The symposium is free and open to the public. No tickets or advance reservations are required.

 Click here for directions to campus and a campus map, including parking information.

 The Westheimer Peace Symposium Committee is proud to announce the schedule for the 2013 event!

“Africa’s Blood, Sweat, and Tears: Nonviolent Solutions”

Tuesday, October 15 – Murphy Theatre, 50 West Main Street (http://www.themurphytheatre.org/)

·         7:30 p.m. – Film Showing, “Blood Diamond” – $5 admission (details on student discount tickets will be available in the fall)(http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0450259/?ref_=sr_1)

Wednesday, October 16 – Heiland Theater, Boyd Cultural Arts Center

Please note the adjusted start times to better fit with the new class schedule.

·         10:15 a.m. – Chris Abani, “Stories of Struggle, Stories of Hope: Art, Politics and Human Rights”(http://www.thelavinagency.com/speaker-chris-abani.html)

What is the role of art and literature in defending human rights and democracy?  Chris Abani – recipient of the PEN Freedom-to-Write Award – examines this question, drawing on his acclaimed body of work, as well as his own political activism.  Imprisoned for his writings by the Nigerian government when he was a teenager, Abani “may be the most courageous writer working right now” (Dave Eggers).

·         1:30 p.m. – Eden Grace, Director of Global Ministries at Friends United Meeting (http://fum.org/), and Diane Randall, Executive Secretary of Friends Committee on National Legislation (http://fcnl.org/), “Preventing Election Violence in Kenya”

In 2008, FUM’s Africa Ministries Office worked intensely with local leaders to heal communities torn apart by the post-election violence.  What FUM learned from 2008 helped them prepare for the election in 2013, leading to a partnership with FCNL on violence-prevention efforts in Kenya.

·         3 p.m. - Wilmington College Chorale

·         4 p.m. – Film Showing, “Blood in the Mobile” (http://bloodinthemobile.org/)

We love our cell phones and the selection between different models has never been bigger.  But the production of phones has a dark, bloody side.  The documentary Blood in the Mobile shows the connection between our phones and the civil war in the Congo.  Director Frank Poulsen travels to DR Congo to see the illegal mine industry with his own eyes.  “Blood in Mobile” is a film about our responsibility for the conflict in the Congo and about corporate social responsibility.

·         7:30 p.m. – Lisa Shannon, “A Thousand Sisters: My Journey into the Worst Place on Earth to Be a Woman”(http://www.thelavinagency.com/speaker-lisa-shannon.html)

Lisa Shannon, the first grassroots activist in the US working to raise awareness of the humanitarian crisis in the Congo, has devoted herself to helping women in the Congo.  One of O Magazine’s 100 Most Influential Women on the Planet, Shannon explores the world’s deadliest war through the intimate lens of friendship, and shares her thoughts on the new politics of do-it-yourself foreign aid: “It’s never too late to change the world – or yourself.” Shannon’s book of the same title has been selected as the Freshman Summer Reading.

Saturday, October 19 – WC Practice Soccer Field

·         10 a.m. – Run for Congo Women (http://www.runforcongowomen.org/)

Sponsored in cooperation with the Center for Service and Civic Engagement

For information on handicapped accessibility, meals on-  and off-campus, or other questions, please e-mail, Ruth Dobyns, Coordinator of the Westheimer Peace Symposium, or call 937/382-6661 x 719 

 Share in the important work! Please send your donations for the Westheimer Peace Symposium to:  Westheimer Peace Symposium Wilmington College 
1870 Quaker Way, Pyle Center Box 1182 
Wilmington, Ohio 45177

Let us know what you think! Share Your Peace Symposium experiences by e-mailing Ruth Dobyns, Symposium Coordinator.