Peacebuilding

Adrien Niyongabo

Adrien Niyongabo, Coordinator of Healing and Rebuilding our Communities (HROC) in Burundi.
(Source: Adrien Niyongabo)

This June, QUNO was pleased to host a visit from Adrien Niyongabo, Coordinator of Healing and Rebuilding our Communities (HROC) in Burundi. HROC emerged from Alternatives to Violence, a conflict resolution program developed by Quakers and prisoners in the United States and Canada. Quakers in Burundi, recognizing the need for reconciliation and healing between Hutu and Tutsi communities, have been conducting three-day HROC workshops to help participants cope with trauma and restore relationships.

QUNO Peacebuilding-2011

QUNO Representative Camilla Campisi with members of the Kibimba Peace Committee in Burundi (credit: QUNO)

Peacebuilding policy and practice continues to evolve at the UN, and while support for national ownership and building local capacity are frequently highlighted, UN peacebuilding often takes a top down, rather than a bottom up, approach. QUNO continued to engage with the UN work in Burundi, contributing to discussions on peacebuilding and transitional justice. We worked with Chinese academics to explore the UN’s approach to peacebuilding and peacekeeping, including jointly hosting delegation visits to the African Great Lakes region and to New York.

Soldier carries water

A Ugandan soldier serving with the African Union Mission in Somalia (AMISOM) carries water through the grounds of Mogadishu University. AMISOM forces captured the strategically important university following a major joint offensive against Al Shabaab. (23 January 2012, Mogadishu, Somalia. Source: UN News & Media)

A delegation from the Life & Peace Institute, Nairobi, and the Kroc Institute for International Studies at the University of Notre Dame traveled to Washington, DC, and New York in March to present a recent joint publication, Somalia: Creating Space for Fresh Approaches to Peacebuilding. QUNO was delighted to host their visit in New York. Over the course of two days, Quaker House provided a welcoming venue for our visitors to share their publication with UN colleagues and offer fresh perspectives and alternative approaches to conflict resolution in Somalia.

Joshua Saleem and LA youth

Joshua Saleem, AFSC Peace Education Program Director in St. Louis, center, visits with youth involved with AFSC's youth work in Los Angeles.

At-risk youth will take a critical look at their community's needs through a new program in St. Louis, which starts its work this fall. Joshua Saleem, director of the new program, says the future of the city lies with these youth: "AFSC's role is to empower them to do the hard work of making their immediate circle one of peace, and then extending that circle to their neighborhoods and schools so that there's a community of peace there as well." 

Ira Harritt at Visions of Peace at the Crossroads 6-1-12

Ira Harritt, AFSC Kansas City Program Coordinator, shows his hand at Visions of Peace at the Crossroads, a peace / arts festival held in the Crossroads Arts District in Kansas City on June 1. For more photos from the festival, please click here.

What’s your vision of peace?

Path of Peace sculpture in Des Moines

From left, Chet Guinn, Sue Dinsdale and scultptor Ron Dinsdale stand by "Path of Peace," a ten-ton limestone sculpture depicting three entwined doves. For more photos of the installation, click here.

Des Moines has a new sculpture dedicated to peace and peacemakers, thanks to Iowa artist Ron Dinsdale, a group of dedicated activists, and officials with the Des Moines Area Community College (DMACC). The ten-ton limestone portrayal of three doves, named “Path of Peace,” was installed on May 10, 2012 near Interstate 235 just south of DMACC’s Urban Campus.