Global Education and Engagement Conference

• 3-4 p.m. Nov. 18
• Alumni Room, Atwood Center, 651 First Ave. S, St. Cloud, MN.
• St. Cloud State University
• Session is free

"A Life Working for the Greater Good: Starting a Career as a Peacebuilder"

Keynote speaker David J. Smith will explore opportunities for students to consider career pathways that promote peacebuilding and the resolution of conflict.  Regardless of your chosen field of study, everyone can be a peacebuilder.

Smith will share his thoughts on approaches you can use in fields from the health sciences, to education, to the arts, to technology, in advancing peace.

He will consider models and strategies from his 2016 book "Peace Jobs: A Student's Guide to Starting a Career Working for Peace" (Information Age Publishing).

• 8:30 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 19
• Holiday Inn Conference Center, 75-37th Ave. S, St. Cloud, MN
• Fee: $50

"Global Peacebuilding and Youth: Considering Pathways for Global Citizens in the 21st Century."

Keynote speaker David Smith will explore the role that peacebuilding can play in shaping a civically engaged society, and offer approaches that can be used with students to build capacity for them to become participatory global citizens.

Discussion  - "A Comprehensive Approach:  Peacebuilding as Part of Every Course."  

In this workshop, Smith will argue that peacebuilding skills, knowledge and aptitudes are essential today in every field, and as such, throughout the curriculum. 

He will offer strategies that can be applied to a range of courses from the social sciences, humanities, career fields (including health sciences), business, the arts and technology that can employed in advance global citizenship and peacebuilding awareness.

Keynote Speaker

Walid Issa, SCSU Alumni, Peace Activist

Conference Facilitator

David J. Smith has spent more than 30 years of experience as a consultant, lawyer, mediator, educator and trainer. He works with groups and individuals in need of career and conflict coaching, mediation and conflict engagement assistance.

He has consulted with more than 200 U.S. colleges and has given more than 500 talks on peacebuilding, conflict resolution and international education.

Smith leads Forage Center for Peacebuilding and Humanitarian Education Inc., a 501c3 not-for-profit that offers experiential learning opportunities for students and professionals. Formerly, he was a senior program officer and manager at the U.S. Institute of Peace. He has taught at Goucher College, Georgetown University, and currently at the School for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University.

Smith was a U.S. Fulbright Scholar at the University of Tartu  in Estonia where he taught peace studies and dispute resolution. He is a recipient of the William J. Kreidler Award for Distinguished Service to the field of Conflict Resolution given by the Association for Conflict Resolution.

Smith is the author of "Peace Jobs: A Student’s Guide to Starting a Career Working for Peace" (Information Age Publishing 2016) and editor of "Peacebuilding in Community Colleges: A Teaching Resource" (USIP Press 2013). He is a graduate of American University, George Mason University and earned his juris doctorate at the University of Baltimore.

Visit Smith's blog.

Community Lunch Panel

• Karin Blythe
• Refugee Resettlement Supervisor, Lutheran Social Service of Minnesota
• Lori Ellering
• Lieutenant, St. Cloud Police Department, Community Outreach
• 320-255-7200
• Mahado Ali
• Community Health Worker, Centra Care
• Emmanuel Oppong
• Mayor’s Office, Coordinator of Community Engagement

• Minnesota State Education for Global Learning Consortium
• St. Cloud State Center for Continuing Studies
• Multicultural Student Services
• Center for Holocaust and Genocide Education
• UNESCO Student Club