IPJ Breakfast Focuses on Women as Stakeholders for Peace and Justice

On Friday, March 7, 2008, the focus at the Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice will be women and the pivotal roles they play in the global screenplay called world peace.

The theme of the Fourth Annual International Women’s Day Celebration Breakfast, from 7:30 to 9 a.m., is “Global Dispatches: Financing Gender Equity for Peace and Justice.” The event also serves as an avenue for members of the IPJ to share facts, figures and their experiences from the 52nd Commission on the Status of Women held at the United Nations last month.

The IPJ, now part of USD’s new Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, has affiliate status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council. During the UN visit, IPJ personnel made two presentations to show how women can contribute in ending the ongoing conflicts around the world. They were joined by past participants of the Women PeaceMakers Program for a panel presentation focusing on global best practices from the field which demonstrate the dynamic and inter-related nature of women’s efforts to construct a just peace. These initiatives are integral to and necessary in each stage to end cycles of violent conflict.

The IPJ also presented a screening of “Leading the Way to Peace,” a film documenting the lives and work of four courageous women who have taken part in the Women PeaceMakers Program at the IPJ. The film demonstrates the power of the media as a connection among nations, examines the conflicts that have torn these regions apart and strategies the women have employed to make their communities whole again.

Dee Aker, director of the IPJ Women PeaceMakers program, and Erika Lopez, program officer for the Women PeaceMakers program, along with other experts and San Diego high school students, will speak during the March 7 breakfast. The event is co-convened by Voices of Women, The Women’s Equity Council of the Union Nations Association of San Diego and USD’s Women’s Center.

For more information on the work of the IPJ, go to http://peace.sandiego.edu.

About the University of San Diego

The Joan B. Kroc Institute for Peace & Justice at the University of San Diego is dedicated to fostering peace, cultivating justice and creating a safer world through education, research, and peacemaking activities.

The University of San Diego is a Catholic institution of higher learning chartered in 1949; the school enrolls approximately 7,500 students and is known for its commitment to teaching, the liberal arts, the formation of values and community service. The inauguration of the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies brings the university’s total number of schools and colleges to six. Other academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences and the schools of Business Administration, Law, Leadership and Education Sciences, and Nursing and Health Science.

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About the University of San Diego

The University of San Diego sets the standard for an engaged, contemporary Catholic university where innovative Changemakers confront humanity’s urgent challenges. With more than 9,000 students from 69 countries and 50 states, USD is the youngest independent institution on the U.S. News & World Report list of top 100 universities in the United States. The university's eight academic divisions include the College of Arts and Sciences, the School of Business, the Shiley-Marcos School of Engineering, the School of Law, the School of Leadership and Education Sciences, the Hahn School of Nursing and Health Science, the Joan B. Kroc School of Peace Studies, and the Division of Professional and Continuing Education. USD's Envisioning 2024 strategic plan capitalizes on the university’s recent progress and aligns new strategic goals with current strengths to help shape a vision for the future as the university looks ahead to its 75th anniversary in the year 2024.