Note to Editors: Interviews with speakers can be arranged by contacting Mindy Pantiel at (303) 443-4862. A digital photo of Simon Deng is available by calling Mike Liguori in the News Services Office at (303) 492-3117.
A former Sudanese child slave and a former U.S. Marine captain who witnessed the genocide in that North African nation will be among the speakers at the Sudan Awareness Conference Nov. 1-3 hosted by the University of Colorado at Boulder.
Designed to inform and inspire action in response to atrocities occurring in Darfur, Sudan, the conference will take place in several sites on the CU-Boulder campus and at the Boulder High School auditorium. All events are free and open to the public.
Located south of Egypt and west of Ethiopia, Sudan has been ravaged by civil war for all but a few years since its independence from Great Britain in 1956.
Former Sudanese slave Simon Deng will give the keynote address on the conference's Nov. 1 opening night at 7 p.m. in Duane Physics room G1B30. Deng is a native of the Shiluk Kingdom in southern Sudan. After being abducted at age 9, Deng spent several years as a domestic slave in northern Sudan. He eventually escaped and went on to work as a messenger in the Sudanese parliament and later became a national swimming champion. Today he is an American citizen, human rights activist and leader of efforts to stop genocide in Sudan.
The final session of the conference, Nov. 3 at 7 p.m. in the Boulder High School auditorium, will feature Brian Steidle, a former captain in the U.S. Marines who witnessed atrocities in Darfur, Sudan, last year as an unarmed military observer. While monitoring the cease-fire agreement between rebel groups and the Sudanese government, Steidle observed villages burned to the ground, hundreds of thousands of displaced civilians and the results of violence including rape, torture and murder. Steidle is now helping raise public awareness about the atrocities in Sudan and is seeking international support for the African Union to stop the violence.
The conference is sponsored by Congregation Har HaShem through a grant from the Lois Pope LIFE Foundation, the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Student Affairs and the Office of the Chancellor, CU-Boulder School of Journalism and Mass Communication, CU-Boulder African Student Association, Indigenous Support Network, St. Julien Hotel and Spa, CU Chapter of Amnesty International, CU-Boulder Developing Areas Research and Teaching program, CU-Boulder Office of International Education, CU-Boulder Smith Hall International Program, CU-Boulder Institute for Ethical and Civic Engagement, CU Conference on World Affairs Athenaeum and the CU-Boulder International Affairs program.
The following is a complete schedule of events:
o Nov. 1 - "How Did It Happen?" 7 p.m., Duane Physics G1B30. Anita Sanborn, president of the Colorado Episcopal Foundation and adviser of the Sudan Council of Churches, will discuss the status of current peace and reconciliation efforts in Sudan. The keynote address will be given by Simon Deng, human rights activist and former Sudanese slave.
o Nov. 2 - Student Leadership Workshop, 4 p.m., Hellems Arts and Sciences Building room 199. Jenny Whitcher, experienced activist and leadership trainer, will lead a workshop on how to run an effective student campaign to end the genocide. Open to college and high school students.
o Nov. 2 - Religious Leadership Workshop, 4 p.m., Eaton Humanities Building room 1B90. Jerry Fowler, director of the Committee on Conscience for the United States Holocaust Museum, and Becky O'Brien, Sudan Genocide Response Team coordinator for Congregation Har HaShem, will lead a workshop for clergy and members of the religious community who want to launch an effective response to the genocide in their own congregations.
o Nov. 3 - "Civil War and Genocide in Darfur: Where Did Media Watchdogs Speak Out?" at 4 p.m. in Engineering Center Complex classroom 200. CU-Boulder graduate students and faculty members Michael McDevitt, HunShik Kim and Bella Mody will share research findings on coverage of the events in Sudan by media in China, South Africa, Egypt, the United States, France, England and the Middle East.
o Nov. 3 - Keynote Address: "Eyewitness to the Genocide," 7 p.m., Boulder High School auditorium, 1604 Arapahoe Ave. Speakers include Jerry Fowler, director of the Committee on Conscience for the United States Holocaust Museum, and Brian Steidle, former captain in the U.S. Marines and a genocide eyewitness.
For more information on the conference e-mail Mindy Pantiel at msp10@aol.com or visit .