Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

True collaboration creates needed knowledge that encourages and nurtures peace and justice. During the UB Puerto Rico Recovery Assistance Legal Clinic’s first service-learning trip to Puerto Rico two years ago, after Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, a chance breakfast meeting set up by students introduced Drs. Cecilio Ortiz García & Marla D. Perez Lugo to the sustainability work of UB. Over the last two years, the relationship has blossomed into a successful partnership and client-attorney relationship.

The School of Law and the Clinical Legal Education Program hosted Dr. Ortiz García & Dr. Perez Lugo for an online event titled, “Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions: Lessons From Puerto Rico and COVID-19 from the Co-Founders of RISE-PR” This webinar, moderated by Student Attorneys Trejahn Hunter and Zachary Kiel, took a deeper look at sustainability in today’s Puerto Rico, while highlighting true justice and peace by building on past and current lessons that demand development of a new paradigm for universities and institutional roles in response to disasters and unexpected events. The panel explored polycentric heterarchical facilitating structures that can address the complexity of disasters like the current pandemic, and think together creatively toward a better future.

As we celebrated the 50th anniversary of Earth Day (April 22), the University highlighted the achievements and challenges of the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals over the last 50 years, and projecting what the next 50 years, for better or worse, may look like. This program was part of UB Sustainability’s Celebration of the 50th Anniversary of Earth Day representing the United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 16, “Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions”.