Transformational leaders from the New River Valley and other communities around the world, along with students and faculty from Virginia Tech and the University of San Diego in California, will gather in Blacksburg April 12-15 for an exchange of ideas during the 2010 Global Dialogue for Responsibility.

The Global Dialogue, which was first held in 2009 at the University of San Diego, explores ways in which entrepreneurs, community organizers, and other leaders across the globe have – often against extreme odds – created programs that address critical social concerns and transform communities.

Invited participants for the 2010 Global Dialogue, hosted by Virginia Tech, include community leaders from Guatemala, Sri Lanka, India, the Navajo Nation, Mexico, Ireland, and Costa Rica, as well as the New River Valley.

A number of Global Dialogue events are free and open to the New River Valley community.

Monday, April 12

  • 11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m. -- Lunch Forum on “A Pathway to Community,” featuring Larry Emerson, scholar and teacher from the Navajo Nation, at Schaeffer Memorial Baptist Church, Christiansburg.
  • 7 p.m. -- Panel discussion on “Succession and the Legacy of Leadership in the Midst of Change,” featuring Global Dialogue scholars from several nations, in the Litton-Reaves Auditorium, Virginia Tech.

Wednesday, April 14

  • 6 p.m. -- Reception with Virginia Tech graduate students, hosted by Graduate Dean Karen DePauw and featuring “Connections,” a community art project, in the Virginia Tech Graduate Life Center’s Multipurpose Room.

Thursday, April 15

  • 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. – Forum on “Food Security and Sustainability in our Rural Community: Addressing Hunger in the New River Valley,” at the Fieldstone United Methodist Church, Christiansburg.
  • 7 p.m. – “Tribute to Haiti and Ut Prosim (That I May Serve),” featuring the Honorable Raymond Joseph, the Haitian Ambassador to the United States, as the keynote speaker, in Virginia Tech’s Burruss Auditorium. (This event is free and open to the public, but tickets are required and are available from the box office in Squires Student Center on campus.)

The Global Dialogue program also offers research and other scholarly opportunities for graduate and undergraduate students at Virginia Tech and the University of San Diego.

The 2010 Global Dialogue is sponsored by the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships at Virginia Tech; the Community Foundation of the New River Valley; University of San Diego; Via International, a community development organization based in San Diego; and Virginia Tech’s Institute for Policy and Governance and Center for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention.

For more information about the 2010 Global Dialogue program and events, contact James Dubinsky, director of the Center for Student Engagement and Community Partnerships, at (540) 231-7935.

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