The global and domestic impact of Eastern Mennonite University’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding will be celebrated June-4-6 at the 25+1 Anniversary Celebration.
The event was originally planned for summer 2020, but cancelled because of the COVID-19 pandemic. The format switched to all virtual once it became clear not only travel for guests but also on-campus hosting would be challenging. The 2021 Summer Peacebuilding Institute, which runs concurrently, is also online for the second consecutive year.
Such a delay doesn’t dampen the festivities. Like the program itself, which has adapted successfully to new constraints and socio-political developments, the celebration’s virtual format has expanded its reach.
Registered guests will receive access to links for sessions in their emailed receipt. They will also have access to recorded sessions after the weekend.
With more than 700 alumni in 78 countries, including the 25 recent graduates from CJP’s Class of 2021, CJP’s network is worldwide. That includes an estimated 5,500 Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program participants and 3,700 Summer Peacebuilding Institute participants. CJP also hosts the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice, which has brought many to CJP through their interest in restorative justice.
The event features sessions with CJP co-founder John Paul Lederach, 2019 MacArthur Fellow and restorative justice attorney sujatha baliga, Ahimsa Collective founder Sonya Shah, an alumni gathering and oral histories with women critical in founding CJP and former executive directors of the center. Executive Director Jayne Docherty gives an interactive address in which she discusses recent changes at CJP and invites audience members to join in the visioning work.
The keynote speaker is Alicia Garza, currently the special projects director for the National Domestic Workers Alliance and principal with the Black Futures Lab. She is also the co-founder of the Black Lives Matter movement. Read more about Garza here.