Columbia Negotiation and Conflict Resolution Alumnus Film “Walking Merchandise” Premieres October 23
Ethan Downing, recent graduate of the Columbia Master of Science in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution program, is using his education in the service of an important cause.

Ethan is the director of a documentary film, Walking Merchandise – Child Trafficking and the Snakehead Trade, a glimpse into human trafficking of middle-school-aged Chinese children brought to the United States by smugglers known as “snakeheads.”  Sent by their parents to work as low-wage laborers as a source of income, the children embark on a perilous journey that can include physical harm, sexual assault, and even death.  Once in the U.S., they are trapped in a life of debt-bondage and forced to work around the clock in dangerous conditions with the hope of paying off debts as high as $100,000.

Produced over two years, this short film tells the story of five children trafficked to the U.S. and the lawyers, social workers, and journalists who have dedicated their careers to helping them, as well as understanding the global forces that brought them to the U.S.  Walking Merchandise premiered earlier this year at the prestigious Rhode Island International Film Festival.

New York City Premiere
Tuesday, October 23, 6:30 p.m.
Milbank Chapel, Teachers College, Columbia University
Admission Free
Following the screening, there will be a panel discussion featuring experts working in conflict resolution, or featured in the film, and a short Q. & A. session with the filmmakers.

The Program in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution presents
Spring 2011 Capstone Thesis Presentations

Saturday, April 30th & Sunday, May 1st
9:00am - 5:00pm
103 Jerome Greene Hall, Columbia University, Morningside campus

You are invited to the Spring 2011 Capstone Thesis Presentations, a graduate student showcase brought to you by the Master of Science program in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia University. Come join our Spring 2011 class as they present their research on conflict and intervention strategies in a wide range of contexts.

Contact Connie Sun at cjs2144@columbia.edu for more information.

Dr. Daniel Druckman, a well-known scholar and practitioner in the field of conflict resolution, negotiation and peace studies, is coming to Columbia University to present and discuss his research on negotiated agreements, specifically those in the contexts of four issues domains: peace agreements, trade, environment and arms control.

Daniel Druckman is Professor of Public and International Affairs at George Mason University and Distinguished Scholar at the Public Memory Research Centre at the University of Southern Queensland in Australia. He has been the Vernon M. and Minnie I. Lynch Professor of Conflict Resolution at George Mason, a professor at the University of Queensland in Brisbane, a member of the faculty at Sabanci University in Istanbul, and a visiting professor at the Australian National University, University of Melbourne and at National Yunlin University of Science and Technology in Taiwan. He has published widely on such topics as negotiating behavior, nationalism and group identity, human performance, peacekeeping, political stability, nonverbal communication, and research methodology. He is a board member or associate editor of eight Journals. He received the 1995 Otto Klineberg award for his work on nationalism, a Teaching Excellence award in 1998 from George Mason University, awards for the outstanding article published in 2001 and the outstanding book published in 2005-2006 from the International Association for Conflict Management (IACM). He is the recipient of the 2003 Lifetime Achievement award from the IACM.

No RSVP is required.

Andrea Bartoli is the director of the Institute of Conflict Analysis and Resolution and Drucie French Cumbie Chair at George Mason University. He works primarily on peacemaking and genocide prevention. He is the founding director of Columbia University’s Center for International Conflict Resolution (CICR), a senior research scholar at the School of International and Public Affairs (SIPA), and a teaching fellow at Georgetown University and the University of Siena. Dr. Bartoli has taught in the U.S. since 1994.