The conference is hosted by the (PJSA), dedicated to bringing together academics, K-12 teachers, and grassroots activists to explore alternatives to violence and share visions and strategies for peacebuilding, social justice and social聽change.

“PJSA is an important bi-national alliance for peacebuilding research, scholarship, training and activism,鈥� says , executive director of 贰惭鲍鈥檚 . 鈥淚t is a great honor that so many CJP and 91短视频 faculty, staff and graduates will be featured in prominent conference roles this year, and allows a rare opportunity to highlight our distinctive contributions to the peacebuilding field.”

Those 鈥渄istinctive contributions鈥� include both conceptual and practical dimensions to the fields of , , , peace and justice studies pedagogy and the pedagogy of practice within the field, experiential education, reflective pedagogy and the arts and peacebuilding.

Catherine Barnes offers keynote address

Dr. Catherine Barnes, affiliate professor at CJP, will share from more than 30 years of experience working with deliberative dialogue processes in places as varied as the UN General Assembly Hall to village gathering places. Her address is titled 鈥淓ngaging together: exploring deliberative dialogue as a path towards systemic transformation.鈥�

鈥淒eliberative dialogue鈥� is a process that can empower participants to foster collaborative relationships and perceive the underlying mental models that maintain the status quo with the goal of fostering new approaches to complex challenges.

For the past seven years, Barnes has been working in support of transitional processes in Burma/Myanmar. She has worked and lived in more than 30 countries as a teacher, trainer, researcher, policy advocate and consultant with the focus of helping civil society activists, diplomats and politicians, and armed groups to build their capacities for preventing violence and using conflict as an opportunity for addressing the underlying causes giving rise to grievance. Barnes has worked with numerous peacebuilding and human rights organizations, including Conciliation Resources and Minority Rights Group International.

Focusing on education

贰惭鲍鈥檚 on peace and justice guides its educators, many of whom are sharing their pedagogical practices and discussing ways to educate future peacebuilders in the 鈥渆ducator鈥檚 strand,鈥� designed for personal and professional development of K-12 teachers, undergraduate and community educators. Themes include pedagogy, curriculum development, building a culture of peace in your classroom or school, alternative education programs, and restorative聽practices.

On the undergraduate level, professor , who leads the in the department of applied social sciences, leads a roundtable discussion for faculty and administrators of peace and justice studies programs.

, the with CJP鈥檚 , joins professor and graduate students in a session on mentoring student peacebuilders and the importance of those mentors being experienced practitioners themselves.

Restorative practices are highlighted by professors and in a 鈥渞elational justice鈥� workshop on how mindful teachers can prepare and prime 鈥渢heir best selves鈥� in preparation for inviting students into models of restorative justice. Mullet also joins , professor of education at Bridgewater College, for a workshop on relational literacy in multicultural K-12 classrooms.

Cheree Hammond, professor of counseling, leads educators in a workshop on contemplative pedagogies and the cultivation of a just and peaceful self.

Restorative justice, trauma healing, playback theater featured

The conference offers an opportunity to highlight 贰惭鲍鈥檚 unique peacebuilding initiatives. The brings together practitioners from 91短视频 and JMU, as well as local law enforcement. Collaborators in the initiative will speak: , co-director of the; education professor ; Harrisonburg Police Department lieutenant Kurt Boshart; , restorative justice coordinator at the ; and , director of JMU鈥檚 Office of Student Accountability and Restorative Practices.

Another definitive CJP program, (Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience), will be introduced in a workshop by professor and program director .

troupe co-founders and lead a workshop on playback theater as qualitative research. Vogel is a professor of theater; Foster instructs in the applied social sciences department and with CJP. The applied theater method invites dialogue and healing through community-building, as audience members share stories and watch as they are 鈥減layed back鈥� on the stage. Among other settings, Inside Out has performed on campus with college students returning from cross-culturals, among international peacebuilders and in workshops for and research about trauma and sexual abuse survivors.

, professor of applied social sciences, speaks about social capital networks as forms of resistance among battered undocumented Latinas, sharing just one strand of a .

, assistant professor of restorative justice and peacebuilding, leads a discussion on the film 鈥淰ision is Our Power,鈥� a film about black youth ending violence in all its forms. The documentary was created by four young filmmakers participating in a multi-year arts and leadership Vision to Peace Project led by Turner; the film debuted in 2008 at the National Museum of Women in the Arts.

And more鈥�

, professor of English, presents on life narratives and identity issues in the Balkans with his wife Daria, a CJP graduate who teaches in the counseling department at JMU. The two lived and taught in the Balkans.

, professor of philosophy and theology, explores the recent work in philosophy and science on theory of emotion.

, a new faculty member coming to 91短视频 next semester after concluding his PhD research at American University, participates several panels, with a diversity of topics including transnational solidarity and police brutality and racism in the contested areas of Palestine and Ferguson, Missouri. Seidel is a board member of PJSA.

Among the alumni presenting: Vesna Hart, Sue Praill and Tom Brenneman join a panel discussion on justice and the nature of human nature. Ted Swartz presents the satire with Tim Ruebke and JMU professor of theater Ingrid DeSanctis.

View the . Registration聽fees will be covered for attendees聽from the Shenandoah Valley who are affiliated with or sponsored by Bridgewater College, James Madison University, 91短视频, or Mary Baldwin College. For more information, click .

Members from The Islamic Association of Shenandoah Valley, Beth El Congregation, Trinity Presbyterian Church, Valley Friends Meeting, Park View Mennonite Church and Shalom Mennonite Congregation, with support from 91短视频, are organizing and sponsoring the camp for rising first- through sixth-graders from the Valley.

Children at the 2008 Interfaith Peace Camp discuss ways to make a difference in their community and continue to build relationships and peace with others.

According to one of the organizers, Vesna Hart, the program “will introduce about 40 participants to Abrahamic faith traditions in order to build bridges of peace between their own faith communities and other communities. The “Abrahamic faiths” are Judaism, Christianity and Islam, so called because the major Old Testament figure Abraham is a part of the scripture of all three faiths.

After the successful three-day pilot camp last year and positive feedback from children, parents and the wider community, organizers expanded this year’s camp to five days and involved more faith communities in the planning.

“We hope this camp contributes to inspiring youth of all ages to understand how various faith communities express and practice peace,” Ms. Hart said. “Campers will focus on faith expressions of peace, but attendees are not required to be aligned with any particular religious tradition.

Children at the 2008 Interfaith Peace Camp create mandalas to help them express their wishes for peace.

“At the heart of peace building is relationship building,” Hart added, “and the best way to build relationships is through open and sincere communication between diverse faiths and peoples. Building relationships with others heightens the likelihood that we won’t want to hurt the other.”

“If we want peace to some day break out among us, we must first teach it to our kids,” said Roberta Stein of Beth El Congregation.

“We focus on children, but we adults, as we plan for the camp, are also building bridges of peace and understanding among ourselves,” said Zeinab Hassouna of the Islamic Association of Shenandoah Valley.

The camp will utilize large and small group work including recreational, artistic, dramatic and musical activities. Other opportunities to promote interfaith understanding will come through sharing of cultural foods and open time for exploration and inquiry.

Field trips are scheduled during the week to the Beth El synagogue, Beth El congregation the mosque of the Islamic Association of Shenandoah Valley and to Park View Mennonite Church. Campers and family members will gather for an evening potluck to celebrate peacemaking and share their experiences as a final activity.

For more information about this event or to schedule an interview with a planning committee member, contact Gretchen Maust at 540-432-4674 or gretchen.maust@emu.edu or Vesna Hart at hartv@emu.edu

Lou Furman costumed himself as “Truth” by piling several hats atop his head, explaining “There are many truths.”

He and three colleagues