The Cleveland Council on World Affairs (CCWA) is honored to take part in the Mandel Opera & Humanities Festival: Reconciliation in partnership with The Cleveland Orchestra. This year’s festival examines how reconciliation shapes relationships, societies, and cultures—highlighting its challenges, triumphs, and enduring relevance in a fractured world.

We hope you will join us for a thought-provoking morning of dialogue on immigration, reconciliation, and their impact on our Cleveland community. The program will feature two discussions. The first, curated by Global Cleveland, will explore Cleveland’s immigrant history and contributions. Then, after a special musical interlude performed by Cleveland Orchestra musicians, CCWA will host a panel discussion on reconciliation through the lens of international peace processes. A continental breakfast will be served.

CCWA is proud to present Ambassador Gina Abercrombie-Winstanley, Michael Scharf, and Milena Sterio for a panel discussion about the lessons that can be learned on reconciliation from international peace processes. To register, please visit this link.

Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley is a nonresident senior fellow at the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative of the Atlantic Council’s Middle East Programs and at the Scowcroft Center for Strategy and Security. Throughout her career, Ambassador Abercrombie-Winstanley has held senior positions in the Department of Defense, National Security Council, and the State Department, including serving as the U.S. ambassador to the Republic of Malta.

Michael Scharf currently serves as the President of the American Branch of the International Law Association, as well as the Associate Dean for Global Legal Studies and Joseph C. Hostetler — BakerHostetler Professor of Law at Case Western Reserve University’s School of Law. Before becoming a law professor 30 years ago, Scharf served in the Office of the Legal Adviser of the U.S. Department of State, where he held the positions of Attorney-Adviser for Law Enforcement and Intelligence, Attorney-Adviser for United Nations Affairs and delegate to the United Nations Human Rights Commission.

Milena Sterio is a law professor specializing in international law, international criminal law, and human rights. She currently teaches and serves as LLM Programs Director at Cleveland State University’s College of Law. She is the Managing Director at the Public International Law and Policy Group, and has worked around the world, in Sudan, Jordan, Turkey, and Bangladesh, among others.