MAYDAY! Peace Conference

Growing Peacebuilders
Wednesday, April 27, 2022

Growing Peace Builders, the 2022 MAYDAY! Peace Conference theme, seeks to empower us to promote justice and peace.

This year’s conference will feature Dr. Maya Soetoro and Dr. Kerrie Urosevich, peace educators and the founders of Ceeds of Peace, a nonprofit aimed at raising peacemakers and educating communities on sustainability, justice, and peacebuilding. By planting the “ceeds” of compassion, commitment, collaboration and more, Ceeds of Peace hopes to provide individuals with the tools they need to work towards positive change and remain resilient while doing so. This year, Soetoro and Urosevich will share these tools with the Gustavus community through a presentation at 10 a.m. as well as a variety of interactive workshops in the afternoon.

Ceeds of Peace

Ceeds of Peace is a nonprofit based in Honolulu, Hawai'i that is dedicated to fostering both individual and community-wide peacebuilding through workshops, community events, and a variety of other activities. The organization models all of its outreach through the lens of seven different leadership skills that are referred to as the “7 Ceeds”. The “Ceeds” are as follows: critical thinking, courage, conflict resolution, compassion, commitment, collaboration, and connection. By building these skills within individuals in a community, a ripple effect will occur leaving the larger community empowered. 

MAYDAY! Speakers

Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng

Dr. Kerrie Urosevich

Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng is a co-founder of Ceeds of Peace, the organization at the center of this year’s MAYDAY! Peace Conference. Soetoro-Ng spent her early years in both Jakarta, Indonesia and Hawai’i. She received her BA in from Barnard College of Columbia University and her MA in Secondary Education from the University of Hawai’i. Soetoro-Ng taught Social Studies and History at the secondary level until receiving her Ph.D. in Multicultural Education from the University of Hawai’i in 2006. Since receiving her Ph.D., Soetoro-Ng has taught courses such as Leadership for Social Change, History of Peace Movements, Peace Education, and Conflict Management for Educators at the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa where she previously served as director. She founded the Institute for Climate and Peace as well as another nonprofit, Peace Studio. Both of these nonprofits focus on diverse ways of building peace with the goal of strengthening communities from climate change and other threats. Soetoro-Ng also has a passion for writing and has published a children's book called Ladder to the Moon. Her first Young Adult novel, Yellowwood, will be coming out in 2022. Currently, Soetoro-Ng continues to promote multiculturalism and peace education as an associate specialist for the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution. She also serves as a consultant for the Obama Foundation, an organization founded by her half-brother Barack Obama. 
Dr. Kerrie Urosevich is a co-founder of Ceeds of Peace, the nonprofit that will be featured at this year’s MAYDAY! Peace Conference. Dr. Urosevich graduated from Gustavus Adolphus College in 1993 with degrees in both Psychology and Japanese Studies. During her time at Gustavus, Urosevich was an avid volleyball player. After graduating, Urosevich went on to receive her MA in International Policy and Nonprofit Management from the Monterey Institute of International Studies in 2000. She then received a Ph.D. from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, where she specialized in Political Science with a focus in Conflict Resolution and Systems Design. Urosevich owned the business Can U Summit Consulting and is a co-founder of Lead4Tomorrow where she was director of the Family Hui Program. She also worked as the Early Childhood Action Strategy Coordinator in the Hawai’i Governor's Office from 2013-2016. Currently, Urosevich serves as an Associate Faculty with the Matsunaga Institute for Peace and Conflict Resolution at the University of Hawai’i at Mānoa, a coach for SMALLIFY, and continues work with her nonprofits. In all her work, Urosevich keeps families and peacemaking at the center. She works towards conflict resolution, systemic change and peacebuilding in hopes of building stronger communities.

 
Schedule
Time Event
10 -11:30 a.m.
Morning Session: Planting the "Ceeds" of Peacebuilding

Presentation by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng & Dr. Kerrie Urosevich

2:30-3:20 p.m.
Workshop 1: Peacebuilding in Education

Workshop led by Dr. Kerrie Urosevich
3:30-4:20 p.m.
Workshop 2: Climate Justice & Peacebuilding

Workshop led by Dr. Maya Soetoro-Ng
7:00-8:00 p.m.
Workshop 3: The Activist: Staying Steady in the Storm

Workshop led by Soetorio & Urosevich

For more information, contact the Office of Marketing and Communication at Gustavus (call 507-933-7520 or e-mail marketing@gustavus.edu).

The annual MAYDAY! Peace Conference was established at Gustavus Adolphus College in 1981 with funding by the late Florence and Raymond Sponberg. It was established to inspire attendees to work for justice and peace throughout the world. 

Class Schedule Modification

The class schedule will be modified to allow for all students and faculty to attend the morning session. Classes that start at 8 a.m. and 9 a.m. will meet at the regularly scheduled times. Classes that start at 10:30 a.m., 11:30 a.m. and 12:30 p.m. on that day will be shortened to thirty minutes each with ten minutes between classes. Normal scheduling will resume at 1:30 p.m. 

Class Schedule
Normal Start Time Adjusted Start Time
10:30-11:20 a.m. 11:30 a.m. -12 p.m.
11:30 a.m -12:20 p.m. 12:10-12:40 p.m.
12:30-1:20 p.m. 12:50-1:20 p.m.