A Day Dedicated to Peace at GWC

On Friday, April 20th, Golden West College hosted the 6th Annual Peace Conference. The well attended conference featured panel discussions, interactive workshops, and musical performances that were focused on a variety of peace-oriented subjects—environmental sustainability, global human rights, non-violent conflict resolution—as well as lectures designed to empower and inspire participants into making a meaningful difference in their own communities.

The 2012 Peace Award was presented to iSanctuary, an organization that helps those freed from enslavement to sustain themselves with marketable artisan skills. iSanctuary was founded by Stephanie Pollaro, a GWC Alumnus who was moved into action when she learned that over 800,000 people each year are victims of human trafficking and 14,000-17,000 are trafficked into the United States. The organization maintains facilities in India and here in Orange County.

For the second year, this was a Zero Waste event. The conference committee used a minimal amount of paper for advertising and relied on a network of grassroots community-building practices, such as social media and multiple outreach efforts. Reusable mugs, plates and cloth napkins were donated by the GWC staff, and all organic waste from the conference were separated and sent to compost operations, which diverted the waste from local landfills.