August 12, 2022: From the earliest days of planning, organizers envisioned Taking Action For Peace as a time to come together, to learn and work for peace person-to-person, face-to-face. The workshops, speakers and panels have all been designed with this interaction in mind.
This week we have had to face the reality of COVID’s continuing impact. Confirmed case numbers and COVID hospitalizations have been rising in Washtenaw County and SE Michigan. Public health experts are concerned about how contagious the new variants are, and how quickly they seem to be changing.
This event was to take place in just six weeks. In good conscience, we can’t host an event where hundreds of us would be together indoors for two days. It’s with deep regret and sadness that we’ve made the decision to postpone the conference.
There will be a Taking Action for Peace conference! Covid has taught us that we can’t say for certain when – perhaps in the spring, perhaps next fall. In the meantime, we hope you’ll be involved with a series of virtual events being offered.
On September 25 at 12:30 EDT, the Wayne State University Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, in conjunction with partnering Rotary Districts and Clubs, will present the Annual Max Mark-Cranbrook Global Peacemaker Awards and the Max Mark Peace Lecture in a virtual format. Award recipients and lecturers are Dr. Craig Spencer, of Columbia University and Doctors Without Borders, and Danny Fenster, noted journalist and former detainee in Myanmar. Both are Wayne State Alumni.
At the same time, we’ll announce the youth peace project competition designed to foster active initiatives by our next generation of peacemakers.
We regret any inconvenience this may cause, and thank you for your understanding.
With our best wishes,
The Taking Action for Peace Planning Committee
About this event
Taking Action for Peace isn’t just a conference…
It’s a movement that began in 2017 with the International Peace Conference in Ann Arbor, followed by two Peace in the Streets events in 2018 and 2019 at Wayne State and the University of Windsor.
It’s the culmination of a series of Pre-Conference Events running from January until the September conference…..and beyond.
It’s a catalyst designed for future action. After the conference there will be follow-up with participants, webinars, community events, and updates on the youth projects to be launched there.
It’s an opportunity to attend sessions that provide usable skills and strategies, as well as ideas and inspiration, that we can take back to our communities, our clubs, and our personal lives.
We believe passionately in the power of ideas, community efforts, education, and conversation to change attitudes, lives, and ultimately the world around us.
Throughout this event, we hope to invoke inter-generational change, minimize our negative behaviors that impact the people around us, and to inspire youth to tell their stories. We believe this will lead to innovative solutions that can be implemented into our very own backyards.
Our mission is to catalyze a movement through this event and those surrounding it, which will provide skills, strategies, and inspiration to help us create a more peaceful society.
The program focuses on four tracks.
Public Health: gun violence and prevention, mental health & addiction, health disparities, and global pandemics
Environment: environmental injustice, water rights, sustainable technologies, and energy conservation
Civic Literacy and Engagement: featuring the voices of young social justice activists, critical thinking for media misinformation/disinformation and social media, and the importance of civic literacy as a life skill
Restorative Justice and Practices: working toward racial equity, dispute resolution, understanding and addressing conflict in the workplace/school
Friday-Saturday, September 23-24, 2022
The Michigan League, University of Michigan Campus in Ann Arbor, MI
Co-hosted by the Rotary Clubs of Ann Arbor, Detroit, Toledo, and Plymouth, in collaboration with the Wayne State University Center for Peace & Conflict Studies
With support from Rotary Districts 6380, 6400, & 6600, representing over 5000 Rotarians
Peace is more than just the absence of violence.
Peace is ensuring there is justice for all.
Will you take action?
Visit us at: http://takingactionforpeace.org
Tickets: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/taking-action-for-peace-conference-2022-tickets-275347711417
