Tecla Wanjala, African peace activist, will present case studies and discuss personal experiences from her work as the director of the Kenya Peace and Development Network (PeaceNet) and previously as Relief and Reconciliation Coordinator in the Bungoma Diocese of the Catholic Church in western Kenya.  She will emphasize the comprehensive nature of peacebuilding work, beginning with humanitarian relief, through rehabilitation, reconciliation, and development to address the underlying issues of conflict (poverty, marginalization, etc).

Tecla Wanjala is coordinator of PeaceNet Kenya (http://www.peacenet.kabissa.org/), a network of NGOs, religious institutions, and community based organizations working together to address issues of political and ethnic conflicts. She has previously worked as a relief and rehabilitation coordinator for victims displaced by ethnic clashes and as a social worker cum teacher for Somali refugees. A Kenyan national, Mrs. Wanjala is on the Steering Committee of the Coalition for Peace in Africa, a network of African peace practitioners, and is one of the founding members of Action for Conflict, a global network of peace practitioners.

The "Global Peace, Security, and Human Rights" lecture series is sponsored by the UC Institute for Global Conflict and Cooperation, UCSB Arts & Lectures, Global and International Studies Program, Global Peace and Security Program and Interdisciplinary Humanities Center. It is being put on in partnership with the Santa Barbara Committee on Foreign Relations, Nuclear Age Peace Foundation, PAX 2100, International Studies Association at Santa Barbara City College, and the International Studies Program at Ventura College. This event is cosponsored by the IHC African Studies Research Focus Group and The Everyday Ghandis Project.