Conference to focus on children at war

LOCH SHELDRAKE — The Worldview Conference at Sullivan County Community College will once again focus the spotlight on global crises with its fall lecture entitled Worldview: Children at War. The free, public lecture will be held at 7 p.m. on Nov. 16, in the Seelig Theater at the Loch Sheldrake campus. Since its inception, the Worldview lecture series at the College has explored some of the toughest issues in the world, including the situation in Darfur and AIDS in Africa, examining possible solutions. This year’s focus is the international humanitarian response to the needs of the children at war, throughout the world. There are two featured lecturers. Steven Gomez, a second-year student and president of the Human Rights Club, also spoke about the Darfur situation at the last Worldview Conference. This year, Gomez will speak about child soldiers. Matthew Kennis is a field organizer for Amnesty International in the Northeast region. He will discuss his organization’s work in Darfur. Prior to his work with AI, Kennis worked in Guatemala with Mayan indigenous communities as an international human rights accompanier, and then for two years as a national organizer with the Network in Solidarity with the People of Guatemala (NISGUA). Amnesty International is a worldwide movement of people who campaign for a world in which every person enjoys all of the human rights enshrined in the Universal Declaration of Human Rights and other international human rights standards. Amnesty International is independent of any government, political ideology, economic interest or religion. For more information about the Worldview Conference, contact the Campus Activities Office at 845-434-5750 x4303.