NEWS RELEASE

11/1/02

CONTACT: Jessica Priselac, Institute for International Studies: (650) 725-6488, priselac@stanford.edu

Panel to discuss ethical issues in "War on Terrorism"

Byron Bland of the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation will join an expert panel at 7:30 p.m. Nov. 7 to discuss "Reconciliation and Remembrance: Facing Historical Tragedies."

The event is free and open to the public. It will be held at the Palo Alto Art Center, 1313 Newell Road (at Embarcadero) in Palo Alto.

The panel is the second in a series focusing on ethical issues in the ongoing "War on Terrorism" sponsored by the Center for International Security and Cooperation at Stanford, the Stanford Program in Ethics in Society and the City of Palo Alto Human Relations Commission.

For generations, people have had to face the consequences of historical violence on a personal level, as well as on a national, communal and familial level. The panelists will ask what reconciliation means in these different contexts, and will discuss how they have approached the subject based on their professional and personal experiences. Participants will include:

Jack Weinstein, a member of Facing History and Ourselves. For more than 25 years, the group has engaged teachers and students of diverse backgrounds in an examination of racism, prejudice and anti-Semitism to promote the development of a more humane and informed citizenry.

Norma McConville, a peace activist for more than 30 years and head of the HOPE Project in Northern Ireland. The project tries to promote healing and forgiveness for those who have lost loved ones to political violence in Northern Ireland.

Jeanette Ringold, a member of Bay Area Hidden Children. This group formed more than 10 years ago following the First International Conference of Hidden Children in New York. It is made up of men and women who survived the Holocaust as children with the help of resistance movements, church organizations and people.

Byron Bland, associate director of the Stanford Center on Conflict and Negotiation and a research associate at the Institute for International Studies. For 20 years, Bland has taught an interdisciplinary course on peace. His more recent work explores the social and political dynamics of reconciliation in a grassroots dialogue organization in Northern Ireland.

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