This weekend I am attending Indiana’s first-ever Genocide Prevention Summit. In light of continuing violence along border regions in Sudan and the daily brutality of the Assad regime in Syria, the summit aims to strengthen the genocide prevention activists in the United States and empower diaspora communities.
Kizito Kalima, a survivor of the Rwandan genocide and founder of the Global Genocide Prevention Alliance, will recount his tale of tragedy and survival at the summit. Don Kraus of Citizens for Global Solutions, a Washington-based advocacy group advocating for genocide prevention, will be providing the keynote address for the event. Kraus will discuss U.S. and global policies and actions that are currently in place to prevent genocide and recommendations for improvements that can ensure that the international community can stop mass atrocities from occurring. Local photographer Katie Basbagil will showcase her art project “IndyRefugee” that tells the story of Burma’s Karen ethnic group who have been victims of genocide, many of whom have resettled in Indiana.
I will be speaking, along with several other mass atrocities prevention advocates, about youth engagement in human rights work and crafting responsible and inclusive policy narratives.
The Genocide Prevention Summit will be held on Saturday, March 31 from 1-8 pm at the Interchurch Center located at 1100 W. 42nd Street in Indianapolis. Participating organizations include STAND, United to End Genocide, Invisible Children, and the Project to End Genocide. For more information contact Mike Oles at mike@globalsolutions.org or myself at education@standnow.org.