Dawson College hosts international conference - Violence and youth: the role of education assembles experts to find inspiring solutions to a growing concern

MONTREAL, Sept. 28, 2011 /CNW Telbec/ - For the first time in Montreal, or perhaps anywhere, a distinguished group of scholars and experts will descend on the Centre Sheraton at the invitation of Dawson College and the Association of Canadian Community Colleges to explore the root causes of violence in youth and to discuss solutions that education might provide in stemming this violence.

The two-and-a-half day event, beginning on Thursday evening, September 29, at Dawson College and ending on Saturday evening, October 1 with the premiere of the film Fambol Tok, is the culmination of the 5^th year commemorations of the school shooting that took place at the College in September 2006.

The conference was made possible through the generous support of the Quebec government, specifically by the Secrétariat à la jeunesse, du Ministère du Conseil exécutif, du Ministère de la Justice, du Ministère de la Santé et Services sociaux, du Ministère de l'Éducation, du Loisir et du Sport, du Ministère de la Sécurité publique et du Ministère de la Culture, des Communications et de la Condition féminine.

Among the speakers and topics:

• Lt. Col. David Grossman, a retired US military officer familiar with how soldiers are prepared for combat through the use of video gaming, leading him to reflect on the dangers of increasingly violent video games in the hands of youth
• Jerzy Novak, founding director of the Centre for Peace Studies and Violence Prevention at Virginia Tech, where a shooting rampage took the life of his Montreal-born wife Jocelyne Couture, and 32 others
• École Polytechnique panel featuring Heidi Rathjen, Francine Pelletier and Wendy Cukier on how the 1989 massacre struck at the very heart of Quebec society
• The MUHC research team on psychological intervention plans for schools after a violent act and the identification of post-traumatic stress disorder
• An examination of the kind of bullying that led to the murder of teenager Reena Virk at the hands of her mostly female peers
• Bullying expert Barbara Coloroso on the benefits of engaging the bystander
• Opening keynote James Gilligan on the shift from punishment to prevention

For further information:

For the full program, visit: http://dc37.dawsoncollege.qc.ca/conference2011/e_schedule.php

Contact: Donna Varrica, Communications, Dawson College
[phone] ext. 1352 / cell [phone]