This public event will welcome a delegation of Maori and Pasifika colleagues visiting Middlebury College from Aotearoa/New Zealand. Panel members will discuss the role of purakau (storytelling), waiata (song), and whakatauki (proverbs) in Indigenous Maori and Polynesian practices of wellbeing and planetary stewardship. Through the teachings of the kuaka, a shorebird known for its remarkable migration from Aotearoa to North America, this event invites attendees to explore the idea that journeys are collective and community futures can soar in spaces of mutual learning, responsibility, and relationship.

What do people seek when they seek justice? A judgment may establish responsibility. A truth commission may create a public record. An oral history may give someone the opportunity to tell a story that has long gone unheard. Although these processes have different powers and purposes, each can provide something fundamental: acknowledgment. Drawing on her work as a human rights lawyer and co-founder of Rerooted, Anoush Baghdassarian, along with her co-founder Ani Schug, will explore acknowledgment as the connective tissue among law, memory, storytelling, and peacebuilding.

Join the Conflict Transformation Collaborative for an afternoon of art! Stop by and show us what you think peace can look like—no previous design experience required. CTC staff will be there to doodle along with you. Just bring your curiosity!