A discussion of militarism as it intersects with our identities and political struggles, the relationship between war and nationalism, classism, racism and sexism, and where we go from here. Hosted by Students for a Democratic Society.
Friday April 24th, 4:15pm Hicks Mural Room 312
“From the Front Lines”
A moderated panel discussion on the wars from a veteran’s perspective with John Grant and Frank Corcoran, two members of Veterans for Peace who served in Vietnam, and U.S.M.C. Cpl. James Gilligan, a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Saturday April 25th, 1:30pm Science Center 101
“Anti-War Movements outside the U.S.”
Dinner and discussion with Lang visiting professor and lifelong activist George Lakey on war resistance beyond US borders. Home-cooked dinner included!
Saturday April 25th, 6:30pm Lang Center Keith Room
In today’s increasingly connected world there are thousands of resources available to obtain news and analysis about conflict and peace related issues. However, there are not that many sites that provide true in-depth analysis, reflection from a deep conflict or peace perspective. Within the field of conflict resolution there has also been a rapid growth in the field of peace journalism or peace media. The basic concept is that instead of media reporting passively on conflict related issues or doing a superficial analysis, or possibly serving as a tool to inflame and escalate conflict, media practitioners can play a critical role in getting at the roots of conflict, looking at underlying issues, reporting in peace initiatives, etc.
This short posting will highlight some of the key peace media and related sites that you may find useful in obtaining information. Please also feel free to share additional resources. Obviously, not all sites listed below are impartial, but they do provide useful information and perspectives.
1) International Crisis Group – The International Crisis Group is now generally recognised as the world??s leading independent, non-partisan, source of analysis and advice to governments, and intergovernmental bodies like the United Nations, European Union and World Bank, on the prevention and resolution of deadly conflict.
2) Search for Common Ground – Founded in 1982, Search for Common Ground works to transform the way the world deals with conflict – away from adversarial approaches and towards collaborative problem solving. Search is one of the pioneering organizations in developing and producing peace media around the world through their Common Ground Productions Unit which their media arm. Using television, radio and Internet programming, CGP transforms the way individuals and societies deal with conflict: away from adversarial approaches, towards cooperative solutions. Whether countering “hate radio” in Africa or hate crime in the United States, Common Ground Productions is dedicated to harnessing the power of the media for peace.
3) Transnational Foundation for Peace and Future Research, TFF News Network – Provides a list diverse sources related to peace and conflict issues around the world. Instead of focusing on one source, the network encourages users to question the opinion or coverage of a few media. As they explain, search for your own understanding. The tools are here. Globalization – and the Internet – are rapidly revolutionizing the way we understand the world. Become an eclectic news collector and fight the trend toward standardization and monopolization of our right to be well informed.
4) Global Voices – is a leading participatory media news room for voices from the developing world. Since its founding in 2005, Global Voices has grown into a vibrant global community of more than 150 active volunteer authors and translators and more than 20 freelance part- time regional and language editors. Today, Global Voices is thriving, vital component of the global media environment, helping individuals and media professionals around the world gain access to the diverse voices coming from citizen media. We base our coverage on the words, images, and videos of ordinary people across the globe who use the internet to communicate and broadcast their thoughts, analysis, and observations.
5) Peace Media Clearinghouse – A New Multimedia Resource for Peacemakers developed by the United States Institute of Peace and Georgetown University. The clearinghouse provides a central site where individuals and organizations working in the conflict management field can access materials that support conflict analysis and prevention, conflict resolution, and post-conflict reconstruction and reconciliation. At the same time, the site will encourage development of the field itself by distilling best practices for creating and using multimedia in support of conflict management activities.
6) Youtube – is the leader in online video, and the premier destination to watch and share original videos worldwide through a Web experience. YouTube allows people to easily upload and share video clips on www.YouTube.com and across the Internet through websites, mobile devices, blogs, and email.
7) Alertnet – is a humanitarian news network based around a popular website. It aims to keep relief professionals and the wider public up-to-date on humanitarian crises around the globe. AlertNet attracts upwards of ten million users a year, has a network of 400 contributing humanitarian organizations and its weekly email digest is received by more than 26,000 readers.
8 ) Transcend Media Service – Part of the Transcend Network. The site provides original reporting that seeks to go beyond the usual questions, ??How many were killed today??? and ??Who is winning??? to ask two additional ones: ??What is this conflict about??? and ??What are possible solutions???
9) Institute for War and Peace Reporting – builds democracy at the frontlines of conflict and change through the power of professional journalism. IWPR programs provide intensive hands-on training, extensive reporting and publishing, and ambitious initiatives to build the capacity of local media. Supporting peace-building, development and the rule of law, IWPR gives responsible local media a voice.
10) BBC News – Premier site of UK’s leading news agency.
11) Al Jazeera English – the 24-hour English-language news and current affairs channel, is headquartered in Doha, the capital of Qatar. The organisation is the world’s first global English language news channel to be headquartered in the Middle East. From this unique position, Al Jazeera English is destined to be the English-language channel of reference for Middle Eastern events, balancing the current typical information flow by reporting from the developing world back to the West and from the southern to the northern hemisphere.The channel aims to give voice to untold stories, promote debate, and challenge established perceptions.
12) Ode Magazine -s a print and online publication about positive news–the people and ideas that are changing our world for the better. Ode’s aim is to bring a new reality into view, to explore opportunities for positive change (including peacemakers) in our daily lives and our daily minds. You can sign up for a free daily newsletter of positive news. If you would like to subscribe to the magazine, there is a special rate for members of the Peace and Collaborative Development Network (currently only for people in the US), see http://www.odemagazine.com/pcdn
Swarthmore College first-year students Joshua Cockroft and Kimberly St. Julian have been awarded a Davis Project for Peace grant for their proposal to develop sanitation and hygiene practices in rural Madagascar. The $10,000 grant will enable them to travel to Madagascar this summer where they will work with a community to build pit latrines away from potable water sources, engage in a community education project about hygiene and sanitation practices, and conduct research on the culture of peace in Madagascar.
The Davis Project for Peace program, in its third year, is made possible by Kathryn Wasserman Davis, an accomplished internationalist and philanthropist. Mrs. Davis launched the program on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2007. Designed to encourage and support motivated youth to create and implement their ideas for building peace throughout the world in the 21st century; each of the 100 projects selected received $10,000 in funding.
Joshua Cockroft ’12
Joshua Cockroft of Lafayette, Colo. plans to major in political science and minor in peace and conflict studies and environmental studies. “This experience will give great insight into my academic interests,” he says. “As part of our grant, we will study the ethnically diverse culture of Madagascar that has predominantly managed to peacefully coexist for over a thousand years without much ethnic conflict. This grant will give us the opportunity to work in a culture entirely different from our own, doing something to help where the results of our work can be seen directly.”
Kimberly St. Julian ’12
Kimberly St. Julian from Dayton, Texas, plans to major in history, with minors in political science and peace and conflict studies. “Before Swarthmore, I never had the opportunity to really delve into my interests in social work and human rights and put them into action to benefit others,” she says. “This grant will afford me with the opportunity to put my passion for helping others into action. I have never been out of the country so this will be an eye-opening experience for me in every possible way.”
During their stay in Madagascar, Cockroft and St. Julian will live in the village where they will be working. The pair intends to write about their experiences with the Malagasy people and their culture, in particular studying how a community with so much ethnic diversity has managed to live in peace.
It is one o’clock in the morning, and all I want to do is go to bed. I’ve been at War News Radio since 11:30 p.m., trying to get through to Afghanistan to do an interview with Shukria Barakzai, one of the first female Afghan politicians. But it’s Eid al-Fitr, a holiday, and all the working phone lines in Afghanistan are tied up with people calling their family and friends to celebrate. I dial the number on the phone card, wait, and dial the number I have for Ms. Barakzai.
Finally, the phone rings and she picks up. “Is this still an alright time for you to do the interview?” I ask. And from the other side of the world, she says yes. For her, it’s 10:30 a.m., a normal hour to work. As we talk, she tells me about her experiences as a politician and as a woman, her concerns about Afghanistan’s elections next year, her frustration with the corruption she sees in the Afghan government, and her hopes for the future of her country. In listening to her stories, all of my own frustrations-with the late hour, with the nonfunctional phone lines, with the recording equipment-melt away, and I remember why I am still here in the recording booth at War News Radio, even at one o’clock in the morning.? … Read more
Last Friday at LPAC, the Film and Media Studies Department and War News Radio hosted Ellen Spiro and her documentary “Body of War.” “Body of War” is a documentary co-directed by Spiro and Phil Donahue that chronicles the story of Iraq-war veteran Tomas Young as he deals with his disability. After only five days in Iraq, Young suffered a shot through his collarbone and spine, leaving him paralyzed from the waist down. The film juxtaposes the story of his life as a disabled person with the series of decisions that led to the war in Iraq. … Read the full story by Isaac Han in the April 16, 2009 edition of The Phoenix.
Several events sponsored by Swarthmore’s chapter of STAND are coming up!
April 9th – Swarthmore College will host French filmmaker Fabienne Le Houerou speak about “The impact of the decision of the International Court of Justice to arrest the Sudanese president Omar Al-Bashir on the Darfurian refugees perspective” and see part of her documentary film from Darfur. Her website: http://www.imagmundi.com/indexImagmundi.php
Stay tuned for more events…
April 14th – a panel on the ICC. DRP will also be airing some of their clips and serving Ethiopian food.
April 30th- some Lost Boys from the area will be coming to speak
May 1st – we are partnering with Hillel and Ruach for Holocaust Memorial Day.
This year is the 5th annual Tri-Co Peace Week (April 8-11, 2009), bringing you events designed to inspire students at Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, and Haverford, Colleges to think critically and in new ways about the struggles for and between violence and peace, about their personal relationship with these concepts, and about how they themselves can cause or promote change. The theme for this year is “refugees” and “issues of human rights during a conflict”.
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Wednesday, April 8
Die-in Demonstration
A Die In is a form of protest in which participants simulate being dead by lying still on the ground. Peace Week is hosting this type of demonstration to represent the refugees of Bhutan, Palestine, Darfur, and the Congo who will die if the international community does not take immediate action to help them. This demonstration will help spread awareness of global conflicts that have left millions of innocent people displaced and at serious risk.
VENUE: Swarthmore College, Parrish Walk Way 12:30 p.m.
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Gandhi – Richard Attenborough – 1982 – 188 min
This film describes the life and times of Mahatma Gandhi, Indian political leader who managed to free his country from the British rule using peaceful means and thus giving hope and inspiration for generations to come. Refreshments will be provided at the screening.
VENUE: Bryn Mawr College – Thomas 110 7:30 pm
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The Greatest Silence: Rape in the Congo– Lisa Jackson (76 minutes)
Shot in the war zones of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), this extraordinary film sensitively yet unflinchingly brings to light the plight of women and girls caught in that country’s intractable conflicts. A survivor of rape herself, Emmy Award-winning filmmaker Lisa Jackson travels through the DRC to understand what is happening and why.
The film features interviews with activists, peacekeepers, physicians, and even the indifferent rapists. But the most remarkable moments of the film come as survivors recount their personal stories, inspiring examples of resilience, resistance, courage and grace. The Greatest Silence won a Special Jury Prize at the Sundance Film Festival in 2008.
Professor Niklas Hultin will moderate a discussion after the movie.
VENUE: Swarthmore College, Science Center 199, Wednesday April 8th, 8:00 PM
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Thursday, April 9
Through the Human Right’s Watch Film Festival, two documentaries will be screened at Swarthmore and the director of one will be speaking as well.
The Sari Soldiers-Julie Bridgham2008 (90m)
Filmed over three years during the most historic and pivotal time in Nepal’s modern history, The Sari Soldiers is an extraordinary story of six women’s courageous efforts to shape Nepal’s future in the midst of an escalating civil war against Maoist insurgents, and the King’s crackdown on civil liberties. When Devi, other of a 15-year-old girl, witnesses her niece being tortured and murdered by the Royal Nepal Army, she speaks publicly about the atrocity. The army abducts her daughter in retaliation, and Devi embarks on a three-year struggle to uncover her daughter’s fate and see justice done. The Sari Soldiers follows her and five other brave women, including a Maoist Commander, Royal Nepal Army Officer; a monarchist from a rural community who leads a rebellion against the Maoists; a human rights lawyer; and a young student activist organizing the protests to establish democracy. The Sari Soldiers intimately delves into the extraordinary journey of these women on all sides of the conflict, through the democratic revolution that reshapes the country’s future.
Julie Bridgham, director and producer of the documentary, The Sari Soldiers will give a talk followed by questions and answers after the screening. Professor Niklas Hultin will moderate a discussion with Julie Bridgham.
VENUE: Swarthmore College, LPAC Cinema, Thursday April 9th, 7:30 PM
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Friday, April 10
Activist filmmaker Ellen Spiro will be visiting campus with the film she made with Phil Donahue, Body of War (http://www.bodyofwar.com/), named best documentary by the National Board of Review in 2007.
Body of War is an intimate feature documentary about the true face of war. Tomas Young, 25 years old, was paralyzed from a bullet to his spine – wounded after serving in Iraq for less than a week. Body of War is Tomas’ coming home story as he comes to terms with his disability and finds his own unique and passionate voice against the war. The film is produced and directed by Phil Donahue and Ellen Spiro, and features two original songs by Pear Jam’s Eddie Vedder.
Body of War was named Best Documentary by the National Board of Review, and John Anderston, writing in the Washington Post, calls it “Architecturally sound, emotionally ravaging… a ferocious film.”
Ellen Spiro is a long-time video activist whose works including? DiAna’s Hair Ego (about DiAna, an AIDS-educator and hairdresser), Greetings From Out Here (lesbian and gay culture in the South), and Troop 1500 (about a Girl Scout troop that unites daughters with mothers who are serving time for serious crimes, made with Karen Bernstein) and, now, Body of War (with Phil Donahue). Spiro, Associate Professor at the University of Texas in Austin, is the recipient of a Guggenheim and two Rockefeller Fellowships and numerous other distinctions.
This event is presented by Swarthmore’s Program in Film and Media Studies and cosponsored by War News Radio, and made possible by the Department of English Literature’s Owen Moon Fund.
VENUE: Swarthmore College, LPAC Cinema, Friday, April 10th, 7:00 pm
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A Cappella Concert
Impact!, Bryn Mawr’s student organization for socially responsible and sustainable business, joins with Peace Week to present a benefit concert by 4 of the Bi-Co’s a cappella groups: Counterpoint, Lavender’s Blue, Humtones, and the Night Owls.
(Donations in a sum of your choice will be requested at the door. Proceeds will go to an organization TBD).
VENUE: Bryn Mawr College – Pembroke West Dance Studio 8:00 pm
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Thursday & Friday April 9-10
Handicraft fair – Shop for earrings, scarves, bags, …. etc from which proceeds will help to sponsor education of children and widows displaced by the conflict in Nepal. *1 year’s education for a child costs only $15! Everything sold in the fair will cost $15 or less. More than 50,000 children and widows have been displaced due to the conflict.
VENUE:
Swarthmore College, LPAC Cinema, Thursday, April 9th, 7:30- 10:00 pm
Swarthmore College, Parrish Beach, Friday April 10th, 4:00-6:00pm
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Saturday, April 11
Walk For Hunger
Join Bryn Mawr’s Saturday of Service for a trip to this year’s Walk for Hunger in Philadelphia. The Walk Against Hunger is a 6-mile walk beginning and ending at the Philadelphia Museum of Art, with the goal of raising money to help struggling families meet their most basic need — food. The funds raised at the Walk Against Hunger are distributed to food cupboards and soup kitchens in our region, which are run by volunteers who work tirelessly to provide food for those in need. The Bryn Mawr College team will bring together students, faculty, and staff to raise money for food cupboards at two of the college’s partner agencies in Norristown. The walk lasts from around 9:30 am to 12:30 pm.
VENUE: Philadelphia (Bryn Mawr College / Haverford College) – 8:00 am to around 1:00 pm
Contacts:
Sneha Shrestha email sshrest1*at*swarthmore.edu
Aaron Zimmerman azimmer2*at*swarthmore.edu
Sponsors:
Bryn Mawr: President’s Office, Dean’s Office, Department of Sociology, Peace and Conflict Studies Program.
Swarthmore: Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Peace and Conflict Studies Program, Intercultural Center, Dean’s Office, Political Science Department, SBC Account [I dont know what this is], French and Francophone Studies (Department of Modern Languages and Literatures), President’s Office, Film and Media Studies, Gender and Sexuality Studies,? Islamic Studies Program.
And African Studies Consortium (U Penn, Swarthmore, Bryn Mawr, Haverford).
Joshua Cockroft ’12
Kimberly St. Julian ’12
Finally, the phone rings and she picks up. “Is this still an alright time for you to do the interview?” I ask. And from the other side of the world, she says yes. For her, it’s 10:30 a.m., a normal hour to work. As we talk, she tells me about her experiences as a politician and as a woman, her concerns about Afghanistan’s elections next year, her frustration with the corruption she sees in the Afghan government, and her hopes for the future of her country. In listening to her stories, all of my own frustrations-with the late hour, with the nonfunctional phone lines, with the recording equipment-melt away, and I remember why I am still here in the recording booth at War News Radio, even at one o’clock in the morning.?