Education

Despite the challenges facing the next generation of Iraqis, many Iraqi youth are generally positive about their futures. This event will consider some of the ways these young people are contributing to their communities, with a particular focus on USIP's work with Iraqi youth and partners in education, media and civil society sectors. 

This course explores challenges and opportunities for successful humanitarian assistance and longer-term needs for social well-being and development in fragile states. Drawing upon case studies of peace operations and peacebuilding efforts, students analyze the links between social well-being—particularly public health, education, environmental protection and refugee needs—and security, governance, rule of law and economic development as well as explore the relationship between reconciliation and social well-being.

A 'hands on' course that provides students with a guiding principles for organizing and implementing post-conflict and stability operations based upon desired end-states commonly accpeted by the peacebuilding community. The course will focus on the critical issues that confront post-conflict interventions and the overarching leadership challenges involved in manthese objectives.

As Bosnia and Herzegovina’s longtime tradition of religious coexistence is disappearing, USIP examines how education for new generations can improve multiethnic understanding in the postwar country.

The political and socio-cultural position of women in Afghanistan is in transition, particularly in the urban areas of the country. Advances have been made to include women in peacebuilding efforts, as noted by the recently adopted Constitution that grants equal rights for men and women, and as more and more women engage in entrepreneurial activities.

USIP's Maria Jessop-Mandel writes about the Institute's recent human rights workshop, "Putting Human Rights Values into Action," for Iraqi professors held in Beirut, Lebanon. The program explored three human rights-related themes specific to the Iraqi context -- children’s rights, women's equality and academic freedom -- and ways these professors could more effectively teach human rights in their classrooms, and ultimately learn from each other's experiences.

Education plays a critical role in preparing communities for change and has made important contributions to post-conflict reconciliation in numerous war-torn societies, yet education issues have largely been excluded from past efforts to resolve the Israeli-Palestinian conflict.  A new USIP report argues why an education track should be included in the negotiations phase and in the text of an agreement itself, and puts forward practical recommendations on how Israelis and Palestinians – and the international community – can move forward with a successful peace process that incorporates education.

Three high school students—one each from Missouri, Arkansas and Mississippi—have won scholarships of $10,000, $5,000 and $2,500 respectively as national, first and second place prizes in the National Peace Essay Contest (NPEC) conducted each year by the United States Institute of Peace (USIP).