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Conference on Nonviolence Leadership, Social Justice and the Power of Education Set for October

The lives and movements of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Nelson Mandela will be explored during the conference.

The Cal Poly Pomona Ahimsa Center is holding an annual conference on the "Transformative Power of Education: Lessons from Gandhi, King, Chavez and Mandela," on Oct. 5-7.

Speakers and workshops will explore the lives and movements of Mohandas K. Gandhi, Martin Luther King, Jr., Cesar Chavez and Nelson Mandela, who all rose to extraordinary heights in serving humanity. They dedicated their lives to combating racism, oppression, injustice, violence and poverty, leading by example, with nonviolence as the core principle guiding their actions.

"Their journeys to nonviolence were quite different and varied, as were their movements in terms of scope, scale and impact," said History Professor Tara Sethia, conference organizer. "Together they contributed to a defining revolutionary trend of the twentieth century-effecting major historical change through nonviolent thought and action."

The four distinguished speakers are:

  • Linda Biehl, co-founder of the Amy Biehl Foundation in the U.S. and the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust in South Africa, whose daughter died in an act of political violence;
  • Jose Zapata Calderon, emeritus professor of Sociology and Chicano Studies at Pitzer College and president of the Latino and Latina Roundtable of the San Gabriel and Pomona Valley;
  • Chitra Golestani, professor at Valparaiso University and the Institute for Humane Education, and a co-founder of the Paulo Freire Institute at UCLA; and
  • Bernard Lafayette, Jr., who played a leading role in many campaigns during the Civil Rights Movements including cofounding the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and directing the Alabama Voter Registration Project in 1962.

A two-hour pre-conference workshop, led by Lafayette will introduce participants to key concepts and background information about nonviolence, including core values, conflict analysis, nonviolent historical movements, dynamics of social change, outstanding leaders in nonviolent movements and the impact of nonviolent training and education on global movements.

Registration includes all workshops, film screenings, meals and refreshments during the conference.

The Cal Poly Pomona Ahimsa Center in the College of Letters, Arts and Social Sciences offers a variety of programs and events throughout the year to facilitate the teaching and learning of nonviolence and nonviolent social change.

To register or for more information about the conference, speakers or workshop leaders, visit https://www.cpp.edu/~ahimsacenter/conference/conference_18.shtml or email Tara Sethia, director of the Ahimsa Center, at tsethis@cpp.edu.