The first conference sponsored by the Kroc Institute outside of the United States will not take place in a political capital or educational mecca, but in an East African city known for its geography.

“Religion in African Conflicts and Peacebuilding Initiatives” will be held April 1-3 in Jinja, Uganda, on the shore of Lake Victoria. Where once Europeans ended their long search for the source of the Nile River, scholars and peace practitioners will gather to explore Africa’s problems and prospects.

This will be the third annual conference of the Kroc Institute’s Program in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding (PRCP). PRCP coordinator Rashied Omar gives several reasons for the location:

• Africa is the focus of study for the Kroc Institute’s 2003-04 Rockefeller Visiting Fellows.
• Uganda will be among future internship sites for Kroc Institute graduate students, and the institute is eager to build alliances there.
• Uganda is a centrally located for many Kroc graduates who are engaged in peacebuilding.

Omar, a South African, said his bias in favor of Africa had something to do with the choice.

“It’s a continent that requires more attention to issues of conflict and peace-building,” he said. “It doesn’t get much, perhaps because it doesn’t have oil. The Rwandan experience calls attention to that,” referring to the 1994 genocide that many observers believe could have been stopped had world leaders been paying more heed to the conflict there.

The three Rockefeller Visiting Fellows will be among about 20 people from the University of Notre Dame who will attend the conference. The fellows will preside over three of the panels on the agenda. James Smith will lead “The Politics of Indigenous Revivalism”; Rosalind Hackett, “Media Access and Representation”; Sakah Mahmud. “Islamic Activism.”

Other panel topics are “Gendered Dimensions of Religious Conflict and Transformation,” “African States and the Crisis of Governance” and “Interreligious Peacebuilding Initiatives.”

Yet another panel will focus entirely on Ugandan issues. Finally, representatives of various non-governmental organizations will discuss their work during a special NGO presentation.

Not all the participants’ time will be spent in meeting rooms. They will be invited to take a cruise on Lake Victoria to see the place where the Nile River begins its 4,000-mile journey to the Mediterranean Sea.

Father Tom McDermott, a Kroc visiting fellow, is also determined that conferees have a chance to experience the Ugandan culture, which may include visiting a local village. McDermott knows the area and its people well. He lived eight years in Jinja, where he served as rector of the major seminary and pastoral coordinator for the Catholic Diocese of Jinja.

He described Jinja as a quiet town. Although its glory days as the country’s industrial center are past, he said, “it’s a very hospitable place” with an eagerness to boost its tourist trade. The Jinja Nile Resort, where the conference will be held, boasts all the modern amenities.

McDermott is delighted by the location of the RIREC conference. “It’s a deep symbol of the Institute’s willingness to listen, of a desire to be real, to ground all of our research in a relationship with the people who live these issues of peace and reconciliation.”

For more information on the conference, contact Rashied Omar at omar.1@nd.edu.

Conference schedule

The Program in Religion, Conflict and Peacebuilding (PRCP)
The Rockefeller Fellows 2003-04

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