Looking to handle disputes at home, work, and in the wider world? Austin Community College District (ACC) has you covered with its 10th Annual Peace and Conflict Spring Symposium, promising talks aimed at transforming conflicts in every slice of life. Set to take place on Friday, April 19, at the Highland Campus, the event is sponsored by ACC's Peace and Conflict Center and the Arts and Digital Media Division, it promises insight into personal and professional peace strategies, all free to the community.
George A. Lopez, Ph.D., a big-time scholar at the Universal Notre Dame’s Kroc Institute will deliver the keynote; this guy's a heavy-hitter in peace studies, known for pioneering work on the global stage, according to Austin Community College newsroom. Attendees can also drill down into interpersonal peace during a panel called "Peace in Your Relationships" and artists and performers from ACC will showcase how creativity intersects with peacemaking.
There's more than just talking heads, with TAG – The Art Galleries at ACC – setting up a juried exhibit featuring their annual art competition top dogs, and performances spotlighting ACC's Dance and Music departments' talent. "In Conversation: Transforming Conflicts in Your Career" and a panel on how global peace efforts translate to local community action are set to round out the day's agenda.
As a special pre-symposium extra, Dr. Lopez will also have a chinwag with ACC faculty the day before the main event, talking about peace studies and how to embed it into the college curriculum, that session runs from 4:30 to 5:30 p.m., April 18 at the ACC Rio Grande Campus and, like the symposium, it's an open invitation, it's an effort to spread peace and conflict studies across academic disciplines. Those wanting to hit that talk need to sign up, just as with the main event.
