December 6, 2012 | SharkAdmin The NVC Peace and Conflict Studies program has good news to share before the upcoming break. Congratulations go to Andrew (Andy) Hill, J.D. of the Philosophy department for receiving a $2,000 grant from the United States Institute for Peace (USIP) to support public education for peace building. Andy said the funding will be used to bring expert speakers to NVC for a planned “Peace and Justice” workshop in June 2013. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., USIP is the independent, nonpartisan conflict management center created by Congress to prevent and mitigate international conflict without resorting to violence. Andy said while the grant is for a small amount, “the fact that it is from the United States Institute for Peace is important for us and we hope it helps us secure other grants in the future.” [image 1]Additionally a leading international peace researcher, Peter Wallensteen, Ph.D., who is often called upon by world leaders and the media, was at NVC on Nov. 30 for an informal conversation to discuss the best practices of teaching international peace and conflict studies. The NVC International Education Committee and the NVC Peace and Conflict Studies Committee hosted the visit by Wallensteen, who is also a senior professor of Peace and Conflict Research at Uppsala University in Sweden, and a research professor of Peace Studies at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at the University of Notre Dame. [image 2]Wallensteen is the author of “Understanding Conflict Resolution: Peace, War and the Global System,” “Peace Research: Theory and Practice” and “The Go-Between.” Here are some of the comments from faculty who were at the meeting: [image 3]Carlos Lopez, NVC Peace and Conflict Studies Coordinator: [image 4]”Peter Wallensteen's visit to Northwest Vista gave faculty and staff the opportunity to broaden our understanding of a peace-building process by placing attention to the dynamics and contributing factors to conflict. It also allowed us to reflect on how we address and teach about conflict and peace building in the classroom through a more balanced approach of self-discovery in order to avoid personal biases. This self-discovery enables people to look at conflict from different perspectives and hopefully come up with complementing approaches that are mutually beneficial for all parties involved. I think we can also use such strategies to address conflicts in our daily lives at the workplace level as NVC employees; at the community level as citizens and neighbors and even at the family level whether it is a parent-child, husband-wife or any other family type relationship not to mention at the faculty/staff-student relationship.” Andrew Hill, J.D., of the Philosophy Department: “There were two main benefits to having a campus visit from a peace studies scholar of such international renown. First, Dr. Wallensteen was able to walk us through and demonstrate how to use the incredible online resource that he and his team have created to monitor conflict spots around the world. This is an incredibly detailed, real-time monitoring system that is used by scholars and peace practitioners around the world; in fact, when the United Nations needs up-to-date information about a crisis anywhere in the world, they call Dr. Wallensteen. In addition to the practical training he provided, there was also an inspirational benefit to our faculty. We had the chance to sit down for an extended conversation over coffee with one of the great researchers and teachers of our time, and not only learn from him but also share our stories about initiatives in peace and conflict studies and international education at Northwest Vista College. That type of professional exchange was an invaluable – and inspirational – experience for us all.”
