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November 2: Screening/Panel discussion at Northwestern/Buffet - A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps

Buffett Institute for Global Affairs, Northwestern University

Join the Northwestern Roberta Buffett Institute for Global Affairs for a screening of the film A Towering Task: The Story of the Peace Corps on Wednesday, November 2 at 3:00 p.m. CDT in the Norris University Center's McCormick Auditorium. 

Narrated by Annette Bening, A Towering Task tells the remarkable story of the Peace Corps and takes viewers on a journey of what it means to be a global citizen. In 1961, President John F. Kennedy gave Americans the opportunity to serve their country in a new way by forming the Peace Corps. Since then, more than 200,000 volunteers have traveled to more than 140 countries to carry out the organization's mission of international cooperation. Nearly 60 years later, Peace Corps volunteers are still on the front lines of addressing some of our world's most pressing challenges, yet the agency has struggled to remain relevant amid sociopolitical change. More than once, the Peace Corps had to fight for its very existence, and now - between pandemics, climate change, and a rise in nationalist sentiment - the Peace Corps is again confronting a crisis of identity: What role should it play around the world and in the lives of engaged citizens?

The screening will be followed by a panel discussion on the Peace Corps and global citizenship more broadly from 4:45-5:30 p.m. CDT with A Towering Task film director Alana DeJoseph and Northwestern University Clinical Professor of Law Juliet Sorensen.  The conversation will be moderated by Northwestern Associate Provost for Global Affairs and Northwestern Buffett Executive Director Annelise Riles. Following the discussion, attendees are invited to join us for reception in Norris University Center's Dittmar Gallery from 5:45-6:30p.m. 

Register/more information here.

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