Sunday, March 30
7:00 p.m. Kenworthy Performain Arts Centre
Documentary presentation “Encounter Point”
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Reconciliation isn’t always a national movement, as highlighted by the documentary Encounter Point, which highlights individual attempts to reconcile feelings of militancy between Palestinians and Israelis. The award-winning film opens the Symposium, which will be presented and commented on by the filmmaker, Ronit Avni.
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For more information on Encounter Point, please visit the film’s home page.
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Monday, March 31
7:00 p.m, SUB Ballroom
“Reconciliation and Post-Conflict Justice”
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Fred Cocozzelli is a faculty member in the Department of Government and Political Science at St. Johns's University, where he has taught for the past two years. Prior to that, amidst other academic duties, Fred worked for Catholic Relief Service in Kosovo, first as a senior field officer during the emergency phase of operations from summer 1999 to spring 2000, and then later as a consultant on the transition from food aid to social welfare in summer 2000. Previously he worked in post-conflict Guatemala for the National Coordinating Office for Refugees and the Displaced of Guatemala.
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Cancelled
“Reconciliation around the World”
Note: Professor O'Malley will not be able to participate in the Borah Symposium due to an overlapping commitment with a Reconciliation Conference currently underway in Iraq.
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Padraig O’Malley is one of the foremost experts on reconciliation processes, with particular expertise on Northern Ireland and South Africa. He will open the formal portion of the symposium with a talk on the variety of approaches to reconciliation that post-conflict societies have taken over the past fifty years.
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Click here for more information on Professor O’Malley’s work at UMB.
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Tuesday, April 1
7:00 p.m. SUB Ballroom
“The End of Apartheid and Reconciliation in South Africa”
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F.W. de Klerk served as president of South Africa from 1989 to 1994 and was instrumental in dismantling that country’s century-old system of apartheid, despite steadfast and often violent resistance from the country’s white leadership and populace. Under his leadership, Nelson Mandela was released from prison, and the formerly banned African National Congress was legalized. Both de Klerk and Mandela were jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1993. He currently leads The Global Leadership Foundation, a group of former heads-of-state advising peers in troubled regions. His experience in initiating a period of reconciliation in South Africa makes him an ideal keynote speaker for the 2008 Borah Symposium.
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Video of the Event
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Wednesday, April 2
7:00 p.m. SUB Ballroom
“The Challenges of Reconciliation: A Discussion”
Ken Attafuah, Director, National Reconciliation Commission of Ghana
Mason Smith, Deputy Permanent Representative, Mission of Fiji to the U.N.
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Fiji and Ghana represent two ends of the spectrum when it comes to reconciliation following conflict. Following a military coup and ensuing rule which lasted from May 2000 to March 2001, Fijians considered establishing the Reconciliation and Unification Commission to deal with issues related thereto. However, establishing and seeing through the dictates of the RUC has proven challenging. In contrast, the commission established in Ghana in 2002 to address abuses committed under authoritarian rule over a 45 year period functioned for two years, holding more than 2000 public hearings and taking thousands of statements from claimants. The varying experiences with reconciliation will be discussed by our guests.
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Video of the Event
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