ICTJ in the News

October 14, 2007

Peace builders to gather at USD

Union-Tribune (San Diego)

Women peace builders from around the world will be in San Diego this month for a two-day summit at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice at the University of San Diego.

The summit, scheduled for Oct. 23-24, will include alumni from the past five years of the institute's Women PeaceMakers program. The discussions are free and open to the public.

The kickoff panel at 9:30 a.m. Oct. 23 will include participants from Afghanistan, Palestine, the Philippines, Sri Lanka and Somalia. At 2 p.m., panelists will be from Cameroon, Indonesia, Kyrgyzstan, Serbia and Uganda. At 4 p.m., there will be a discussion of how women can contribute to building peace. Panels on Oct. 24, at 10 a.m. and 2 p.m., will feature speakers from Kosovo, Nepal, Sierra Leone, Sudan, Mexico and the United States.

In addition, at 7 p.m. Oct. 23, there will be a lecture on gender issues in conflict resolution by Priscilla Hayner, director of the peace and justice program at the New York-based International Center for Transitional Justice, and Lt. Gen. Joseph Olorungbon Owonibi, former commander of U.N. peacekeeping forces in Liberia. The lecture is free, though attendees are encouraged to R.S.V.P. by Oct. 17 at (619) 260-4236.

More information on the Women PeaceMakers program is at peace.sandiego.edu/programs/women.html