Borah Symposium to Consider Reconciliation March 30 – April 2
Wednesday, March 5 2008
March 5, 2008 Photos are available at www.today.uidaho.edu/PhotoList.aspx Former South African President and Nobel Peace Prize Recipient de Klerk to Keynote 2008 Borah Symposium MOSCOW, Idaho – Frederik Willem (F.W.) de Klerk, the last state president of apartheid-era South Africa, will be the keynote speaker of the University of Idaho's 2008 Borah Symposium. He joins other poignant speakers for this year's symposium, which will focus on “Reconciliation” following inter- or intra-state conflict. The Borah Symposium, which takes place March 30 to April 2 in Moscow, begins Sunday, March 30 at 7 p.m. with a screening of “Encounter Point” at the Kenworthy Theatre, 508 S. Main St. in Moscow. The 85-minute documentary by Ronit Avni follows four Israelis and Palestinians who risk their lives to promote a nonviolent end to the conflict in their countries. Their journeys lead them to the unlikeliest places to confront hatred within their communities. The film explores what drives them and thousands of other like-minded civilians to overcome anger and grief to work for grassroots solutions. Avni is founder and director of the Just Vision project, an initiative that brings the stories of courageous Israeli and Palestinian grassroots efforts for peace to American audiences through video, educational curricula and the Internet. She graduated with honors with a bachelor’s degree in political science from Vassar College. At Vassar, she received a Burnam Fellowship to intern at B'Tselem: The Israeli Information Center for Human Rights in the Occupied Territories. While abroad, Avni volunteered for the Public Committee Against Torture in Israel (PCATI). She will speak and answer questions following the film. "A film like 'Encounter Point' gives people who attend the symposium a more personal viewpoint on reconciliation," said Borah Committee co-chair Anna Schwisow, a senior in political science from Melba. "National reconciliation efforts are very important, but we shouldn't forget that they are made up of individual experiences." The remaining Borah Symposium events, listed below, all begin at 7 p.m. in the University of Idaho's Student Union Building Ballroom, 709 Deakin Ave. in Moscow. They are free and open to the public, and seating is on a first-come, first-served basis. Padraig O’Malley will discuss reconciliation relating to Northern Ireland and South Africa on Monday, March 31. He is the University of Massachusetts at Boston’s first John Joseph Moakley Distinguished Professor of Peace and Reconciliation. He will open the formal portion of the symposium with a talk on the variety of approaches to reconciliation that post-conflict societies have taken over the past 50 years. O'Malley has authored many books, among them the award-winning "Uncivil Wars: Ireland Today," "Biting at the Grave" and "Shades of Difference," which will be published in April. Former South Africa President Nelson Mandela has written a 10,000-word forward to the book. The keynote address, "The End of Apartheid and Reconciliation in South Africa," will be presented by de Klerk on Tuesday, April 1. He is best known for engineering the end of apartheid, South Africa's racial segregation policy. As leader of the National Party, he supported the transformation of South Africa into a multi-racial democracy by entering into the negotiations that resulted in all citizens, including the country's black majority, having equal voting and other rights. He served as South Africa’s president between 1989 and 1994. In 1993, de Klerk shared the Nobel Peace Prize with Nelson Mandela for his role in the ending of apartheid. He was the deputy president of South Africa during Mandela's presidency from 1994 until 1996. In 1997, de Klerk retired from politics. He holds a law degree from Potchefstroom University. "Reconciliation is a process that is relevant throughout human existence,” said James Fox, committee co-chair and a senior in political science. "Only through discovering the truth about our past can we move forward into the future. F.W. de Klerk was on the ground in South Africa as they confronted their past and planned their future, and his insights into the process and how it is started show us a way to a more peaceful tomorrow." For the final night of the Borah Symposium on Wednesday, April 2, Ken Attafauh, executive director of the Justice and Human Rights Institute in Accra, Ghana, and Mason Smith, acting representative of Fiji to the U.N., will have a discussion about the challenges of reconciliation. Fiji and Ghana represent two ends of the spectrum when it comes to reconciliation following conflict. Following a military coup and ensuing rule that lasted from May 2000 to March 2001, Fijians considered establishing the Reconciliation and Unification Commission to promote peace. However, establishing and seeing through the dictates of the RUC has proven challenging. In contrast, the commission established in Ghana in 2002 to address abuses committed under authoritarian rule over a 45-year period functioned for two years. The commission held more than 2,000 public hearings and took thousands of statements from claimants. Borah Symposium speakers also plan some daytime talks during their visits. A complete schedule will be announced soon. The Borah Symposium is sponsored by the university’s William Edgar Borah Outlawry of War Foundation, a separately endowed foundation at the University of Idaho established in 1929 to honor and continue the work of Idaho Sen. William Borah on behalf of peace. Supported by the university’s Martin Institute, the Borah Foundation was created to advance research and teaching about the causes of conflict and peaceful resolution. For more than 50 years, the Borah Foundation has sponsored an annual program on the general theme of the causes of war and the conditions necessary for a lasting peace. The topics of these programs are chosen by a University of Idaho faculty-student committee. For more information, visit www.martin.uidaho.edu/borah. Contact: Joni Kirk, University Communications, (208) 885-7725, joni@uidaho.edu # # # About the University of Idaho Founded in 1889, the University of Idaho is the state’s flagship higher-education institution and its principal graduate education and research university, bringing insight and innovation to the state, the nation and the world. University researchers attract nearly $100 million in research grants and contracts each year; the University of Idaho is the only institution in the state to earn the prestigious Carnegie Foundation ranking for high research activity. The university’s student population includes first-generation college students and ethnically diverse scholars. Offering more than 150 degree options in 10 colleges, the university combines the strengths of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.
About the University of Idaho
The University of Idaho helps students to succeed and become leaders. Its land-grant mission furthers innovative scholarly and creative research to grow Idaho's economy and serve a statewide community. From its main campus in Moscow, Idaho, to 70 research and academic locations statewide, U-Idaho emphasizes real-world application as part of its student experience. U-Idaho combines the strength of a large university with the intimacy of small learning communities. It is home to the Vandals. For information, visit www.uidaho.edu.