CONTACT: Peter Garretson, FSU Middle East Center, (850) 644-9516; <pgarretson@fsu.edu>

May 6, 2008

FSU TO HOST INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE ON DARFUR

Scholars from around the world will be coming to Florida State University this month to attend a major conference focusing on a subject that is very much in the headlines: the war-torn Darfur region of Sudan, the Southern Sudan crisis, and Sudan's prospects for peace. The Sudan Studies Association's 27th Annual Conference, titled "Sudan's Wars and Peace Agreements," will take place:

FRIDAY, MAY 16 -- SUNDAY, MAY 18, 2008
STUDENT SERVICES BUILDING
874 TRADITIONS WAY
FLORIDA STATE UNIVERSITY CAMPUS
TALLAHASSEE, FLA.

Featuring presentations of 37 papers and 12 panel discussions, the conference, which requires registration, represents the largest of its kind on the topic of Africa ever held in Tallahassee. Among the scheduled panels are "Conflict and Post-Conflict: Forgiveness, Repatriation, Humanitarianism and Worsening of Conflict," "The State of Peace Efforts in the Sudan" and "The Colonial and Post-Colonial Eras: Violence, Disintegration and Humanitarianism."

The conference's two keynote speakers are Alex de Waal, director of Justice Africa, who will speak at a banquet/dinner on Saturday at 5:45 p.m.; and Suleiman Ali Baldo, director of the Africa program of the International Center for Transitional Justice, who will speak during Sunday's closing lunch/banquet at 1 p.m.

Other events include an art exhibit by Khalid Kodi, a Sudanese painter, designer and graphic artist; and a poster display by Kids for Kids -- Darfur, an organization that helps families in Darfur.

To register for the conference, please visit <www.sudanstudies.org>. For a complete conference agenda, visit <www.fsu.edu/~mec> and click "Online Calendar" on the left side of the page.

"Sudan's Wars and Peace Agreements" is sponsored by the Sudan Studies Association, the FSU Middle East Center, the FSU College of Arts and Sciences, the FSU College of Social Sciences, the FSU Department of History, the FSU Claude Pepper Institute for Intercultural Dialogue and the FSU Center for the Advancement of Human Rights.

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