The Peace Education and Action Center will be sponsoring the first annual Teach Peace Conference at New College of Florida on Friday, March 20 through Sunday, March 22. The conference will feature noted author Paul Loeb as the keynote speaker Friday night at 7:00 pm at the Harry Sudakoff Conference Center.
Paul Loeb has spent over thirty years researching and writing about citizen responsibility and empowerment–asking what makes some people choose lives of social commitment, while others abstain. He has written five widely praised books, lectured to enthusiastic responses at 400 colleges and universities around the country and been a lead speaker at numerous conferences including the National Education Association, American Society on Aging, Education Commission of the States, National Youth Leadership Council and the American Association of Colleges & Universities.
Saturday, March 21 will feature workshops in five strands: Teaching Peace, Mobilizing Youth and Young Adults, Building a Culture of Peace, The Cost of War, and Personal Peace. Loeb will host two workshops on Saturday, “Leadership and Responsibility” targeted towards youth leaders and “Teaching for Social Engagement” targeted towards educators. Other workshops include Dr. Deri Ronis “The Gift of Conflict”, Dr. John Frank “Building a Culture of Peace”, and Dr. Will Tuttle “Opening the Intuitive Gate”. For a complete list of workshops and presenters, please visit www.sarasotapeacenter.org.
On Sunday, March 22, conference participants are invited to return to New College from 1-4pm for “Circles for Change” open space technology discussions which will focus on how we implement some of the ideas that have been generated by the conference. Full conference registration (includes keynote and Saturday/Sunday workshops) is $60 prior to March 10, 2009. After that date, conference registration will be $70. Tickets for the Keynote Address will be $15 in advance/$20 at the door. The conference is free for students and teachers, but registration is still required. You may register online. For information contact: Arlene Sweeting at (941) 741-9755 or visit the Peace Education and Action Center website.
The Peace Education and Action Center serves as a resource center for educators, youth and families on topics related to justice, peacemaking, and nonviolence. The Center works to build a stronger community by providing youth and adults with the tools, strategies, and experiences needed to honor differences and resolve conflicts peacefully. The PEACenter thanks the following organizations for their financial support of the Teach Peace Conference: New College of Florida, First Presbyterian Church of Sarasota, Manatee Unitarian Universalist Fellowship, the Southwest Florida Coalition for Peace and Justice, Sarasota Monthly Meeting of the Religious Society of Friends, the Center for Religious Tolerance and the Unitarian Universalist Church of Sarasota.