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Peace Day Challenge

September 21 is the International Day of Peace

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The Peace Day Challenge exists to raise the profile of the International Day of Peace and to affirm peace as a real alternative to the violence we see every day in the world.

Peace Day Challenge banner

It is all about inspiring a day of action on September 21, focused on building peace through real-life activities and sharing on social media at #PeaceDayChallenge.

Since launching in 2015, the Peace Day Challenge has reached 148 countries and all 50 U.S. states, engaged hundreds of schools and dozens of organizations, and inspired social media posts from high-profile individuals and a broad public audience reaching tens of millions of people.

Learn

Act

  • Sign up for a virtual volunteer opportunity (or look for a safe in-person volunteer opportunity) to support an organization that’s helping to build international peace
  • Organize a virtual activity/event to raise awareness about a peace priority that matters to you, or about the Peace Day Challenge in general
  • Make a personal commitment to be a peacebuilder – for example:
    • Look for opportunities to resolve disagreements
    • Listen with an open mind to those with a different perspective
    • Seek ways to help bridge divides and find common ground
  • Teach your children/students about peace and about how to be a peacebuilder

Share

  • generic avatar
    Share what you learn/do on or around September 21 – show up on social media using #PeaceDayChallenge!
  • Post a photo of how you’re doing your part for peace and be a part of the Peace Day Challenge Mosaic – take an action for peace and share a photo on Twitter or Instagram using #PeaceDayChallenge or use the "upload your photo" feature on the mosaic. The photo you share will be used to create a mosaic of all the inspiring things we are doing together to create a more peaceful world.
  • Share the mosaic with your friends to show how you're doing your part for peace!
  • Spread the word about an individual or organization you know to be working to address violent conflict and build peace around the world
  • Share a quote about peace that inspires you to act and may inspire others

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Latest Publications

Where Does Tunisia’s Transition Stand 10 Years After Ben Ali?

Where Does Tunisia’s Transition Stand 10 Years After Ben Ali?

Thursday, January 14, 2021

By: Leo Siebert

The story by now is well known. Mohamed Bouazizi’s self-immolation in December 2010 sparked an unprecedented wave of protests across Tunisia and the broader region. Less than a month later, the country’s longtime dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, fled to Saudi Arabia. That was 10 years ago today. And while Tunisia is often lauded as the “lone success story” of the uprisings that swept across the region, its democratic transition remains in limbo. A decade later, Tunisians have seen hard-won improvements in political freedoms, but a lagging economy and sclerotic politics have stunted the realization of many of the protesters’ demands—and kept them in the streets.

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Democracy & Governance

Ethiopia’s Worsening Crisis Threatens Regional, Middle East Security

Ethiopia’s Worsening Crisis Threatens Regional, Middle East Security

Wednesday, January 13, 2021

By: Payton Knopf; Jeffrey Feltman

The Gulf Arabs recognize a strategic reality that has eluded the stove-piped U.S. foreign and security policy bureaucracy for too long: The Horn of Africa is an integral part of the Middle East’s security landscape, and increasingly so. No country demonstrates this more clearly than Ethiopia. That country’s escalating internal crises pose an increasingly grave threat not only to the country’s citizens but to international peace and security and to the interests of the United States and its partners in the Middle East, principally Egypt, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Conflict Analysis & Prevention

The Current Situation in Venezuela

The Current Situation in Venezuela

Wednesday, December 16, 2020

By:

Venezuela is in the midst of an unprecedented social and humanitarian collapse—the result of bad economic policies and political conflict—that has led to food insecurity, the second largest migration crisis in the world, and regional instability. The international community has responded with pressure against the regime coupled with support for an opposition-led government, but to date it has been unsuccessful in bringing about a positive change.

Type: Fact Sheet

2020 Trends in Terrorism: From ISIS Fragmentation to Lone-Actor Attacks

2020 Trends in Terrorism: From ISIS Fragmentation to Lone-Actor Attacks

Friday, January 8, 2021

By: Alastair Reed; Kateira Aryaeinejad

In the past five years, terrorist attacks have declined notably around the globe. While this is certainly good news—particularly in the 20th year of the so-called global war on terror—terrorism remains a pervasive threat. Despite declines in its prevalence, the scale of the challenge posed by terrorism and the violent ideologies that underpin it is still immense and the mechanisms by which to address it remain complex and in need of further coordination on a global scale. What trends did we see in 2020? And how can those trends inform policy to counter violent extremism?

Type: Analysis and Commentary

Violent Extremism

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