Recorded webcast of Oct. 18 ‘Small World/Big Divides’ peace summit available on the Internet

Recorded webcast of Oct. 18 ‘Small World/Big Divides’ peace summit available on the InternetOctober 19, 2006SU News ServicesSUnews@syr.edu

The recorded webcast of Wednesday’s Syracuse University “Small World/Big Divides: Building Bridges in an Age of Extremes” peace summit is now available for viewing at http://buildingbridges.syr.edu/.

The event, held in Goldstein Auditorium in the Hildegarde and J. Myer Schine Student Center, brought together an esteemed group of diplomats, educators and human rights advocates for a lively dialogue focusing on Middle East unrest and what can be done to bridge the divides that prevent mutually acceptable resolution to conflict.

More than 600 people watched the discussion unfold in person, while hundreds more participated via the Internet. During a portion of the program, audience members in the auditorium were able to ask questions of the panelists, while those watching the live webstream submitted questions via e-mail and instant messaging.

Participants included Ismael Ahmed, executive director of the Arab Community Center for Economic & Social Services (ACCESS) in Michigan; Hanan Ashrawi, Palestinian legislator and scholar, and former spokesperson for the Palestinian Delegation to the Middle East Peace Process; Vartan Gregorian, president of Carnegie Corp. of New York; Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations; Tazim Kassam, SU associate professor of religion; Rami Khouri, editor-at-large of the Beirut-based newspaper The Daily Star and director of the Issam Fares Institute of Public Policy and International Affairs at American University of Beirut; Mycere Gythae Mygo, professor and chair of SU’s Department of African American Studies; Itamar Rabinovich, president of Tel Aviv University; Dennis Ross, author and diplomat, and Ziegler Distinguished Fellow at the Washington Institute.

Facilitators were David Crane, former chief prosecutor of the Special Court for Sierra Leone and SU Distinguished Visiting Professor of Law, and Diane Weathers, human rights advocate and former editor in chief of Essence Magazine.

SU Chancellor and President Nancy Cantor opened and closed the event, and William Safire, Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist for The New York Times and chairman of The Dana Foundation, offered a brief videotaped message.