The International Peace Concert will take place Nov. 10 in the Reilly Room. Photo courtesy of Desmond Tutu Peace Lab.
EMMA QUASNY | STAFF REPORTER | equasny@butler.edu
On Nov. 10 at 3 p.m. the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab at Butler, along with the Peace Center for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, will host the International Peace Concert.
The concert will take place in the Reilly Room and consist of about eight performers ranging from dance to singing to fashion. It is a way for the peace lab to wrap up all of the events it has put on this semester, while introducing Butler students to different social justice non-profits in the area.
The Hoza Dance Troupe is the headliner for the concert. The dance troupe began as part of the Sport for Peace Project within the Peace Center for Forgiveness and Reconciliation. It’s comprised of young women who use dance to keep their home cultures alive. Anyone is welcome to join, though only the best dancers will perform at different events across the Midwest. All ticket proceeds will go toward the group’s travel expenses.
The Desmond Tutu Peace Lab is an undergraduate think tank on campus dedicated to research, activism and dialogue around peace and social justice issues. The peace lab was created in 2017 following the end of the Desmond Tutu Center, a five-year partnership between Butler and the Christian Theological Seminary that worked to create a more peaceful and reconciled community in Indianapolis.
Cambria Khayat, a sophomore economics and international studies double major, is an intern for the peace lab and believes that being a part of this organization is a unique opportunity.
“I think a lot of students tend to overlook this opportunity because not many people know that the Desmond Tutu Peace Lab is one of two undergraduate peace labs in the country,” Khayat said.
Gabby Douglas, a senior Spanish and international studies double major, is another intern for the peace lab and has contributed to putting the event together. Douglas also works at a local non-profit called the Peace Center for Forgiveness and Reconciliation, which serves resettled refugees in the Indianapolis area. The founder of the organization, Kizito Kalima, is a Rwanda genocide survivor.
“His whole mission is to provide healing and peace-oriented services to the refugees that have experienced traumatic events similar to his own,” Douglas said. “I thought it would be a great idea to bridge the gap between the Peace Lab internship that I have and the Peace Center for Forgiveness and Reconciliation.”
Douglas wanted to find a way to burst the Butler bubble and educate students on what organizations exist in the community around them.
“We are just striving to be good neighbors and collaborating with really good community groups and organizations,” Douglas said. “Peacebuilding is an effective way to bridge campus and community, and so we just hope to keep doing that by engaging the Butler student body and faculty members, and we’re excited to see where it takes us.”
Tickets are available for purchase at the door, and will be $5 for students and $10 for non-students. The concert will count as a BCR for students.
