Peace and Justice Summit Looks at Role of Activists in Presidential Election Year
The Fourth Annual Midwest Peace and Justice Summit will take place Friday and Saturday, April 4 and 5, 2008, at Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis (IUPUI).
Student Advocates for Global Equality (SAGE) at IUPUI is hosting the two-day event in collaboration with the Indiana Peace & Justice Network, the Indianapolis Peace & Justice Center, IUPUI Center for Service and Learning, the Plowshares Consortium of Peace Studies Programs, and other community groups.
Summit organizers strive to bring together students, community activists and concerned citizens to share ideas and work cooperatively for positive social and political change. This year's theme is "The Role of Peace and Justice Activists in a Presidential Election Year."
"In the past two years, hundreds of students, staff, and faculty as well as community activists have gathered in our Midwest summit," says IUPUI history professor and SAGE faculty advisor Jack McKivigan. "In 2008, we seek to gather to analyze and debate the role of peace and justice activists in a year dominated by the issues of a presidential election. We seek not just to influence that election, but also to avoid having our own important issues be forgotten in the midst of that campaign."
The summit will consist of a series of workshops, lectures, art exhibits, cultural performances, and a public demonstration on the need to promote nonviolent conflict resolution and social, economic and environmental justice.
Summit sessions will take place at the IUPUI Informatics and Communications Technology Complex, located on the southwest corner of Michigan and West streets; and the new IUPUI Campus Center, 420 University Blvd.
Highlights include Ball State Professor George Wolfe as guest lecturer at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday, April 5, at the Informatics Complex. Wolfe will discuss "Non-Violence as a Spiritual Path: How to Become More Dangerous Dead than Alive."
Other summit events include the downtown Indianapolis peace rally at 4:30 p.m., Friday, April 4 across from the federal building at Pennsylvania and Michigan streets; and a play series at 7:30 p.m., April 4 at the IUPUI Campus Center.
As in past years, the Midwest Peace and Justice Summit will be free of charge.
For additional information, go to the summit Web site http://www.mpjs.org .
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