Launch and Live Coverage of the PJSA Conference on the Power of Nonviolence

Bringing together scholars, activists, educators and leaders of many top local, national and international organizations, the Peace and Justice Studies Association (PJSA) conference starts today at Marquette University in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (October 8-10, 2009). This year's topic is "Exploring the Power of Nonviolence," honoring Gandhi's 140th anniversary. For live coverage follow @AntonyAdolf on Twitter.

Randall Amster, Executive Director of the PJSA and a conference organizer, describe it thus: "a focus on grassroots organizations, working with individuals and groups in the region to help develop a bridge from dialogue to action. Plenary panels, breakout groups, brainstorming sessions, and an impressive list of keynote speakers will offer multiple points of engagement and opportunities for networking with scholars, activists, and educators in the pursuit of peace and justice. Some of the highlights include:

Sister Helen Prejean: author and real-life story behind Dead Man Walking (made into an Academy-Award winning film starring Susan Sarandon and Sean Penn), and also one of the world's great death penalty abolitionists, will give the opening keynote speech tonight. She is also the founder of "Survivor," a victim's advocacy group in New Orleans.

A Panel Discussion on "The Future of Peacemaking":  with Jonathan Schell, author of several books, most recently The Seventh Decade: The New Shape of Nuclear Danger (American Empire Project) and  George Cheney, Director of Peace and Conflict Studies, and of the Barbara L. and Norman C. Tanner Center for Nonviolent Human Rights Advocacy University of Utah.

Will Allen:  Founder of Growing Power and A MacArthur Fellow in 2008, Allen is an urban farmer who is transforming the cultivation, production, and delivery of healthy foods to underserved, urban populations, for which he was named . He will give a plenary speech on Saturday entitled "Food Sovereignty and Justice."

Special Sessions On: Violence in the Workplace, Transformative Nonviolence and the History of Peacemaking, Models for Peace Education, Social Media and Activist Education, and special sessions on the Gandhian tradition, Loyola, and Technology as well as field trips to peace organizations around Wisconsin.

Visit the PJSA Conference website, and get there as soon as you can! If you can't, get live coverage of the 2009 PJSA Conference by following @AntonyAdolf on Twitter. Antony Adolf will be presenting "Transformative Nonviolence and Cultural Change in World History" on Friday afternoon, and is certain this conference is a current event that will shape a more peaceful future for everyone.