A rousing speech by a Nobel Prize winner launched the third year of the Research Initiative on the Resolution of Ethnic Conflict.

Archbishop Emeritus Desmond Tutu spoke to a crowd that spilled into hallways and other rooms at the University of Notre Dame’s McKenna Hall during the RIREC conference, “Peacebuilding After Peace Accords.” Tutu shared lessons of hope and reconciliation from the experiences of his native South Africa, which overcame the racist doctrine of apartheid a decade ago. The event was aptly described by The Rev. Theodore Hesburgh, founder of the Kroc Institute, as “a Notre Dame Moment.”

Johan Galtung, a founding figure in peace research, delivered a second keynote address at the Sept. 11-13, 2003, conference. More than 60 scholars delivered papers in 18 parallel academic panels, which revolved around the main RIREC research themes of post-accord violence, young people, and truth-telling. In a roundtable discussion, panelists examined in detail the contemporary peace process in South Africa. Another panel featured young people who work on peacebuilding projects in several post-accord contexts. The Kroc Institute sponsored the conference with assistance from the Henkels Visiting Scholars series at Notre Dame, the United States Institute of Peace, and the Fulbright Occasional Lectures Program.

RIREC’s work continued throughout the academic year, under the leadership of project co-directors John Darby, Siobhan McEvoy-Levy and Tristan Ann Borer. All three directors are editing books on RIREC research themes, and have submitted manuscripts to the Notre Dame Press. The three volumes are expected to be published in 2005. RIREC also plans to produce a fourth volume, bringing together its research themes.

Top of Page

Home > Publications > Annual Report > Annual Report 2003-04 > RIREC explores ways to maintain peace