John Paul Lederach, the co-founding director of the Conflict Transformation Program at EMU, now the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP), will speak at 7 p.m. in Martin Chapel of the seminary building on "The Poetics of Peacebuilding."

"Peacebuilding requires an eternal belief in the creative act, the building and coaxing of imagination itself," Dr. Lederach has stated. He will elaborate in his presentation.

Note: John Paul will then provide a two day retreat for current CJP students only on Friday and Saturday, April 16 and 17. This will be an opportunity for CJP students to reflect on their role as peacebuilders and the peacebuilding field with a leader in the field. The retreat will consider the question that peacebuilding may ultimately find its deepest roots in artistic and spiritual processes.

John Paul Lederach

About John Paul Lederach

Lederach is currently professor of international peacebuilding at the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies at Notre Dame University. He received the Reinhold Niebuhr Award from Notre Dame on May 19, 2009, given annually to a Notre Dame student, faculty member or administrator whose life and writings promote or exemplify social justice.

Lederach was named a "distinguished scholar" on the faculty of EMU's Center for Justice and Peacebuilding and returns to teach in Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI).

He has authored and co-edited 15 books and manuals in English and Spanish, including The Moral Imagination: The Art and Soul of Building Peace (Oxford University Press, 2005), The Journey Toward Reconciliation (Herald Press, 1999), Preparing for Peace: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures (Syracuse University Press, 1995), Building Peace: Sustainable Reconciliation in Divided Societies (USIP, 1997) and The Little Book of Conflict Transformation (Good Books, 2003).

Lederach received his PhD in sociology with a concentration in the Social Conflict Program from the University of Colorado. He and his wife, Wendy, have two children, Angie and Josh.

Admission and other info

Admission to the program is free. A reception with refreshments will follow at 8:30 p.m.