Convening Agenda

Registration & Welcome Reception

Ongoing: arrive when you can

Location: McCone Atrium, MIIS

Welcome Plenary

Location: Irvine Auditorium, MIIS

• David Wick, Professor, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

• Betsy Vegso, Director, Projects for Peace, Middlebury College

• Kailee Brickner-McDonald, Director, Center for Community Engagement, Middlebury College

• Sarah Stroup, Director, Kathryn W. Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation at Middlebury

Dinner

Location: Samson Center, MIIS

Adjourn for the day

Tai Chi with Hui Wilcox (Macalester)

Optional!

Location: Hotel Pacific, Fountain Courtyard (follow signs to "Spa.")

Breakfast

Location: Hotel Pacific

Welcome & Review of Day

Location: Casa Fuente 434, MIIS Campus

Plenary: The Project Cycle & Case Studies

• Sarah Messner, Assistant Director, Projects for Peace 

Review the Projects for Peace annual grant cycle and engage with common issues through case study discussion groups.

Location: Casa Fuente 434

B R E A K

Location: McGowan Lobby

Breakout Sessions, Round I

Facilitated by campus liaison peers and staff. 

• Conflict on Campus: Sarah Stroup (Davis Conflict Transformation Collaborative at Middlebury).  A discussion about navigating campus-based conflict. McGowan 102.

• Promotion & Recruitment: Caroline McArdle (Projects for Peace). Interested in increasing the number of applicants you receive each year? Or using social media more effectively? Come discuss strategies and resources. McGowan 100.

• The Application Cycle: Application and Advising, Nate Martin (Reed), Dana Anderson (Middlebury), Gabby Nelson (Trinity).  What are the elements of a strong application package? How do you advise students towards quality proposals? McGowan 307.

• Risk Management & Safety Plans, Heather Lovejoy (Middlebury) & Ashley Laux (Grinnell).  What are your red flags in a project proposal when it comes to safety? How do you and your institution try to prevent or mitigate risk? How do you coach a student to identify risks and prepare to keep themselve safe? McGowan 99. Entrance on Franklin St. 

• Grantee Community Engagement: Briana Chace (Mt Holyoke) & Maria Cartagena (Mt Holyoke). How do you help students create partnerships and engagement with their communities?  McGowan Lobby- Round Tables. 

• Supporting Students in the Ideation and Planning Stages: Kate Dailinger (Wellesley), Minnu Paul (Methodist), LaDarius Thompson (Queens).  What kind of advising or coaching do students need as they imagine and prepare for their project? What resources are available for them (and you)? McGowan 101 Seminar Room. 

Location: McGowan, MIIS Campus

Breakout Sessions, Round II

Facilitated by campus liaison peers and staff. 

• New Campus Liaisons Welcome: Betsy Vegso (Projects for Peace). An optional session for liaisons with less than two years of experience. Come say hello and let's talk about ways of maintaining or strengthening your campus program. All questions welcome.

• Promotion & Recruitment: Caroline McArdle (Projects for Peace). Part 1 "Widening the Lens – Diversifying Projects & Applicants" will focus on examining applicant trends and how to expand concepts of peace building to reach more students. Part 2 "Navigating Visibility in a Politically Volatile Climate" will address questions about how we approach storytelling and visibility for Projects for Peace grantees, especially amidst heightened scrutiny on international students.

• The Application Cycle: Selection & Advising, Nate Martin (Reed), Dana Anderson (Middlebury), Gabby Nelson (Trinity). Who is on your selection committee and what do members do? How do you advise the non-winners? How do you advise grantees through proposal revisions, project implementation and reporting?

• Risk Management & Safety Plans, Heather Lovejoy (Middlebury) & Ashley Laux (Grinnell). What are your red flags in a project proposal when it comes to safety? How do you and your institution try to prevent or mitigate risk? How do you coach a student to identify risks and prepare to keep themselve safe?

• Grantee Community Engagement: Briana Chace (Mt Holyoke) & Maria Cartagena (Mt Holyoke). How do you help students create partnerships and engagement with their communities?  

• Supporting Students through Implementation and Reflection stages: Kate Dailinger (Wellesley), Minnu Paul (Methodist), LaDarius Thompson (Queens). What kind of advising or coaching do students need as they implement and then conclude their project? What resources are available for them (and you)?

Location: McGowan, MIIS Campus

Lunch

Location: Pierce Street Promenade, MIIS Campus

Plenary: Paying Attention to the Tension to Set Intention - Fostering Students’ Peacebuilding Identities

• Dr. Netta Avineri, Middlebury Institute of International Studies, and Incoming Director, Davis Collaborative in Conflict Transformation, Middlebury

We will explore the role of productive tension in ethical community engagement and sustainable social change. We will engage in hands-on activities designed to foster students’ ability to identify and navigate these tensions, in the service of cultivating peacebuilding identities during their projects and beyond.

*For the workshop component of the session, please bring a copy of a recent Projects for Peace proposal and a final report (they don’t need to be for the same project) from your institution, ideally by a student whom you know. You will not be required to share these materials with others.

Location: Irvine Auditorium, MIIS Campus

B R E A K

Location: McGowan Lobby, MIIS Campus

Panel and Breakouts: Conflict Transformation & Peacebuilding on Campus Panel and Discussion

• Moderated by Kristen Mullins, Middlebury College

Followed by Breakout Discussion Groups

1. Building peacebuilder and conflict transformer identities. - Kailee Brickner-McDonald (Middlebury). McGowan Lobby Round Tables. 

2. Supporting students in volatile/challenging times. - Betsy Vegso (Projects for Peace). McGowan 100. 

3. Connecting theory and practice; lessons from curricular and co-curricular spaces. - Sarah Messner (Projects for Peace). McGowan 102.

4. Sustaining experiential learning and CT/PB based on our capacities (in hope, money, time, partners) in the current landscape. - Kristen Mullins (Middlebury). McGowan 99. Entrance on Franklin St. 

Location: McGowan, MIIS Campus

Check-in and Reflection

(In breakout groups)

Location: McGowan, MIIS Campus

B R E A K

Location: McGowan, MIIS Campus

Evening plenary: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World

• Keynote Address by Dr. Anu Taranath 

• With David Wick, Professor, Middlebury Institute of International Studies

Dr. Anu is an award-winning speaker, facilitator, consultant, author and educator specializing in issues of racial equity and social change. Through engaging personal travel stories and thought-provoking questions about the ethics and politics of travel, her award-winning book Beyond Guilt Trips: Mindful Travel in an Unequal World (2019) shows readers ways to grapple with their discomfort and navigate differences through accountability and connection.

Location: Irvine, MIIS Campus

Dinner

Location: Samson Dining Hall, MIIS Campus

Adjourn for the day