Houghton College’s fourth annual Faith and Justice Symposium will be tackling the weighty topics of War, Conflict, and Violence, with an emphasis on the enduring presence of hope. Beginning Wednesday September 24th and continuing throughout the week, the Symposium hopes to not only to inform about relevant world issues but also to contextualize and equip Houghton campus with a deepened understanding of conflict.
Wynn Horton, a student coordinator for the event comments, “Every single person at or around Houghton is impacted by war whether they believe it or not. War and conflict have shaped the history of the world and provide the foundations for the present. Without understanding the expansive effects of these violent events, we cannot expect to find resonance with those whose lives have been woven through cultures of war, conflict, and violence.”
This year’s Symposium hopes that students will attend and apply the event’s message to their own lives. Professor of Intercultural Studies and Director of the Center for Faith, Justice, and Global Engagement, Ndunge Kiiti comments, “[The theme of] ‘Stories of Hope’ is to remind us that we can do something about these complex issues. It may be interfacing or impacting one person or many, but, whatever or whoever it is, it makes a difference.” Student coordinator, Moeun Sun, additionally states, “A goal of the Symposium is to explore how even in the midst of deep conflict there remains to be hope. We want to reframe the perception of conflict, not focusing only on the conflict, but also address it in ways that bring hope to people.”
Speaker Molly Little from the United Nations and Office of Humanitarian Affairs will open up this year’s Symposium lectures, and i
t is assumed she will be relating tales from her experience with the U.N.
Other speakers include Reverend Celestin Musekura, president and CEO of African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries (ALARM), recent Houghton graduate Julian Cook, and Luis Noda, Chief International Relations Officer at Food for the Hungry.
This year’s theme of “War, Conflict, and Violence: Stories of Hope” was chosen based on feedback the college received after last year’s Symposium. When asked about the subject’s immediate relevance for Houghton campus, Kiiti responded: “This is an important topic because the impact of war, conflict, and violence is tremendous on human life and development–affecting communities in a multiplicity of ways…Because war, conflict and violence impact so many areas of life, they require holistic and interdisciplinary responses. This is at the core of Houghton’s mission of a Christian education in the liberal arts and sciences.”
The talks and workshops facilitated by this years’ Faith and Justice Symposium will provide Houghton campus with different contexts through which to view today’s tumultuous world. Horton expressed his hope “that students here use this [symposium] as a time to expand their ‘bubble,’ build international connections, and strengthen their understanding of hope.”