Peace Studies between Tradition and Innovation

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

By Emily Mininger, Peace and Conflict Studies student
Photo Credit: Hannah Yoon

“Peace Studies between Tradition and Innovation” was the theme at the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) annual conference held from October 17-19. The conference was co-hosted by Conrad Grebel University College’s Peace and Conflict Studies (PACS) program and Wilfrid Laurier University’s Global Studies program. The PACS program is a member of PJSA, which is a non-profit organization dedicated to bringing together people from across North America and the world in exploration of alternatives to violence through peace building, social justice, and social change.

Sylvia McAdam speaking.
The PJSA conference drew together diverse groups of people - including activists, practitioners, scholars, teachers, students, and musicians - to engage together under the umbrella of peace and justice studies. The conference became a hub of experts in the field, hosting prominent speakers such as Jody Williams, Nobel Peace Prize winner and anti-landmine activist; Sylvia McAdam, Idle No More co-founder; James Orbinski, former president of Médecins Sans Frontières and Centre for International Governance Innovation (CIGI) chair in Global Health; George Roter, co-founder and CEO of Engineers without Borders; Brigitte DePape, non-violent Canadian youth activist; and Ernie Regehr, co-founder of Project Ploughshares and recipient of this year’s PJSA Lifetime Achievement Award. Each speaker shared unique experience and expertise in ways that challenged and stimulated conference attendees.

The strong music programs of Conrad Grebel and Wilfrid Laurier were on display throughout the conference as each keynote speaker was preceded by a special musical performance. The student conference was electrified by a performance by hip-hop artist Emmanuel Jal, who shared powerful music he wrote out of his experience as a child soldier in South Sudan. The main conference concluded on Saturday evening at Kitchener’s Centre in the Square with an epic rendition of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem, conducted by Grebel’s own Mark Vuorinen.

Two workshops were held prior to the conference. PACS Professor Reina Neufeldt played a leadership role in a workshop which addressed the topic of Post-Conflict Peacebuilding. The other workshop, hosted by the PACS Conflict Management Certificate Program and organized by Sue Baker, engaged the themes of Restorative Justice and Mediation. This workshop featured Howard Zehr, Distinguished Professor of Restorative Justice at Eastern Mennonite University with important contributions from PACS instructors Betty Pries and Judah Oudshoorn.

Students listening in audience.

Overall, the conference was a huge success with 320 delegates and 90 students participating. The conference included 200 presenters, who brought their knowledge and expertise to 80 panel discussions and sessions, covering topics ranging from disarmament to innovation to aboriginal affairs and providing a rich and diverse exploration of different themes. Academic representation from Grebel was strong, with eight Masters of Peace and Conflict Studies students and five faculty and staff members presenting papers or chairing panel sessions.

“The conference was an extremely memorable event for us,” reflected Nathan Funk, Acting Director of Peace and Conflict Studies. “It was a great opportunity to be enriched by others, and also to share news about developments in our own program with the larger peace studies community.” The PACS department is proud to have taken part in hosting such an exciting and stimulating conference, as we work to shape and advance the critical field of peace and justice studies.