find out, has an exceptionally dynamic array of programs working on
peace and justice issues. We would like to acknowledge here a number of
key organizations, all of whom extend a warm welcome to you as you
prepare to visit our city at the geographical center of North America.
Menno Simons College – a College of Canadian Mennonite University – one
of the two principal co-hosts and taking the lead in this year’s
planning, equips students to make a difference in the world. Through
course work and practicum experiences, the International Development
Studies and Conflict Resolution Studies programs provide students with
practical and meaningful ways to address the pressing issues facing the
world today. Menno Simons College offers three- and four-year Bachelor
of Arts degrees in Conflict Resolution Studies and three-year,
four-year, and honours degrees in International Development Studies. At
CMU’s Shaftesbury campus we find the sister program to MSC’s program –
there it is Peace and Conflict Transformation Studies. Both CMU programs
foster a learning community that prepares students from diverse
backgrounds for participation and leadership in local and global
communities. In addition to its teaching program, MSC also houses Peace
Research: The Canadian Journal of Peace and Conflict Studies. With
thirteen full-time faculty, approximately twenty additional faculty
based at the CMU Shaftsbury campus listing elective courses, and about
250 students with undergraduate majors in these areas of study each
year, these programs represent a significant contribution to the area of
peace and justice studies in North America.
At the Shaftesbury campus of Canadian Mennonite University the Canadian
School of Peacebuilding runs engaging week-long courses each summer. In
the next year the CSOP will host courses taught by leading peace
scholars such as Howard Zehr, Marc Gopin, and Ovide Mercredi. Also
active in our work to host the conference is the Institute for Community
Peacebuilding housed at MSC. The ICP sponsors, for example, the Youth
Peacebuilding Project, which brings youth of diverse backgrounds
together with the express purpose of inviting them into positive
meaningful relationship with each other – overcoming biases, reinforcing
positive understanding, and building respect.
Across the street from Menno Simons College, The University of Winnipeg
Global College – the second lead host for this conference – is an
action-oriented, multi-disciplinary forum for Canadian and international
students. The Global College brings students and community members into
contact with faculty, visiting scholars, local leaders, and notable
speakers from around the world. It offers a three- and four-year
multidisciplinary Bachelor of Arts in Human Rights and Global Studies.
Students are encouraged to discover their role within the local and
global community through teach-ins, symposia, conferences, lectures,
local and international human rights internships, and condensed
intensive credit courses taught by visiting scholars and our faculty in
Global College Spring and Summer Institutes.