The symposium acknowledges the support of the following Hofstra University departments: Department of Global Studies and Geography Office of the Vice President of University Relations Office of Event Management Creative Services and Editing
Center for Civic Engagement presents the The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document in the history of human rights. Drafted by representatives with different legal and cultural backgrounds from all regions of the world, the Declaration was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in Paris on December 10, 1948, as a common standard of achievement for all peoples and all nations. Join us as we commemorate the power of the Universal Declaration and its power of ideas to change the world as it inspires us to continue working to ensure that all people can gain freedom, equality, and dignity.
Linda A. Longmire, PhD Department of Global Studies and Geography Hofstra University Symposium Director
“Where, after all, do universal human rights begin? In small places, close to home - so close and so small that they cannot be seen on any maps of the world. Yet they are the world of the individual person; the neighborhood he lives in; the school or college he attends; the factory, farm, or office where he works. Such are the places where every man, woman, and child seeks equal justice, equal opportunity, equal dignity without discrimination. Unless these rights have meaning there, they have little meaning anywhere. Without concerted citizen action to uphold them close to home we shall look in vain for progress in the larger world.” – Eleanor Roosevelt 12:45-1 p.m.
INTRODUCTION and WELCOME Linda A. Longmire, Professor of Global Studies Hofstra University
4:30-6 p.m.
KEYNOTE BY BLANCHE WIESEN COOK* Blanche Wiesen Cook is Distinguished Professor of History at John Jay College and the Graduate Center, CUNY. She is senior editor of the Garland Library of War and Peace, author and Biographer of Eleanor Roosevelt, Vols. I, II, III; Crystal Eastman on Women and Revolution and The Declassified Eisenhower, and is a former vice-president for research at the American Historical Association.
6:30-7:30 p.m.
STUDENT PANEL/PERFORMANCE: THE IDEALS AND REALITIES OF THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS Kadeem Adrian, Senior Margaret Engel, Sophomore
1-2:10 p.m.
Moderator/ Commentator 2:30-4 p.m.
THE UNIVERSAL DECLARATION OF HUMAN RIGHTS AND HUMAN TRAFFICKING TODAY Crystal DeBoise, Co-Executive Director, SOAR Institute Makini Chisolm-Straker, MD, MPH, Co-Founder, HEAL Trafficking Kari Jensen, Associate Professor of Global Studies Hofstra University
PEACE IS A HUMAN RIGHT: WOMEN’S GLOBAL ACTIVISM
James Franklin, Senior Anna Kizito, Sophomore Thomas Nielsen, Freshman Manmeet Nijer, Junior Lara Van Patten, Senior DaisyMae VanValkenburgh, Junior
Blanche Wiesen Cook, Distinguished Professor of History and Women’s Studies, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, CUNY Agnieszka Fal-Dutra Santos, Program Coordinator and Policy Specialist Global Network of Women Peacebuilders (GNWP) Moderator Commentator
Janet Gerson, Education Director International Institute of Peace Education (IIPE)
*Awarded the Joseph G. Astman Distinguished Symposium Scholar, Hofstra University. The award was established in 1985 in recognition of the outstanding role of the late founder of the Hofstra Cultural Center. Dr. Astman was a humanist, a cultural comparatist, and an international scholar.