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.
Youth peacebuilder, Gbenga Oni of Nigeria, is a Generation Change and YALI Fellow who implements peacebuilding programs in Northern Nigeria in partnership with Justice, Development and Peace Caritas Advocates. JDPCA envisions a community where justice and promotion of human dignity are held sacred and all citizens are able to realize their full potential in a just, safe and free environment. On the show, Gbenga will discuss the challenges associated with reaching gender equality in Nigeria and what young people are doing to further this goal.
Kicking off 60 days of engagement around youth, gender and peace, this episode of the Peace Frequency speaks with Vweta Chadwick – a human rights champion with over 10 years’ experience working to advance the rights of women and girls. She is the programs director of Project ASHA, an NGO advancing the rights of women and girls in underserved communities across Africa. She, equally, doubles as the secretary of Carrington Youth Fellowship Alumni Network. The 60 days of engagement – #Youth4PeaceandEquality – are bringing awareness and education to three international days of celebration: August 12th is International Youth Day; September 21st is International Peace Day; and October 11th is International Day of the Girl Child.
In this episode we speak with Saba Ismail, who co-founded with her sister, Aware Girls – a young women-led organisation working for the empowerment of young women and gender equality in Pakistan. Her bravery and activism was acknowledged by Foreign Policy Magazine, which awarded her as one of the 100 Leading Global Thinkers of 2013. She is also on the Steering Committee of UNOY and represents Asia in the World Youth Movement for Democracy. She has done research on the “Role of Young women in Emerging Democracies”. She is the co-founder of South Asian Regional Feminists Forum on Women’s Economic, Social, and Cultural Rights. She has worked as Youth Ambassador for Asia Pacific Youth Network (APYN: 20120-2013).
In this show we speak with Kerri Kennedy, Associate General Secretary for International Programs at the American Friends Service Committee. Kerri has 18 years of experience managing international development and emergency response programs in areas of conflict and post conflict environments with a focus on inclusive governance systems, civic education and advocacy campaigns, gender, and rights-based policy development.
