As an independent, nonpartisan national thought leader with more than 30 years of experience, the U.S. Institute of Peace convenes people from various sides of an issue and facilitates constructive solutions to prevent and reduce violent conflict. Its events help shape public policy and priorities to advance peaceful solutions to conflict and strengthen international security.
On September 14, the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), a Geneva-based training arm of the United Nations, and the United States Institute of Peace (USIP), an independent institute dedicated to the elimination of violent conflict, convened a strategic group of stakeholders to explore concrete ways the international community can support wider and more meaningful engagement of youth in peacebuilding.
At a time when violent international conflict and the threat of extremism loom large, four high school teachers in Missouri, Montana, Oklahoma, and Florida have spent the last year taking part in a U.S. Institute of Peace program to help their students gain the knowledge, skills and perspectives they need to work toward a more peaceful world.
On November 16, the U.S. Institute of Peace and NAFSA: Association of International Educators held a discussion of how international education can strengthen diplomacy and contribute to peacebuilding.
USIP and Colombia’s University of Cartagena webcast a live forum March 24 with Colombian youth leaders and students working toward post-war reconciliation. A panel of peacebuilders discussed with them the growing roles for youth leaders in healing violent conflicts in Colombia and globally.
In countries worldwide, governmental and private agencies run programs to prevent violent conflicts and reduce their causes—notably broad social injustices, corruption and human rights abuses. But how effective are these programs? On March 7, a consortium of peacebuilding organizations presented improved ways to measure and maximize the impact of programs to prevent violence, stabilize conflict zones and build peace and security abroad.
The Asia Foundation, in partnership with the U.S. Institute of Peace, presented the findings of the 2016 Survey of the Afghan People at USIP on December 7.
On December 5, to mark the Fifth Annual Arab-American Day, the League of Arab States and the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a discussion with Arab women leaders, academics and policymakers, including the newly-elected Minnesota House Representative and Somali American, Ilhan Omar, on how education and economic opportunities can engage women and men in supporting women’s voices, equality and success.
More than 200 million girls and women in 30 countries live with the medical and emotional complications of female genital mutilation or cutting (FGM/C), UNICEF estimates. As part of the United Nations’ global development goals, governments worldwide declared their intent two years ago to end this human rights violation by 2030. On December 2, USIP held a day-long conference in which expert educators, medical providers, law enforcement officials, religious leaders and others laid groundwork for an intensified global strategy that will be required to meet the 2030 goal.
As extremist groups around the world manipulate local grievances to recruit members and destabilize entire countries and regions, the response by governments and communities on the frontlines is more important than ever. Based on new research conducted in Kenya, the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a Twitter roundtable (#CVEExchange) to explore how and why certain communities in Kenya were able to resist the pull of violent extremism.
On November 14, scholars and diplomats examined how the role of international education is changing, and steps that can be recommended to the next U.S. administration.