June 2016 Newsletter
Hello to our network of champions for community driven social change!
In this edition of the newsletter you can support emerging leaders in Uganda and hear about welcome progress in the fight against gender-based violence in Haiti. In addition, we invite you to learn about this summer's initiative to collect the stories of heroes who resisted the genocide in Rwanda and review the latest progress on the grassroots leadership development platform Gather™.
UGANDA: You can help former child soldiers take leadership
We are excited to announce that this August, our colleagues at Anorak Denmark will travel to Uganda to support our team of former child soldiers in Gulu as they create their own reintegration and prevention organization. You can help these young leaders in Uganda take control of their own lives and futures by visiting and sharing the Generosity Campaign.
We hope you will lend your support to these former child soldiers as they take leadership in all aspects of this ground-breaking new organization; from setting priorities and designing programs to management and evaluation. As you know from following this journey over the past several years, these dynamic young leaders who have returned from conflict have the insight, wisdom and energy to take the work of reintegration and recruitment prevention in the region to the next level.
HAITI: Progress in the Fight Against Gender-Based Violence
Thanks to your support, Malya and the team at KOFAVIV have reported clear progress in the fight to end gender-based violence in Haiti. In her latest update, Malya reports that incidents of GBV have dropped significantly and steadily since spiking to alarming rates in the days and months following the 2010 earthquake.
In efforts to pursue justice for victims, KOFAVIV and partners at the BAI have brought charges against alleged perpetrators and a small but growing percentage of these defendants have been prosecuted and convicted.
Moreover, the Goldin Institute's team of male "sensitization agents" are continuing their outreach and action programs to bolster anti-GBV awareness throughout greater Port au Prince as they also provide needed security for women and girls within the KOFAVIV facilities.
RWANDA: Collecting Stories of Resistance to Violence
The Goldin Institute is proud to annouce that Achille Tenkiang of Princeton University has been selected for our Global Fellowship program for 2016. Achille will spend his summer internship in Rwanda with our local partners at the Kigali Genocide Museum to uncover, document and share the untold stories of the heroes who resisted the genocide in 1994.
In addition to the value these stories serve in the ongoing process of healing and reconciliation in Rwanda, this oral history offers a unique opportunity to support genocide prevention efforts in Burundi and the Central African Republic. These neighboring countries sadly display alarming parallels to pre-Genocide Rwanda in terms of current levels of violence and the reality of growing hate speech on public airwaves.
GATHER: Building a Platform for Grassroots Leadership
The Goldin Institute is making great progress in building GATHER, the tablet-based distance learning course to promote grassroots leadership for social change. As the Director of App Development and UX, our colleague Garenne Bigby has been building the interactive capacity of the platform which now includes real-time chat and tools for shared learning.
We have been focused on “designing for the margins” -- making the content and navigation as user-friendly and accessible as possible for
everyone in the Goldin Institute network. The Gather curriculum will offer a wide range of materials, perspectives and voices to guide group learning and reflection complemented by the opportunity for experiential learning through direct organizing assignments within their local community. Content will include the use of readings, interactive assignments, audio-visual stories with commentary, illustrations, synchronous web chats, a “virtual café’’ and robust discussion boards. If you are interested in joining the inaugural course, be sure to sign up for course updates at the bottom of this Gather Overview.
As always, thank you for being a champion for grassroots partnerships that create real change in the world. Please consider sharing this newsletter and the generosity campaign with your friends, colleagues and families.
If you have feedback on this edition of our newsletter, or story ideas you would like to see in a future issue, please contact our Newsletter Coordinator, Srilatha Lakkaraju. If you haven't already, but would like to receive our newsletter in your email inbox, sign up here.
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November 2015 Newsletter
Over the past few months we've seen a healthy mix of strategic and organic progress at the Goldin Institute as new ideas are emerging into extraordinary initiatives and projects we've participated in for years are expanding into greater opportunities for community transformation. In this edition of the newsletter, you can read about the solidarity that was cultivated amongst the attendees of the Foundation for Reconciliation conference in Bogota, Colombia, the growth of a powerful partnership in East Africa that is changing the face of our Child Soldier Reintegration and Prevention efforts and progress on our grassroots leadership development platform.
Watch a brief video overview of this newsletter:
Colombia: Expanding the Network for Reconciliation
A sense of unity and purpose set the tone for the Foundation for Reconciliation's conference in Bogota, Colombia on October 21-26. Our associates Alexis and Srishtee participated in the conference and brought back with them the powerful conviction that communities, once united around a shared aspiration, can overcome the extreme challenges they often face. In its 5th year, this international convening of peace and reconciliation leaders had representation from the 18 countries including, but not limited to, Bolivia, Portugal, the Dominican Republic, Brazil, Panama, Uruguay, Mexico, Chile, Cuba, Venezuela, Guatemala and Ecuador.
Our partner Father Leonel Narvaez, founder of the the Foundation for Reconciliation, led the conference with real world experiences that weaved inspiration, theories and insights into a powerful call for community leadership. Former combatants also took center stage to share the challenges and importance of humanizing and reintegrating former combatants, not only for their own sake, but also for the stability of the community. They told deeply personal stories of how rejection from society and the vilification of former combatants only loosens the threads within the fabric of a community, leaving too many young people vulnerable to violence and extremism.
[quote]While the history and nature of the conflicts varied between the 18 countries, we all shared the same commitment to forgiveness and reconciliation and the desire to continue to learn from each other."[/quote]
- Srishtee Dear, Goldin Associate
Click here to read more reflections and view photos from Srishtee and Alexis.
Representatives from each of the 18 countries also made presentations detailing how the ESPERE methodology was useful in their communities, proving once again that the idea of forgiveness and reconciliation breaks through cultural and geographical boundaries.
East Africa: Ending Recruitment of Children in Conflict
Our leadership team spent September in East Africa meeting with partners from Kenya, Rwanda and Uganda. Following recommendations from the former combatants who lead our work in Uganda, the Goldin Institute and our partners at Arigatou International are now expanding our efforts to prevent the recruitment and use of children in armed conflicts throughout the region.
Charles (pictured third from right) was one of ten former child soldiers who led the research team that conducted over 100 oral testimony interviews with their peers to collect and analyze the stories, experiences, and insights of children forced to fight in armed conflict.
[quote]Child soldier abduction and recruitment doesn't stop at the border. We need a regional strategy to stop a regional problem."[/quote]
- Charles Okello, Uganda
The knowledge and aspirations collected through this groundbreaking research was collected in the report, Alone and Frightened: Experiential Stories of Former Child Soldiers of Northern Uganda. Charles and two of his colleagues from the research team, Geoffrey and Janet, joined over 40 leaders from Kenya to present the research report and to encourage an expansion of the reintegration program to include a focus on preventing children from being used in armed conflicts in the first place.
The need and commitment to work towards the end of recruitment of children in armed conflict was affirmed by all in attendance, including Goldin Institute representatives and senior leaders from the region such as Rev. Dr. Samuel Kobia (Advisor to the President on Peace, Cohesion and Conflict Resolution) and Professor Abdulghafur Elbusaidy (Chairmen of the Supreme Council of Kenya Muslims).
The Goldin Institute is pleased to work in solidarity with our partners throughout the region on two key initiatives focused on preventing the use of children in armed conflict, particularly in light of the growth of violent extremist groups. This new initiative has two primary elements – a youth leadership development component named the Youth Peace Ambassadors and the public solidarity element named CRAVE: Community Resistance Against Violent Extremism.
One example of the initiative's results is the work of Maryam Famau, founder of local partner organization known as Peaceful Innovation in Nairobi. We saw first hand how Maryam and her team offers youth who are targeted by extremist groups like Al-Shabab an effective mixture of counseling, peer groups and job training to interrupt the recruitment process. These initiatives are combined with our Youth Peace Ambassadors program to provide advice, support and solidarity to reverse the recent growth of violent extremist groups throughout the region.
Our Team: Welcoming New Associates
Nancy Wairimu is an active Youth Peace Ambassador from Mombasa, Kenya. Nancy has been a youth leader since high school where she was elected as a student representative for the national schools council. Nancy has already participated in trainings for youth leaders in Zanzibar and Kenya.
Marjan Adbulrahman brings a MA in Communications and Media Technology and his experience working to support the CRAVE program with partner organization Arigatou International to his role as a Youth Peace Ambassador. He is currently focusing his work on identifying and collecting Islamic-specific resources to counter the recruitment and exploitation of Muslim youth.
Garenne Bigby has been working behind the scenes to redesign the Goldin Institute website as well as the development of the Grassroots Leadership platform, GATHER. Gather is an online curriculum and community of practice that will transform the way grassroots leaders across the globe learn from each other and implement community driven social change in their own communities. Look for more news on Gather in the next newsletter!
As always, thank you for supporting the work of the Goldin Institute! Please continue to be a champion for grassroots partnerships that create real change in the world.
If you have feedback on this edition of our newsletter, or story ideas you would like to see in a future issue, please contact our Newsletter Coordinator, Srilatha Lakkaraju. If you haven't already, but would like to receive our newsletter in your email inbox, sign up here.
This Week in GI History and Building on a Key Past Event
This week we mark the anniversary of one of the Institute's defining events: the 2003 Building Social Cohesion in the Midst of Diversity and Migration conference held in Manresa, Spain.
At that Event, community leaders from over 20 cities gathered to explore best practices from their practical experiences building social cohesion. The Conference came together over the central questions of:
- How do we promote a positive view of difference and build a sense of social cohesion in the midst of diversity?
- Where have people been effective at building relationships of trust, understanding and cooperation between diverse communities?
- How can we best learn from those communities that have successfully built trust amongst their diverse communities?
The collaborative learning, strategies and conversations at the Event provided tools for participants to bring solutions back to their respective cities. To find out more on how this was accomplished, view the full report on our findings of the conference. here.
In the time since we held the Manresa Event, the issue of how communities in sizable cities overcome the division and tensions often caused by their diverse populations, remains as relevant as it was in 2003. In many ways, we were fortunate to make the connections with a group of talented and committed leaders willing to address the issue head-on, as it has proven to be prescient and set the tone for future project work.
Which brings us to new events and the ways in which we continue to honor our mission, and honor those we work with dedicated to bringing social cohesion to their communities. This week, two of our associates from Chicago, Alexis Smyser and Srishtee Dear, are in attendance with our colleagues in Colombia at the Foundation for Reconciliation conference in Bogota. Here, participants from several countries review and reinforce the key principals of the ESPERE methods that the Foundation has been refining since first introducing in 2007.
The ESPERE methodology is engaging new community leaders, former child soldiers and educators in the proven concepts of reconciliation and forgiveness. What began as a grassroots project by Fr. Leonel and his team in Bogota less than a decade ago has now flourished to see participation throughout North and South America and recently to Africa. Partners of the Goldin Institute in Uganda have taken up the ESPERE methodology and have used is as a powerful tool in the reintegration for former child soldiers.
[hl bg="#d07000" fg="#ffffff"]Continue to follow us as we share new learnings and outcomes from this latest conference in Bogota. See how the common theme of social cohesion that began 12 years ago in Manresa is alive and well and being proven highly adaptive in new environments and by new leaders bringing positive change to their communities.[/hl]
[slide][img path="images/2003___17.jpg"] Goldin Institute co-founder Diane Goldin with participants at the 2003 Maresa, Spain Event. [/img] [/slide]
October 2014 Newsletter
Greetings from the Goldin Institute! We are excited to share this month's newsletter highlighting the work of our global associates who are positively contributing to their communities by stepping up their efforts and stepping out of their safety zones to ensure that their good work moves forward.
Watch a brief video overview of this newsletter:
Colombia
While the peace negotiations continue to break new ground in Colombia, paramilitary-linked groups opposed to the peace process have issued threats against human rights defenders, including our colleague Fr. Leonel Narvaez of our partner organization the Foundation for Reconciliation. In response to the death threats, Fr. Leonel has publicly invited the authors "to sit down and talk." His plea for peace continues:
[quote]It is paradoxical that they threaten you with death because you work for forgiveness and reconciliation ... To those who threaten me, I offer my forgiveness and my understanding ... We forgive because we understand that you are not fully responsible for your mistake, for your rage. Someone, somewhere, has infected you all with their resentment. You are also victims just as we possibly will be."[/quote]
Amidst this backdrop of intimidation, our Global Associate Lissette continues the work of implementing a community-driven approach for child soldier reintegration which continues to grow and gain the respect of local educators, community members and former child soldiers. Despite the contentious atmosphere and threats of violence, Lissette and her colleagues continue their work with compassion in their hearts and resolve in their minds.
We had the chance to catch-up in conversation with Lissette via Skype where she walked us through the current status of these important peace negotiations and explained how they could impact her work and her community. You can view this conversation with Lissette in full here.
Philippines
As a testament to our Global Associate's passion for environmental sustainability in the conflict zone of Mindanao, our own Dr. Susana Anayatin has helped change the world yet again. Augmenting the work to provide safe drinking water to schools, including the implementation of new wells restoring clean water at an additional 15 schools in the Kabuntalan Province this month, the team in the Philippines participated in a national effort to break the world record of trees planted in an hour. On September 26, 2014 Dr. Anayatin was among the 113,000 volunteers including government employees, students and military personnel that broke the invisible, but often contentious boundaries that separate these groups to unite for environmental protection. As Guinness World Records continues to verify the count, officials in the Philippines report 3.2 million seedlings planted in six different areas on the southern Philippine island of Mindanao. Notwithstanding world records, the planet is in a better position to mitigate climate change and the new trees are essential to protect the watersheds and promote access to safe drinking water for generations to come.
Poverty and Peacemaking
In many parts of the world, poverty and violence are common-place and intertwined realities. To explore and address these issues, the Goldin Institute participated in the Poverty and Peacemaking interdisciplinary conference and gathering at Princeton University on September 19 and 20. The conference was a concerted effort on the part of Princeton University and the community of Sant Egidio to amplify the dialogue between development professionals and students, scholars, government officials, activists, diplomats and religious leaders from around the world. The Goldin Institute was pleased to moderate a panel with participants from the Salvation Army and the World Bank focused on a new initiative to support peace building efforts through community-based heath care centers in Kibera - an informal settlement within Kenya.
Welcome Alejandro
Please join us in welcoming a new member to the Goldin Institute team. Alejandro Di Prizio comes to us as an AmeriCorps member completing a year of service through Public Allies Chicago.
Alejandro will serve as our Online Education Associate, bringing to the Goldin Institute many skills including a fluency in Spanish. Prior to joining AmeriCorps, Alejandro worked to create innovative family programs at the Art Institute of Chicago and later as a founding member of The Creative Agency for The Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago (MCA). Outside of his service at Goldin Institute and AmeriCorps, Alejandro is an active musician and visual artist.
Next Newsletter
Watch our next newsletter for an exciting progress update from our partners around the world. Can't wait until the next newsletter? Get your Goldin Institute fix by jumping onto our Facebook page for the latest news as it happens and join the growing community dedicated to uplifting stories of grassroots partnerships around the world at the tumblr site GoGrassroots!
As always, if you have suggestions of individuals who may want to receive this e-newsletter or stories you think we should tell, contact us at news@goldininstitute.org.