Over the past years, citizenship education became a hotly debated topic in Chile. Several political corruption scandals involving elected officials and businesspeople called into question the strength of Chilean democracy, the probity and civic virtue of its representatives, and the institutions entitled to educate these traits, particularly the school system. Before the end of her… read more

Our team research project followed up on our coursework in the Business and Human Rights clinic, which centered around guidelines for responsible agricultural investment.  In Malawi, the major agricultural commodities grown for export are tobacco, sugar, and tea.  For our AC4-sponsored project, we decided to look at Malawi’s tea industry.  We wanted to understand how… read more

My first visit to one the planned settlements from the IDP Program in Rwanda was a follow up visit from a previous research trip for my Master’s of Science in Urban Planning thesis – read part 1 for further context.  In January 2018, I visited these same 28 families, all of which were Genocide Survivors (i.e., Tutsi). … read more

To truly grasp the extent of control the Rwandan government has on its population is difficult.  Traveling through Kigali and more remote parts of the country for three weeks this summer, I am struck by the outward portrayal of the country, but also try my hardest to be deeply critical of the façade it paints… read more

Thanks to AC4 for my selection as a fellow, I was able to attend the 2018 International Association of Conflict Management (IACM) conference in Philadelphia, USA, this July 8-11, 2018. My participation was indeed an honor as this made my long time dream a reality. The value I placed on the conference prompted my preparation for… read more

Members of the AC4 team along with colleagues from around Columbia University travelled to Philadelphia, Pennsylvania in July for this year’s International Association on Conflict Management (IACM) Conference. With partners at Morton Deutsch International Center for Cooperation and Conflict Resolution (MD-ICCCR) and the Negotiation and Conflict Resolution (NeCR) Master’s program, we participated in the conference… read more

The 2018 IACM Conference struck a chord with me right from the opening session! The range of topics discussed, professors and students that I met, and the sheer enormity of the conflict management field was overwhelming – to say the least! IACM was the first international conference that I had attended, and naturally, I was… read more

“I didn’t realize how interconnected social systems were with environmental issues.” Nearly two years ago, a few colleagues and I founded an organization called the Women’s Global Empowerment Initiative (WGEI). We promote global education in Morocco for young women of color in low-income high schools in Atlanta, Louisville, and New Orleans. Our vision is to provide… read more

Nigeria makes it into the news mostly for its terrorism attacks related to Boko Haram or kidnappings of oil workers in the Niger delta. Undoubtedly, Nigeria is unsettled and not a peaceful place. In 2010, when I first spent a prolonged amount of time in the country there was a hopeful sentiment that “Goodluck Jonathan… read more

Bilan Stribling, one of the 2016 AC4 Peace Fellows at the annual International Association on Conflict Management (IACM), works on risk mitigation, international relations and global partnership development. She completed her Masters in Negotiation and Conflict Resolution at Columbia’s School of Professional Studies. As a Fellow at IACM, she presented on factors that contribute to… read more