FORUMS

Informative events features interactive and stimulating discussions among people who are concerned about peace and justice in the world today. Formerly called Salon Discussion Series, that began with an exploration of the framework that Transitional Justice affords societies moving forward from a history of violence and genocide to a future of justice.

Upcoming Forums:

Friday, March 22, 2024: “Despierta Mi Bien Despierta” A Conversation with Susana Reyes.

Join us as we continue celebrating Women’s History Month. Discover how the independent editorial movement in Central America intrinsically connects to the feminist movement and women’s activism.

Our guest Susana Reyes, poet, editor at Índole Editores and director of Ojo de Cuervo publishing house, will speak about her book, “Despierta mi Bien Despierta” and Clarivel Alegria’s influence in her work.

Date: Friday, March 22, 2024
Time: 6 pm
Location: The Garage at the Highlands United Methodist Church (3830 W 32nd Ave, Denver, CO 80212)

Únase a nosotros para seguir celebrando el Mes de las Mujeres. Descubra cómo el movimiento editorial independiente en Centroamérica está intrínsecamente conectado con el movimiento feminista y el activismo de las mujeres.

Nuestra invitada Susana Reyes, poeta, editora de Índole Editores y directora de la editorial Ojo de Cuervo, hablará sobre su libro “Despierta mi Bien Despierta” y la influencia de Clarivel Alegría en su obra.

Past Forums:

Thursday, August 29th 2023:The New Biden-Harris Asylum Ban: A Conversation About the Rise of Punitive Immigration Policies in the U.S.

Avrie Davisson, who is a student at the University of Denver, recently completed a summer research project with DJPC regarding new restrictions on asylum put into effect by the Biden-Harris administration in May of 2023.

Ms. Davisson shared her findings, current events involving the policy, and ways we can continue to combat harmful border enforcement actions proposed by the Biden-Harris administration this year.

Thank you to the University of Denver’s Center for Immigration Policy & Research for sponsoring this project.

Here you can watch the recording in English of the Forum. Interpretation for the forum was provided by the Community Language Cooperative

La nueva prohibición de asilo de Biden-Harris: Una conversación sobre el auge de las políticas de inmigración represivas en EE.UU.

Avrie Davisson, estudiante de la Universidad de Denver, completó recientemente un proyecto de investigación durante el verano con DJPC sobre las nuevas restricciones al asilo puestas en marcha por la administración Biden-Harris

Avrie Davisson compartiócon nosotros sus hallazgos, los recientes cambios relacionados con la política, y las formas en que podemos seguir luchando contra las aplicación de medidas represivas en la frontera propuestas por la administración Biden-Harris este año.

¡Gracias al Center for Immigration Policy & Research de la Universidad de Denver por patrocinar este proyecto!

Aquí puede encontrar la grabación del Foro. ¡Gracias a la Cooperativa Comunitaria del Lenguaje por haber proporcionado interpretación simultánea durante éste foro.

Thursday, August 25th 2022: Forum: The proposal for a new Constitution in Chile from a human rights perspective

We are living a very important moment in Chile. On September 4th, the Chilean people will vote in a plebiscite to approve or reject a proposal for a new Constitution. The remarkable new proposal was written by a democratically-elected Constitutional Convention, the creation of which is an achievement of the massive social protests in 2019.

Chile’s current constitution was imposed in 1980 by the U.S.-backed Pinochet military dictatorship. It enshrined neoliberalism, enabling the privatization of public goods such as education, health, pensions, and water. This has resulted in high levels of inequality, concentration of wealth in the hands of a few, and many injustices. Following the 2019 massive social protests in Chile, the population overwhelmingly voted to reject the Pinochet-era Constitution and elect a Constitutional Convention — with gender parity and representatives of Indigenous peoples — to write a new Constitution.

The new proposed Constitution recognizes the rights of Indigenous peoples, the right to health, education, housing, to care and be cared for as needed, and to not suffer violence nor torture. It recognizes domestic work, LGBTQ rights, the rights of older adults, children, and nature as well as the right of workers to dignified wages. Essentially, the new Constitution enshrines rights so that people can live in dignity.

The right-wing and corporate interests are engaged in a massive campaign to deceive the population and try to convince people to vote to reject the new Constitution while Chile’s social movements are calling for the new Constitution to be approved.

To watch the webinar in English, click here. (Due to a technical snafu, the English version begins somewhat abruptly with the second speaker.)

Estamos viviendo un momento muy importante en Chile. El 4 de septiembre, el pueblo chileno votará en un plebiscito para aprobar o rechazar una propuesta de nueva Constitución. La notable nueva propuesta fue escrita por una Convención Constitucional elegida democráticamente, cuya creación es un logro de las masivas protestas sociales de 2019.

La constitución actual de Chile fue impuesta en 1980 por la dictadura militar de Pinochet, respaldada por Estados Unidos. Consagraba el neoliberalismo, permitiendo la privatización de bienes públicos como la educación, la salud, las pensiones y el agua. Esto ha dado lugar a altos niveles de desigualdad, a la concentración de la riqueza en manos de unos pocos y a muchas injusticias. Tras las masivas protestas sociales de 2019 en Chile, la población votó abrumadoramente para rechazar la Constitución de la era Pinochet y elegir una Convención Constitucional -con paridad de género y representantes de los pueblos indígenas- para redactar una nueva Constitución.

La nueva propuesta de Constitución reconoce los derechos de los pueblos indígenas, el derecho a la salud, a la educación, a la vivienda, a cuidar y ser cuidado cuando sea necesario, y a no sufrir violencia ni tortura. Reconoce el trabajo doméstico, los derechos de los LGBTQ, los derechos de los adultos mayores, de los niños y de la naturaleza, así como el derecho de los trabajadores a un salario digno. En esencia, la nueva Constitución consagra derechos para que las personas puedan vivir con dignidad.

Los intereses de la derecha y de las empresas están llevando a cabo una campaña masiva para engañar a la población y tratar de convencerla de que vote para rechazar la nueva Constitución, mientras que los movimientos sociales de Chile están pidiendo que se apruebe la nueva Constitución.

Para ver el webinar completo en español, haga clic aquí.

Tuesday, June 28th 2022: The Human Rights Situation in El Salvador: A Critical, Urgent and Necessary Look.

According to a new report from Amnesty International, Salvadoran authorities have committed “massive” human rights violations, including thousands of arbitrary detentions and violations of due process, torture, and ill-treatment. We know that conditions like these lead to migration and resistance.

Coloradan’s For Immigrant Rights member Kathy Bougher, brought together a panel of Salvadorian Human Rights experts and activists to speak out on the current reality on the ground. Given how awful the human rights situation is in El Salvador at this time, we were fortunate to have their perspective.

This event was co-hosted by the American Friends Service Committee – AFSC, Colorado; the Denver Justice and Peace Committee – DJPC; and the Interfaith Solidarity & Accompaniment Coalition of Northern Colorado – ISAAC.

Interpretation provided by the Community Language Cooperative – CLC.

To watch Spotlight On click here

Martes, 28 de Junio, 2022: Focos sobre la situación de los derechos humanos en El Salvador:
Una mirada crítica, urgente y necesaria.

Según un nuevo informe de Amnistía Internacional, las autoridades salvadoreñas han cometido violaciones “masivas” de derechos humanos, incluidas miles de detenciones arbitrarias y violaciones del debido proceso, tortura y malos tratos. Sabemos que condiciones como estas conducen a la migración y la resistencia.

Kathy Bougher, miembre de Coloradan’s For Immigrant Rights, organizó un panel con expertas salvadoreñas y activistas en derechos humanos para hablar sobre la coyuntura del país.

Este seminario es patrocinado por el Comité de Servicio de los Amigos Estadounidenses, Colorado; el Comité de Justicia y Paz de Denver; y la Coalición Interreligiosa de Solidaridad y Acompañamiento del Norte de Colorado.

La Interpretación fue proporcionada por la Cooperativa de Interpretación Comunitaria – CLC.

Para ver En Foco presione aquí

Thursday, April 14th 2022: What is Strategic Racism?

Jim Freeman, directs the Social Movement Support Lab, which provides multidisciplinary assistance to communities that are fighting systemic racism and creating positive social change. He has supported dozens of grassroots-led efforts to end mass criminalization and incarceration, achieve education equity, dismantle the school-to-prison pipeline, align community budgets with community priorities, protect immigrants’ rights, and create a more inclusive and participatory democracy.

Freeman is the author of Rich Thanks to Racism: How the Ultra-Wealthy Profit from Racial Injustice (Cornell: 2021). He served under President Obama as a Commissioner on the White House Initiative on Educational Excellence for African Americans. Freeman is a graduate of the University of Notre Dame and Harvard Law School, and was an editor on the Harvard Law Review. He is a former Skadden Fellow, clerked for Judge James R. Browning on the Ninth Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals, and has been an Adjunct Professor at Georgetown University Law Center, the University of Denver Sturm College of Law, and the Korbel School of International Studies.

To watch the forum click here.

Jim Freeman, dirige el Laboratorio de Apoyo al Movimiento Social, que proporciona asistencia multidisciplinar a las comunidades que luchan contra el racismo sistémico y crean un cambio social positivo. Ha apoyado decenas de iniciativas de base para acabar con la criminalización y el encarcelamiento masivos, lograr la equidad en la educación, desmantelar el conducto entre la escuela y la cárcel, alinear los presupuestos comunitarios con las prioridades de la comunidad, proteger los derechos de los inmigrantes y crear una democracia más inclusiva y participativa.

Freeman es autor de Rich Thanks to Racism: How the Ultra-Wealthy Profit from Racial Injustice (Cornell: 2021). Durante el mandato del Presidente Obama, trabajó como comisionado en la Iniciativa de la Casa Blanca para la Excelencia Educativa de los Afroamericanos. Freeman se graduó en la Universidad de Notre Dame y en la Facultad de Derecho de Harvard, y fue editor de la Harvard Law Review. Ha sido becario de Skadden, secretario del juez James R. Browning en el Tribunal de Apelación del Noveno Circuito de EE.UU., y ha sido profesor adjunto en el Centro de Derecho de la Universidad de Georgetown, la Facultad de Derecho Sturm de la Universidad de Denver y la Escuela de Estudios Internacionales Korbel.

Para ver el foro presione aquí

Thursday, July 29, 2021: “Climate Migration”

Climate Migration happens when people who leave their homes when climate stressors, like changing rainfall, rising sea waters or wild fires, put pressure on people to leave their homes and livelihoods behind when Climate Change makes their homes uninhabitable. This conversation will feature our friends Todd Miller and Fatuma Emmad. This event was a collaboration with the American Friends Service Committee, Denver Justice and Peace Committee, Colorado People’s Alliance and Frontline Farming. Interpretation into Spanish provided by the Colorado Community Language Cooperative.

Todd Miller has researched and written about border issues for more than 15 years, the last eight as an independent journalist and writer. He resides in Tucson, Arizona, but also has spent many years living and working in Oaxaca, Mexico. His work has appeared in the New York Times, Tom Dispatch, The Nation, San Francisco Chronicle, In These Times, Guernica, and Al Jazeera English, among other places. Miller has authored four books: Build Bridges, Not Walls: A Journey to a World Without Borders (City Lights, 2021) Empire of Borders: The Expansion of the U.S. Border Around the World (Verso, 2019), Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security (City Lights, 2017), and Border Patrol Nation: Dispatches from the Front Lines of Homeland Security (City Lights, 2014). He’s a contributing editor on border and immigration issues for NACLA Report on the Americas and its column “Border Wars”.

Fatuma Emmad is the CO-Founder, Executive Director and Head Farmer of FrontLine Farming. She serves as President of Mile High Farmers and is a Co Convener for Project Protect Food Systems Workers . She is a lecturer in the Masters for Environmental Studies Program at CU Boulder. Fatuma was born and raised in Denver and Ethiopia. Before becoming a farmer, Fatuma was a political scientist who engaged in issues affecting farming communities such as the push for genetically modified seeds across East and Southern Africa. She believes in resistance by the world’s land caretakers to single solutions for crop productivity and seeks to work on re-framing ideas of food security. Fatuma is also the recipient of the Kathy Underhill Inaugural scholarship recognizing a community member who is changing hearts and minds in the hunger space with advocacy, policy, and/or community engagement through the lens of health equity.

La migración climática ocurre cuando las personas abandonan sus hogares por factores estresantes climáticos, como las lluvias cambiantes, el aumento de las aguas del mar o los incendios forestales, éstos presionan a las personas para que abandonen sus hogares y sus medios de vida debido al cambio climático que hace que sus hogares sean inhabitables. Esta conversación contó con la participaciónde Todd Miller y Fatuma Emmad. Este evento fue una colaboración con el Comité de Servicio de los Amigos Americanos, el Comité de Justicia y Paz de Denver, la Alianza Popular de Colorado y Frontline Farming. Habá interpretación simultánea al español proporcionada por Colorado Community Language Cooperative.

Todd Miller ha investigado y escrito sobre temas fronterizos durante más de 15 años, los últimos ocho como periodista y escritor independiente. Reside en Tucson, Arizona, también ha pasado muchos años viviendo y trabajando en Oaxaca, México. Su trabajo ha aparecido en el New York Times, Tom Dispatch, The Nation, San Francisco Chronicle, In These Times, Guernica y Al Jazeera English, entre otros lugares. Miller es autor de cuatro libros: Build Bridges, Not Walls: A Journey to a World Without Borders (City Lights, 2021) Empire of Borders: The Expansion of the US Border Around the World (Verso, 2019), Storming the Wall: Climate Change , Migración y Seguridad Nacional (City Lights, 2017), y Patrulla Fronteriza Nación: Despachos desde el Frente de Seguridad Nacional (City Lights, 2014). Es editor colaborador de la revista NACLA sobre temas fronterizos y de inmigración sobre las Américas y su columna “Border Wars”.

 Fatuma Emmad es cofundadora, directora ejecutiva y granjera principal de FrontLine Farming. Se desempeña como Presidenta de Mile High Farmers y es Co-coordinadora de Project Protect Food Systems Workers. Es profesora en el Programa de Maestría en Estudios Ambientales en CU Boulder. Fatuma nació y se crió en Denver y Etiopía. Antes de convertirse en agricultora, Fatuma fue cientísta política y su trabajo se enfocaba en los problemas que afectaban a las comunidades agrícolas, como la promoción de semillas modificadas genéticamente en África oriental y meridional. Ella cree en la resistencia de los cuidadores de la tierra del mundo a soluciones únicas para la productividad de los cultivos y busca trabajar en la reformulación de las ideas de seguridad alimentaria. Fatuma también recibió la beca Kathy Underhill Inaugural que reconoce a un miembro de la comunidad que está cambiando los corazones y las mentes en el espacio del hambre con la promoción, las políticas y / o el compromiso de la comunidad a través de la lente de la equidad en la salud.

Para ver el foro presiona en el enlace: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dR8qK1KTjug

Thursday, May 6 2021: “Human Rights and Anti Corruption Bills in Honduras Teach-In”

Thursday, April 15 2021: “Asylum-Seekers and Migration at the U.S.-Mexico Border. A conversation with Kathy Bougher”

This was a conversation based on Kathy’s recent visit to the border. She addressed “metering” the Migrant Protection Protocol – MPP (“Remain in Mexico”) and Title 42.

Kathy Bougher is a Denver-based educator, feminist activist, and independent writer. She has witnessed diverse aspects of the U.S.-Mexico border since the early 2000s. Since 2014 she has made several trips to the Texas-Mexico border during the time of waves of asylum-seeking families and unaccompanied minors, the initiation of the “metering” and the Migrant Protection Protocol (“Remain in Mexico”) policies of the U.S. government, and most recently at the point of the recent wind-down of MPP. She has also traveled extensively to migrant shelters throughout Mexico and the Northern Triangle of Central America to interview Central American women and LGBTQI+ migrants and asylum seekers. Since 1992 she has collaborated with feminist organizations in El Salvador on numerous issues, including migration and a research project on Salvadoran women and migration. In Denver she is a member of Coloradans for Immigrant Rights, a project of the AFSC.

Wednesday, March 3 2021: “The Amazon Rainforest – What’s at Stake And Waht Yo Can Do.

The Amazon rainforest is one of the most important ecosystems in the world. Housing Earth’s greatest biodiversity and home to hundreds of traditional indigenous peoples, the Amazon faces an unprecedented level of threats, particularly from neoliberal policies being pushed by the authoritarian government in Brazil and elsewhere. This conversation will help us make sense of these challenges, as well as to think about opportunities for supporting grassroots movements that are mobilizing resistance against them.

This was a conversation with Andrew Miller. Andreww brings three decades of human rights activism and international field experience to his work as Amazon Watch’s DC Advocacy Director. Since joining Amazon Watch in 2007, he has provided strategic accompaniment to Indigenous partners from Brazil, Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru, facilitating rights-centric advocacy at Washington DC-based institutions such as U.S. executive offices and Congress, the multilateral banks and the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights. He travels regularly to the Amazon region and offers commentary to media such as CNN, Democracy Now, Al Jazeera English, CNN en Español, and the BBC World Service. Previously, he held several positions at Amnesty International USA, served as an “unarmed bodyguard” in Colombia with Peace Brigades International, and led capacity-building efforts for southern Sudanese community-based organizations through Mercy Corps. Follow Andrew on Twitter: @AmazonMiller

March 3 2020: “Gun Violence Prevention and Migrant Justice in Mexico and Colorado. How we work together”

The crisis in migration is driven by a combination of anti-migrant racism and the proliferation of guns and militarism from the United States. John Lindsay-Poland documents the legal and illegal flows of guns from the United States that are bringing devastating violence to communities and migrants in Mexico and Central America. This event explored the trajectory of trans-border U.S. guns and policies, how Mexico is responding, and what our communities can do to stop these vectors of violence and trauma.

Guest Speaker: John Lindsay-Poland coordinates Stop U.S. Arms to Mexico, a project of Global Exchange (www.stopusarmstomexico.org), and is the author of Plan Colombia: U.S. Ally Atrocities and Community Activism(Duke University Press). He also serves as California Healing Justice Associate with American Friends Service Committee.

Co-Sponsors:
AFSC & Coloradans for Immigrant Rights
Denver Justice and Peace Committee
Colorado Faith Communities United Against Gun Violence

To watch the forum click on the link: https://youtu.be/NEbcstPLspI

Wednesday, January 29 2020: “Chiapas Encuentro”

Wednesday, September 25, 2019: “Storming the Wall: Climate Change, Migration, and Homeland Security,” with Todd Miller

Thursday, May 2, 2019: Waking up to the Suffering and Oppression of Others. A conversation with Father Roy Bourgeois.

Father Roy Bourgeois earned a BA in Geology before serving 4 years in the military, earning a purple heart in Vietnam. He subsequently joined the Catholic Church and served 40 years as a priest, including serving the poor in Bolivia and El Salvador. These experiences led him to found the School of the Americas Watch (SOAW), an organization seeking to close the what is now known as the Western Hemisphere Institute for Security Cooperation (WHINSEC) at Fort Benning, GA.

Father Roy has served a total of 4 years in prison for non-violent protest and he and SOAW were nominated for the Nobel Peace prize in 2010. In 2012, Father Roy was expelled from the priesthood for his public support to the ordination of women priests.
Few have accomplished and sacrificed as much to address suffering and oppression.In 1994, Father Roy received our Global Justice & Peace Award and look forward to hearing his experiences about how we can stand in solidarity with the people of Latin
America.

To watch the forum click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cUA3kuckvUA&t=4380s

Wednesday, April 17, 2019: What ‘s going on in Brazil?

A conversation with Brazilian specialists who discussed recent events taking place in Latin America’s largest country. A nation that until recently was seen as an emerging economic powerhouse and democracy; now living one of its worst crisis lead by its authoritarian regime.

Marco Cepik is a Professor of International Relations and Comparative Politics at the Federal University of Rio Grande do Sul. Brazil.

Rafael Ioris is a Associate Professor of Latin American

History at the University of Denver.

Aaron Schneider is Professor of International Studies and Associate Dean for Academic Affairs at Korbel School of International Studies at University of Denver.

To watch the forum click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OEle2YoLUh8

Thursday, April 4, 2019. Mayan Responses to Top-Down Economic Development in Chiapas, Mexico.

Christine Eber and Bill Jungels shared some of their insights about responses to top-down economic development from their work in the highlands of Chiapas, with a focus on the township of San Pedro Chenalhó. Christine will focus on Maya weaving cooperatives as a means women have been using to gain greater economic autonomy and lift up their families and communities. Bill will focus on the struggle against government plans to build a “Sustainable Rural City” in Chenalhó as an example of successful resistance following the Zapatista uprising.

Christine is Professor Emerita of Anthropology at New Mexico State University and author of the recently released novel, When a Woman Rises, based on her ethnographic research in Chenalhó. She is co-founder of Weaving for Justice, a volunteer network of accompaniment for women’s weaving co-ops in Chiapas which sells their work in the US through fair trade markets. www.weaving-for-justice.org

Bill Jungels is a documentary filmmaker focussing on Mexican social justice struggles seen from the base. He is Professor Emeritus at SUNY Fredonia. His latest documentary (co-produced with Christine Eber) is Maya Faces in a Smoking Mirror, about forms of Maya identity and resistance among young Maya women and men living in Chiapas. The film can be seen in Denver at the Xicanidie film festival. www.mayafaces.com

Wednesday, February 13, 2019: CUBA-U.S. Engagement Policy: TRUMPED!

In March 2016, Peter Kornbluh accompanied President Barack Obama on his history-making trip to Havana–a major step forward in a historic effort to normalize relations between the United States and Cuba. Washington and Havana were on course to change a long contentious history of perpetual hostility in bilateral relations. Since Donald Trump’s election, however, his administration has taken steps to “recalibrate” the policy of peaceful coexistence and close the door on better relations in the future. This presentation will address key questions about Trump’s recent new restrictions on travel and trade to Cuba and the debate over sustaining Obama’s policy of positive engagement vs returning to the past era of punitive pressure in U.S. policy toward Cuba.

To watch the forum click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=d1cUXKuM2p4

Bonus: Peter Kornbluh talk at the Latin America Center at the Korbel School of International Studies: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EIDxr2CTZxI&t=6s

Thursday, January 31, 2019: The Long Honduran Night with Dana Frank.

This powerful narrative recounts the dramatic years in Honduras following the June 2009 military coup that deposed President Manuel Zelaya. Dana Frank is a professor of history at the University of California, Santa Cruz.

To watch the forum click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L7yzS-V7bso

October 15, 2015 :“Struggles for Justice through Guatemalan Social Movements“

The Association for the Integral Development of Victims of the Violence in Verapaces, Maya Achí (ADIVIMA) has been at the forefront of representing the families of the Maya Achí peoples, survivors of genocide and grave violations of human rights during the civil war. To repair the fabric of society, ADIVIMA promotes actions to ensure the Guatemalan State guarantees access to justice and reparations to the families of survivors. Juan de Dios Garcia talks about their work.

To watch the forum click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HD7TgmZ27G4

October 1, 2015: “Struggles for Justice: From Guatemala to Ayotzinapa”

As Guatemala´s fist female Attorney General, Dr. Paz y Paz Bailey prosecuted organized criminals and perpetrators of mass human rights abuses despite threats to her own safety. She was a 2013 nominee for the Nobel Peace Prize.

To watch the forum click on the link: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SJlw7cJXuw0&feature=youtu.be

Global Solutions to Violence Curriculum

In 2003, DJPC introduced Global Solutions to Violence (GSTV) a program  to teach students in local high schools and youth programs about issues related to peacemaking, nonviolence and globalization. The program curriculum explores conflict, thus creating the potential for a paradigm shift away from physical and economic violence. While DJPC no longer directly offers GSTV, we want to make the curriculum available to as many teachers and students as possible. Lesson plans can be accessed online and include printer friendly versions. Resources are presented in each lesson and an additional resource list is also offered. The lessons are available at no charge, however, we do hope that you will make a donation for the value received. Donations may be made to “DJPC Education Fund” and will be gratefully appreciated.

Mustard Seed Newsletter