2008-03-06

EVENT DETAILS

The Pell Center for International Relations and Public Policy presents:

Vanessa Contopulos, MT-BC

Giving Voice to Trauma:
The Power of Music and Art Therapy for Children Affected by War
6 p.m. June 3, 2008 – Pell Center
R.S.V.P. by June 2, 2008 to pellcenter@salve.edu or 401.341.2927

Vanessa received her bachelor’s degree from the University of Redlands in psychology and music and will complete her master’s degree in peace studies and conflict resolution from the University of Bradford in England. In the spring of 2005, Vanessa founded Peace Through Music Uganda, a music education program benefiting former child-soldiers and other children affected by the war in northern Uganda. Most recently, she co-founded Healing Arts Exchange International, a non-profit organization that promotes a cultural exchange of creative ideas on how music and other healing arts can be used as a tool for personal expression, empowerment, healing, and bridging community ties.

“Giving Voice to Trauma:
The Power of Music and Art Therapy for Children Affected by War”
The war in northern Uganda has been called the most neglected humanitarian emergency in the world today. For the past 21 years, the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) and the Ugandan government have been waging a war that has left nearly two million innocent civilians caught in the middle. The LRA abducts young children to train them as soldiers to fight in this horrific war. Vanessa will share through song, video, and her stories of working with former child soldiers of northern Uganda—the power of creativity to foster healing and peace in the lives of children and their communities.