Program Schedule

Monday, April 2, 2012

In the US, we learn about the world around us through a free press. In many parts of the world, journalists are censored, arrested, kidnapped, beaten, even murdered by people who want to keep the truth from being made public. Nearly 350 journalists have been killed over the last decade. This presentation will take a close look at some of the most dangerous places for journalists in recent times.

Students from the course on AIDS and the Global Society will present their posters to provide information about social, political, and scientific issues surrounding the HIV/AIDS pandemic in vulnerable populations, including children, adolescents, prisoners, gay men, bisexual men and women, hemophiliacs, and older populations.

Discover how the competition for resources has driven many people into poverty and unable to afford having children. Learn how the choice to have an abortion may jeopardize human security due to preconceived notions that human beings need to compete with one another rather than come together as a community. This topic will delve into various types of abortions as well, such as disability related, sex-selective, forced, and the racial inequality of abortion in the United States and around the world connected to the topic of human security and bonding of communities.

In today’s challenging times plagued by faith-related conflicts in diverse places, we envision to facilitate an interactive multifaith discussion in which the audience can share challenges, successes, and opportunities in multifaith conflict transformation work. The Multifaith Conflict Transformation presentation will focus on the experiences from the practical journey that a multifaith community of Christians, Jews, and Muslims at the Stony Point Center embraces in its work around the study and practice of non-violence and social justice.

In the late 1930s, in Ferrara, Italy, the Finzi-Contini are one of the leading families, wealthy, aristocratic, urbane; they are also Jewish. Their adult children, Micol and Alberto, gather a circle of friends for constant rounds of tennis and parties at their villa with its lovely grounds, keeping the rest of the world at bay. Into the circle steps Giorgio, a Jew from the middle class, who falls in love with Micol. She seems to toy with him, and even makes love to one of his friends while she knows Giorgio is watching. While his love cannot seem to break through to her to draw her out of her garden idyll, the forces of politics close in. Plot summaries are based on the IMDb web site.

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Awards Ceremony and Reception

Please join us as we honor the recipients of the 2012 Global Understanding Convention Awards. Awards include the Student Arts Awards, Global Understanding Awards, and this year’s Global Visionary Award.

The Global Visionary Award is given to a distinguished individual who has brought global change through outstanding vision and leadership, and whose work has had a direct impact on Monmouth University student life.

The Global Understanding Award is given to member(s) of the Monmouth University community in recognition of outstanding leadership in global education and fulfillingthe mission of the Institute for Global Understanding.

Student Poster Awards: As part of their coursework, students in Graphic Design 2 were asked to create a moving and informative poster that highlights global issues. A committee organized through the Art Department judges these posters and grants first,second, and third place prizes, as well as an honorable mention.

Light refreshments will be served.

OPENING LECTURE

Please join us for the 2012 GUC opening ceremony, with guest speaker, Dr. Mario Aldo Toscano, Visiting International Scholar. Dr. Toscano is Emeritus Professor of Sociology at the University of Pisa, Italy. He was the President of the Italian Sociological Assosiation (AIS) from 1993 - 96 and won the Scanno Award for Sociological Literature in 2010.

Dr. Toscano will address European structure and culture integration. Europe is still something new in the general panorama of the great political, economic, and cultural institutions. It is not only a form of organization, it is a gradually improving ‘process’ of integration of different, original lifestyles within the framework of a higher and more participative way of living. It is an experience and a laboratory where many traditions and many contradictions try to finda viable harmony for everyday life of European average people.

This event is co-sponsored by IGU and the Officefor Global Initiatives.

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Student volunteers and interns will speak about how they have been improving energy efficiency in our community through education and home weatherizations. The presentation will cover how to conduct a home assessment and weatherization in order to reduce energy waste and save money in addition to providing resources and an opportunity to sign up for a free weatherization or volunteer.

Ruphina Mbua, a final year MBA student at Monmouth University, who previously worked as Political Affairs Advisor at the United Nations in Kenya, South Africa, Democratic Republic of Congo, Tanzania, and Ethiopia, will present a firsthand account of her work with the UN. Her talk will also cover ethics and international policies, and careers at the UN.