“This will be our reply to violence: to make music more intensely, more beautifully, more devotedly than ever before.” -Leonard Bernstein Music and the Performing Arts have the power to heal. We are excited to announce that Peace Direct is partnering with Bluegrass Ambassadors to co-sponsor Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders Award for Music and the Performing Arts. Tomorrow’s … Continued
On April 11, President al-Bashir of Sudan has stepped down, following months of protests. We witnessed the power of civil society to lead a non-violent movement creating real change. We spoke to our local peacebuilding partner, Rasha Ahmed of Collaborative for Peace Sudan (CfPS), about what the overthrow of Bashir might mean for prospects of peace in the country.
Today is International Day of Sport for Development and Peace, where the world celebrates the power of sport to drive social change and community development, and to foster peace and understanding. Today – like every Saturday – is also a training day for members of Para-football teams driven by our local partner organisation in Northern Nigeria, the Peace Initiative Network (PIN).
On Sunday 7th April, Sir Mark Rylance presented the BBC Radio 4 Appeal on our behalf. Read on to see why he supports us, and tune in to hear him make the case for locally-led peacebuilding!
Are you working to build peaceful, just and inclusive societies? Have you been supporting local-level work to improve opportunities for peace? The United Nations committed to achieving peaceful, just, and inclusive societies through Sustainable Development Goal 16+ (SDG16+), which is part of the 2030 Agenda’s call to achieve peace and sustainable development in every country around … Continued
On International Women’s Day, we spoke to the coordinator of one of our local peacebuilding partners, Rasha Ahmed from Collaborative for Peace in Sudan (CfPS), about why women’s participation in peacebuilding is important, and what International Women’s Day means to her.
Today, we are delighted to announce a £250,000 award from the Players of People’s Postcode Lottery to support our work building peace in war zones around the world. The award will help us to continue supporting our local peacebuilding partners operating in war torn communities in Nigeria and DR Congo; forgotten conflicts which receive little international attention … Continued
On International Women’s Day, we reflect upon the inspirational work of Josephine, an ex-combatant who has dedicated her life to helping child soldiers re-integrate back into their communities.
The inclusion of local civil society in peacebuilding initiatives is vital to building sustainable peace. The U.S. Congress is considering a new policy initiative which will take local voices into consideration. The U.S. House of Representative and U.S. Senate have introduced the Global Fragility Act of 2019 earlier this year. It demonstrates significant progress towards international recognition of the critical role played by local people. The initiative brings the United States closer to a more focused, high-level policy response to address violence and instability in the world’s toughest places; one that places locally-led peacebuilding at the forefront.
The 2019 general elections in Nigeria are set to take place on Saturday 23rd February, after being postponed from the 16th. In the run up to the event, we urge against pessimism and look to signs of hope for the country’s future. Our local peacebuilding partner, Michael Sodipo, was recently interviewed by All Africa magazine, and we echo his thoughts on how young people are our best hope for a peaceful future in Nigeria.
