WHO: Laguna Blanca School and Distinguished Speakers

WHAT: Inaugural Global Studies Day

WHEN: Friday, May 18 from 9-3

WHERE: Laguna Blanca School Hope Ranch campus, 4125 Paloma Drive

The first topic that the entire upper school—students and faculty—will tackle is the problem of genocide around the globe, from both a historical and present day perspective.

What did we mean after the Holocaust when the world promised, “Never Again?” Have we kept that promise? What should we as global citizens, Americans, and human beings do in the future to try to prevent or stop these tragedies? The primary focus of the day’s study will be the genocides in Rwanda and Darfur. However, we will also be looking at the Holocaust and will have a brief overview of genocides that have occurred since the beginning of the 20th century.

The distinguished speakers of the day include: Rebecca Tinsley, Nyuol Tong, Horacio Trujillo and Maria Segal.

REBECCA TINSLEY, a former BBC reporter, has worked in Bosnia, Rwanda, Uganda, and Sudan and is the founder of Waging Peace and Network for Africa, two groups who continue to work with survivors by building schools and hospitals. Her third novel When the Stars Fall to Earth is based on interviews of survivors of Darfur.

NYUOL TONG, a graduate of Dunn School and a sophomore at Duke University, will speak about his family during the genocide in Darfur, escaping to Egypt and eventually coming to the United States. Since arriving in the United States, Tong founded SELFSudan, a foundation devoted to building schools and securing peace in South Sudan.

PROFESSOR HORACIO TRUJILLO teaches at Occidental college and is a former researcher at the Rand Corporation. Besides teaching, he advises international organizations such as the World Bank, the United Nations as well as the United States House of Representatives on the subject of genocide prevention.

MARIA SEGAL, a Laguna Grandparent, will tell her harrowing story of escaping the Warsaw Ghetto but losing her entire family in the Holocaust.

Besides the traditional question and answer periods after speakers, students will participate in breakout sessions during which they will be working on problem solving and will present their suggestions for future action. “We hope this will be the first of many such endeavors, “said Slocombe. “Learning is not just something that happens in the classroom, and we hope this day-long seminar will inspire our students to explore this and many other issues further.”

Global Studies Day is made possible by a grant from the Mosher Foundation. Foundation Directors Ed and Sue Birch believe it’s extremely important for students to develop a global view of the world in order to properly navigate the world that they are inheriting. “It is our hope that this will be only the beginning of a journey of future exploration, study, and understanding,” they said.

Questions? Call Tara at 805.687.1752 x209 or tbrouch@lagunablanca.org

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