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Peace and Pandemics

Stories of resilience from USIP's global network of peacebuilders

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As the world grapples with the COVID-19 crisis, inspirational stories of on-the-ground peacebuilding, nonviolent activism, and community leadership are all the more valuable—as practical examples for other peacebuilders around the world, as reaffirmations of USIP’s commitment to our core mission, and as beacons of hope and progress in a turbulent time.

Read USIP expert's analysis of the intersections between the coronavirus pandemic and conflict »

A student participates in a discussion during a gender ethics class at the University of Maiduguri, in Nigeria, Dec. 2, 2017. (Adam Ferguson/The New York Times)

Nigeria: Police in Jos Adapt to COVID-Driven Rise in Sexual Violence

Dialogues bring together police and community to devise approaches for addressing gender-based violence amid the pandemic.
In Caracas in 2017, Maria (left) and colleagues in the Green Cross Brigade rush to help a person injured by riot police during mass protests against the government. (Manuel Rivas)

COVID Menaces Venezuela, Medical Students Respond

Amid conflict and a shattered health system, medical students build healing and unity.
Tunisians wait in line to enter a grocery store amid COVID-19 lockdown measures. March 27, 2020. (Brahim Guedich/Wikimedia Commons)

Preventing Conflict During the Pandemic in Southern Tunisia

As tensions flared over lockdown measures, local peacebuilders help rebuild trust between citizens and government.
South Sudanese children carry water for their families at sunset in a camp for people displaced by warfare. About 39 percent of South Sudan’s 11 million people have been uprooted amid the country’s violence. (www.geoffpugh.com/Flickr)

In South Sudan, Civic Activists Take On COVID

Amid violence and weak governance, local groups organize against the virus—and for a sustainable peace.
Students participate in distance learning during the pandemic, April 28, 2020. USIP’s Peace Teachers have had to pivot to new forms of teaching like this as social distancing protocols are being observed. (Department of Defense)

Amid the Pandemic, Teaching Peace Remains Vital

Two USIP Peace Teachers explain how, amid global turmoil, the lessons of peacebuilding can inspire students to build a better world.
Gatwal Gatkuoth asks advice from the Dalai Lama on building peace amid civil war. Gatkuoth was among 25 young peacebuilders from nations facing violence who were hosted by USIP in 2017 for a dialogue with the religious leader and Nobel Peace Prize winner.

An African Activist Builds Peace with Youth—and Refugees

But Uganda’s progressive refugee policies face financial pressures, and now COVID.
Justice and Security Dialogue participants in Casamance pose after the first dialogue session, March 5, 2020. (Pierre Ndecky/USIP)

In Casamance, Dialogue Helps Battle Coronavirus and Build Trust

Decades of conflict in the Senegalese region have led to damaged security-civilian relations—but that’s changing at just the right time.
A vital highway for western Libya climbs the escarpment from Arab-populated plains to the ethnic Amazigh city of Nalut. Libyan civic leaders, supported by USIP, are working to end years of conflict between the two locales. (Anchishkyn/CC License 3.0)

Amid Libyan Crisis, Two Hostile Towns Build a Basis for Peace

Old foes in the mountains find a way to cooperate, despite land disputes, civil war and COVID.

Generation Change Fellows: Action for Change Amid the Pandemic

USIP's Generation Change Fellows program connects young leaders worldwide with the peacebuilding training and global community they need to help transform their communities. Amid the pandemic, many of these fellows have used skills and resources from the program to find creative ways to take action for change.

Rebecca Jibi

Rebecca Jibi

In South Sudan, Rebecca’s media campaign shares COVID-19 preventive measures with her community.
Reech Malual

Reech Malual

Reech counters hate speech in South Sudan with social media campaigns like this video.
Tunde Ogunyale

Tunde Ogunyale

In Nigeria, Tunde is using social media to inspire growth and reflection in others throughout the pandemic
Daniella Liendo

Daniella Liendo

Daniella virtually connects patients and medical specialists in Venezuela and helps provide meals for healthcare workers
Faten Khalfallah Hammouda

"Extend Your Hand to Save Our Land"

Generation Change Fellow

Faten Khalfallah Hammouda’s “Extend your hand to save our land” initiative has helped create over 1,300 protective face shields, masks and medical gowns for hospitals in Tunisia through 3D printing. “The skills I gained from the leadership training and conflict resolution have helped me a lot,” Faten said of our Generation Change Fellowship Program.

Latest Publications

In Ukraine’s Second Winter of War, Peace Still Requires Justice

In Ukraine’s Second Winter of War, Peace Still Requires Justice

Monday, December 4, 2023

By: Katie Ruppert

Last week, I had the privilege of meeting 12 female legal professionals from across Ukraine who were visiting Washington. They ranged from a prosecutor with the anti-corruption bureau to a supreme court judge, all eager to rebuild their country, making it stronger than before the war. One participant asked rhetorically: “What is peace? Is it the absence of war? Or is it something more — the prospect for justice? The ability to pursue prosperity?” I’ve been thinking about those words — and their implications for how the world should respond now to the Russian assault on Ukraine as it enters its second, hard winter.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Peace Processes

Gordon Peake on COP28 and Climate Financing

Gordon Peake on COP28 and Climate Financing

Monday, December 4, 2023

By: Gordon Peake, Ph.D.

As COP28 continues, it’s estimated that the world needs to invest $5.9 trillion to stave off climate change. “The big question now is … who’s going to pay for all this,” says USIP’s Gordon Peake, adding that “we also need to tamp down the use of fossil fuels” to prevent the bill for growing even more.

Type: Podcast

Maldives’ President Seeks to Preserve Sovereignty Amid Indian Ocean Competition

Maldives’ President Seeks to Preserve Sovereignty Amid Indian Ocean Competition

Monday, December 4, 2023

By: Nilanthi Samaranayake

On November 17, Maldives inaugurated its new president, Mohamed Muizzu. Muizzu’s election followed a narrow presidential race between him and incumbent president, Ibrahim Mohamed Solih. USIP Visiting Expert Nilanthi Samaranayake weighs in on what to expect in the early days of Muizzu’s presidency, how the new president may navigate ties with China and India, and the implications of his election for Indian Ocean security.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Global Policy

Teaching Peace: Nelson Mandela’s Story in a World of Conflicts

Teaching Peace: Nelson Mandela’s Story in a World of Conflicts

Thursday, November 30, 2023

By: Kristen Embry;  James Rupert

A world reeling from the brutal horrors of our current wars will next week mark (or perhaps overlook) the 10th anniversary of the death of a peacemaking icon: South Africa’s liberation leader and former president, Nelson Mandela. Amid continued or escalated wars — Israel-Gaza, Ukraine-Russia, Sudan, Yemen, Afghanistan and others — USIP this month hosted Georgia’s senator, the Reverend Raphael Warnock, in a discussion of Mandela’s legacy and immediate relevance. Another Georgian, Decatur High School history teacher Kristen Embry, introduced Warnock. She spoke about Mandela and her own mission of teaching history and peacebuilding to American students in the 2020s.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Education & Training;  Youth

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