Africa is focus of weekend conference
Uganda Woman of Year among noted speakers
Allison Ferré
Issue date: 3/30/07 Section: News
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Four prominent members from the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) are set to arrive in Spokane today to speak at the "Peace Conference: Causes of Conflicts, Conditions of Peace," hosted by Gonzaga.
Gonzaga worked with the USIP's education program, Pax Christi Spokane, Catholic Charities and the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane to organize the Africa-centered conference.
"Thinking in terms of peace and conflict, Africa has experienced such intense successes and failures," said Dr. Ellen Maccarone, Gonzaga assistant professor of philosophy and an organizer of the event.
The idea to make Africa the focal point came from Gonzaga students, she said. The introduction of African philosophy into the curriculum, new study abroad programs in Africa and films such as "Invisible Children" had campus buzzing with the conflicts plaguing African nations.
One of Gonzaga's main goals for this conference is to keep this momentum going and start a peace studies program as either a concentration or a major, Maccarone said.
"We need to invest in educations in peace," said Judith Butler, an event organizer from Pax Christi. "We educate by war and revolution when we need to teach a peace vocabulary of mediation and conflict resolution."
The keynote speaker, Betty Bigombe, is a Harvard graduate and was Uganda's Woman of the Year in 1994 for her role in bringing government ministers face to face with the Lord's Resistance Army for peace talks. She will open the conference with her speech tonight at 7:30 in the Globe Room.
Maccarone is excited by the rare opportunity for students and the public to hear Bigombe. She hopes students will leave the conference with a desire to consider peace an important part of the social justice mission.
"This is an exciting opportunity to motivate change, but change is not instantaneous," said Maccarone. "We must start by incorporating peaceful choices into our lives and consciously think of how our choices can alleviate conflict."
Gonzaga worked with the USIP's education program, Pax Christi Spokane, Catholic Charities and the Peace and Justice Action League of Spokane to organize the Africa-centered conference.
"Thinking in terms of peace and conflict, Africa has experienced such intense successes and failures," said Dr. Ellen Maccarone, Gonzaga assistant professor of philosophy and an organizer of the event.
The idea to make Africa the focal point came from Gonzaga students, she said. The introduction of African philosophy into the curriculum, new study abroad programs in Africa and films such as "Invisible Children" had campus buzzing with the conflicts plaguing African nations.
One of Gonzaga's main goals for this conference is to keep this momentum going and start a peace studies program as either a concentration or a major, Maccarone said.
"We need to invest in educations in peace," said Judith Butler, an event organizer from Pax Christi. "We educate by war and revolution when we need to teach a peace vocabulary of mediation and conflict resolution."
The keynote speaker, Betty Bigombe, is a Harvard graduate and was Uganda's Woman of the Year in 1994 for her role in bringing government ministers face to face with the Lord's Resistance Army for peace talks. She will open the conference with her speech tonight at 7:30 in the Globe Room.
Maccarone is excited by the rare opportunity for students and the public to hear Bigombe. She hopes students will leave the conference with a desire to consider peace an important part of the social justice mission.
"This is an exciting opportunity to motivate change, but change is not instantaneous," said Maccarone. "We must start by incorporating peaceful choices into our lives and consciously think of how our choices can alleviate conflict."