The 2025 Frontiers of Prevention forum turned the Binghamton University Downtown Center into a center for international discussion and action on atrocity prevention through stirring personal testimonies, varied panels and impactful conversations.
The two-day event, which took place April 4-5, is organized annually by the Institute for Genocide and Mass Atrocity Prevention (I-GMAP) and brings together students, activists, civil society leaders and academics from all over the world to discuss creative ways to stop mass atrocities.
"The centerpiece of I-GMAP's yearly programming is Frontiers of Prevention," said Max Pensky, co-director of I-GMAP and one of the event planners. "It has evolved into a venue where individuals from wildly disparate backgrounds can convene in a transparent, equitable and fruitful setting to talk about risks and resilience."
A dynamic change in format
Frontiers of Prevention purposefully deviates from conventional academic conferences. No prepared remarks. No slides from PowerPoint. Rather, every panel is a lively, casual, inclusive and unscripted discussion.
"We refer to it as the 'anti-conference,'" Pensky said. "We prefer genuine conversation over lectures. People working in the nations and areas most impacted by risk and violence are the ones we want to speak with directly."
Throughout the weekend, panels covered a wide range of issues, such as the dangers of atrocities, identity-based violence, grassroots peacebuilding and Kenyan refugee protection.
Paying tribute to peacebuilders via testimony and song
The Nadia Rubaii Memorial Lecture and Prize Ceremony took place Friday night, starting with a musical performance by Indonesian singer-songwriter Kai Mata. Her poignant songs, one of which was based on a 1983 poem by a lesbian activist from Indonesia, highlighted the role that art can play in advancing inclusion and justice.
The award ceremony, which honored The Parents Circle-Families Forum (PCFF) - an Israeli-Palestinian group made up of people who have lost loved ones to the conflict and who collaborate to promote peace, reconciliation and understanding - was set in motion by Mata's performance. The group received the 2025 Nadia Rubaii Memorial Prize, an annual award recognizing individuals or organizations working to prevent atrocities and promote peacebuilding. Named after the late Nadia Rubaii, a professor and human rights advocate at Binghamton University, the prize honors her legacy by spotlighting transformative efforts in conflict resolution and social justice.
Sima Mohammed Awad and Robi Damelin gave personal accounts of hope, resiliency and loss when they accepted the Rubaii prize. Damelin described how she met Palestinian mothers who had gone through similar losses and how their suffering served as a bridge to peace. At the tender age of 19, Awad described how the loss of her brother changed her relationship with her family.
"Our life completely changed when we lost him," said Awad, "I grew up in a dark, tearful and sorrowful world. But I also grew up wanting to make a difference, to connect, to speak up, to ensure that others don't have to go through what I did."
In addition to panels and ceremonies, the forum gave Binghamton University faculty and students unique access to global practitioners and discussions that influence both grassroots activism and global policy.
"The GMAP Frontiers for Prevention Conference this weekend was truly inspiring!" said one student participant. "I felt so privileged to hear from professionals from many different businesses and backgrounds, and definitely learned a lot about a variety of issues. It was also a great place to meet like-minded individuals and an opportunity to discuss the topics further. I would definitely recommend the conference to anyone looking to attend next year!"
"Frontiers of Prevention gives our campus and the larger Binghamton community a firsthand look at how the global atrocity prevention community operates," Pensky said, "We all gain knowledge from one another. We both use the same tools. And we band together to save lives."
Attendees departed the forum on Saturday night with fresh perspectives, bolstered connections and reaffirmed pledges - all a part of a common goal to guarantee that mass atrocities and genocide are avoided rather than lamented.
