By: David J. Smith, October 19, 2014
The second day of the National Community College Peacebuilding Seminar was held October 18 at Northern Virginia Community College/Alexandria. The day included a range of presentations and experiential activities.
The program started with David Smith giving an overview of the field with a focus on peacebuilding in community colleges. Dominic Kiraly talked about using online learning to promote peacebuilding and shared about USIP’s Global Campus which provides free accessible courses for colleges and universities. Allyson Neville-Morgan and Kaeley Pruitt-Hamm talked about the work of the Friends Committee on National Legislation in promoting a peace agenda.
Cindy Epperson from St. Louis Community College shared her experiences in teaching about international humanitarian law and human rights. She is a former teaching fellow in the American Red Cross’ International Humanitarian Law program.
In the afternoon, two peace-related films were viewed. Beyond the Divide, produced by Quiet Island Films was shown first. The film documents efforts to bridge differences between the peace and veterans communities in Missoula, MT. Afterwards Jan Selby, the produced/director, talked with the group. She was joined by Dan Gallagher and Betsy Mulligan-Dague, the principal actors in the film. This was followed by the Pultizer Center on Crisis Reporting showing Seeds of Hope, about violence against women in Africa. Jon Sawyer, Kem Knapp Sawyer, and Mark Schulte talked about the center’s work.
Today’s coffee break was sponsored by The Democracy Commitment.
David J. Smith Consulting, LLC 