Attending the Learning Exchange (LE) was a completely wonderful and somewhat unexpected experience. As a PhD student, I attend a variety of academic conferences and workshops and present my research and work frequently. However, the environment at the LE was wholly unique from other experiences I have had. It is rare to find a group… read more

The aim of my research project was to critically examine the links between local governance and community peace building projects in Libya. Programming that focuses on building technocratic local governance structure has become a model for western donor intervention and has been used widely as a stabilisation tool to prop up state control in fragile… read more

I am uncomfortable with any logic that centers itself around the word ‘peace.’ I believe that to fall back on capital ‘p’ Peace causes us to depoliticize its purported opposite, conflict, in ways that relegate those involved and affected to identity checkmarks. Women are cast as peacemakers, men as antagonists, non-state armed actors become either… read more

Final Thoughts – August 23rd, 2017  The completion of training materials for the Participatory Action Research Program was my favorite deliverable this summer. Some Arab youth have a lot of “Do’s and Don’ts” and “How To’s” heading their way! As the training is implemented in Syria, the participating youth will be learning about the ethics… read more

Written by Farah Amalia, 2017 AC4 Fellow, on September 9, 2017. Violent extremism is always a scary subject to delve into. Defining the term is difficult enough, let alone creating a whole curriculum around preventing it. These two words are used everywhere, including in the world of international education. However, in most situations, audience understanding… read more

Upon Arrival in Amman – June 9th, 2017 Marhaba from Amman! This summer I am interning in the Adolescent and Youth Programming (ADAP) and HIV/AIDS department of the UNICEF MENA Regional Office. In addition to learning all the acronyms the UN uses, I will be working on 3 separate projects. The first is a Participatory… read more

Nigeria is a uniquely colorful and captivating place, in many regards. You will find rich and poor side by side. Air-conditioned shopping centers sit across from narrow, dusty, labyrinth-like markets. Mansions of the rich contrast corrugated roof huts of the poor. Endlessly sprawling cities neighbor tiny villages hidden in the jungle. With more than 500… read more

From June through August, I joined forces with the THRIVE Colombia project to explore perceptions of violence and safety within the family as well as the community. Through a series of individual interviews, we explored different themes such as gender roles, conflict resolution, decision-making, and potential solutions to improve family safety and well-being with our… read more

While the AC4 Fellowship affords students the opportunity to conduct field research through its generous grant, one of the incredible advantages of the Fellowship is the space it offers to reflect on these experiences. Over the course of the Fellowship, I wrote three op-ed pieces that starts in Cape Town and is centered on a new radical… read more

Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Conservation Area (NCA) is an extraordinary place.  Part of the greater Serengeti ecosystem, the NCA hosts some of Earth’s most incredible natural wonders, including the great wildebeest migration and the famed Ngorongoro Crater, an extinct volcanic caldera containing one of the densest populations of lions in Africa.  The NCA is also home to… read more