Lessons from Peacebuilding Twenty years ago, I walked into the offices opposite the UN Headquarters in Manhattan as the first plane struck the World Trade Center. Soon after, diplomats from every corner of the world streamed out of the UN building in a mass evacuation as news of the terrorist attacks shook the world. Later … Continued
Peace Direct welcomes the inauguration of President Joe Biden and Vice President Kamala Harris and urges all Americans to join together in the work of healing our broken nation.
Peace will prevail
It’s been a challenging and tumultuous year. The coronavirus pandemic, the Black Lives Matter movement, and contentious national elections have laid bare deep inequities, racism and division here in the U.S. We are called like never before to build peace in our own country, and to do it in solidarity with people around the world … Continued
Updated Nov. 9: The results are in. The U.S. elections are over, and a new president and the first ever woman vice president have been elected. If the 2020 elections have shown us anything, though, it is that the U.S. is in dire need of peacebuilding. This is not news to anyone who has been living in politically … Continued
As the Nov. 3 U.S. elections unfold, tensions are escalating. Political and social divisions are deepening. The Black Lives Matter movement continues to push for racial justice, even as reports of police violence against people of color continue. The coronavirus pandemic and related economic recession persist with no end in sight. Many Americans feel the very future of their country is at stake.
16 years on the legacy of 9/11 continues to affect the world. As the US announces further troop deployments to Afghanistan, what can we learn from the local people building peace on the ground about avoiding terrorism and violent conflict?
The Women’s March was a historic and resounding success in sending a strong message that communities around the US and the world will stand up and speak out against sexism, hate, racism and division.
As we turn to organizing for whatever may come after Trump’s election to the White House, we should remember that the work of social change and peacebuilding is long-term, measured ultimately in decades and lifetimes, not campaigns and elections.
In the wake of recent terrorist attacks in Paris, Berlin, and California, our leaders need to pivot toward peace to tackle extremism.