Welcome to the Peace and Justice SIG Website
Welcome to the Peace and Justice website. This Special Interest Group (SIG) of NAFSA (Association of International Educators) formed in 2005 to “promote global understanding and foster good relationships that in time will contribute significantly to ending conflict, international aggression and to uphold the ideals of peace and global justice.” Simply stated, there is work to be done! As the original draft petition for this group stated, “By connecting international education with peace and global justice, we will be taking a step in the right direction.”
MIG Open House
Tuesday, 9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.
The MIG Open House showcases NAFSAs more than 28 Member Interest Groups (MIGs) in a poster-fair setup. MIGs are communities comprised of NAFSAns with a shared interest in a specific matter or type of institution. The two categories of MIGs are: Specific Interest Groups (SIGs) and Institutional Interest Groups (IIGs).
The MIG Open House will take place on Tuesday, May 26, 2009, 9:30a.m.-11:00a.m. This event will take place in Petree Hall (very close to Expo Hall) of the Los Angeles Convention Center. The room will be set up like the poster fairs.
************************MIG Open Annual Meeting
Each year the MIGs hold their open meetings at Annual Conference and will do so again in 2009. This year NAFSA has added this event as a great opportunity for participants at the conference to learn about each MIG as well as the events the MIGs will be sponsoring throughout the conference. We will be selecting a new chair and chair-elect at this meeting who each will be able to commit to attending the national NAFSA meetings. The time and location for the Peace and Justice SIG Meeting was just announced. It will be held Thursday, May 28 from 3:00 - 4:15 PM in the Westin Bonaventure, Santa Anita A.
***********************************MIG Peace and Justice Related Events
Please go to the NAFSA link following the list below for more information about each event. Barbara Wien will be hosting her own session after last year's dynamic presentation in Washington, DC.
- Guest Speaker: Barbara Wien
- Civic Engagement Goes Global
- Creating Leadership for Social Justice Through International Education
- Exchange Participants as Citizen Diplomats: Best Practices
- Global Perspectives on Global Citizenship Education
- Seminar: Peacebuilding and Study Abroad
- Study Abroad: Reinventing Globalization for Social Change
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Sign up for the Peace & Justice SIG on Facebook!
Thanks for hosting this site goes to Thomas V. Millington, Director of International Programs Emmanuel College and former Peace and Justice Co-Chair
Educator Diplomacy Initiative (EDI)
Peace and Justice is our job. Modeled after the Citizen Diplomacy movement of the 1980’s, the Peace & Justice SIG is an appropriate springboard for launching this initiative throughout NAFSA and the world beyond. International educators need to expand their informed and influential roles as bridge builders and peacemakers at their universities as well as in their interactions on the international stage while listening and learning with a humble heart the needs and concerns of their colleagues across the planet. International diplomacy and conflict resolution is too important to be left solely to the politicians.
Affordable Training Initiative (ATI)
Peace & Justice begins at home. Too many of our colleagues at small colleges, community colleges and historically black colleges and universities (HBCU’s) have great difficulty in attending conferences and programs to advance their professional training. To that end, the Peace & Justice SIG can advocate for opportunities for these significant but often overlooked segments of our membership. Alternative housing (motels, host families and university residence halls) should be explored to lower conference costs as well as an expansion of NAFSA regional and national travel grants and conference fee waivers. A more active program of providing site training opportunities at state conferences as well as targeted institutions of higher learning should be considered.
Responsible Investing Initiative (RII)
Peace & Justice pays. At both the national level, and at the regional level, NAFSA should be putting its money where its well-positioned mouth is. That is to say, in investments that do not promote war or pollute the environment. We should be advocates at the national level and in our regions for getting this done.