Category Archives: podcast

In this podcast INPROL Director Lelia Mooney and Senior Program Assistant Chelsea Dreher discuss data collection technologies with Derek Caelin, Senior Specialist for Peace Tech Lab. Derek works on the Lab’s PeaceTech Exchange program, an initiative to connect peacebuilders in conflict zones to media, technology, and data for them help them achieve their objectives. Working with local partners, Derek and the PeaceTech Exchange team have put on workshops in countries like Iraq, Afghanistan, and Pakistan to address issues such as Transparency & Accountability, Countering Violent Extremism and Gender Based Violence. Recognizing that sound research sets a foundation for successful rule of law initiatives, we use this episode to reflect on how PeaceTech can enhance practitioners’ assessments and analysis in challenging contexts. Derek introduces and explains a number of low cost technologies that rule of law professionals can use to collect critical data when funds are tight, and internet access is unreliable.

In this episode we speak with Colette Rausch, Associate Vice President for Global Practice and Innovation at the United States Institute of Peace. For over twenty years, Colette has used her legal expertise to advance human rights and the rule of law in conflict-affected communities. From Libya to Peru, Burma to Afghanistan and many other countries around the world, she has been at the forefront of addressing the most serious of crimes, crimes that keep countries embroiled in violence. Colette is coming out with her new book, “Fighting Serious Crimes: Strategies and Tactics for Conflict Affected States” and we spend some time on the show talking about what she and the other contributors to the book have learned through their many years of experiencing addressing crimes such as terrorism, drug trafficking, human trafficking, corruption, and organized crime. We also take a close look at Colette’s personal story – how a young federal prosecutor in Reno, Nevada going after telemarketers wound up in Bosnia and began transforming herself into an international peacebuilder with a growing appreciation for the rule of law.

On April 22nd, the world celebrates Earth Day and on today’s show we explore the story of how the first Earth Day in 1970 was created, marking the birth of the modern environmental movement. Whose idea was Earth Day? What was the vision? What kind of organizing power went into making it happen? And how has Earth Day and environmentalism, more broadly, been tied to peacebuilding and nonviolence? Joining me in the studio for today’s show is Dr. Andrew Garling. Andrew is a recently retired primary care physician living here in northern Virginia AND back in the late 1960’s he was one of the original organizers of the very first Earth Day.

In this episode of the Peace Frequency we take you to Memphis, TN and the annual Gandhi-King Conference. This year’s theme was “Know Justice, Know Peace” and this episode is dedicated to that theme and the individuals who attend this conference. This recording featured seven individuals talking about their own identities, their own experiences with justice and peace and their understanding of love as the foundation of nonviolence.

In this episode we speak with Gizem Kilinç who is a leading coordinator for the United Network of Young Peacebuilders – a global network strengthening sustainable youth-driven peacebuilding working with 80 organizations across 45 countries. Gizem is in charge on UNOY’s advocacy work and ensuring they work gender sensitively into their work.

In this episode we speak with Nadeem Ghazi, the Founder and Director of the World Learning Grammar School & Institute, which provides support to schools throughout Pakistan that have declared a commitment to creating and maintaining a culture of peace. There are currently over 100 member schools engaged in this effort where students, teachers and community members work together to ensure that everyone feels safe, respected and valued. Nadeem has extensive peace education experience having worked with a variety of organizations including Peaceful Schools International, the United States Institute of Peace, Peace Direct-UK, and the British Council for Sports For Peace. Nadeem’s peace education work and trainings were the basis for the 2012 manual, Building a Culture of Peace: A Practical Guide for Schools, a resource supported by the United States Institute of Peace and Peaceful Schools International. Locally in Pakistan, he has trained the staff of CARE International, Shirkat Gah, and more than 80 schools and different NGOs in Pakistan, introducing them to peace education and its implementation with curriculum integration.

In this episode of the Peace Frequency we speak with Aaron Shneyer, the Founder & Executive Director of Heartbeat – an organization that unites Israeli and Palestinian youth musicians to build critical understanding, develop creative nonviolent tools for social change, and amplify their voices to influence the world around them. Heartbeat staff members are trained musicians and dialogue facilitators, entrusted to create and hold a space for participants to build critical consciousness of the complicated world they have inherited and to support participants in developing skills in critical thinking, communication, leadership, and creative nonviolent civic engagement.

In this episode of the Peace Frequency we continue our series focused on the #YouthPeaceEquality 60 Days of Engagement. Our guest is Marc Sommers, who is an internationally recognized youth, conflict, development, gender, and education expert, an experienced evaluator, and an award-winning author. He has conducted research, assessments and evaluations, and provided technical advice, in 21 war-affected countries (15 in Africa) since 1990. His most recent book is entitled, The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa.

As part of USIP’s 60 days of engagement around the intersections between youth, gender and peace, in this episode of the Peace Frequency we speak with Dr. Illana Lancaster about creating inclusive classrooms. Illana holds a master’s degree in secondary education and a PhD in international education policy. Her 2008 dissertation explored the role of race, class, and gender in school-related violence in secondary schools in Johannesburg, South Africa. She is a senior program officer in the USIP Academy where she specializes in curriculum and training design and delivery, trainer development and university partnerships. Illana discusses her experience as an educator and why inclusive education is critical to building more peaceful societies. She offers techniques and strategies for applying a gender lens in the classroom and answers incoming questions from the audience.