The conference curriculum will be composed of panel modules that will take place throughout the day on Saturday and Sunday. Each addresses a unique aspect of the peace process, drawing in academics, professionals, and community organizers to closely examine the intricacies of creating peaceful societies. From responses to psychological trauma to the construction of physical infrastructure for equitable settlements, these panels provide something for everyone. If you can’t make it to all of them, be sure to come out to a couple that interest you and explore some of the interdisciplinary components of peace.
Information: The Media of Peace
The aim of this sub-topic is to explore the ways in which international and local media networks can be developed in order to facilitate conflict resolution. The panels will discuss whether activist movements such as ‘peace journalism’ and ‘media development’ are shifting the focus of ‘the media’ away from the traditional ‘objective,’ profit-driven model of reporting to a normative approach that seeks to promote peace and justice. Our speakers will evaluate the effectiveness of these activist groups in achieving their aim of fostering peace in conflict situations. Moreover, this sub-topic will investigate how conflict interferes with the proper functioning of local (and often international) media outlets, thereby hindering the efforts to report and broadcast the realities of the conflict in question. As such, the panels will suggest strategies for fostering a media environment that will give a voice to the local population and promote a truly ‘just’ peace. Finally, this sub-topic will explore ways in which the media itself can affect the course of a given conflict, especially in situations of mass atrocity with high levels of both victimization and participation. The discussions will examine how the widespread access to images of conflict – by way of increasingly available technology such as cell phone cameras and social networking sites – can impact not only the perception of the hostilities themselves at the local level, but also the course of the post-conflict justice systems.
