Colloquium to Explore Conflicts in Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia – March 28

Survivors and refugees from the conflicts in the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia will be among the speakers examining the crises in those two countries at a public forum at NSU.

The colloquium, titled “Global Crisis in the 21st Century: A Comparison of the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Somalia,” will be held on March 28 from 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. at the Knight Auditorium in the Carl DeSantis Building on NSU’s main campus. The event is free and open to the public.

The colloquium was organized by NSU student Careen Hutchinson, who is studying for her Master of Arts in Cross-disciplinary Studies at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. Hutchinson has held past forums on the Rwandan genocide and the Darfur crisis and visited Darfur last summer.

Presenters will include:

• Marie Cimanuka, a survivor of the conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). She was a victim of rape used as a weapon of war and currently works to empower other women from DRC who have had similar experiences.
• Karl Wycoff, the director of the Office of Central African Affairs in the U.S. Department of State.
• Mitonga Zongwe, a political officer at the United Nations. He is Congolese and has worked with the African Union peacekeeping mission.
• Abukar Arman, a Somali activist and freelance writer. He has published many articles on the Somali conflict.
• Ahmednur Hassan, a recent refugee from Somalia. He fled from government persecution and was granted refugee status by the United Nations.
• Runyerera Londoni, a refugee from DRC and a student at Lynn University. He works as a regional director with Americans for Informed Democracy.
• Jean-Mathieu Essoh Essis, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of Conflict Analysis and Resolution at NSU’s Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences. He has published on international negotiation processes and issues, conflict resolution and public policy, and democratization and public sector reform in Africa.
• David Kilroy, Ph.D., an associate professor of history in the Farquhar College of Arts and Sciences at NSU.

“The colloquium is an ongoing effort to empower the community to respond to global crises in regions around the world,” Hutchinson said. “Giving people the opportunity to both speak about and hear personal experiences can be life changing.”

More information on the colloquium is available by calling 954-709-0245.