Park University Co-Hosting 2021 KC Area Peacebuilding Conference

Aug. 30, 2021 — Park University and its Center for Global Peace Journalism, along with Johnson County (Kan.) Community College, are again co-hosting the Greater Kansas City Peacebuilding Conference. This year’s conference theme, “Peacebuilding: Healing Our Polarized Societies,” will feature three events in a mix of both in-person and virtual discussions.

The conference kicks off on Thursday, Sept. 16, at 1 p.m. with a virtual presentation by Michael Collins, executive director of The Americas at the Institute for Economics and Peace based in Sydney, Australia. Collins will discuss “Positive Peace: Empowering the Peacebuilder We Each Have Within.” The talk will review the pillars of positive peace and how they can be assessed and leveraged to address the polarization in society.

On Wednesday, Oct. 6, starting at noon in Park University’s Park Distance Learning Conference Center (and available virtually), Mará Rose Williams, higher education reporter at The Kansas City Star, will present a discussion on “Media as a Tool to Heal Polarized Societies.” Williams will discuss The Star’s award-winning project, “Truth in Black and White,” that she led which shined a light on racial disparities in reporting from the newspaper.

The conference ends on Wednesday, Oct. 27, as Rev. Donna Simon, D.Min., pastor at St. Mark Hope and Peace Lutheran Church in Kansas City, Mo., presents “Healing Polarized Societies Through Equitable Pay.” The event will be held at the church, 3800 Troost Ave., starting at 6 p.m. Simon will discuss the U.S. minimum wage, and how a “living wage” will lift working families out of poverty and fulfills the promise of America as a land of opportunity.

Admission to all events is free. For more information and links to the virtual sessions, visit jccc.edu/conferences/peacebuilding.