The Professional BusinessWomen of California, expecting 5000 participants, will host their 20th Anniversary on Wednesday, May 6, 2009 at the Moscone Center South in San Francisco.  The Founders of RockRose Institute have been invited to present two one-hour sessions on conflict resolution.  The RRI sessions, titled “From Conflict to Connection,” will interactively engage 750 to 1200 women in practices of listening, emotion identification, truth telling and remaining open.  The founders hope to enhance the participants’ capacity to approach conflict with confidence and creativity. For additional information on the Conference, please call 888-544-2695 or 650-336-1110.

Human Rights Center - UC Berkeley. RockRose Institute will co-sponsor The Soul of the New Machine, an International Users Conference on Human Rights, Technology and the New Media with the HRC May 4-5, 2009 on the Berkeley Campus. Please contact Executive Director Camille Crittenden at ccrittenden@berkeley.edu for sponsorship opportunities and conference details.

The International Human Rights Section of The Bar Association of San Francisco will present a Roundtable Discussion with Justice Albie Sachs, Member of the Constitutional Court of South Africa appointed by Nelson Mandela in 1994, on Wednesday, February 11, 2009 at 12:00 noon at BASF Conference Center, Conference B, 301 Battery Street, 3rd Floor, San Francisco.  This event is open to the public and is a no cost brown bag luncheon.  Rebecca Westerfield, President of RockRose Institute, is the Chair of the Human Rights Committee. The Moderator will be Pamela Merchant, the Executive Director of the Center for Justice and Accountability.  RSVP to cgutierrez@sfbar.org. Justice Albie Sachs is a civil rights lawyer and activist struggling against apartheid since the 1960's.  Justice Sachs was detained without trial twice, lived in exile from 1966-1990, and in 1988 was almost killed in a car bombing in Mozambique planted by agents of South Africa's security forces. He lost his sight in one eye and most of one arm.  Justice Sachs is world-recognized for his role in the creation of South Africa's new Constitution, and is the author of several books on human rights.

The Youth Dialogue Project participated in the National Coalition for Dialogue and Deliberation's (NCDD) bi-annual conference in Austin, Texas last October. The following is an article published in the World Café newsletter, "Table Talk", on how ten people, ranging in ages from 21 to 58, collaborated and designed three sessions for a national conference on the topic of inter-generational relationships. Deborah Goldblatt, the YDP Director, and Mariah Howard, the visual recorder for the project, authored the article. To read the article, visit: http://conversationsthatmatter.typepad.com/world_cafe_community/youth-dialogue-project-world-caf%C3%A9s.html. To read other comments posted on NCDD's website about the Youth Dialogue Project at the conference, please go to: http://www.thataway.org/events/?p=213.

If you have had a chance to read RockRose’s newsletters and calendar, you may know that “by popular demand” we will hold our second annual STEADFAST workshop June 5-7, 2009. We promise a unique experience, linked to the mission of RockRose, to bring less conflict and greater connection in our lives. As Vince Gill so beautifully sings “let there be peace on earth, and let it begin with me”. As we consider the challenges in our world today, it can be quite overwhelming. There are many ways we can contribute in terms of energy and directed financial help. Participation in STEADFAST will be not only a gift to yourself, but to those with whom you interact in the world.

You will experience a beautiful retreat setting, and interact with powerful and magical teachers: horses, other participants and yourselves. Your two committed facilitators are donating their time, horses, and exquisite ranch facilities. We offer scholarships to young leaders who will take their learning to a broader community. All financial proceeds are donated to RockRose Institute to continue its important work in the world. Click here for course description and details, and click here for a summary of Steadfast 2008 and participant comments.

Facing History and Ourselves will hold a Benefit Dinner in San Francisco on Sunday, April 26, 2009. The benefit dinners offer opportunities for supporters to learn how Facing History impacts teachers and their students. For additional information, please visit www.facinghistory.org.

The Bali Institute for Global Renewal will hold a personal leadership workshop entitled Making a World of Difference April 12-17, 2009 in Bali. For more information, please visit www.baliinstitute.org or call 415-331-7552.