BACK TO SCHOOL EDITION
September 2017
Back to School Edition
Peacebuilding and Conflict Resolution
NEWSLETTER
Dear colleague:

Since most of my readers are educators or students, I'm devoting this entire newsletter to education. Below I have links to resources, interesting articles on learning, and some programs I have been involved in that focused on peacebuilding and global education. I hopefully posted something for everyone!

Education has been a big part of my life as a teacher and student. My wife is a community college nursing professor, our daughter just started as a first year student in college, and our son is teaching in the Peace Corps in Namibia. The photo at the top is actually from my son Lorenzo's school in northern Namibia. The school is painted in the colors of the Namibian flag.

 I appreciate the challenges of educators and learners today, particularly in an environment where technology and demographics are in constant flux. Effective peacebuilding and global education requires staying in touch with the latest innovations in pedagogy and allowing social and political changes to bring relevancy to the classroom.

Best of luck with your school year!

David J. Smith
September 13, 2017

PS: If you feel that you are receiving this newsletter in error, I apologize. You can "unsubscribe" using the button at the bottom of the page. 

Photo credit: Lorenzo Choudhary Smith, PCV/Namibia, 2017










Registration Now Open for the 5th Annual National Community College Peacebuilding Seminar, October 20-23, 2017: Registration extended to 9/29  

The  5th Annual National Community College Peacebuilding Seminar “Teaching About Global Conflict and Peacebuilding”  will be held October 20-23, 2017 at Northern Virginia Community College in Alexandria, VA.  Attendance is limited to 40. Registration closes 9/29. The seminar is designed as an opportunity for educators interested in and working in community colleges to build capacity for teaching about conflict and peace-related issues. Faculty (full and part-time), administrators, and staff from community colleges are invited to attend. In addition, educators and graduate students interested in community college work, are also invited to attend.   This is the only national educational program for community college professionals in Washington, DC that examines issues of peacebuilding, conflict resolution, international affairs, social justice, war, and violence.  Educators from all academic fields are invited. In the past, educators from the social sciences, humanities, health sciences, business, arts, and natural and mathematical sciences have attended. Internationals are welcome, however, they must pay the cost of attendance including all travel expenses and the registration fee of $300. You can read about last year's seminar here .

Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education November 2017 Coastal Hope Simulation: Registration ends 9/29
The Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education, Inc. has for 16 years (through its predecessor groups) offered a multi-day simulation for those interested in experiencing what it would be like to work in a humanitarian crisis characterized by conflict and natural disaster. If you are engaged in or teaching in fields where knowing about refugees, international law, conflict, global health, culture, militarization, disaster assistance, team building, and group dynamics are important, than you might consider joining us for the Coastal Hope Field exercise (formerly the  Atlantic Promise Field Exercise ) in Fellsmere, Florida. Our upcoming simulation will be held November 2-5, 2017 in Fellsmere.   This is not your typical professional development activity! You would be joined by up to 20 professionals and graduate students, as well as 40 role players, where you will role play as a member of a non-governmental organization charged with responding to an international crisis. You will live like NGO workers for 4 days - sleeping bags, austere conditions, bland food. This will be a learning experience that you will not soon forgot! If you are interested, contact the Forage Center for more information. Read here about our recent March field program.
Peace Jobs: A Student's Guide to Starting a Career Working for Peace
  Peace Jobs was recently reviewed by the ACResolution

  “It isn’t often that a new book offers something fresh and of personal value to students, their families, and a professional field.  Peace Jobs: A Student’s Guide to Starting a Career Working for Peace does this and more.
Information Age Publishing has recently reduced the price of Peace Jobs to make it more affordable to students. It is now available for $33.99 . It can also be ordered in a  Kindle edition .  
Career Coaching

Are you looking to make a career change in 2017 and looking at the international education, peacebuilding or conflict resolution fields? I am career coaching younger and mid-career professionals who are looking to make change. 



" The function of education is to teach one to think intensively and to think critically. Intelligence plus character - that is the goal of true education."
               
-Martin Luther King, Jr.
 
Upcoming Talks, Workshops, and Programs

University of Massachusetts, Lowell, MA, September 27, 2017

Austin Community College, Austin, TX, October 10-11, 2017

Association for Conflict Resolution Conference, Dallas, TX,
October 11-14, 2017

5th Annual National Community College Peacebuilding Seminar, Northern Virginia Community College, Alexandria, VA,
October 20-23, 2017

Peace and Justice Association conference, University of Alabama, Birmingham, AL, October 26-27, 2017

Field Exercise Coastal Hope, Fellsmere, FL, November 2-5, 2017

Dawson College, Montreal, QC, November 8, 2017

Association for Experiential Education, Montreal, QC, November 9-11, 2017

University of Maryland, College Park, MD, November 14, 2017

Northern Virginia Community College, Annandale, VA,
November 17, 2017


Let me know if you are interested in a visit!
David J. Smith Consulting | davidjsmith@davidjsmithconsulting.com| http://davidjsmithconsulting.com