Statements by Senior

Embassy Officials

Distinguished American
Speaker Series

Distinguished American Speaker
Dr. Andria Wisler
Visiting Adjunct Professor of Justice and Peace
Georgetown University

Dr. Wisler was the featured guest at a “Distinguished American Speaker” program hosted by the PAO for NGO representatives and educators.  Dr. Wisler focused her remarks on the transformation approach to peace education, noting that many different ways can be applied to get to the desired conclusion by transforming “teaching to” to “teaching with”; moving from “discussion” to “dialogue”; from “criticizing” to “critical action”; and to a trans-disciplinary approach to peace education.  

Dr. Andria Wisler, a Georgetown University peace education specialist, participated in the International Institute of Peace Education conference July 28-August 4, 2008, organized by Haifa University in cooperation with Columbia University.  In addition, the Office of Public Diplomacy arranged programs with academic, NGO and policy audiences.  Dr. Wisler is Visiting Adjunct Professor of Justice and Peace at Georgetown University and also on the faculties of Drexel University and the European University Center for Peace Studies.  Dr. Wisler drew on her background coordinating studies at the Department of International and Transcultural Studies at Columbia's Teachers College, her extensive research in the former Yugoslavia, and her experience in classrooms in the U.S. to provide insights into the study and teaching of peace education.  In her meetings and speaking engagements in Israel, at the IIPE conference and with NGOs, educators, policy makers, and think tanks members, she brought new perspectives on creating “communities of learning” that lead to “communities of peace.”