Verde Valley News – Ideas, art, conversation and connections will abound as Yavapai College invites students and community members to an in-depth, practical exploration of Peace and how to expand it. Yavapai College’s Justice Institute & RESPECT campaigns announced a dynamic and wide-ranging schedule for the upcoming Peace Summit, held April 3 and 4 on YC’s Prescott Campus.
The Peace Summit is designed to create a gathering point for students and the community to explore peaceful approaches to our divided world. Summit co-founder and YC RESPECT campaign chair Dr. Brandelyn Andres says the Summit will celebrate “important values such as mutuality, open-mindedness, empathy, and courteous conversation. It’s our hope that such a gathering will be an effective and cathartic opportunity to employ healing and unity to undermine divisiveness.”
The program begins Thursday, April 3 at 9:15 a.m. with Debate & Civil Dialogue, a presentation by YC Communications Professor Mark Woolsey on techniques for finding common ground and solutions among those who disagree. At 10:30, the conversation expands to Harmony & Diversity, Learning from Nature. Art History Professor Dr. Brandelyn Andres will discuss the lessons to be found in exploring the world around us. Thursday afternoon presents peaceful ideas as expressed in art: Musician and Educator Meg Bohrman offers her guest lecture Sing a New Song: Creativity, Community, Voice and Healing, from 12:30 to 1:30. And Dance Instructor Mary Heller will hold a Dance/Improvisation workshop from 2 – 3 p.m. Performance-Driven Thinking author Bobby Kipper returns to YC to present The Science of Kindness at 3:15 p.m., and the first day concludes with Peace in Action, a panel discussion where experts discuss how individuals in various roles can promote kindness, peace and civility, with a Q&A to follow.
Friday, April 4 begins with a Peace Exhibit Artist Talk, 9 – 10 a.m., where community painters and sculptors selected for the Peace Summit’s Art Exhibit discuss the ideas and inspiration behind their work. At 10 a.m., Biology Professor Jessica Hawk will look at peace through the lens of Jewish & Navajo Cultural and Educational Experiences. YC Justice Professor and former Prescott Police Chief Jerald Monahan gives us a law enforcement view of peaceful dialogue and protest in Principles of Peaceful Order, at 11:15 a.m. At 1:15 p.m. YC Art Professor and sculptor Rita Toikka shares her critically acclaimed #Endtrafficking exhibit on human trafficking. And YC’s Student Government Association closes the summit with a 2:30 panel on Leadership and Peace.
Yavapai College’s Peace Summit will be held Thursday, April 3 and Friday, April 4 in the Prescott Campus Community Room (Bldg. 19, Room 134) of Yavapai College, 1100 E. Sheldon Street, in Prescott. Events for both days begin at 9 a.m. All events are free. For more information on the Peace Summit, please contact Dr. Brandelyn Andres at Brandelyn.andres@yc.edu or (928) 717.7739.
***
Peace Summit Agenda
Thursday, April 3
9:15 – 10:15am: Debate and Civil Dialogue – Mark Woolsey, Professor of Communications
10:30 – 11:30am: Harmony in Diversity: Learning from Nature – Brandelyn Andres, Professor of Art History
12:30 – 1:30: Sing a New Song: Creativity, Community, Voice, and Healing – Meg Bohrman, Community Musician and Educator
2:00 – 3:00pm: Dance/Improvisation – Mary Heller, Professor of Dance
3:15 – 4:15: The Science of Kindness – Bobby Kipper, Performance Driven Thinking Co-Founder
6 – 7:30pm: Panel Discussion: Peace in Action
A Q&A driven conversation about how individuals in various roles can promote kindness, peace, and civility.
Panelists: Tyran Payne, Police Chief and Faculty, Yavapai College; Athena Alverez, Yavapai College Student and Americorps Intern; Mary ____ Peace Builder; Bobby Kipper, Performance Driven Thinking Co-Founder.
Friday, April 4
9 – 10am: The Transformative Power of Gratitude, Forgiveness, and Peace – Brandelyn Andres, Professor of Art History and Jerald Monahan, Professor of Administration of Justice
10 – 11am: Jewish and Navajo Cultural and Educational Experiences – Jessica Hawk, Professor of Biology,
11:15am – 12:15pm: Principles of Peaceful Order – Jerald Monahan, Professor of Administration of Justice
1:15 – 2:15pm: #Endtraffiking – Rita Toikka, Professor of Art
** pin sales to benefit the Launch Pad Teen Center
2:30 – 3:30pm: Leadership and Peace – Yavapai College Student Government Association