“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. 

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

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.

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.”

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