Raed Jarrar, a political analyst from Baghdad who established the grassroots organization Emaar (Arabic for “reconstruction”) providing aid to Iraqi internally displaced persons, and Eugene Cherry, a former army specialist who applied for discharge because of post-traumatic stress disorder, will be speaking at the non-partisan event, Voices of Peace 2008 in Phoenix Park. Both are associated with the American Friends Service Committee and will share their personal accounts about the effects of the war in Iraq and on them. The event is the first large-scale one held by the Voices for Peace Institute, an organization started this past spring that desires to support peace efforts in the Chippewa Valley and educate this region about war, the issues surrounding it, and their consequences. “We want people to respond in an open-minded and positive way,” says Jayne Beilecki, a member of VPI leading a workshop on cultural intelligence. “We want people to learn something they didn’t know before and offer the opportunity to think about war, peace, and issues surrounding them in a new way.” Various perspectives will be offered from workshops; speakers such as Jarrar, Cherry, and those from the 2008 Wheels of Justice national tour; and through art exhibits and live music focusing on peace. There will also be a booth for children to write letters to other children in Iraq.

Voices for Peace • Sunday, Sept. 14 • Phoenix Park • 1-5pm • FREE • 834-8756 • www.voicesforpeaceinstitute.org