Christine Ahn, an INVST Community Studies alumna and Nobel Peace Prize Social Activist Awardee, will lead a discussion following the public screening of the "Crossings" documentary on Wednesday, March 15, at 7 p.m. in the University of Colorado Boulder’s Center for Academic Success and Engagement (CASE) Chancellor's Auditorium.
The film follows the historic journey of 30 women peacemakers, led by Ahn, Nobel Peace Laureates, and activists like Gloria Steinem and more, who crossed the Demilitarized Zone (DMZ) between North and South Korea calling for an end to a 70-year war that has divided the Korean Peninsula and its people.
The screening of this new film by Deann Borshay Liem and discussion featuring Ahn is free and open to the public.
Ahn is the Executive Director of Women Cross DMZ, and led the women’s peace walk in 2015. Ahn is a CU Boulder alumna (PolSci’98), who earned a minor in peace and conflict studies and is also an INVST Community Studies graduate. She is also the recipient of the 2022 Social Activist Award from the Nobel Peace Laureates.
Since 1990, the INVST Community Studies program has offered unforgettable learning opportunities for students interested in community-based learning for eco-social transformation. The intensive two-year program, based in the School of Education’s CU Engage: the center for community-based learning and research, develops community leaders who engage in compassionate action as a lifetime commitment.
INVST Director Sabrina Sideris said Ahn’s visit to campus is exciting as the activist exemplifies how CU Boulder’s unique programs prepare “change-makers to make a positive impact with their gifts and skills.” Through INVST, the world's needs and problems meet undergraduates’ passions, and the combination often results in commitments to visionary, bold action, she said.
“We're thrilled to welcome Christine Ahn back to Boulder,” Sideris said. “Christine took her INVST experience, her knowledge and experience in the Political Science major, her identities as a Korean-American and as a woman, her passion for working to bring peace to a war-torn, divided peninsula bruised by a war that ended long ago, and combined all these together to build a lifetime of skillful, bold feminist activism for peace building and positive change.
“The documentary, ‘Crossings,’ is a beautiful and informative piece of media that students and educators from many disciplines will find fascinating and inspiring.”
The event is co-sponsored by CU Boulder's INVST Community Studies program; the Peace, Conflict and Security program; the Center for Asian Studies; CU Engage: the center for community-based learning and research; the Center for Inclusion and Social Change; and Women and Gender Studies. Refreshments will be donated by Lucky Pie of Louisville.
Seating is available first come, first served. The CASE building is located at Euclid and Broadway next to the University Memorial Center. For more info about the event, contact invst@colorado.edu.