Symposium on the Role of the Academy in Promoting Social Justice to be held on Saturday, April 24, 2010 at Penn State Brandywine.
Keynote: Suraya Pakzad
Suraya Pakzad is an internationally recognized women’s rights activist who fights to acknowledge the potential of women and girls in Afghanistan. Pakzad is the executive director of the Voice of Women Organization, one of the leading and most effective non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in Afghanistan. She began the organization in secret in 1998, during the oppressive rule of the Taliban. The charity’s main goal is to strive for the freedom and empowerment of women in Afghan societies.
Pakzad, who received the International Women of Courage Award in 2008 from then Secretary of State Condoleeza Rice, helps women organize, run, and win elections in Afghanistan openly. She supports programs in prisons for women and their children. She helps create education centers, health centers, food centers, business development programs, shelters, and legal assistance for abused women. She also partners with the non-profit organization, Traveling Mercies, building safe community water systems in Herat Province.
Luncheon Speakers: Senator and Mrs. Robert P. Casey, Jr
U. S. Senator Robert P. Casey Jr serves as the first Pennsylvania Democrat elected to a full term since 1962. Casey serves on five Senate committees: Foreign Relations; Agriculture, Nutrition and Forestry; Health, Education, Labor and Pensions; the Special Committee on Aging and the Joint Economic Committee. He is also the Chairman of the Foreign Relations Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South and Central Asian Affairs. Before his election to the Senate, he served as Pennsylvania Treasurer from 2005 to 2006. Casey’s priorities in serving the needs of Pennsylvanians are long-term job growth and economic stability, quality health care, and safety at home and abroad.
Terese Casey has been working jointly with Professor Mariana Chilton of Drexel University’s School of Public Health, on “Witnesses to Hunger," an extraordinary exhibition of photographs taken by mothers who, with their children, are experiencing hunger and other ramifications of poverty in our society. Mrs. Casey and Professor Chilton are leading an initiative to help mothers improve their socioeconomic circumstances through educational programs and advocacy training.
| Townhall Meeting |
Panelists
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| Promoting Community Partnerships Session |
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Cynthia Jetter
Paul Downie
Joann M. Weeks
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| The Clemente Course Session |
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Earl Shorris
Eliza Reilly
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| Developing Civic Identity in Youth Session |
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Matthew Bundick
Samuel M. Loewner
Barbara Shaiman
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| Social Justice Research: Possibilities and Problematics Session |
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Greg Dimitriadis
Louise Ammentorp
Eve Tuck
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| Selves, communities, societies: Reflections and future directions |
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Cynthia Lightfoot
Phyllis Cole
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