The Student Peacebuilder’s Forum on Wednesday, Sept. 10 was hosted by Rachel Milner, who founded Bellwether International in 2019 in London. Milner started her anti-genocide work in Iraq with the Yazidi’s, and started Bellwether International with a grant provided to her by a family foundation. Naming the organization after a bellwether of a sheep’s flock, or a sheep that had a bell around its neck to indicate where the flock was to a shepherd, was an intentional choice because Bellwethers, Milner states, are “leaders in genocide resistance.”

At this forum, groups of students were taught how to spot genocide and how to stop them. Rachel Milner quoted a definition from the Genocide Convention from 1948, hosted in France, that presented a definition of genocide. The points were that genocide consisted of “Killing members of the group; causing serious bodily harm or mental harm to members of the group; deliberately inflicting on the group conditions of like calculated to bring about its physical destruction in whole or in part; imposing measures intended to prevent births within the group; and forcibly transferring children of the group to another group,” she also stated that people in a “national, ethnic, racial or religious group were the main targets of genocide.”

Notably, during discussion, students noted flaws in this 1948 definition, highlighting that genocide could also be seen by erasing past history of the group, and that LGBT and disabled people were of the groups affected primarily by genocide.

With these descriptions and newfound definition added onto with the help of the students during this forum, she urged students to discuss how to prevent genocide further. In groups, participants spoke out stating that respect to others was needed most, alongside anti-genocide messaging, as well as looking past your own bubble to see where your sphere of influence can be helpful.

Furthermore, in these discussions, students also got to learn that there were genocides that they have never heard of, letting their sphere of influence grow further after this peace-building forum. Milner stated at the end of this that students should strive to be “like a bellwether” and continue to grow as leaders in the anti-genocide movement.