On November 17, the United States Institute of Peace hosted a screening of "Apology," a short film that captured the historic apology of Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd to Australia's indigenous peoples. His remarks on February 13th, 2008 were addressed specifically to members of the "Stolen Generations" for the wrongs committed against them by the Australian government. The screening was followed by an animated discussion facilitated by Joseph Montville with forty academics, government officials and representatives of civil society.

Montville, a Senior Fellow at the Center for World Religions, Diplomacy and Conflict Resolution, Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution, commented on the theory behind the role of apology in reconciliation and on the larger context of apology in peace processes. According to Montville, Rudd's apology was exemplary in its catalogue of specific wrongs, its unqualified acceptance of responsibility, its use of symbolism and its understanding of the need of every human for recognition, acceptance and respect. Montville cited the Richmond Unity Walk of 1993 as another example of an effective public act of acknowledgment of past wrongs. He also expressed appreciation for the initiative of Ambassador Mohamed Sahnoun, President of IofC International, in creating a forum in Caux, Switzerland, in July at which the film was used to focus attention on the global challenges of healing wounds of the past. Dick Ruffin's observation that the Australian apology was made possible by a people's movement prompted several reflections on the need for Americans to find appropriate ways to acknowledge past wrongs that have unjustly injured others.