On Wednesday, October 29th 2014 Peace Islands Institute-Philadelphia was graciously hosted Villanova University on its beautiful campus to engage the Greater Philadelphia community, local academicians, and inspired professionals at their Philadelphia 2020: Visions of Civil Society conference. The one-day intensive workshop proved to live up to its premise of being a “different kind of conference” with engaging dialogue amongst cross-disciplinary professionals and academicians. The mission of the conference was to initiate dialogue on the matter of developing a sense of civil society in Philadelphia by the year 2020, its practicality, and potential roadblocks.
The notion of a “civil society” is that individuals and institutions work together to build a society or community that is welcoming to all with its push for a sense of general welfare. PII sees this to be a fundamental foundation in peacebuilding and peacekeeping, and as a result saw it fit to define how the blueprint for such as society in Philadelphia could be shaped and implemented. For the conference PII identified specific societal dynamics seen to affect the development of a civil society. The conference began with opening remarks from Dr. Tim Horner of Villanova University and Mr. Murat Odemis of PII. Our distinguished participants then proceeded to actively engage the attendees with panels on Age friendly Philadelphia, Faith, and Economic and Community Development in Philadelphia for 2020, and also individual talks accompanied with Q&A sessions on Public Safety and Security, Media, Education, and Multiculturalism.
The day began with a hospital welcome reception that included a light breakfast and refreshments before going on to tackle the matter at hand with its insightful panels and talks. The talks were given by distinguished guests highly interested and involved with the civil society initiative in Philadelphia. Executive assistant of US Attorney Rob Reed spoke to the room on the importance of Public Safety and Security for a civil society and the challenges of developing a sense of assurance and safety for community members despite being part of such a large and sometimes difficult community to manage. VP for News and Civic Dialogue at WHYY Chris Satullo enlightened listeners with his assessment of the affect Media has on a developing civil society and how it can both work in the favor or against such efforts. Representative James Roebuck gave insight as both an educator and policy maker on Education in Philadelphia and the current track it is taking, and where it most go in order to ensure civil society is establish by 2020. The final talk was given by Jennifer Rodriquez from the Mayor’s Office for Immigrant & Multicultural Affairs on the Multiculturalism in Philadelphia’s ever growing diverse population, and the difficulties it poses for policy makers to address unique concerns along with the beauty and character it brings to the city.
The long but worthwhile day came to a close at 4PM after having started at 9AM with closing remarks and conclusions. The hopes and initiatives in place of inspired individuals that attended and supported the conference are evident and already making differences. The conference provided enthusiast and activists from a multiplicity of perspectives and disciplines a platform to share ideas and come together. It is essentially paramount that these initiatives and individuals come together on a common passion to create and sustain a civil society that is viable for the future and that may provide a model for other communities looking to develop a similar understanding of welfare.
