In January 2011, the Comprehensive Peace Agreement signed by the Sudan People’s Liberation Movement and the Government of Sudan in 2005 will expire, and southern Sudan will hold a referendum on independence from Sudan. This referendum could represent a final peaceful resolution to a decades-old conflict, or it could lead to new violence and instability in the south, Darfur, and in other parts of Sudan.
To raise awareness and show support for peace in Sudan, the Notre Dame community will gather at 12 p.m. on Saturday, Dec. 4 for the Stand with Sudan Peace Rally and the Playing for Peace 3-on-3 Basketball Tournament (all day), in the Joyce Center Field House.
Hosted by Notre Dame Men’s Basketball, Men’s Lacrosse, and Student Government, the rally is an opportunity to stand with Sudan for a just and lasting peace. Notre Dame undergraduate and graduate students, staff, and faculty will play in the basketball tournament. The rally is open to the public.
Guest speakers will include:
- Theodore Hesburgh, C.S.C., president emeritus of Notre Dame (and founder of the Kroc Institute)
- Mike Brey, head coach, Notre Dame men's basketball
- Kevin Corrigan, Notre Dame men's lacrosse
- Ed Bona (Sudan), first African to play Division I basketball
- Joe Touomou (Cameroon), former men's basketball team captain, Georgetown University
Kroc Institute Master’s in Peace Studies student Emmanuel Gore (Sudan),
and Director of Catholic Peacebuilding Studies Jerry Powers will also speak at the event. Gore and Powers, among others, have served as consultants to the Playing for Peace project.
The event is a response to representatives of the Sudan Conference of Catholic Bishops, who visited Notre Dame's Kroc Institute in October to reach out to the U.S. Catholic community and promote international engagement to help prevent an outbreak of violence. Following the bishops' appeal, the Notre Dame Student Senate unanimously passed a resolution expressing the student body's solidarity with the people of Sudan and calling for a just and sustainable peace in the nation.
Contact: playing4peace@gmail.com.