The UNESCO-UO conference on prisons and peace was scheduled to begin at 4 p.m. Thursday (March 14) with a keynote speech by Lisa Guenther, a professor of philosophy at Vanderbilt University, on "Solitary Confinement: A Living Death Sentence."

The conference, which is free and open to the public, continues Friday with four presentations from 9 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. at the UO's Knight Law Center. Topics are international perspectives on the death penalty, the UO's Inside-Out Prison Exchange Program, education in Oregon's prisons and a discussion by Sister Helen Prejean about the operatic adaptation of her life story.

The conference is presented by the UO's UNESCO (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization) Chair for Transcultural Studies, Interreligious Dialogue and Peace. It is co-sponsored by the UO's Oregon Humanities Center.