May 16, 2012 THE VILLADOM TIMES IV • Page 7 Mahwah The Gumpert Teachers’ Workshop, “Transitional and Transformative Justice in the Aftermath of Genocide,” will be held at Ramapo College on May 17 from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Trustees Pavilion. The college is located at 505 Ramapo Valley Road in Mahwah. The workshop is being sponsored by the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies in cooperation with the New Jersey State Commission on Holocaust Education and with funding from the Gumpert Foundation and the New Jersey State Department. Workshop participants will learn how exploring societal experiences from Germany and Yugoslavia to Peru and Rwanda, coming to terms with and transcending their tainted pasts can enhance the teaching of the Holocaust, genocide, and human rights in the classroom. Transitional justice is implemented by a society coming to terms with an occurrence of mass violence, such as genocide or the widespread abuse of human rights. It may be used in tandem with restorative measures to foster the recovery from mass violence and transgressions of human rights. As such, Workshop to explore aftermath of genocide they are not intended to be solely punitive, but are designed to assist a society as a means of building a better future. Professor of Political Science and International Studies Rebecca Root will deliver the keynote address to introduce the topic, focusing on the efforts in Peru to right the wrongs of the Fujimori regime (1990-2000) and the nearly two-decade long struggle against the Shining Path insurgency. Root has a doctorate in political science from the University of Massachusetts and recently wrote her first book, “Transitional Justice in Peru,” which will be out this fall from Palgrave Macmillan. At Ramapo, she teaches political science and international studies, with a special focus on human rights. She also serves as convener for the minor in human rights and genocide studies. Sharon Van Blijdesteijn of Milburn High School will deliver a hands-on presentation about how the subject matter of transitional and transformative justice can be brought into the classroom to foster student involvement and engagement. For the last eight years, Van Blijdesteijn has been a history teacher at Millburn High, where she teaches world history, global issues, and economics. For the last three years, she has served as the chair of the Holocaust Remembrance Day Committee and has worked to transform the event into a broadly focused genocide awareness program, involving both survivor testimony and student-led discussion. Van Blijdesteijn holds a bachelor’s degree in international relations from the University of Pennsylvania and a master’s degree with distinction in political economy from the London School of Economics, where her graduate research focused on philo-Semitism in Eastern Europe during the postcommunist transition. A survivor of the Rwandan Genocide will reflect on the route her country has taken since the murderous events of 1993. The workshop, which includes breakfast and lunch, is free. Educators may register at: http://events.constantcontact.com/register/event?llr=hpok9gdab&oei dk=a07e5snes5n94f48c13. or more information or to register by phone, call (201) 684-7409.