Major Conference on Faith, Int'l Development to Draw Undergrads Nationwide
Calvin College will be hosting a major conference on faith and international development sponsored by grants from World Vision, International Aid, the Christian Reformed World Relief Committee (CRWRC) and Calvin's Lilly Vocation Project.
The Faith and International Development conference, to be held Feb. 9-11, 2006, will feature three days of speakers, music and other activities designed to draw undergraduate students from all over the nation to explore issues surrounding international development. The breakout sessions for the weekend will highlight international health, global politics and advocacy, theology, and careers in international development.
Overall, the conference will take a "multilateral" approach to international development, according Jackie Biltz, a religion and psychology major with an international development studies (IDS) minor who is the driving force behind the conference.
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"It's not just looking at health care or clean drinking water or HIV/AIDS," she said, in a public announcement regarding the conference. "It's about the legal side, the political side, the science side, the economic side, the healthcare side. And we want to focus on active faith and how that pertains to international development."
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Biltz, who hails from Lancaster, Pa., said she hopes the conference will serve as a meeting ground for students interested in careers in missions or international development.
Roland Hoksbergen, the director of Calvin's international development major and a member of the conference committee, said he feels that this is a crucial time for Calvin to host the event.
"Many of our most thoughtful leaders today are saying that poverty and hunger continue to be the most urgent global issues we face," he said, according to Calvin. “For a Christian college community there is no greater task than to inspire and equip young people to serve God by serving those in need.”
The conference features plenary speakers from every area of international development, including:
• David Beckman, president of Bread for the World
• Kent Hill, the assistant administrator for Europe and Eurasia of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID)
• Jacqui Patterson, a board member for Christian Connections for International Health (CCIH)
• Jose (Pepe) Alcantara, a board member of the Mexican Association for Rural and Urban Transformation (AMEXTRA)
• Jim Haveman, a 1966 graduate of Calvin and a former director of the Michigan Department of Community Health who recently served as a senior advisor to the Iraqi Ministry of Health.
In addition, Derek Webb, a founding member of Caedmon's Call, and his wife Sandra McCracken, will perform at the event.
