alerts Network, 1988-1989
Box   7 Folder   12	New England Circle/Jerry Dunfrey, 1986-1988
Box   7 Folder   13	Nuclear Arms Amendment, 1989
Box   7 Folder   14	Oxford Research Group, 1986-1989
Box   7 Folder   15	PAX World Foundation, 1988-1989
Box   7 Folder   16	Peace Institute, 1986
Box   7 Folder   17	Peace Link, 1986
Box   7 Folder   18	Parliamentarians Global Action, 1986
Box   7 Folder   19	Ribbon Flyer, 1985
Box   7 Folder   20	SANE/FREEZE, 1988
Box   7 Folder   21	Structures for Peace Convocation, 1988-1989
Box   7 Folder   22	United Nations' Association of the USA, 1989
Box   7 Folder   23	Voter Project, undated
Box   7 Folder   24	Women's Action for Nuclear Disarmament/WAND, 1986
Box   7 Folder   25	Women for America, for the World, 1986
Box   7 Folder   26	Women's Initiatives, 1984
Box   7 Folder   27	Women's International League for Peace and Freedom, 1986
Box   7 Folder   28	Women's Peace Alliance, 1986
Box   7 Folder   29	World Congress/International Year of Peace, 1986
Box   7 Folder   30	World Women Parliamentarians for Peace/WWPP, 1985-1988
Box   7 Folder   31	Youth Project, 1986
Box   7 Folder   32	YWCA of the USA, 1986
PH 6517	Series: Visual Materials	⇧
Folder   1	Photographs, WMS Delegates at Summits, 1985-1990
Oversize Folder	Poster, WMS, Signed by Delegates, undated