As a national, nonpartisan, independent Institute, the U.S. Institute of Peace draws on our exceptional convening power to create opportunities for diverse audiences to exchange knowledge, experiences, and ideas necessary for creative solutions to difficult challenges. We serve as an important, neutral platform for bringing together government and nongovernment, diplomacy, security, and development actors, and participants across political views. The Institute’s events help shape public policy and priorities to advance peaceful solutions to conflict and strengthen international security.
The U.S. Institute of Peace and the Atlantic Council on Thursday, March 23 held a screening of “Women of Maidan,” a documentary that tells the stories of key players who became crucial to the movement. The film was accompanied by discussions with the film’s producer and director, Olha Onyshko, and four former U.S. ambassadors.
On October 6, USIP released a Special Report on women’s roles in non-violent struggles. With the National Democratic Institute for International Affairs (NDI) and the non-profit organization Just Vision, USIP gathered path-breaking activists, scholars and filmmakers to examine how women’s participation—and the success of non-violent campaigns—can be strengthened.
Marc Sommers, an internationally recognized expert on youth with research experience in more than 20 war-affected countries, examined the forces that shape and propel the lives of African youth today, particularly those experiencing or emerging from violent conflict, for his recent book The Outcast Majority: War, Development, and Youth in Africa. On Wednesday, September 7 the U.S. Institute of Peace held a discussion with Sommers by webcast as part of USIP's 60 days of focus on youth, peace and equality.
Groups such as Afghanistan-based ArtLords and Awareness and Prevention Through Art, which works in the Middle East, are converting blast walls and blighted buildings into murals and other works that prompt discussions in their communities about how to reduce the injustices, social exclusion and other drivers of violent conflict. On July 28, practitioners convened at USIP to discuss how peace advocates can use street art to help build peace.
On May 10, the Conflict Prevention and Resolution Forum held a discussion at the U.S. Institute of Peace on women, social media and extremism.
While Colombia’s government and the guerrilla group known as the FARC work on the final details of a comprehensive peace deal, one part of the proposed accord is already in effect: the commitment by both sides to recover and return the remains of tens of thousands of “disappeared” people—those presumed to have been secretly killed in the conflict. USIP and the Latin America Working Group Education Fund held an event on April 22 for an early assessment of how implementation of the agreements on disappearances is proceeding.
On April 4, the somber anniversary of Dr. King’s assassination, USIP held a forum on ways to reclaim and re-frame nonviolent action against 21st-century global conflicts, extremisms, and injustices that fuel them. Researchers and activists discussed their recent or forthcoming books on nonviolent action and joined an audience-wide conversation and poll.
Since the Arab revolutions of 2011, unarmed resistance has become a major force in global politics, from Tunis to Tahrir Square and on to Ferguson, Missouri. Nonviolent movements have historically outperformed their violent counterparts, but they don’t always succeed. On February 25 the U.S. Institute of Peace hosted a panel of experts in this field of study and an Emmy-award winning news producer examine the challenges of building and sustaining nonviolent movements, and discuss lessons for scholars, activists, policymakers and practitioners.
On September 29 a forum was held to discuss the latest Blogs & Bullets report on social media’s role in this relatively un-examined transitional phase. The report explores how dangerous polarizing trends might be overcome to give transitions a greater chance of success. Michael Posner, the former Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor delivered a keynote speech.
As Yemen’s multi-sided conflict grabs headlines with its devastating human toll, local activists continue to press for peace and democracy. Tawakkol Karman, a winner of the 2011 Nobel Peace Prize who is known as “The Mother of the Revolution” in Yemen for her impact as a journalist and women’s rights advocate, offered insights, reflections, and hope from her on-the-ground experience.