Park University’s Center for Global Peace Journalism to Celebrate 10th Anniversary with Symposium

February 2, 2022 — The Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University will celebrate its 10th anniversary with a symposium that will look back on the CGPJ’s accomplishments and a look ahead on the future of peace journalism. The event will be held virtually on Wednesday, March 2, from 10 to 11:30 a.m. (Central time). The symposium, which is open to the public, can be accessed at https://tinyurl.com/359chbk8.

The symposium will include a keynote address, “25 Years of Peace Journalism,” by Jake Lynch, Ph.D., associate professor and director in the Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of Sydney (Australia). Lynch was awarded the Luxembourg Peace Prize in 2017 for contributions to both theory and practice in peace journalism, and he is one of the most published and most cited authorities in peace journalism.

The concluding address will be on “Reaching the Future Through the Past” by Kathryn Johnston, deputy editor of VIEW, a magazine based in Northern Ireland that focuses on social affairs journalism.

Sandwiched between the keynotes will be a moderated discussion on “Peace Journalism Around the World” featuring seven panelists from Cameroon, India, Lebanon, Mexico, Northern Ireland, Pakistan and Uganda.

The Center for Global Peace Journalism works with journalists, academics and students worldwide to improve reporting about conflicts, social unrest, reconciliation, solutions and peace. Through its courses, workshops, lectures, magazine (The Peace Journalist), blog and other resources, the CGPJ encourages media to reject sensational and inflammatory reporting, and produce counter-narratives that offer a more nuanced view of those who are marginalized — ethnic/racial/religious minorities, women, youth, LGBTQ and migrants. Since the Center’s founding in 2012, its director Steven Youngblood has conducted peace journalism workshops in 33 countries worldwide.

Youngblood, who was awarded the 2020 Luxembourg Peace Prize for Outstanding Peace Journalism, has been a member of Park’s faculty since 1997. He has taught peace journalism to journalists, academics and students in 27 countries and territories worldwide, including conflict areas such as Cameroon, Indian-administered Kashmir, Lebanon, South Sudan and Turkey. Youngblood is also a two-time J. William Fulbright Scholar, traveling to Moldova in 2001 and Azerbaijan in 2007. He has been recognized for his service to global peace by the U.S. Department of State, Rotary International and the United Nations Association of Greater Kansas City as its World Citizen of the Year in 2012. In addition, Youngblood serves as editor of The Peace Journalist, a semi-annual Park University publication dedicated to disseminating news and information for and about teachers, student, and practitioners of peace and conflict sensitive journalism.