Search for Common Ground selected as one of The Top 100 NGOs in the World
THE GLOBAL JOURNAL just published the first ever TOP 100 NGOs list
The Global Journal‘s ‘Top 100 Best NGOs’ list is the first international ranking of its kind and provides an exclusive in-depth look at 100 of the world’s best NGOs.
The report ranks SFCG #52 among all NGOs in the world and #1 among conflict resolution NGOs. The article highlights, in particular, SFCG’s diverse methods for resolving conflicts and our long-term commitment to the countries in which we work.
To see the profile of SFCG in this special issue of The Global Journal click here.
To see the full list click here.
Secretary of State Hillary Clinton visits SFCG youth program in Côte d’Ivoire
US Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton joined SFCG's Côte D'Ivoire Country Director, Quentin Kanyatsi (right) and the Director General of CERAP, Reverend Hyacinthe Loua (left) at SFCG's Youth & Community Leader Roundtable on Reconciliation in Abidjan.
“Everyone has a role to play in deciding whether the future will be peaceful or not.”
~Secretary of State Hilary Rodham Clinton
Secretary Clinton shared this thought during her visit to a Search for Common Ground youth project in Côte d’Ivoire on Tuesday January 17th.
Youth perform a play for Secretary Clinton about the recent elections in Côte D'Ivoire
During her time in Côte d’Ivoire, Secretary Clinton met with President Ouattara and then proceeded to a gathering with SFCG’s Côte d’Ivoire country staff and the Ivoirian youth we have been working with there. These young people are committed to healing the deep divisions in their country that became all too clear during the 2010 election and the crisis that followed it.
Secretary Clinton had the opportunity to watch a dramatic presentation by these young people as they shared how they had learned to use theater to help transform their emotional and social wounds into commitments to coexistence, non-violence, and reconciliation.
“Whether you are a president of a country, a minister or imam, a young man or a young woman, each person can decide whether to go on hating, or to begin living together and working together,” said Clinton.
Read more about Secretary Clinton’s visit and our work in Côte d’Ivoire here.
PCDN Interview with 2011 Common Ground Awardee Emmanuel Jal Part 2 of 2
Emmanuel Jal performing before accepting his 2011 Common Ground Award
Peace and Collaborative Development Network’s founder, Dr. Craig Zelizer, has now posted the second half of his recent interview with musician, peace activist, and 2011 Common Ground Awardee, Emmanuel Jal.
In this second half of the interview, Jal answers more questions from PCDN members. His answers include what he thinks are the biggest problems facing South Sudan today, how other musicians could become involved with his network of musicians for peace, his message to dictators in Africa who do not want to let go of their power, and details on his upcoming album.
PCDN Interview with 2011 Common Ground Awardee Emmanuel Jal Part 1 of 2
Emmanual Jal and John Prendergast, Co-Founder, Enough Project
Peace and Collaborative Development Network’s founder, Dr. Craig Zelizer, just shared part 1 of a 2-part interview he recently conducted with musician, peace activist, and 2011 Common Ground Awardee, Emmanuel Jal. This interview is the first in a new “PCDN Interview Series with Leading Practitioners and Scholars” from around the world.
Jal is from South Sudan and was recruited as a child soldier at the age of 7. He miraculously escaped and was smuggled to freedom in Kenya with the help of a British aid worker. He was enrolled in school for the first time and has since used his considerable talents and perseverance to become a successful recording artist and one of the most active advocates for those adversely affected by the conflict in Sudan. His music and his message have inspired countless people around the globe and he had founded three development projects that are currently active in South Sudan.
In this interview, Jal answers questions from Dr. Zelizer and PCDN members. He discusses what it meant to be given a Common Ground Award, the role that music has played in his process of healing and transformation, why he believes education is so essential to development, his vision for his ongoing projects over the next 10 years, and more.
The video also includes footage of his moving performance at the 2011 Common Ground Awards.
Stay tuned for Part 2!
- Participatory theater troop performs in Rwanda
Search for Common Ground’s work using participatory theater for peacebuilding in Rwanda was recently featured in an article in the Africa Peace and Conflict Journal. The article, “Acting Out of Conflict: Using Participatory Theater as a Tool of Peacebuilding in Rwanda,” was written by SFCG Communications Associate, Sydney Smith and former International Intern, Elise Webb.
SFCG is helping Rwandan citizens and government leaders take ownership over the process of collaboratively negotiating land disputes through participatory theater. Community theater performances based on real-life local conflicts over land use are helping Rwandans expand their ability to understand different perspectives and think creatively to find collaborative resolutions to disputes.
As Sydney and Elise explain, read more…
Comic Books for Peace in Palu, Indonesia
Students at Al-Khairat pesantren with SFCG comic books
By: Chloe Hall
Palu is located at the heart of Sulawesi, a vast island in Eastern/Central Indonesia that extends into the sea like four slender fingers on an outstretched hand. A combination of mountainous peaks and lushly coastal plains, Palu is home to the Al-Khairat pesantren, one of nine Islamic boarding schools where SFCG is implementing a program on religious tolerance. Walking through the peaceful Al-Khairat campus, whose trees even seem mellow and drowsy in the afternoon heat, it is hard to believe that Central Sulawesi was an epicenter of violence just over a decade ago. Palu is several hours’ drive from the post-conflict city of Poso, which was wracked by clashes between Muslims and Christians from 1999 to 2001, and the region remains volatile, prone to episodes of violence. In late December 2011, a bomb was discovered in a market that sells pork and is located next to a local church.
read more…
