Posted on Wednesday, April 23, 2008
Dr. Sherri Pataki, Westminster College assistant professor of psychology and Peace Studies program coordinator, and Westminster students Jelena Gerga and Ethan Frey recently attended "Youth and Conflict: Global Challenges - Local Strategies," the International Conference on Conflict Resolution Education, in Cleveland.
Gerga, a senior international politics and political science major, is a daughter of Gabriel and Aurelia Gerga of Lakewood, Ohio, and a graduate of Lakewood High School. She earned a scholarship from the Ohio Commission on Dispute Resolution and Conflict Management and Cuyahoga Community College's Global Issues Resource Center to attend the conference.
Gerga, president of the Westminster chapter of Amnesty International, said, "Because of my work with Amnesty International, I was particularly interested in the keynote presentation, 'The Wars Children Fight,' and the mini-plenary following, 'Child Soldiers Speak about Their Experiences in the Congo.'"
"The mini-plenary 'Youth Civic Engagement for Democracy and Peace in Serbia' was of great interest to me because my family and I are from Serbia," Gerga added. "I introduced my Peace Studies class to the documentary 'Bringing Down a Dictator,' which discusses OTPOR, the nonviolent resistance movement started by students in Serbia that played a critical role in the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. I met Ivan Marovic, who was part of the OTPOR movement and was featured in the film."
"I was truly inspired by speakers Dr. James Movel Wuye and Imam Muhammad Narayn Ashafa," Gerga continued. "After nearly a decade of violence between the two religious groups, they started interfaith dialogues in Nigeria between the fairly equally balanced Christian and Muslim populations."
Pataki said, "It's wonderful to drive an hour and a half and to meet people from all over the world."
"The students and I heard first-hand testimony from people who are directly involved in efforts to address conflict, both locally and internationally. We heard speakers Jimmie Briggs, a journalist and author of Innocents Lost: When Child Soldiers Go to War, and George Elunai Latio, a former child soldier from Sudan who now speaks as an advocate for these children," Pataki added.
Frey, a sophomore international politics major, is a son of Nancy Frey of Wilkes-Barre and a graduate of Elmer L. Meyers High School. He is a Peace Studies minor and vice president of the Westminster chapter of Amnesty International.
Contact Pataki at (724) 946-7361 or e-mail patakisp@westminster.edu for additional information.
