(Posted October 16, 2006)

HUNTINGDON, Pa. -- Juniata College students are organizing a daylong conference focused the clash of cultures between the major religions of the world from 8:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 21 in Brumbaugh Academic Center on the Juniata campus,
The conference is free and open to the public.
"The conference is to introduce college students from Pennsylvania and other states to the organization Americans for Informed Democracy," says Sebastian Brown, a sophomore studying peace and conflict studies and the main organizer of the event.
The conference opens at 8:30 a.m. with registration and breakfast, followed by a presentation on the mission of American for Informed Democracy at 9:30.
The conference keynote address will be given at 10:30 by Paul Wee, program officer of the religion and peacemaking program at the U.S. Institute of Peace. His talk is titled "Clash of Cultures -- Class of Ignorance: Overcoming the Great Divide."
Wee is an ordained Evangelical Lutheran minister and has extensive experience in conflict resolution and working with non-governmental organizations in the Middle East, Central America and Africa. He has taught at Oxford University and George Washington University in Washington, D.C.
The conference will break into small groups at 11:45 and reconvene at 12:45 p.m. for a workshop on organizing a town hall meeting.
At 1:30, there will be a panel discussion on inter-faith dialogue, featuring religious leaders from the local area.
At 3 p.m., the conference will break up into small group discussions, followed by a workshop on global issues at 4.
According to student organizer Brown, Americans for Informed Democracy offers programs on more than 500 U.S. college campuses and on more than 10 countries worldwide.

Contact April Feagley at feaglea@juniata.edu or (814) 641-3131 for more information.