Spring 2023 Peace Week

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Format: Virtual 

Facilitators: Nick Sherwood, MHCR Associate Director and Doctoral Candidate. Beltina Gjeloshi, MHCR Research Officer and Doctoral Candidate. 

Presented by: Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation

How does reconciliation practice impact the wellbeing of practitioners? How does trauma and burnout affect wellbeing-- physically, mentally, spiritually, and socially? And how can we take greater care of reconciliation practitioners during their time in the field? Our speakers will tackle these and other related questions on this virtual panel.

As reconcilers continue to champion the healing and transformation of communities to transform cycles of conflict, it is imperative to understand the unique impacts of this work on reconcilers themselves. This panel takes aim at the impact of reconciliation practice on the wellbeing of practitioners operating in these spaces. In fostering healthy practitioners that can contribute to sustainable reconciliation processes, it is vital to recognize how stress, burnout, and trauma often experienced during reconciliation work can take a toll on physical, cognitive, emotional, spiritual, and social wellbeing. Therefore, communities supporting reconciliation practitioners should identify, mobilize, and bolster sources of strength, resilience, and support mechanisms. Together, panelists offer their own ‘flavor’ of wellbeing promotion and tangible next steps for the Carter School community to care for the caregivers among our ranks.

Panelists: 

• Nick Sherwood, MHCR Associate Director and Doctoral Candidate  
• Wendpoulemde Andre Dakoala, Member, Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue
• Hannah Adamson, MHCR Programs Officer and master's Student 
• Giselle Ali, bachelor's Student 
• Antti Pentikäinen, MHCR Director and Research Professor
• Beltina Gjeloshi, MHCR Research Officer and Doctoral Candidate

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Format: Virtual

Presenter: Julie Rouge, Associate Dean, Carter School 

Conflict resolution is at work every day all around us. This interactive session explores conflict resolution approaches to the most pressing problems facing us interpersonally, in community, nationally and globally. This session is geared toward those exploring options for academic training in conflict resolution or interested in learning about approaches to transforming social conflict.

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Ashton Rohmer, PhD Student and Peace Engineering Fellow at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the George Mason University

At their best, cities offer opportunities for connection, collaboration, and exchange. At their worst, they can be deeply divided along economic, racial, ethnic, religious and other lines of social difference resulting in structural inequities and interpersonal violence. Indeed, today we see millions of urban residents in cities across the globe experiencing the far-reaching impacts of persistent violence in times of ‘peace’ as well as war.

These dynamics illustrate that while liberal peacebuilding – traditionally focused on international support of state-sponsored post-war rebuilding – is important, more focus is needed on fostering durable peace in urban areas. This is especially urgent given that over half of the world’s population lives in cities, a figure that is projected to increase to 68% by 2050. This session will bring together scholars and practitioners to discuss the growing area of urban peacebuilding and to consider how practices like peace education, design, and shared democratic governance can shape urban peacebuilding and violence prevention.

Panelist:

• Ashton Rohmer, PhD Student and Peace Engineering Fellow at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the George Mason University
• Arthur Romano, Assistant Professor at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the George Mason University
• Dr. Jason B. Willis, Program Director for the University of the District of Columbia (UDC) Violence Prevention and Community Wellness Initiative 
• Dr. Rashmi Sadana, Associate Professor of Anthropology in the College of Humanities and Social Sciences, George Mason University
• Nawal Rajeh, PhD candidate at the Carter School; Community Organizer and Co-founder of By Peaceful Means, a grassroots organization that offers peace education and employment opportunities for Baltimore City youth
• Dr. Anna Jarstad, Professor of Political Science, Department of Government, Uppsala University

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Thomas Flores, Director of Graduate Programs, Carter School 

Students and faculty have worked around the world to prevent genocide and help communities emerging from it. In this panel, students and faculty will discuss their projects and the future of their work in an unpredictable world.

Panelist:

• Doug Irvin-Erickson, Assistant Professor, Carter School
• Shannon Fyfe, Assistant Professor of Philosophy and a Fellow in the Institute for Philosophy and Public Policy at George Mason University
• Jonathon Repinecz, Associate Professor, Modern and Classical Languages
• Ziad al-Achkar, Doctoral Candidate, Carter School

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Format: Virtual

Facilitators: Susan Hirsch, Carter School Faculty and Kimiko Lighty, Executive Director, Restorative Arlington

Presented by: Transitioning Justice Lab, Carter School, George Mason University

What can victims and survivors of crime and violent conflict gain from participating in a restorative justice process? This roundtable discussion explores the effects of restorative approaches to harm and conflict on the parties involved, paying specific attention to those persons who have been harmed, suffered, survived, or lost a loved one as a result of crime or violent conflict. In the aftermath of harm, there is a tendency to frame the needs and aims of persons harmed through conventional narratives of punitive justice, or even vengeance. Yet evidence increasingly shows that victims and survivors gain great benefit through engaging in restorative processes. Based on recent research and their own experiences, the roundtable participants will discuss the growing evidence that restorative approaches provide significant benefit to people harmed through violence and conflict. In addition to having an opportunity for Q&A, audience members will be encouraged to explore such questions as the following: When it comes to persons harmed, why does the conventional narrative overshadow the positive effects of restorative approaches? What can or should the peace and conflict field contribute to this discussion and to the future of restorative approaches in our communities?

Panelists:

• Travis Claybrooks, CEO, Raphah Institute (Nashville)
• Danielle Sered, Executive Director, Common Justice (New York)
• Anne Seymour, Co-Founder of Justice Solutions (Washington, DC) 
• Kempis Songster (“Ghani”), Program Manager, Healing Futures

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Daniel Rothbart, Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Carter School

Presented by: Transforming the Mind for Peace Lab

One driver of a majority of protracted violent conflicts is the salience of threat perceptions, which impacts the conflict dynamics, inducing conflict actors to denigrate their engaged and disengaged adversaries as representing existential threats. The necessity for violence and its protraction follows in lock-step order. The speakers of this event accentuate the centrality of such threat perceptions by focusing on their narratives, contagion effect, and their influence on the formation on ingroup-outgroup boundaries. Case studies are offered of the war in Ukraine, the activism of right-wing extremist groups in the United States and the fear of assault and betrayal among bystanders of mass atrocity. Bystanders, though not an apparent threat, become threatening when seen from the point of view of those who are victimized. The threat is their inaction – not what did happen to generate violent conflict but what didn’t to permit its protraction.

Panelist:

• Daniel Rothbart, Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Carter School
• Karina Korostelina, Professor of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Carter School
• Dennis B. Klein, Professor of History and Director, MA in Holocaust & Genocide Studies, Kean University; Scholar-in-Residence (Spring 2023), Carter School

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Jamie Wise, Education Associate, The Zekelman Holocaust Center

There are numerous Holocaust museums and memorial sites around the world, including 7 major museums in the United States alone. While each of these sites varies in their design and function, many share the mission of shaping the attitudes and behaviors of visitors so as to decrease hate and identity-based violence in today’s world. This presentation will focus on how Holocaust education provides a useful tool for peacebuilding and conflict prevention. Presented by Jamie Wise, a Carter-school alum and genocide scholar, and Katie Chaka Parks, a Holocaust historian and educator, this session will cover the goals and best practices in Holocaust education and how such efforts are integrated into a broader fabric of memory projects aimed at atrocity prevention. Through an interactive discussion guided by primary sources and survivor testimonies, participants will explore the intersections between Holocaust education and peacebuilding.

Panelist:

• Jamie Wise, Education Associate, The Zekelman Holocaust Center
• Katie Chaka Parks, Manager of Adult Education, The Zekelman Holocaust Center

Format: Virtual

Presenter: Charles Davidson, Research Assistant Professor, Political Leadership Academy Director

This session will provide an updated look at the peace process in South Kivu which has focused on Locally Led Peacebuilding with Carter School Accompaniment

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Raquel Gonzalez (she/they), Vice President, Carter School Alumni Chapter and Strategy, Operations, and Culture Consultant

Join alumni of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution to learn about different career paths for supporting peacebuilding, including non-traditional methods.

Panelists: 

• Lindsay Burr (she/her), CEO, Yarbrough Group
• Alex Rosenwald (she/him), Senior Director of Communications for The Hill. James Madison Fellow at Hillsdale College and Tehom Fellow with the Jewish Federation of Greater Washington
• Nicole Roswell (she/her), Adjunct Faculty at the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, and Fundraising Chair for the Political Leadership Academy Advisory Board

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Solon Simmons, Associate Professor, TNT Lab Director 

Presented By: The Narrative Transformation Lab

To build peace, we look to the past, imagine the future, and harness the present moment to bridge what has been with what could be. Narrative approaches to peace and conflict studies (PACS) posit that story is the through-line by which past, present, and future peace and conflict become linked. In this session, The Narrative Transformation Lab—the Carter School’s newest Peace Lab—will highlight the ways that narrative serves as the through-line for building peace, seeking justice, and navigating conflict. The session will spotlight the research of Carter School doctoral students who are using narrative approaches to understand complex peace and conflict contexts, including anti-establishment politics in the United States, the rise of smart cities, and the musical dimensions of protest and resistance. This session will also feature a discussion with TNT Lab’s Spring 2023 undergraduate research interns about how their work with TNT Lab is shaping their own lines of inquiry into narrative transformation. 

Learn more about TNT Lab: https://tntlab.carterschool.gmu.edu/  

Panelist:

• Audrey Williams, Carter School PhD Student, TNT Lab Manager 
• Oakley Hill, Carter School PhD Student, TNT Lab Affiliate 
• Elana Sokol, Carter School PhD Student, TNT Lab Affiliate 

Format: In-Person, Fairfax Campus

Event Lead: Emma Klainberg, Academic Advisor and Student Services Support Specialist

Social gathering to chalk peace messages around Fairfax Campus for International Day of Peace and for 2023 Spring Peace Week. After chalking peace messages around campus head over to corner pocket to hang out and play games.

Meet outside of Merten Hall on Fairfax GMU campus. Will walk over to chalking area at 6:05pm.

Parking is available in Rappahannock River parking deck at an hourly rate.

Address of parking garage: 4395 University Dr, Fairfax, VA 22030

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Ziad Al Achkar, PhD student, Carter School

Presented by: Raphael Lemkin Genocide Prevention Program

With the rise of digital technologies and the ability to collect large quantities of data, new digital processes and tools are deployed to tackle the most pressing challenges in society. These new tools and capabilities raise questions about regulations, ethics, standard operating procedures, transparency, privacy, ownership, and power asymmetries. As such, the genocide prevention, humanitarian, and peacebuilding space are grappling with what tech governance should look like to unlock the potential of technologies while still preserving the values and principles they champion. We are organizing this panel to further the discussion and debates about this critical issue and help move the conversation from theory to practice.

The session is scheduled for 80 minutes as part of the Carter School’s Peace Week event. About 45-50 minutes will be allocated for presentations and 30-35 minutes for discussion and questions.

Panelist:

• Ziad Al Achkar, PhD student, Carter School
• Elana Sokol, PhD student, Carter School

• Nicole Bennett and Dr. Hamid Ekbia - Security or Vulnerability? The Optics of Data in the Refugee Crisis.

• Arushi Singh - The Contemporary Nuances and Dimensions of Data Centre Colonisation in Africa.

• Tiffany Ng - Why US Law is Indispensable for Preventing Platform-enabled Atrocities.

• David Simon - Atrocity Prevention in the Digital Era: Using norms, laws, and code to adapt to changes in the ways atrocities are committed.

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Richard Rubenstein, University Professor, Carter School

The Carter School and Rotary International are in the process of working out a unique relationship between a conflict resolution program and a major civic organization with clubs on five continents. This discussion will describe the process of and prospects for creating this partnership.

Panelist:

• Mari Clarke, Anthropologist and World Bank Consultant
• Dr. Michael Shank, Member of Research Team
• William Dent, Immediate Past President of the Rotary Club of Washington D.C.

Format: In-Person (Arlington Office, conference room 5183) 

Facilitator: Margarita Tadevosyan, Research Professor, Center for Peacemaking Practice, Carter School

Presented by: Center for Peacemaking Practice

Three Georgian and three South Ossetian peace practitioners will join Dr. Susan Allen and Dr. Margarita Tadevosyan in a roundtable discussion of their peacebuilding practice work in politically challenging and polarized environment. Local practitioners will share their experience in navigating politically challenging environment, especially in the light of the recent war in Ukraine and Russia's continued dominant role in the South Caucasus region.

Panelist:

• Dr. Susan Allen, Professor, Carter School
• Dr. Margarita Tadevosyan, Research Professor, Center for Peacemaking Practice, Carter School
• Eliko Bendeliani, Head of the Board of the Peace and Civic Development Center (Tbilisi)
• Nino Kalandarishvili, Head of the Board of the Institute for Study of Nationalism and Conflicts (Tbilisi)
• Mikheil Jakhua, Berghof Foundation Caucasus Programme 
• Zarina Sanakoeva, Peace Journalist (Tskhinval) 
• Lina Kulumbegova, Political science lecturer (Tskhinval) 

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Julie Rouge, Associate Dean, Carter School

Conflicts in local communities over resources, equity, common spaces, and implementing justice tax local governments' capacity to hold the space for constructive community decision making. This session introduces recent community processes led by Carter School members to support collaborative decision making and reflections on best practices and lessons learned.              

Panelist:

• Julie Rouge Shedd, Associate Dean, Carter School
• student facilitators

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Format: In-Person (Arlington Office, Conference Room 5183) 

Presenter: Chawky Frenn, Professor, College of Visual and Preforming Arts, George Mason University

“WE THE PEOPLE: For Show or For Sure?” is a presentation in image and word intended to engage the audience in a soul-searching examination of our own contributions to the challenges and crises facing our country and the world: Can peace survive in a structure embedded with systemic racism in the legal system, health care, and education? Can political representation be fair when election campaigns are swamped with special interests and dark money? To what extent do our politics and policies foster divisions, conflicts, violence, and war? Can there be peace when social justice is defiled and human rights are violated? Art raises awareness, inspires change, and stimulates action by expressing repressed perspectives and contesting dominant narratives.

Format: In-Person (Arlington Office, Conference Room 5183) 

Facilitator: Karina Korostelina, Professor, Carter School 

The history of Europe is marred by centuries long intergroup conflicts that persist to the present day. This lecture frames conflicts in Europe in terms of intergenerational group projects that national citizens are socialized into when partaking in narratives that celebrate their social identities. The offshoot of such identity work is the collision of intergroup projects and aspirations in the public domain that serve distinct social identities and that undermine the potential for genuinely collaborative international relations. Taking the case of the disputed integration of Arab-Muslims in Malta following the Libyan and Syrian conflicts, the lecture will provide an analysis of the opinionated landscape surrounding this issue amongst Maltese citizens on the one hand and Arab immigrants on the other. It proceeds to present a 4-step mixed methods procedure that reveals convergences across intergroup divides. This enables social and political actors to target their interventions towards addressing mutual misunderstandings and misperceptions in ways that are inherently reasonable and sensible to the various parties. 

The Carter School is hosting a reception to recognize alumni of the Malta program following the lecture. Lecture guests are invited to join.

Panelist:

• Gordon Sammut PhD, Associate Professor in Social Psychology, Director, Centre for the Study & Practice of Conflict Resolution, University of Malta

Format: In-Person (Fairfax Campus, Firepit outside HUB)  

Facilitator: Mara Schoeny, Director of Undergraduate Programs, Carter School

Gather for a Fireside Chat with your classmates, staff, and faculty. Meet at the firepit outside the HUB for a social gathering to roast marshmallows. 

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Format: Virtual

Moderator: Dr. Mansoor Ehsan, Scholar in Residence at George Mason University’s Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution.

The unexpected fall of the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban in August 2021 stunned both Afghans and the international community. Politicians and political analysts in Afghanistan and beyond have been split into two camps. The first group perceived this political change and the return of the Taliban to Afghanistan as a reality and advocated interaction and also hoped for a change in the Taliban's approach, particularly with regard to human rights, women's rights, and breaking ties with other terrorist groups in Afghanistan and the region. Whereas others have seen the Taliban as a hard-liner ethno-religious organization and considered no reason to be optimistic about any positive changes around those issues. It has been a year and a half since the Taliban reclaimed power. Girls are prohibited from attending school, women are still not allowed to work outside, and Taliban militia members are increasingly abusing human rights by torturing and killing people, particularly former soldiers. While the rest of the world is still trying to make sense of the Taliban and Afghanistan, some countries, such as Russia, Iran, the United Arab Emirates, and Turkey, handed over the Afghan embassies to the Taliban without politically recognizing the group, whereas other countries, as well as the United Nations, fulfilled their obligations only by criticizing the Taliban on a regular basis, particularly their policy regarding women's rights. Therefore, it is critical to understand what is really going on inside and outside Afghanistan? How will the Taliban relations with the international community be shaping in the months to come? What issues will be playing the formation of such relations? What are the redlines for the international community? What are the priorities of the international community in such relations with the Taliban? In short, with the current characteristics of the Taliban governance is concerned, what is next in Afghanistan?

Panelists: 

• Dr. Sharif Hozoori , visiting scholar at Einaudi Center's South Asia Program, Cornell University
• Dr. Mirwais Balkhi, fellow at the Wilson Center, Washington D.C.
• Ms. Nazilah Jamshidi, Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Advisor, Washington, D.C.
• Dr. Mirwais Parsa, Research Scholar, University of Pittsburgh's Center for Governance and Markets

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Jeff Helsing, Executive Director, Better Evidence Project and Research Associate Professor, Carter School

Presented by: Better Evidence Project

This panel session will address how we translate research into practice in the peacemaking field, with a particular emphasis on drawing from local and international knowledge and local and international practice. The panel will focus on 4 areas of practice: addressing extremism and community resilience; climate change and conflict; social well-being and access to basic services; and humanitarian relief. The panelists will address the question of how can programming, resource allocation and policymaking be strengthened by local research and a good understanding of local conditions? The session will also address growing opportunities for strengthening local capacity and the challenges faced. Finally, there will be a discussion of how local and international research and evidence on these topics is being curated through data bases and repositories such as the Carter School’s Better Evidence Project

Panelists:

• Phuong Pham, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard Medical School
• Patrick Vinck, Harvard Humanitarian Initiative, Harvard Medical School
• Beza Tesfaye, Director of research and learning for migration and climate change, Mercy Corps, and Senior Associate, Project on Fragility and Mobility, Center for Strategic and International Studies
• Mathieu Bere, PhD, Consultant in international peacebuilding and conflict resolution, Sahel expert, and interim manager for Transforming the Mind for Peace Lab, Carter School
• Ziad Al Achkar, PhD Candidate, Carter School, and Research Associate, Better Evidence Project

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Margarita Tadevosyan, Research Professor, Center for Peacemaking Practice, Carter School

Presented by: Center for Peacemaking Practice

The session will discuss the concept of functional coexistence as pragmatic and legitimate approach of engaging with intractable conflicts. This novel concept is developed by Carter School Alumni Tatsushi Arai and CPP team is currently working on developing case studies of wider application of the concept with the aim to develop the peacemaking practice through exposing scholars and practitioners to the idea of functional coexistence.

Panelist:

• Dr. Tatushsi Arai, Associate Professor, School of Peace and Conflict Studies, Kent State University 
• Dr. Ann Phillips, Fellow, Center for Peace Making Practice, GMU 
• Dr. Susan Allen, Henry Hart Rice Chair of Conflict Analysis and Resolution, Carter School
• Dr. Margarita Tadevosyan, Research Assistant Professor, Carter School 

Format: In-Person (Arlington Office, Conference room 5183) 

Presenter: Suzanne de Janasz, Professor, Carter School

Many people, women, especially, avoid negotiations for a variety of reasons. Addressing those fears or unhelpful habits is important, as is building the habit of negotiating in what I call “everyday“ negotiations. These are seemingly small opportunities to resolve issues of disagreement, money, fairness, etc., but to not do so robs individuals of opportunities to practice their skills so that when major negotiations approach, they can negotiate comfortably, confidently, and competently. I argue that the less you negotiate, the less you want to or identify opportunities to negotiate. This hands-on workshop challenges unhelpful habits or biases and provides a framework for identifying, evaluating, and engaging in conflict-resolving negotiations. 

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Patricia Maulden, Associate Professor, Carter School

Presented by: Transitioning Justice Peace Lab: Carceral Societies Section & The Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia

The Faces of Resilience event is an interactive workshop introducing innovative ways in which art and education are being used to empower incarcerated individuals, to promote understanding, self-empowerment, and peace in relation to visualizing the unspoken, illuminating the unseen, and creating more positive pathways for the future. The workshop begins with a panel discussion featuring Dr. Patricia Maulden, faculty member at the Carter School, William Perthes of the Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia, and moderator Michael Smith, of INTO Mason. Dr. Maulden will discuss the importance of education and creativity, the ‘freeing’ of the self within the walls of the prison as well as the importance of educational institutions’ responsibility in creating more positively focused normative frames for the incarcerated. Mr. Perthes will describe the Faces of Resilience exhibition of original artwork created by the participants in Mural Arts Philadelphia’s Guild Program and artists at SCI Phoenix, southeastern Pennsylvania’s maximum-security prison for men. Artists from this program will join the panel to share insights on their work. Finally, participants will join the panelists in break out discussion groups to share ways in which these and similar programs can promote peace in individuals, prisons, and communities.

Panelist:

• Dr. Patricia Maulden, Associate Professor, Carter School
• Mr. William Perthes, Barnes Foundation, Philadelphia
• Mr. Michael Smith, INTO Mason

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Susan Hirsch, Professor, Carter School 

Presented by: Transitioning Justice Lab

How should the peace and conflict field respond to calls for justice, especially in response to conflict or harm? More broadly, how might justice—as an aim and a value--play a larger role in our theories and our practices? What is justice, to you? This event will raise these and related questions through breakout discussions using Circle Process. The event will begin with a brief introduction of Basic Circle Process, which is an approach to discussion that guarantees everyone a turn to speak, if they so choose. The main portion of the event will give the attendees an opportunity to participate in facilitated, breakout room circles. Participants are encouraged to stay for the entire event to experience the circle process and to learn what others discussed during a brief share out and Q&A. Finally, attendees will collaborate in creating next steps for the field as it comes to terms with the role of justice. 

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Leslie Dwyer, Associate Professor, Carter School 

Although persons with disabilities make up about 15% of the global population, it was only in 2019 that the United Nations Security Council passed Resolution 2475, the first resolution addressing the situation of persons with disabilities in armed conflict. UNSCR 2475 represents an important step in recognizing the disproportionate impact of conflict on people with disabilities, as well as their marginalization from peacebuilding processes. However, much work remains to be done by the peacebuilding field to understand the relationships of disability to conflict and peace, and to integrate frameworks that center disability justice and address the intersections of power and oppression that shape the lives of people with disabilities. This panel discussion will consider recent scholarship and practice on conflict and disability, and offer insight into how a disability justice framework can be used by the conflict resolution/peacebuilding field.

Panelist:

• Dr. Leslie Dwyer, Associate Professor, Carter School
• Briana Taylor, Carter School Student
• Rashad Nimr, Crisis, Stabilization and Governance Officer, USAID
• Elizabeth Murray, United States Institute of Peace

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Format: In-Person (Arlington Office, Conference room 5183) 

Facilitator: Emily Linnemeier, PhD Candidate, Carter School

A group of high school students and educators and a Carter School PhD candidate will discuss their Youth Participatory Action Research collaboration to address issues of equity on their campus, to include a focus on the process, emerging outcomes and proposed actions.

Panelist:

• Giana Corzo, High School Junior
• Timothy Cotman, Jr., Diversity, Equity and Inclusion Coordinator
• Emily Linnemeier, PhD Candidate, Carter School
• Akua Sakyi, High School Senior
• Melyssa Webb, High School Junior
• Isabella Woods, High School Senior
• Sofia Woods, High School Senior

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Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Maria Seniw, Director of Development

The Shinnyo Fellows program draws young adults from leading universities across the nation, to bring to life the Shinnyo-en Foundation’s Infinite Paths to Peace initiative on campuses and community organizations as they immerse themselves in a year-long Fellowship in local, national, and global communities.

Join us for a moderated discussion with this year’s cohort of Fellows who will describe their engagement and impact with local communities and how they are finding their personal paths to peace.

George Mason University is grateful for the long-term partnership with the Shinnyo-en Foundation and their generous support of funding for 19 graduate students and 7 post-undergraduates.

Panelist:

• Alpaslan Özerdem, Dean, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
• Ineko Tscuchida, Program Director, Shinnyo-en Foundation
• Mara Schoeny, Director, Undergraduate Program, Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution
• 2022-23 Shinnyo Fellows

Format: Virtual

Facilitators: Kristin Johnsen-Neshati, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, College of Performing and Visual Arts, GMU and Jessica Kallista, Adjunct Professor, School of Art, College of Performing and Visual Arts, GMU

Black Joy: Pleasure & Peace

Black Joy, self-care, and pleasure are necessary components of building peace within ourselves, our relationships, our communities, and the world. Access to pleasure is our birthright as well as a form of justice. Join us for a dialogue focused on the power of pleasure in our pursuit of peace. All materials to read and view before the session are available on the website. https://cvpa.gmu.edu/events/arts-context/kritikos-anti-racist-reading-group

Since Summer 2020, CVPA’s Arts in Context Kritikos Anti-Racist Reading Group has invited members of the community to meet in 90-minute sessions once a week with a goal of long-term commitment to relationship building, awareness, reimagining, transformation, and action, around anti-racist practices, racial justice, and the creation of conversations as well as systems of compassion and healing. We continue to focus on anti-Black racism and its effects on society. 

Grounded in the knowledge that it is not a question of whether we are racist, but rather, how racism is expressed and experienced in ourselves, our lives, our behaviors, and our institutions, we explore books, music, art, essays, podcasts, and documentaries that allow us to critically question and consider our roles as artists, thinkers, citizens, and creatives in a society founded on racist values and practices.

Panelist:

• Charles Chavis, Assistant Professor of Conflict Resolution and History, Carter School
• Kristin Johnsen-Neshati, Associate Dean of Faculty Affairs, College of Performing and Visual Arts, GMU
• Jessica Kallista, Adjunct Professor, School of Art, College of Performing and Visual Arts, GMU

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Julianna Donahue, Undergraduate Student, Carter School

Join Dean Ozerdem and a panel of CONF undergraduate students from each year. We will discuss topics such as student experience in the Carter School, experiential experiences, career prospects, and student passions. The panel will be followed by a Q & A session with both students and the Dean. 

Panelist:

• Dean Alp Ozerdem, Dean of Carter School
• Julianna Donahue, Undergraduate Student, Carter School
• Tori Bail, Undergraduate Student, Carter School 
• Merisa Mattix, Undergraduate Student, Carter School 
• Tsebaot Tilahun, Undergraduate Student, Carter School
• Delyon Ortiz, Undergraduate student, Carter School

Format: Virtual

Facilitator: Julia Roig, Founder & Chief Network Weaver, The Horizons Project

A research team lead by Carter School faculty partnered with philanthropists and practitioners for over a year on a multi-disciplinary literature review and global consultation process to uncover insights on the practices to better support broad-based movement-building in contexts of democratic decline and increasing authoritarianism.  This session will share the findings from the final report, including the main insights and practices that were grouped into three narrative competencies: Narrative & Power; Narrative & Legitimacy; and Narrative & Complexity. Delving into some of the key dilemmas for practitioners within each of the competencies, the session facilitators will guide participants in a discussion about their own experiences and practices; and, the session will explore plans for an action-learning effort to test out these narrative practices within various movement spaces in different contexts around the world.

Panelist:

• Sara Cobb, the Drucie French Cumbie Professor, Carter School
• Julia Roig, Founder & Chief Network Weaver, The Horizons Project

Read her bio here

• Alison Castel, Assistant Professor, Regis University

Read her bio here 

• Jale Sultanli, Senior Advisor, CMI’s Eurasia Programme

Read her bio here