FARMINGTON — The University of Maine at Farmington will take a closer look at social justice and education with its fourth annual “Teaching and Working in a Diverse World” conference.

The half-day conference is free and open to the public and will be held from 11:45 a.m. to 4 p.m. Friday, Oct. 21, at selected venues on the UMF campus.

The educational forum will begin with a keynote address by Stephen Wessler, founder and former executive director of the Center for Preventing Hate, at 11:45 a.m. in Lincoln Auditorium, UMF Roberts Learning Center.

Wessler’s talk, “The Power of Words to Hurt and Heal: Creating Safe and Respectable Schools,” will address the pervasive use of degrading language in schools, its serious impact and skills for responding to and preventing hate in schools.

Following the keynote address, a series of informational sessions, films and discussions will be presented by faculty members and professionals in the field examining topics that show how educators promote equality in the learning environment.

Among the topics to be discussed are “Service Learning: A Method for Including All Students,” “Addressing Social Injustice through Readers Theater,” “Understanding and Preventing Childhood Bullying” and “Speaking Peace in the Classroom.”

The conference is sponsored by the UMF Office of the Associate Provost and Dean of Education and the UMF Diversity Committee.

For a list of session descriptions, presenters, times and locations, visit the conference Web site at http://teachereducation.umf.maine.edu/diversity-conference/2011-2012/.