The Global Education Calendar and Speaker series will kick off its 12th season on Sept. 12.

“It’s a great way to continue to build dialogue in our community about our differences and to learn to respect each other,” said Nancy Flinchbaugh, the series coordinator.

The kickoff event, “Desserts, Conversation and Coffee” will be held at 6:30 p.m. in the Room 105 of the Wittenberg University Shouvlin Center, 737 N. Fountain Ave. Attendees can meet the presenters and sponsor for the series, while also enjoying favorite ethnic desserts and dialogue about intercultural experiences.

The Global Education and Peace Network began with study circles in Oct. 2001 as a response to the events of Sept. 11, 2001. Since then, the series has had 132 monthly programs.

This year’s series is entitled “Expressions of Community” and will include dialogues about ethnic and global cultures from here and around the world.

The annual Global Education Calendar is also available at locations throughout the city, including City Hall and the Clark County Public Library. They’ve distributed 48,000 calendars since 2001 to help educate citizens about local and global cultures. The calendars are passed to local school districts and universities.

“We’ve had feedback from teachers who are always using them in their class and talk about them with the children,” Flinchbaugh said.

They’ll also be passing out calendars at the Global Education Series booth at CultureFest, held from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at City Hall Plaza on Sept. 28.

The event calendar includes:

• Oct. 24, Islamic architecture, Akber Mohammad, M.D.

• Nov. 7, Diwali: Festival of Lights, Vinita Khanna and friends.

• Dec. 12, Fair Trade, Donna Jarzab of Fair Trade Winds.

• Jan. 9, 2014: Social Entreprenuership in Korea and Japan, Sunny Jeong, Phd.

• Feb. 20: Miracles of the Qu’ran: Sana and Samina Ahmed.

• March 20: Life skills, meaningful employment and housing connections for people with disabilities, Mary Brandstetter and TAC Enterprises.

• April 10: The American Muslim Community: A personal reflection, Safa Suleiman.

• May 8: Immigrants and Immigration, Jessica Ramos, attorney.

• June 12: Visual Art: From Africa to America, Cheryl DeGroat Dover and Melinda Carter.

• July 10: Project Jericho, Beth Dixon, Kayla Snider and friends.

• Aug. 14, Therapeutic Values of African American Music, Cheryl DeGroat Dover and Melinda Carter.

“We’re looking forward to some new participants this year,” Flinchbaugh said.

All programs will be held at 6:30 p.m. inside the Shouvlin Center.

For more information, call 324-7696.