Off-Air Events: 6th Annual Global Activism Expo

Saturday, April 6, 2013 @ 12:00pm – 6:00pm

Event Info

Admission

FREE, but RSVP is encouraged

Venue

UIC Forum

725 W Roosevelt Rd.

Chicago,

60607

Presenter

WBEZ and Vocalo
312-948-4600

“The Expo is an opportunity for people to see their community and their world as a caring, thoughtful, and generous place,” says emcee Jerome McDonnell. “Join us as we make a difference with our love, respect, and compassion.”

The struggles we face are bigger than any one person, but we can each take a step to make a difference. Join Worldview host Jerome McDonnell and meet lots of engaged, world-focused people. You'll learn about all the work that folks who've been featured on Worldview's long-running series, Global Activism, have been up to, and they'll show you how you can get involved.

UIC Social Justice Initiative’s topic of conversation this year is Restorative Justice. Gender Justice. Global Justice. and will feature nationally known activists, scholars and journalists. They will be asking discussants difficult questions: “What does it mean to make amends? How do we not only diagnose and “treat” injustice when we see it, but how do we “repair” a situation when harm is done. Is this always possible?” Break-out sessions and discussions will be hosted all day.

12:30-2:00pm

After Hadiya and "Nirbhaya": From Chicago to Delhi What Does Justice Look Like?

Here in the United States, Chicago in particular, street crime has taken the lives of far too many of our youth. In India, the issue of sexual violence has captured headlines. The tragic deaths of Hadiya Pendleton, a 15-year-old girl who was shot and killed just a few blocks away from her school, and "Nirbhaya," the 23-year-old woman who was gang-raped by six men in a moving bus in Delhi, raise the question: what does justice for victims and survivors look like?

2:30-4:00pm

Peace in an Age of Violence: Reparations, Reconciliation, Renewal

Brutal war has engulfed villages and cities in Mali. Violence in Colombia has forced people out of their homes and left anger, fear and poverty in its wake. Does post-apartheid South Africa offer a vision and a model for war-torn societies? Many countries that have been torn apart by civil war ask: how do we rebuild, how can we make amends, or does accountability trump reconciliation?

Come out to eat, drink, dance and learn at WBEZ's largest event of the year!
If you RSVP today, we will have a special prize for you at the door!

RSVP for event.

New this year! Peace On Earth Film Festival will show select titles from their 2013 festival and invite the audience to discuss and reflect on these short films.

JUST ANNOUNCED: Featured Films
Amazon Gold (USA, 53 min)
Narrated by Academy Award winners Sissy Spacek and Herbie Hancock, Amazon Gold is the disturbing account of a clandestine journey into the Amazon rainforest. Ron Haviv and Donovan Webster, two war journalists led by a Peruvian biologist, uncover the savage unravelling of pristine rainforest.

TRUST Alaska (USA, 8 min)

Stories of TRUST: Calling for Climate Recovery, is about the perfect trifecta of youth, law and justice. This series of short documentaries features the voices of daring youth from across the country who went to court to compel the government to protect our atmosphere, in trust, for future generations.

Child 31 (UK, 31 min)

In a time of unprecedented technological achievements and luxuries, close to one billion people still go to sleep hungry; but there's an organization attempting to change that. This powerful new documentary captures the life-changing work of Mary’s Meals in action throughout Malawi, Kenya and India and its mission to help millions of children around the world realize their dreams.

Children of Kabul (Afghanistan, 25 min)

Children of Kabul provides rare access to the war-torn streets of Kabul, Afghanistan, documenting the unfolding tragedy of child labor. Taking you into the lives of four young Afghan children - Omid, Sanabar, Yasamin and Fayaz.

Hidden In Time (USA, 16:20 min)

New York City. An Iraqi born taxi driver receives a mysterious box and then with-out warning kidnaps his passenger on the way to the airport. Mistaken intentions, cultural stereotypes and revealed losses compel these two men to confront their personal realities and question their values.

Ronan's Escape (Australia, 16 min)

A 14 year old school boy growing up in a rural West Australian town is the social outcast of the school and has been bullied for years. The film follows the last few hours of Ronan’s day at school before he makes his “escape” under a beautiful, Australian gum free.

The Activist Organizations Included:

34 Million Friends of the United Nations Population Fund
AACTION Autism
Aid Africa's Children
Alternative Gifts International
American Friends Service Committee
AMIM Congo
Asha for Education, Chicago Chapter
Awassa Children's Project
Bookfriends International, NFP
Bookwallah Organization
Bosco
buildOn Schurz high school
Causes for Change International
Center for Global Initiatives
CHICAGO+acumen
CircEsteem
Colombia Vive Chicago
Community Cloud Forest Conservation
CROSO (Child Restoration Outreach Support Organization)
Development In Gardening (DIG)
EdPowerment
Education and Hope
El Fuego del Sol
Engineers Without Borders-Chicago
Fabretto Children's Foundation
Fair Earth
FEED THE DREAM
five ACCESSORIES
Fr John Kolkman Sickle Cell Foundation
GirlForward
Global Alliance for Africa
GREENOLA Style + Solidarity Bridge
Hagar International
Heartland Alliance Marjorie Kovler Center
HELPSudan
Heshima Kenya
His Wheels International
Hospital Sisters Mission Outreach
ICAS/Juntos Adelante
India Development Coalition of America
Indian Development Service
International Orthodox Christian Charities (IOCC)
Invisible Conlicts
Just Haiti
Kulsoom Foundation
La Isla Foundation
LemonAid Fund
LIFT USA
Little by Little
Living Water International
Malawi Matters Inc.
Malia Designs
Mata Traders
Matanya's Hope
MayaWorks
Meal Sharing
Medical Ministry International
Mindful Medicine Worldwide
Music for Lombok
My Grandmother's River Project
New Trier India Project and Me to We
NICARAGUA-DIRECT
Nonviolent Peaceforce
One Acre Fund
One Heart For Congo
Operation ASHA
Pan-African Rural Health and & Social Services ( PRHeSS)
Peace Care
Play for Peace
Project HARAMBEE
Radios Populares and La Voz de los de Abajo
School of Choice Education Organization (Haiti)
Schools for the Children of the World
Share Your Soles
South Sudan Hope
Spark Ventures
SSQ Liason
Sun Ovens Internationl
Sustainable Sharing with Guatemala
SwaziKids International
Tanzania Development Support
The Citizens Foundation, USA
The Light and Leadership Initiative
The Through Her Eyes Project
Tikondane Community Centre
Vumila CBO
Women's Global Education Project
Working Bikes
World Action Collective (Frmly: Rainforest Rescue Coalition)
Youth Technology Corps NFP, Inc
Zakat Foundation of America

More Interaction and Activity:
• The Vocalo Music Stage outdoors on the plaza will feature an array of local artists and bands with an international influence

• Working Bikes will bring an array of demonstration bikes (power a phonograph or your cell phone) as well as mini bikes for us to ride inside

• CircEsteem will entertain kids and adults, encouraging participants to learn juggling, balance feathers and have fun

• International Food Court will feature tasty treats from around the world, with vendors including Raj Dashan, Swim Café, Café Marbella and more

Speakers Participating in UIC discussions:

Joaquín M. Chávez is an assistant professor at the Department of History at the University of Illinois at Chicago. Chávez’s research focuses on popular politics, revolution, Catholic social thought, and the Cold War in Latin America. Chávez joined the peace negotiations that put an end to El Salvador’s civil war (1980-1992) and contributed to the processes of reconciliation and reconstruction in that country. He has published studies on El Salvador’s peace process and has served as an expert on peace negotiations in Nepal and other hot spots.

Cheryl Graves is the Founder and Co-Director of the Community Justice for Youth Institute, a nonprofit organization committed to building a movement of peacemakers. She has more than 15 years of experience in training and implementing restorative justice practices in Chicago communities, schools and the juvenile justice system. Her work focuses on developing capacity to facilitate peacemaking circles and restorative approaches that keep youth in school and out of court, build community, address conflict, prevent violence and support healing

Ali Issa is based in New York City and is the national field organizer for War Resisters League. He earned a Master's Degree in Arabic studies from the University of Texas at Austin in 2008. He is a contributor to the e-zine Jadaliyya on Iraqi social movements and his translations have appeared in Banipal and the PEN World Atlas Blog. He is a contributor and co-founder of the independent online magazine about everything Iraqi, shakomakoNET. His father is from Baghdad, Iraq.

Mariame Kaba is an organizer, educator, and writer who lives in Chicago. She is the founder and director of Project NIA, a grassroots organization with a mission to end youth incarceration using a transformative justice approach. Mariame has also co-founded several other organizations including the Chicago Freedom School, the Rogers Park Young Women's Action Team (YWAT) and the Chicago Taskforce on Violence against Girls and Young Women.

Born on Chicago's West Side, "Prexy"(Rozell W.) Nesbitt has spent more than five decades as an educator, activist, and speaker on Africa, foreign policy, and racism. Prexy's career has also included extensive consulting and training on race, multiculturalism and diversity. A teacher and lecturer for many years all over the USA, he additionally has worked as a “red cap,” social worker, union organizer, special assistant to Chicago’s Mayor, the late Harold Washington, and a senior program officer with the MacArthur Foundation in Chicago. Today, he teaches African history courses at Chicago’s Columbia College and takes people on educational, cultural and political tours to various ‘Third World’ countries, regions and situations, both abroad and in the United States.

Barbara Ransby is an historian, writer and longtime activist. She is a Professor of African American Studies, Gender and Women’s Studies, and History at UIC where she directs both the campus-wide Social Justice Initiative and the Gender and Women’s Studies Program. She previously served as Interim Vice Provost for Planning and Programs (2011-2012) at UIC. Prof. Ransby is author of the highly acclaimed biography, Ella Baker and the Black Freedom Movement: A Radical Democratic Vision. Her most recent book is Eslanda: The Large and Unconventional Life of Mrs. Paul Robeson (Yale University Press, January 2013).Ransby has also published in numerous scholarly and popular publications and lectures widely.

Astrid E. Suarez is the founder of Colombia vive Chicago which is focused on supporting Internally Displaced Women in Colombia as well as supporting the Colombian immigrant women in Chicago. Her academic interests have been focused on understanding the current global policies and their implications in local communities, global education policies, and global youth violence issues. She has organized and trained parents and educational leaders to advocate for policy reforms to support and increase parent participation in public schools.

The UIC Social Justice Initiative
The University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC) is engaged in a major initiative which will, in the coming year, launch several exciting new projects linking scholars and activists in Chicago and beyond. The UIC Social Justice Initiative includes a new Student Summer Institute on Social Justice, Democracy and Human Rights; active community engagement projects; and collaborations that connect the UIC community to work that is creating positive change and providing needed services from Haiti to Mexico to India. The Social Justice Initiative reflects UIC’s mission to “create knowledge that transforms our views of the world and, through sharing and application, transforms the world.”