Dr. Kyoko Okumoto

yoko Okumoto holds a PhD in the Arts and Literature from Kobe College Graduate School of Letters in Japan and an MA in Peace Studies from Lancaster University in the UK. She is a Professor of Peace Studies, Conflict Transformation, and English Literature atOsaka Jogakuin University, a women’s university in Osaka, Japan. Her research fields are: conflict transformation/nonviolent intervention, the arts, including literature and drama, and the relation between the two areas. She facilitates numerous peace training workshops at various places at all levels—from high school, to university to elderly communities. With NGOs such as Transcend-Japan, Transcend-InternationalNonviolent Peaceforce-JapanACTION-Asia and ACTION-Global, and Northeast Asia Regional Peacebuilding Institute (NARPI), Kyoko tries to explore ways to connect with other Asian—Northeast, Southeast and South Asian—communities, and beyond to build more peaceful societies where people can have creative dialogues among themselves and with their neighbors and communities.

Course for 2018: Arts Approaches to Community-Based Peacebuilding (AACP)