Eighth Annual Global Problems, Global Solutions Conference

Friday, April 5, 2013

Duquesne Club
325 6th Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA 15222

La Roche College will join with other sponsor organizations to host Global Problems, Global Solutions – a free, annual conference that promotes an awareness of important global issues. This year’s theme focuses on peace and justice, as related to all of the U.N. Millennium Development Goals.

gpgs-symbol To that end, the Eighth Annual Global Problems, Global Solutions Conference, Peace & Justice, will feature a keynote address by former Senator and inaugural recipient of the La Roche College Peace Medal, George J. Mitchell, on Friday, April 5 and several opportunities to engage in Peace and Justice through various volunteer activities in and around the Pittsburgh area on Saturday, April 6.

"Our conference sponsors truly believe that we can affect change and combat the difficult challenges that exist now and threaten our future generations,” noted Paul Le Blanc, professor of History and one of the founding organizers of the Global Problems, Global Solutions event in 2004. “We are proud to host this coming together of social organizations, educational institutions and concerned citizens. Together, we must work to make more people aware of social injustices so they may be changed and, as a result, provide a brighter future for those who will be the leaders of tomorrow.”

The conference is free, but registration is required.

Space is limited, register today!

Mitchell

George J. Mitchell

Keynote Speaker

George J. Mitchell has held a distinguished career in public service, previously working as U.S. Senator from 1980 to 1995 and as U.S. Special Envoy for Middle East Peace from January 2009 to May 2011.

As U.S. Senator, he served on the finance, veterans affairs, and environment and public works committees. Successfully reauthorizing the Clean Air Act in 1990, Senator Mitchell established new controls on acid rain toxins. He also acted as principal author of the low-income housing tax credit program.

During his term, Senator Mitchell helped to pass the following legislations:

The nation's first childcare bill
The Americans with Disabilities Act – a law that extends civil rights protections to the disabled
A higher education bill that expands opportunities for millions of Americans
The first national oil spill prevention and cleanup law

His efforts also led to the approval of the North American Free Trade Agreement and the creation of the World Trade Organization.

Senator Mitchell earned bipartisan respect during his tenure. For six consecutive years, a bipartisan group of senior congressional aides voted him as the Senate’s “most respected member.”

In 1995, he served as special advisor to President William J. Clinton, and from 1996 to 2000, he served as the independent chairman of the Northern Ireland Peace Talks. Under his leadership, Northern Ireland’s political parties and the governments of Ireland and the United Kingdom agreed to the Good Friday Agreement, a historic accord that ended decades of conflict.

For his service in Northern Ireland, Senator Mitchell received the following awards and honors:

The Philadelphia Liberty Medal
The Truman Institute Peace Prize
The United Nations (UNESCO) Peace Prize
The Presidential Medal of Freedom – the highest civilian honor given by the U.S. government

In 2000 and 2001, at the request of President Clinton, Prime Minister Ehud Barak and Chairman Yasser Arafat, Senator Mitchell served as chairman of an international fact-finding committee on violence in the Middle East. Many governments – including the Bush Administration and the European Union – endorsed the committee's recommendation, widely known as The Mitchell Report.

Aside from his role as U.S. Senator, he also worked as a director of several major companies: Federal Express, Xerox, Staples, Unilever and Starwood Hotels and Resorts. Senator Mitchell has also served on the boards of DLA Piper, The Walt Disney Company and the Boston Red Sox. For 10 years, he served as the chancellor of Queen’s University of Northern Ireland; president of the Economic Club of Washington; and chairman of the International Crisis Group.

Senator Mitchell holds an undergraduate degree from Bowdoin College and a law degree from the Georgetown University Law Center. He also served as an officer in the U.S. Army Counter-Intelligence Corps in Berlin, Germany from 1954 to 1956.

In 2008, TIME magazine named him one of the 100 most influential persons in the world.

He is the author of four books:

Men of Zeal – a recount of the Iran-Contra investigation
World on Fire – an illustration of greenhouse effects and how to curb them
Not For America Alone: The Triumph of Democracy and The Fall of Communism
Making Peace – an account of his experience in Northern Ireland

Schedule

Friday, April 5, 2013
Opening Session

Duquesne Club
325 Sixth Avenue
Pittsburgh, PA

5:15 - 6:00 P.M.
Registration

6:00 - 7:30 P.M.
General Session

Introductions
Kenneth Service
Executive Director
Pittsburgh Council on Higher Education (PCHE)

Welcome
Sister Candace Introcaso, CDP, Ph.D.
President of La Roche College

Keynote Address
Senator George J. Mitchell

Question and Answer Period

_________________________________________

Engaging for Peace and Justice
Saturday, April 6, 2013

Our focus for this Saturday, April 6th is applying the principles of Peace and Justice to our everyday life. What we do for others at home and abroad, contributes to building a better world, to creating equality and restoring dignity to many who have been oppressed and maybe even forgotten. And so, we will spend a few hours today making a difference. If you would like to volunteer a small part of your day to improve the lives of others you are invited to directly contact one of the partners listed below and offer the first of your time to “make a difference” for others.

Available Volunteer Activities:

A Life of Peace and Justice
For Humanitarian Aid workers, engaging for peace and justice is the central mission of their lives. Come and learn what professional humanitarian aid workers do, why they choose this field, and what is involved in becoming an aid worker. As part of this full morning experiential workshop, you will learn about the many ways you can work to make the world better through humanitarian aid work, you will engage in an HA simulation exercise, do some competency assessment, and learn about different HA specializations. This workshop is offered through La Roche College’s exciting new Summer program in Global Development and Humanitarian Aid http://www.laroche.edu/humanitarian/

Location:
La Roche College
9000 Babcock Blvd,
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Time: 1:00-5:00 pm
Please RSVP: humanitarianaid@laroche.edu

Shared Border, Shared Dreams
An exhibition and simulation about undocumented immigrants in the US.

The theme of this year's course, La Roche Experience: Regions of Conflict, was the U.S borders. Graphic design students were challenged to research, conceptualize, design and implement an experience inspired by this theme. For the 600 students enrolled in Regions of Conflict, design students created an experience that simulates the obstacles faced by undocumented immigrants in hopes to inform, raise awareness and ultimately evoke a sense of empathy that facilitates dialogue and personal reflection.

We invite you to spend a few moments walking in the shoes of an undocumented immigrant and discover that we share more than just a border.

Created by junior graphic design students in the Design for Social Impact course: Malia Ault, Jenna Breitbach-Eldredge, Nikki Johnson, Matt Puwalowski, Maria Vujevich, Evan Wallace and Katherine Wilson. Taught by Professors Beth Shirrell and Neha Agarwal.

Location:
La Roche College
John J. Wright Library
9000 Babcock Blvd.
Pittsburgh, PA 15237
Directions

Time: 12 p.m.–6 p.m.

Brother’s Brother Foundation
Join others at the Brother’s Brother Center to prepare books and other educational materials that will be shipped to developing countries. Through learning, the people using these tools which you will prepare will call have the opportunity to gain new and valuable insights into the world. Knowledge is a key to development and a component of creating Peace and Justice on a global level.

Location:
Brother’s Brother Foundation
1200 Galveston Ave
Pittsburgh, Pa 15233 (on Pittsburgh’s Northside)
Parking is free and available

Time:
9am until noon.

Contact:
If you are coming you may email at kdempsey@brothersbrother.org or call 412-321-3160

For More information on Brother’s Brother http://www.brothersbrother.org/

More sites are being confirmed every day. Check back soon!

Check with your volunteer organization to verify start times and locations!

Click here for a background flier on the conference origins

Milennium Goals

Did You Know?
•	Every year, six million children die from malnutrition before their fifth birthday.
•	Every 3.6 seconds – about the time it'll take you to read this sentence – another person dies of starvation.
•	Five million people die from waterborne illnesses every year. Over 40 percent of the world's population does not have basic sanitation, and over one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water.
•	HIV/AIDS takes 6,000 lives and infects 8,200 people every day.
•	Every 30 seconds, an African child dies of malaria – accounting for the death of over one million children each year.
•	Sub-Saharan African women have a 1 in 16 chance of dying in childbirth, while North American women have a 1 in 3,700 risk.
•	More than 40 percent of African women do not have access to basic education – although it's proven that prenatal care, postnatal care and childbirth survival rates dramatically improve for girls who are educated for six years or more.
•	Educated women are more likely to vaccinate their children.
•	Every minute, a woman dies in pregnancy or childbirth. This totals 1,400 pregnancy-related deaths per day and 529,000 per year. About five women have already died as you read this.

To help combat these harsh facts of life, the United Nations has established the Millennium Development Goals to be met by 2015:

The goals are:
1.	Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger
2.	Achieve Universal Primary Education
3.	Promote Gender Equality and Empower Women
4.	Reduce Child Mortality
5.	Improve Maternal Health
6.	Combat HIV/AIDS, Malaria and other diseases
7.	Ensure environmental sustainability
8.	Develop a global partnership for development.

Dedicated to promoting justice and peace in a constantly changing global society, La Roche College supports the United Nations in working to make these goals a reality – in Pittsburgh and throughout the global marketplace.

For more information, visit www.millenniumcampaign.org.