|
For the first time in the history of Truth and Reconciliation Commissions, the Liberian TRC is taking statements from citizens in the diaspora. A network of volunteers across the US have been trained as statement takers and have been gathering testimonies from war-affected Liberians. In the Washington DC area, AU students have been intimately involved in the process.
We are privileged to welcome GERALD COLEMAN, one of the Liberian commissioners, to speak about the ongoing process, in Liberia and in the U.S. The panel will discuss the successes and the challenges of the diaspora project.
Liberian food will be served at the event.
For more information contact Susan Shepler, shepler@american.edu, 202-885-2454
-------------------------------------------
Panel members include:
TRC Commissioner Rev. Gerald B. Coleman,
Commisioner Coleman is an electrical engineer and project manager by training, having completed an engineering masters and post-graduate work at Northeastern University. Rev. Coleman is the spiritual elder and founding national missionary of the Unification Movement of Liberia and has worked with the mission for more than 25 years. As the Liberian ambassador and special envoy to the Far East in 1996, he worked for the peaceful transition of the Liberian National Transitional Government (LNTG III) to civilian government by facilitating several peace-building, scholarship and cultural-exchange programs for Liberian youth. In 2000, in collaboration with other Liberian leaders, Ambassador Coleman launched the Inter-Religious & International Federation for World Peace of Liberia (IIFWP-Liberia) as a national branch of an international peace-building NGO. The National Transitional Government of Liberia (NTGL) asked Ambassador Coleman to help facilitate the establishment of the current TRC, a process that culminated in June 2005 with the final passage of the TRC Act of Liberia.
Patricia Minikon
Patricia Minikon is an AU graduate student, a practicing lawyer, and member of the Resolution Committee of the Liberian Community Association in the Washington Metropolitan Area. She has served as the primary cultural advisor to the DC area Liberia TRC project.
Advocates for Human Rights Representative, Diaspora Project Coordinating Law Firm
Phillip R. Marchesiello, Partner, Akin Gump,
Mr. Marchesiello received his B.A. cum laude in economics from St. Mary's College of Maryland in 1994 and his J.D. magna cum laude in 1997 from the Georgetown University Law Center, where he was awarded the Order of the Coif. He has coordinated the pro-bono work of Akin Gump in support of the Liberia TRC project in the Washington DC area.
Adrienne Garcia, Washington College of Law Student and DC Diaspora Project Outreach Co-coordinator
An American University Student Volunteer Statement Taker
| 
