4 pm: Maddox Theater - Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu "Striving for Justice: Searching for Common Ground". The International Day of Peace event is hosted by Rockford University's Forum Series and the Jane Addams Center for Civic Engagement

5 pm: Burpee Center - Regents Hall "Declarations of Interdependence - Rockford Series" Exhibition Tour and Community Celebration w/ Rev. Naomi Tutu. Please join us for beverages and hors d’oeuvres.

**The Declarations Exhibition will be open September 20th from 10 am-6 pm and September 21st from 10 am-7 pm

Rev. Nontombi Naomi Tutu "Striving for Justice: Searching for Common Ground"

The challenges of growing up black and female in apartheid South Africa have been the foundation of Rev. Naomi Tutu’s life as an activist for human rights. The third child of Archbishop Desmond and Nomalizo Leah Tutu, she learned early on that the whole human family loses when we accept situations of oppression, and that the teaching and preaching of hate and division injure us all. Rather than focus on what separates us, Tutu encourages us to focus on our shared humanity in order to build a just world. Rev. Tutu reminds us of the importance of not dehumanizing those with who we are in conflict with, but rather concentrate on what we have the power to change.

"Declarations of Interdependence - Rockford Series" Exhibition by Peacebuilding Connections and FishyWhale Press

Will you sign the Declaration of Interdependence? Sign the Declaration with your name and birthday if you agree to "end violence, end prejudice, and achieve respect for all." Produced in Rockford, Illinois by Roland Poska (1938-2017) between 1988-1994 each of the fifteen unique lithographic prints serve as a visual expression that evokes the interconnectedness between race, nature, and culture.

The Rockford Series consists of signatures from Rockfordians and those with connections to the city. The fifteen Declarations were signed in themed locations such as: schools, libraries, arts, sports, parks, faith, exercise, travel, food, and housing.

Roland Poska (1938 – February 2, 2017) was an American artist who was notable for pioneering papermaking in modern art, for printmaking, and for frequently combining the two into completed works of art. He was also a teacher at Rockford University, Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, a co-founder of the Milwaukee Institute of Art & Design, and founder of the lithography studio the FishyWhale Press.

By 1984, Poska was a nationally known artist. That year, he received a commission to produce a 270-foot (82 m) long painting From Blue to Blue, which was displayed on Main Street in Rockford before its installation in Milwaukee's Henry S. Reuss Federal Plaza Building. His works are included in the collections of the Art Institute of Chicago and The Metropolitan Museum of Art. In his later years, Poska became an outspoken activist for equality and common human rights.

Bob Schlehuber/Peacebuilding Connections is a multi-disciplinary artist, producer, and community organizer with over 12 years of experience executing diverse community based projects, launching local, national, and international-scale initiatives, and building and sustaining multi sectoral coalitions comprised of broad and diverse individuals and organization to advance social, political, and economic causes.