Schedule
Thursday, February 26, 2026
| 4 – 5:30pm | Plenary Address: The Legacy of Father Vincent Machozi Dr. Dana L. Robert, William Fairfield Warren Distinguished Professor, BU School of Theology Moore Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue |
| 6 – 8pm | Opening Reception Dahod Family Alumni Center, 225 Bay State Road, “The Castle” |
Friday, February 27, 2026
| 8 – 9am | Breakfast Moore Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue |
| 9 – 10:15am | Session 1: Climate Justice and Activism Mark Shimave, “Extractive Mining and Popular Movements in Sub-Saharan Africa: An Ethical Consideration of Agency from Below” David Idowu, “When Climate Change Becomes an Escape: Examining Nigerian Government’s Response to Ecologically Related Conflicts” Filipe Maia, “Planetary Fever: Affect, Theology, and Rising Temperatures” |
| 10:30 – 11:45am | Session 2: Ecological Flourishing and Reforestation Samuel Cole-Osborn, “A Forest of Iconographers: African Burseraceae Trees and Icons of an Invisible God” Stephen Warui, “Resistance as Ecological Practice: Wangari Maathai and the Defense of Karura Forest in Nairobi” Jessica Pulling, “Communion of Spirit and Land: Food Practices as a Path to Kinship, Justice, and Ecological Flourishing” Becky Copeland, “Scriptural Resources for Land Reform” |
| 12 – 1:30pm | Lunch Moore Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue |
| 1:30 – 2:15pm | Session 3: Theologically Informed Social Movements Justin Brothers, “We are Dancing Animals: The MST, The American Left, and the Gospel of Revolution” Fellipe dos Anjos Pereira, “Sacred Resistance Against the Devouring of the Earth: The Pinheiro Baptist Church’s Fight Against Predatory Mining in Brazil” Zachary Mondesire, “AKDN Institutions of Pluralism and Ecologies of Care in Cairo and Abidjan” |
| 2:15 – 3pm | Break |
| 3 – 4:30pm | Plenary Address: Odyssey towards building a Nation: Ethiopia’s National Dialogue and the Re-imagining of Peace-building Dr. Ambaye Ogato, Commissioner, Ethiopian National Dialogue Commission |
| 5 – 6:30pm | Dinner BU Fuller’s Pub, 225 Bay State Road |
Saturday, February 28, 2026
| 8 – 9am | Breakfast Moore Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue |
| 9:15 – 10:15am | Session 4: Vincent Machozi’s Legacy and Impact Daniel Karanja, “Soil, Spirituality, and Conflict: Implications for Peace Makers in Africa” Elizabeth J. A. Siwo-Okundi, “The Cross, Christ, and Coltan: A ‘Small Voice’ Homiletical Analysis of Machozi’s Last Words” Derrick Muwina, “Beyond Humanitarian Illusions: Fr. Vincent Machozi and the Moral Crisis of Neo-Colonial Intervention” Michèle Sigg, “‘Yet the Darkness did not Overcome it’: Vincent Machozi and the Martyrs of Africa, Light in the Darkness” |
| 10:30 – 11:45am | Session 5: Interfaith Peacemaking Andre de Quadros, “Reimagining Peace as a Collective Cultural Practice: Arts-Based Approaches to Dialogue and Justic” Nicolette Manglos-Weber, “Cooperative Pluralism among Community-based Religious Leaders in Uganda” Coleman Nwokoro, “Interfaith Coalition and Collaboration: An Aspect of Inclusive Peacebuilding Missing in Nigeria Amid Rising Conflicts” |
| 12 – 1:30pm | Lunch |
| 1:30 – 2:15pm | Session 6: Africana Theology and Ethics emilie townes, “Living in Chaos with an Eye on Justice and Hope” Jimmy McCarty, “Black Consciousness, Human Dignity, and the Love of Liberation: Lessons from South Africa” Nimi Wariboko, “Being and Excess: A Psychological Framework For African Ethics” |
| 2:15 – 3pm | Break |
| 3:30 – 4:30pm | Plenary Address Dr. Emmanuel Katongole, Professor of Theology and Peace Studies, University of Notre Dame |
| 5 – 6:30pm | Dinner Moore Community Center, 745 Commonwealth Avenue |
