Peace Week

Honors College student leads with purpose, passion, and a global vision

Katarina Benson — Wed, 25 Feb 2026 20:04:36 +0000

Honors College student leads with purpose, passion, and a global vision Katarina Benson Wed, 02/25/2026 - 15:04

Honors College student Marisa Parikh embodies the drive, curiosity, and global mindset that define �鶹��Ƶ students. She serves as president of Be the Change, a student-led organization dedicated to advancing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals on campus. Under her leadership, the group focuses on raising awareness and inspiring action around the goals that most directly affect George �鶹��Ƶ students.

On March 2, Parikh and Be the Change will take part in in a virtual panel “Embrace Healing and Reconciliation in Countries That Suffer from Broken Systems.” Open to students and the public, this student-led conversation explores how restorative justice can help repair harm, rebuild trust, and transform systems affected by deep structural inequities. It also serves as a prelude to the Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution’s spring Peace Week.

Marisa Parikh is president of Be the Change. Photo provided

Parikh arrived at George �鶹��Ƶ already ahead of the curve, having earned her associate’s degree at the Central Virginia Community College in Lynchburg, Virginia, while still in high school. Today, she is pursuing a major in public administration at the Schar School of Government and Policy, paired with a minor in conflict resolution and analysis from the Carter School.

Her commitment to meaningful impact took root during an internship with George �鶹��Ƶ professor Solon Simmons at the Carter School’s Narrative Transformation Lab. There, she contributed to Little Minds, Strong Values (LMSV), a Rotary International-supported initiative in Sri Lanka that uses music and dance to teach children values like kindness, honesty, and respect. Parikh conducted ripple mapping research to help measure the project’s reach and influence—an experience she describes as transformative.

“Working on Little Minds, Strong Values helped me find my niche,” she said. “The South Asian community is my community and contributing to a project that uplifts children in that region was incredibly fulfilling. My coursework and the LMSV project together were a pivotal moment for me.”

“Marisa was a core member of our lab team, anchoring a ripple effects mapping evaluation in Sri Lanka, a key research site in our Rotary partnership, and representing the Carter School in a national student dialogue on civic engagement at the University of Delaware,” said Simmons.
“She made a substantive contribution to the school in more than one area and was a delight to work with.”   

After her internship, Parikh’s sense of purpose continued to grow. She became involved with Ashiyanaa, a nonprofit supporting South Asian women and children affected by gender-based and domestic violence. Her work with Ashiyanaa led her to join the Collective Organizations of South Asia (COSA), a George �鶹��Ƶ student group dedicated to unity and cultural celebration. Through these connections, she helped facilitate a workshop on interpersonal relationship violence within the South Asian community—an effort that blended advocacy, education, and cultural understanding.

Parikh’s love for her heritage also shines through in her creative life. As a member of the COSA dance team, she performs styles from across South Asia and helps shape the team’s digital presence as co–social media coordinator. Though she enjoys the full range of regional dance traditions, Gujarati Garba, a dance form from Gujarat, India, holds a special place in her heart. “It’s where my family is from. I grew up doing it,” she said.

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Fall 2025 Peace Week focuses on bridging peacebuilding, development, and security

ckearney — Wed, 17 Sep 2025 17:57:49 +0000

Fall 2025 Peace Week focuses on bridging peacebuilding, development, and security ckearney Wed, 09/17/2025 - 13:57

Beginning Monday, September 22, the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at �鶹��Ƶ hosts its Fall 2025 Peace Week under the theme “Bridging Peacebuilding, Development, and Security.” This semi-annual series, launched in Fall 2020 around the International Day of Peace on September 21, now draws thousands of participants to more than 30 in-person and virtual events each semester.

George �鶹��Ƶ community members attend "Building Meaningful Dialogue about the War in Gaza" during the Fall 2024 Peace Week. Photo provided

This year’s program features seminars, interactive workshops, guest lectures, and discussions on urgent global and local challenges. Highlights include “Cyprus Peacebuilding Project in Collaboration with Rotary,” “San Paco in Colombia: From Pain to Hope, Art and Culture that Transforms Life,” “Addressing Domestic Extremism and Fostering Dialogue Over Division,” “Harnessing Technology for Peacebuilding,” the launch of the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16 Hub: Advancing Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions, and the return of the popular fireside chat “S'more Peace, Please!”

The keynote event, “From Hiroshima to Hope: A Call for a Nuclear Arms-Free World,” will be held Monday, September 22, at 5 p.m. Marking the 80th anniversary of the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, the evening will explore the legacy of nuclear weapons and the enduring power of peace. The program also features the Hiroshima Children’s Drawings and the acclaimed documentary Pictures from a Hiroshima Schoolyard. Special guests include Nobel Peace Laureate Ira Helfand and renowned historian and author Vincent Intend.

Carter School Dean Alpaslan Özerdem reflected on the significance of the program.

Students perform at "Fostering Mutual Understanding Between International and Domestic Students at �鶹��Ƶ Community" during the Fall 2024 Peace Week. Photo by the Office of University Branding

“As we mark 80 years since the atomic bombing of Hiroshima, we are reminded not only of the immense human cost of nuclear weapons but also of our collective responsibility to prevent such devastation from ever happening again. This Peace Week program blends art, remembrance, and dialogue to highlight how conflict resolution and public engagement can reduce the risks of nuclear weapons. We cannot afford complacency; it is through public awareness, creative collaboration, and determined diplomacy that we can move toward a world where nuclear weapons no longer threaten our shared future.”

All Peace Week events are free and open to the public, but registration is required. For a full schedule and to register, visit the Peace Week site.

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Carter School’s Spring Peace Week examines “Conflict Resolution in a Changing and Uncertain World”

Katarina Benson — Wed, 09 Apr 2025 16:35:58 +0000

Carter School’s Spring Peace Week examines “Conflict Resolution in a Changing and Uncertain World” Katarina Benson Wed, 04/09/2025 - 12:35

Since fall 2020, the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution at �鶹��Ƶ has been hosting Peace Week, a semi-annual event that features a series of roundtables, webinars, and workshops. For Spring Peace Week beginning Monday, April 14, the theme is “Conflict Resolution in a Changing and Uncertain World. Events include lectures, panel discussions, including an event hosted by world-renowned cellist and conductor Diego Carneiro, and the return of the popular fireside chats on the Fairfax Campus.

“In the unprecedented times in which we live, it is more important than ever to find sustainable, nonviolent means of resolving our differences, whether they are between individuals, groups, or nations,” said Carter School dean Alpaslan Özerdem. “Since Peace Week started in the fall of 2020, it has grown to become a tradition at the Carter School, where hundreds of faculty members, guests, students, and attendees from around the world gather to showcase their expertise, learn, and share ideas and stories on a wide range of current and engaging topics.”

A few highlights include:

Monday, April 14, 2-3 p.m., Somalia Governance Capacity Gains: Impacts on Peace and Stability in the Horn of Africa. This session at Van Metre Hall at �鶹��Ƶ Square is presented by the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation and features Somali Ambassador Dahir Hassan. Explore the interplay between improved governance and regional dynamics, addressing both opportunities and challenges.
Tuesday, April 15, 2:30-5 p.m., Science Diplomacy and Peacebuilding: A Negotiation Skills Workshop. This in-person workshop at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg Center in Washington, D.C., will focus on the connections between the environment, science, and peacebuilding and include a presentation by Professor Silvia Danielak of the Carter School.
Tuesday, April 15, 4:30-5:50 p.m., Book Talk: Chimpanzees, War, and History: Are Men Born to Kill? This virtual session cosponsored by the Genocide Prevention Program at the Carter School, and the Department of Sociology and Anthropology features author Brian Ferguson, who in his book Chimpanzees, War, and History deconstructs efforts to illuminate human warfare via chimpanzee analogy, and provides an alternative anthropological theory grounded in Pan-human contrasts that is applicable to different types of warfare.
Wednesday, April 16, 10:30-noon, Countering Violent Extremism. This virtual session, led by Carter School professor Daniel Rothbart and two master’s degree students, examines how the social psychology of self-righteousness, perceived threats, and outgroup acrimony underpins the violence of most extremist groups. 
Thursday, April 17, noon-1:20 p.m. The World Is My Country film, World Passports & Self-Sovereign IDs. This PBS film screening introduces the audience to Garry Davis, a song and dance man from the Golden Age of Broadway and his amazing adventures with Albert Einstein, Eleanor Roosevelt, John Paul Sartre, and Simone de Beauvoir.
Thursday, April 17, 1:30-3 p.m. Paths to Peace—A Musical Journey with Diego Carneiro at the Center for the Arts on the Fairfax Campus will be a captivating session with world-renowned cellist, conductor, Rotary Peace Fellow, and founder of Orchestrating Peace, Diego Carneiro, as he takes us on a transformative journey through the universal language of music.

All Peace Week events are free and open to the public, although registration is required. For more information and a full list of events, go to the site.