Tomorrow at the Common Ground Awards' ceremony the speaker's desk will be used by our Awardees.
Our big event, the Common Ground Award ceremony is taking place tomorrow evening. The Common Ground Awards are presented annually to honor outstanding accomplishments in conflict resolution, negotiation, community building, and peacebuilding.
The Recipients have made significant contributions toward bridging divides between people and finding solutions to seemingly intractable problems. We honor groups and individuals who have dealt with conflicts in new ways, who have met crises with creativity, wisdom and courage, and who can inspire and bring hope to others.
We have chosen our Awardees 2011 with great care; they will be honored for their accomplishments as a source of inspiration. In the past six weeks we have published blogs to introduce each Awardee in detail.
We’ve added one more Award after the successful release of the US Hikers in Iran, Shane Bauer and Josh Fattal. For their exceptional efforts contributing to the release, Bishop John Chane, Cardinal Theodore McCarrick and Ambassador (ret.) William Miller will be honored with an Award.
Rais Bhuiyan will be honored for his fight to save his aggressor, Mark Stroman, from the death penalty and answering hate and destruction with forgiveness and action.
Changing the political and social structures with their courageous Bus trips fifty years ago, the Freedom Riders will be honored with an Award. Many of the over 400 Freedom Riders will be at the CG Awards and accepting the Award on behalf of all of them will be Diane Nash and Congressman John Lewis. Diane Nash was a leader and strategist of the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee which helped to plan the Freedom Rides. John Lewis was one of the 13 original Freedom Riders. During the Freedom Rides, Lewis was severely injured by mob violence in Alabama and spent 40 days in jail in Mississippi.
Former child soldier, Emmanuel Jal, receives an Award for his journey as a soldier to becoming a world-known musician, artist and actor. He uses his talents to spread the vision of a peaceful world.
Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan will be honored for her life-long commitment to improving understanding and tolerance among Western, Arab and Muslim societies.
The Mo Ibrahim Foundation contributes to the CG Awards objectives by engaging in community building and conflict resolution with the focus on good governance and leadership in Africa. With the Ibrahim Prize, the Foundation sets an example for other leaders to pursue democracy and good governance.
We are looking forward to a stimulating ceremony with inspiring Awardees and guests. If you are not able to come to the ceremony, follow us live on Twitter using #CGAwards.
On the left, Thaddée NINGANZA, a resident Tutsi gave his Banana field to a returned Hutu widow after thirty years of living there. This conflict was mediated by Josépha Nzeyimana, who had received a Conflict Resolution Training by SFCG.
In the South of Burundi, in the village of Vugizo the positions of the inhabitants around land disputes seemed irreconcilable. The disputes arose after the violent events in 1972. The government suppressed a rebellion led by Hutus who tried to overthrow the government. The reprisals were violent, thousands were killed and many more fled the country. It was not only the village of Vugizo which was left empty, but many other villages in the south.
The empty villages were re-populated by Tutsis, who settled down in these villages and started to build a life there. They were very reluctant to share their land with the returning Hutus. SFCG, in cooperation with Adventist Development Relief Agency (ADRA), organized several sessions of conflict resolution trainings with the local population. Some of the residents started to open up to the idea of living side by side with their Hutu brothers who were returning from exile. Elected leaders from the neighborhood of Jongwe who participated in the training became very active in seeking resolutions to the the conflicts around land disputes. Today, Jongwe is considered as one of the models for peaceful cohabitation between Hutus and Tutsis, inhabitants and returnees. SFCG’s radio program Icibare Cacu broadcasts those stories of the residents and returnees who were able to solve the conflicts amicably.
Hutu and Tutsi children, those of residents and those of the returnees, play together in the village of Kibago, in the South of Burundi. Unthinkable yesterday. Possible today. Wonderful story of reconciliation.
In 2010 one of the Common Ground Award's went to Just Vision. At the ceremony from left to right: Susan Collin Marks, Her Majesty Queen Noor of Jordan, Ronit Avni, Julia Bacha.
Just Vision received a CG Award last year (2010) for its work using thought-provoking, media that heralds the power of ordinary people to contribute to lasting peace in Israel and Palestine. Their film Budrus had gained much praise for its conciliatory approach, telling the story of local Fatah and Hamas members who together with Israeli supporters save the village of Budrus from destruction by Israel’s Separation Barrier.
The non-partisan, non-profit organization Just Vision, headed by award-winning filmmaker Julia Bacha and human rights advocate Ronit Avni, has produced a new film: Home Front. It features four stories all filmed in Jerusalem’s neighborhood Sheikh Jarrah, where Palestinians have been evicted from their houses by Israeli settlers. read more…
With Radio program Icibare Cacu SFCG broadcasts successful stories of resolved land disputes
In Burundi, SFCG runs several programs to help resolve conflicts around land disputes. The disputes revolve around land that the owners abandoned in 1972 when the government responded to an ethnically motivated rebellion in which one ethnicity tried to gain power. The government responded to this unrest by killing hundreds of thousands and forcing an equal number to flee the country. Their abandoned land tracts were occupied or redistributed by local officials to those who remained. The Burundian society faces challenges in resolving these disputes.
One of SFCG’s efforts to help with the resolution over the land disputes is the weekly radio program called Icibare Cacu.
Polling station attendant checks the final voter roll to ensure voter is registered before issuing him is ballots (Photo: Lindsay Forslund)
By Lindsay Forslund
According to the preliminary results that were recently released by NEC (National Election Commission), the preliminary results yield a run-off. Liberians will be heading to the polls once again on November 8, 2011 to determine who will lead the country for the next five years.
Many Liberians are not surprised by the announcement that this first round of elections has resulted in a run-off; with 16 presidential candidates and the need to win 50% plus one vote it seemed unlikely from the start that any candidate would achieve this number during the initial race.
For some Liberians there is a sense of déjà vu, with the 2005 elections.
One of the early meetings SFCG conducted with local stakeholders.
Gary Decker worked as an international intern for SFCG in Tanzania this summer. He was recently in DC to speak about his experience and the challenges and successes of his project.
SFCG was invited to the North Mara region of Tanzania to help mediate tensions between the local communities and the gold mining company Barrick Gold after reports of human rights violations were published. read more…
