Foreign activists gather to discuss Constitution

International scholars and activists are currently attending a conference at the IU Law School to discuss constitutional reform. \nThe newly formed Center for Constitutional Democracy in Plural Societies is holding its first conference, in association with the Institute for Advanced Study. The conference, Constitutional Reform: Burma, Liberia, Azerbaijan includes private workshops where attendees will talk with one another about their experiences trying to bring about democratic change in their home countries. There will also be lectures and informal talks open to the public conducted by speakers from Burma, Liberia, and Azerbaijan.\nThe CCDPS is using these three countries, in addition to Kazakhstan as the primary focus for this year's work. The CCDPS Web site stresses that the Center takes both a scholarly and a practical approach to helping people create realistic constitutional based governments that will hold together against the dividing forces of plural societies, where different languages, ethnicity, and religions can often breed conflict.\n"(CCDPS) is committed both to understanding constitutionalism as an academic concept and to going out beyond the university to cities, jungles, mountains, and deserts where people are trying to make a better future."\nDavid Williams, professor of law and founder and director of the CCDPS, said that the Center exists to provide resources to foreign activists and scholars to enact democratic reform within their countries.\n"A constitution must grow up from within a country. That's the only way it can work and the only way it can survive. We are working with people who we believe are going to make a difference, and we want to help them make that difference," Williams said in a press release. "In fact, the center first began work in these countries on the invitation of brave, idealistic and intelligent people from these countries. Many of those people are associated with IU and are now fellows of the center." \nThe conference, which runs from Aug. 2 to 12, is mostly made up of private working sessions. However, there will be two lectures and four informal talks in the Law School which the public may attend for free. Seating at the informal talks will be limited.