Peace: Act 1, Kadogo’s story
In this story, we hear about Kadogo, a former child fighter in DR Congo who swapped his weapon for a theatre script.
Category: Peace
Statement concerning a possible merger of the Department for International Development and the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The following is a joint statement from Saferworld, Conciliation Resources, International Alert and Peace Direct. Reports have emerged stating that the UK government is considering scrapping the independent Department for International Development (DFID), merging its function with the Foreign and Commonwealth Office and abolishing its Secretary of State. This short-sighted move raises grave concerns about … Continued
Pathways to Peace in Yemen
Peace Direct, Search for Common Ground and Mercy Corps present “Pathways to Peace”, an art exhibit showing the face of conflict and hope in Yemen. Now with an updated location!
Standing up to violence, standing for elections: Faima’s story
Faima is part of the ‘Young Women’s Network for Good Governance’, set up by our local partner in Pakistan, Aware Girls, to promote women’s participation in political and public life. This is her story.
Courageous peacebuilder Abdullahi Isse will be greatly missed
On Friday 12th July, Al-Shabaab attacked a hotel in Kismayo, Somalia where a meeting was taking place between local government officials and civil society leaders to discuss the upcoming elections. 26 people were killed in the attack and tragically one of those killed was Abdullahi Isse (known to us as Isse). Isse was the Executive Director of SADO, local partner of … Continued
Voices of SDG16+ Stories for Global Action
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
New US Policy Initiatives Recognize the Importance of Local Peacebuilding
Updated on Dec. 20: The inclusion of local civil society in peacebuilding initiatives is vital to building sustainable peace. The U.S. Congress passed a new policy initiative called the Global Fragility Act that will take local voices into consideration. The act demonstrates significant progress toward 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 helps put locally led peacebuilding at the forefront.
Nigeria Elections: “The best hope for sustainable peace in Nigeria lies in our young people, not in our parliament”
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.
Call for evaluations and other evidence of the impact of local peacebuilding
Peace Direct and the Alliance for Peacebuilding are compiling a report to highlight the impact of local peacebuilding efforts around the world. This is to support our advocacy with policymakers, in line with the policy consensus that locally-owned and -led peacebuilding is essential for violence reduction and long-term stability. We are keen to review evaluation … Continued
Civil Society and Inclusive Peace
Inclusive peace, or the idea that all stakeholders in a society should have a role in defining and shaping peace, is receiving widespread global recognition. Still, despite the progress made through the increased recognition of inclusive peace at the theoretical and policy level, it has proven difficult to achieve in reality. We teamed up with the Inclusive Peace & Transition Initiative and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict to explore the dynamics of inclusivity and peacebuilding in further detail in our latest report.