International Peace and Conflict Resolution (IPCR) will host its 6th annual Professional Exchange event on Friday, Dec. 8 to showcase the Capstone projects of graduating IPCR students. This year’s projects present non-violence as an effective way to challenge the status quo, questioning why individuals continue to use violence as a means of bringing change.

The Professional Exchange includes an award ceremony, panel discussions, and keynote speaker Dr. Sa’ed Atshan, assistant professor of Peace and Conflict studies at Swarthmore College. Dr. Atshan served as a postdoctoral fellow at the Watson Institute for International Studies at Brown University, earned a joint PhD in Anthropology and Middle Eastern Studies and an MA in Social Anthropology from Harvard University, and received his Master in Public Policy degree from Harvard Kennedy School.

Dr. Atshan’s presentation is supported by IPCR in conjunction with the Beyond Meridians lecture series, sponsored by the Frank and Evelyn Steinbrucker ’42 Endowed Chair.

All events are free and open to the public, and will be held in the Great Room and Commons Meeting Rooms 1-3.

9 a.m.: Opening remarks and panel discussion, featuring Matthew Pillischer, director of Racial and Social Justice at YWCA Delaware; Gabe Bryant, director of the Young Men’s Initiative at Philadelphia Futures and co-director of the Philadelphia Chapter of Sankofa Community Empowerment; and Michael Loadenthal, executive director of the Peace and Justice Studies Association and visiting professor of Sociology and Social Justice at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio.

11 a.m.: Capstone poster presentations

2 p.m.: Dr. Atshan’s keynote presentation

3 p.m.: Reception and awards ceremony