Students to respond to Latin America conflict

Tue, March 17, 2009 |

A simulated conflict in Latin America will give Valparaiso University students an opportunity to develop an appropriate American response to a political, economic and human rights crisis during an annual role-playing workshop on March 25.

This year's International Workshop, organized by Valpo's International Economics and Cultural Affairs Program, is set amid a crisis in Colombia exacerbated by powerful guerrilla groups and drug cartels. Students in the program will take on roles of U.S. officials in the executive and legislative branches, leaders of human rights organizations and journalists in responding to the crisis.

The simulation, "Colombia: The U.S. Response to the Changing Nature of International Conflict," was created by the U.S. Institute for Peace and will be facilitated by Dr. Herbert "Tico" Braun, a native of Colombia. Dr. Braun has written extensively on Colombia, including the books Our Guerrillas, Our Sidewalks: A Journey into the Violence of Colombia and The Assassination of Gaitan: Public Life and Urban Violence in Colombia, and is a professor of history at the University of Virginia.

Dr. Debra Ames, chair of Valpo's IECA program, said students learn a great deal about responding to international and intercultural conflicts during the simulation.

"These workshops allow students to reflect on the role of the U.S. in Latin America and to put into practice the concepts of negotiation, policy development and cultural awareness that they discuss in their classes," Dr. Ames said. "Students get to do what they have been talking and reading about while also having a chance to learn from someone with extensive knowledge of Colombia and the violence taking place there."

Each spring, all IECA majors participate in the International Workshop. Previous workshops include a hostage simulation, trade and human rights dialogue, deciding how to intervene in a civil war and a study of European common defense. The workshop complements Valpo's year-long Focus on Latin America program examining history, culture and currents events of the region.