This interactive workshop explores Eleanor Roosevelt’s role in the creation of the Declaration of Human Rights. Exploring Eleanor Roosevelt’s journey as an advocate of individual freedoms and rights provides the opportunity to examine some of the key challenges and opportunities of the 20th and 21st centuries and helps to make essential connections between history and the moral choices and responsibilities we confront in our own lives. Examining this journey offers a framework and a vocabulary for analyzing the meaning and responsibility of citizenship, and the tools to recognize bigotry in all its forms.
Archive
Actively Caring for People: Preventing Bullying by Improving Individuals, Classrooms, Schools
In the aftermath of the April 16, 2007 tragedy, Virginia Tech students and a Psychology Professor E. Scott Geller initiated a movement, Actively Caring for People (AC4P), designed to build community and reduce bullying. In the wake of the VT tragedy, one question lingered: “How did this happen?” While many factors were involved, it has been well-documented the shooter was bullied and individuals lacked the courage to actively care. In fall 2009, the first AC4P program to promote peace and reduce bullying was piloted at an elementary school in Northern Virginia. Since then, the AC4P movement has spread to educational settings across the nation, from K-12 to universities. This workshop provides participants with information about bullying, the framework for an AC4P culture shift, the success of the elementary and middle school programs (e.g., 50% reduction in bullying behavior after seven weeks), the perspectives on AC4P from various stakeholders (i.e., administrators, teachers, parents, students, and community members), and the implications for paradigm-shifting principles and practical strategies to improve individuals, classrooms, schools, and communities.
The CommonVisions Project: Photography as conflict transformation
This workshop will unpack an arts based anti-racism curriculum known as CommonVisions. Participants engage individually and collectively in a creative photographic process to explore new understandings of reality for themselves, the group, and the community. CommonVisions has demonstrated that utilizing a visual/creative modality can be a powerful catalyst for positive social change. Participants will learn the logic model and structure of the curriculum, see examples of participants work, and be challenged to consider ways to introduce the arts into their own work of transforming conflict and promoting human oneness. (A video shown at the workshop can be viewed here)
Building Intercultural Competence, Social Cohesion and Global Perspectives in Australia
This workshop will review Global and Multicultural Citizenship Education initiatives used throughout the state of Victoria, Australia, a diverse multicultural and multi-faith society where significant investment has been made in promoting social cohesion, particularly in education. Current research and how this is applied to civics and citizenship education, multicultural education, human rights education, including indigenous perspectives, peace education and conflict resolution education will be covered. A key focus of the presentation will be current national and state research efforts for school communities to monitor and evaluate the implementation and effectiveness of global and multicultural citizenship.
Introduction to Restorative Justice and Applying RJ in a Higher Education Setting
Restorative Justice is an approach to justice that focuses on the needs of victims and offenders, instead of simply working with the offender. Ideally, a Restorative Justice process involves victims, offenders, and people from the community joining together in dialogue. See this video shown during the workshop as an example. The application of restorative justice theory to practice has resulted in the development of a variety of restorative practices across numerous fields over the last few decades. The Office of Judicial Affairs at James Madison University has begun employing restorative justice processes into its campus conduct procedures, and offers one model of how to apply restorative justice principles into an existing system. Examples from other JMU departments will also be shared. More info at RJ at JMU
Media Literacy in the University Curriculum
The goal of this round-table is to develop a conceptual model of how (social) media literacy education can be taught at each stage of a student’s academic career to build a more well-rounded student and global citizen. This workshop will share how a conceptual model which combines conflict resolution education and peace education can enhance understanding of the media and postmodern consumption of ideas and media.
The Two Faces of Social Media in Conflict
These slides are from a keynote session addressing how social media is being used to facilitate self-organization, independent media, and effective nonviolent civil resistance against oppression and injustice with first hand examples from Bahrain and Egypt. It also addresses the other side of social media, looking at how oppressive structures and regimes can and have used it to further their own purposes, spy on activists, spread their own propaganda, and control information. The dynamics of conflict in which grassroots movements and their adversaries can use social media, as well as the limits of the use of social media by grassroots movements is explored. See these videos on social media tactics and the Bahrain protests for more information on that case example.
Teaching Peace from the Sports Pages: Using Sports to Open a Dialogue about Global Conflict and CR
This presentation will provide resources and demonstrate examples of using the compelling narratives of sports culture, history, politics, and economics as a mechanism to actively engage students, educators, practitioners, and policy makers in difficult conversations about sensitive topics related to conflict and peace. This workshop seeks to: provide a mechanism of engaging (typically males) in discussions about traditionally difficult or sensitive topics; and provide sports-based examples of difficult social issues and the power of peaceful conflict resolution.
Safer Campuses: Prevention and Response to Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking
Presenters will provide an assessment tool that many Ohio colleges and universities are using, Ohio’s A Safer Campus: A Guidebook for Prevention and Response to Sexual and Intimate Partner Violence and Stalking for Ohio Campuses. Practical strategies for putting prevention theory into practice beyond traditional programs centered on awareness and preventing legal liabilities will be covered. Learn how to engage bystanders to challenge traditional campus assumptions about sexual assault, dating violence and stalking and about a program that engages young men to become leaders in violence prevention. Participants will leave the workshop with resources related to prevention and response in order to ensure school and campus safety.
A Study of “Hidden” Conflicts within Families of Developmentally Disabled Children
There are many Conventions and Policies that seek to redress the profound social disadvantages of persons/children with disabilities; however, many still occupy an inferior status in society and continue to be disadvantaged socially, economically and educationally. This presentation explores a world where conflict can be constructively confronted and engaged to assist and empower persons who are locked in “invisible” conflict situations, resulting from discrimination, marginalization and exclusion.
Impact of Peace and Conflict Resolution Education on Students in Armenia
In February-April 2009 a survey was implemented with the goal of evaluating the “Peace and Conflict Resolution Education in Schools” project, implemented in Armenia by Women for Development from 2002-2007. Results of the survey showed that the vast majority of the respondents gave high importance to peace and conflict resolution education among teachers with regard to creation of peaceful and safe environments in schools. Almost all schoolchildren who participated in the survey responded similarly. They mentioned that the lack of such skills triggers conflict situations between pupils and teachers. Suggestions made by teachers, parents and schoolchildren were that everyone should have an opportunity to learn these important life skills.
Teaching Vulnerable Children Conflict Resolution Skills through Music Therapy
The creative arts offer innovative and potentially effective avenues for addressing child developmental trauma, and related social and behavioral deficits, that are unresponsive to traditional treatment strategies. Analysis of data indicated that children were uniformly more on target in displaying and practicing important social and self-regulation skills in the music therapy condition. Learn how group music therapy may be an effective therapy modality to teach extremely vulnerable youth important social and self-regulation skills.
Reducing Cultural Conflict in the Classroom: Understanding Privilege
This workshop will discuss curricular strategies for pre-service teachers that uses dominant privilege as an organizing concept, including (a) increasing awareness of one’s own privilege and its relationship to conflict, (b) exploring the impact of teacher privilege on students, and (c) application and analysis of privilege in classroom and community examples.
Successful Maryland School CRE Programs: Highlights of a Statewide Grants Program
In a successful partnership with the Maryland Judiciary’s Mediation and Conflict Resolution Office and the Maryland State Department of Education, the Center for Dispute Resolution at the University of Maryland King Carey School of Law provides conflict resolution education grants to public schools K-12. The grants support a wide range of conflict resolution initiatives, including restorative practice’s circle tools, peer mediation, positive discipline training, bullying prevention programs and conflict resolution curriculum. The workshop provides a look at some of the exciting successes over the last 9 years and shares methods for sustainability.
Changing College Culture: Bullying Prevention and Intervention at the Post-Secondary Level
The University of Toledo is working toward addressing bullying for those individuals pursuing higher education. A partnership has been developed between the college of education, counseling center, police department, and the Dean of Students in an effort to address all forms of bullying through outreach, anonymous reporting, and counseling services for both victims and perpetrators of bullying.