Author Archives: Lee Smithey

Nimesh Ghimire ’15 Receives Davis Project for Peace Award to Strengthen Efforts in Nepal

From Swarthmore College News and Events.  See the original story at http://www.swarthmore.edu/news-and-events/nimesh-ghimire-15-receives-davis-project-for-peace-award.xml
by Erin Kelly
April 12, 2013
Peace Innovation Lab

The Peace Innovation Lab in Sahilitar, a rural village in western Nepal.

Nimesh Ghimire ’15 is the recipient of a Davis Project for Peace Award that will allow him to direct, establish, and strengthen the recently launchedPeace Innovation Lab (PIL) at Shree Gyanodaya Higher Secondary School in Sahilitar, a rural village in western Nepal. The project also includes a weeklong Peace Innovation Camp.

The award will help build on the Peace Innovation Lab model and take it to its next level, according to Ghimire.

“The Peace Innovation Lab is a creative space for young people in rural communities to come together to design, prototype, and implement interesting projects that contribute to local peace-building and grassroots innovation efforts,” says Ghimire, who is collaborating with Mahabir Pun, winner of the Ramon Magasaysay Award (commonly called the Asian Nobel Prize), to set up a wireless internet network needed to establish the peace-building projects.

According to Ghimire, the PIL will strive to encourage continued participation in Nepali peace-building affairs and assist with the rebuilding of Nepal’s public education system. One of the outcomes of the weeklong Peace Innovation Camp is that the students will come up with at least five projects for implementation in their local village over the following months.

“During the decade-long civil war, a lot of young students in rural Nepali communities were directly involved,” Ghimere says. “After the active war ended in 2006, these young students have very little or no involvement in the peace building process. PIL’s vision is to engage young people into the peace building process and leverage their creative insight into solving local (peace building) challenges.”

Ghimire adds that a complicating factor is Nepal’s “broken” public education system. “There is too much focus on rote learning and not much emphasis on innovation, creativity, entrepreneurship and impact,” he says. “PIL’s vision is to promote itself as an innovation hub, integrated into the local public school, allowing young students to use the space as a place to create, tinker, explore, and connect.”

The Davis Projects for Peace awards more than $1.2 million in $10,000 grants to students who submit proposals for 2013 summer projects. The grant is named for philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis and funds projects that address conflict resolution and reconciliation, foster understanding, provide opportunity, and build community.

“This project will allow us to connect this rural corner of Nepal and the students to the global village,” Ghimiere says, “make different online resources available to the entire village as well as introduce a couple of revenue models – an internet cafe and a basic telemedicine hub – to generate some money for the Lab’s resource requirements. I want to help people launch some initiatives that will bring new energy and ideas to the prospects of peace in the world.”

The project is further supported with seed funding from Global Changemakers, a program managed by the British Council.

Swarthmore alum and Peace and Conflict Studies lecturer, Sa’ed Atshan ’06 to speak on campus

Tel-Aviv nightclubs and West Bank checkpoints: The politics of being fabulous in the Holy Land

A lecture and discussion with Sa’ed Atshan ’06, about sexuality and LGBT rights in Israel/Palestine.

Friday April 19, 2013

4:30 PM

Kohlberg 116

Swarthmore College

Sa'ed Atshan

Sa’ed Atshan and Lee Smithey at the 2012 Peace and Justice Studies Association meetings at Tufts University, where Sa’ed teaches Peace and Conflict Studies

Sa’ed Atshan is a Swarthmore Alum class of 2006, he received an MPP from the Harvard Kennedy School of Government in 2008, and is now a lecturer of Peace and Conflict studies at Tufts University, and a joint PhD candidate in Anthropology and Middle-Eastern Studies at Harvard University. His dissertation research is on the politics of humanitarian aid provision in Palestine.

 

 

 

 

Hosted by Students for Peace and Justice in Palestine SPJP (sfpatswat@gmail.com).

Funded by the Forum for Free Speech FFS.

Roth ’84 Lecture on Human Rights and International Law

The presentation by Prof. Brad Roth ’84 that was postponed last semester is back on!

COMING TO TERMS WITH RUTHLESSNESS: Human Rights Violations, Moral Outrage, and the Role of International Law

Prof. Brad Roth '84Brad Roth ‘84

Professor of Law, Wayne State University

Thursday April 18, 2013

4:30 PM

Bond Memorial Hall

Maps and directions

The norm of non-intervention is often ignored when the U.S. and other world powers claim that respect for Sovereignty should not be a shield to protect governments that are massacring their people. But there is a danger when the norm of non-intervention that has undergirded international law is put aside: an erosion of this norm licenses the strong to pursue justice as they unilaterally understand it. An over-emphasis on international criminal justice similarly undermines the nonintervention presumption. A potential result is a “ruthlessness to end all ruthlessness,” with moralistic outrage against wrongdoers being invoked to rationalize the infliction of what can turn out to be even greater human costs.

Professor Brad Roth, Swarthmore Class of 1984, teaches political theory and international law at Wayne State University. His recent book, Sovereign Equality and Moral Disagreement (Oxford University Press, 2011), applies principles of political morality to the relationship between international and domestic legal authority.

Sponsored by Departments of Political Science, Peace and Conflict Studies, and History

Fighting Billionaires and Corrupt Officials

From our friends at the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility:

Come learn how to defeat corporations with your barehands!

Next Monday, April 15, 5:30 – 7:00 p.m., Daniel Hunter, a training elder with Training for Change (the group that leads the Organizing Skills Institute), will join us in the Keith Room @ the Lang Center to discuss his new book “Strategy & Soul: A Campaigner’s Tale of Fighting Billionaires, Corrupt Officials and Philadelphia Casinos.”

Please RSVP for the event here: https://www.facebook.com/TheLangCenter/events. Pizza will be provided; please indicate your pizza preference when you RSVP.

danielhunter

FYI – From Amazon.com: “When Daniel Hunter and Jethro Heiko began planning at a kitchen table, they knew that their movement would be outspent by hundreds of millions of dollars. They were up against powerful elected officials, private investigators, hired thugs, and the state supreme court. Even before they started, newspapers concluded the movement had no chance. This riveting David versus Goliath story is a rare first-person narrative, giving unparalled access to the behind-the-scenes of campaigns: the fervent worrying in late-night meetings, yelling matches behind church benches, and last-minute action planning outside judges? chambers. It?s in the heat of these moments that the nuances of strategy come to life, showing what it takes to overpower billionaires for a cause you believe in. Written by an experienced and unusually self-reflective direct action organizer, this book might be the most enjoyable way you?ve ever empowered yourself to change the world.”

Prof. George Lakey to begin week-long fast over coal mining

As I write this, Visiting Lang Professor, George Lakey has begun a week-long fast (with only water) from April 7-13 for the people of Appalachia, with a concern for PNC Bank’s funding of mountaintop removal coal mining. This is part of a 40-day fast conducted by Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), leading up to the annual shareholders meeting in Pittsburgh.

The students of Peace Studies and Action (PEAC 077) will hold class on Tuesday at 2:45 with Professor Lakey

George Lakey EQAT

A Fast for the People of Appalachia,

with a concern for PNC Bank’s funding of mountaintop removal coal mining

 George Lakey

Week-long fast with only water, April 7-13

A Message from Professor Lakey: 

On April 7 I expect to start a week-long fast on behalf of the people of Appalachia who continue to suffer from the relentless actions that destroy their mountains, livelihoods, health, and culture.  The mining also contributes to climate change, which hurts us all.

The fast will largely be conducted at my workplace, Swarthmore College, with public opportunities to engage with students, faculty, and staff

EVENTS:

  •  The first public event will be Monday at the Quaker Meetinghouse, 11.30-1pm.
  • The last event will be at the Swarthmore PNC Bank branch on Saturday, 10.45-12.
  • In between I will be on the first floor of Parrish each day for some period of time. Classes of students will visit me during that time as well as the
  • Swarthmore Gospel Choir singing at 8pm Thursday.

For the latest schedule email: glakey1@swarthmore.edu

WHY FAST?

This is part of a 40-day fast conducted by Earth Quaker Action Team (EQAT), leading up to the annual shareholders meeting in Pittsburgh.  The fast is a tool for spiritual preparation and outreach. EQAT has for three years been in dialogue with PNC Bank as well as nonviolent action which shines the light on the bank’s role as a leading funder for blowing up mountains.  EQAT plus allies will take action at the shareholders meeting.

WHAT YOU CAN DO:

  •  Green your money: if you bank at PNC, move it to a community bank or credit union and tell EQAT.org.  Over $3 million has already been moved.
  • Join the fast by skipping one meal or many, and tell EQAT.org.
  • Come to Pittsburgh to shine the light on PNC’s board of directors.
  • Join EQAT’s project of shadowing PNC board members when they make public appearances.
  • Research on PNC and the health effects of mountaintop removal available at EQAT.org.

GunCrisis.org: Seeking Solutions to Gun Violence in Philadelphia with Digital Journalism

A public lecture sponsored by our friends at the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility

“GunCrisis.org: Seeking Solutions to Gun Violence in Philadelphia with Digital Journalism”

Jim_MacMillanTuesday, April 2nd, 2013

4:30-5:30 p.m.

Scheuer Room


Swarthmore College

Maps and Directions


Download a flyer

Jim MacMillan

Former Journalist-in-Residence for War News Radio and Manager of Media and Social Responsibility for the Lang Center, Founder, GunCrisis.org Current Assistant Director for the Center for Public Interest Journalism at Temple University

How do we address the epidemic of homicide by gunfire in America? What is the future and impact of journalism in response to epic changes in information delivery? How can social media be put to use for positive social change? On average, at least one person has been murdered in Philadelphia every day over the last 25 years, and more than three-quarters of them have been killed with a gun.

The Gun Crisis Reporting Project is a non-profit independent journalism organization intended to fill the gaps in gun violence reporting, and to help seek solutions.

Visit: GunCrisis.org.

Sponsored by the Lang Center for Civic and Social Responsibility.

guncrisis_web_3-26-13

How Do We Measure Peace?

Intro PCS students, check out this event next week at U. Penn. since you’ve read the U.S. Global Peace Index report. See the announcement at The Peace Day Philly site.

How Do We Measure Peace?

Thursday, March 28th

2:00pm – 4:00pm

Location: Carriage House/LGBT Center

3907 Spruce St. (Walkway to the Center heads north from Spruce st.)

University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia PA 19104

FREE AND OPEN TO THE PUBLIC!

How Do We Measure Peace? The Pillars of Peace and the Global Peace Index

While the drivers and impact of violence receive widespread attention, there is comparatively little research on the factors that create and sustain peaceful societies. Michelle Breslauer will present the work of the Institute for Economics and Peace to measure and map national peacefulness and to identify the attitudes, institutions, and structures most closely associated with peace.

To download the Flier for this event, CLICK HERE

This special event is co-sponsored by: Peace Day Philly, the Institute for Economics and Peace, African Studies Center & Middle East Studies Center, Center for East Asian Studies & the South Asia Center, University of Pennsylvania and the UNA-GP

The Institute for Economics and Peace is an independent, non-partisan, not-for-profit research organization dedicated to shifting the world’s focus to peace as a positive, achievable, and tangible measure of human well-being and progress. IEP produces the Global Peace Index, national peace indices such as the US Peace Index, the Pillars of Peace framework, and analysis of the economic impact of peace.

About the Speaker:

Michelle Breslauer represents the programs of the Institute for Economics and Peace (IEP) in the Americas, including IEP’s US-focused research. Michelle has significant experience managing complex communication strategies on an international scale, including a 5-year tenure at the 9/11 Memorial & Museum at the World Trade Center. She has also consulted for various humanitarian initiatives, advising on strategic planning and external affairs for both public and private clients. She presents frequently to groups working in academia, policy, and international development. She has completed research around social capital and urban development for her master’s degree from The London School of Economics. She also holds a bachelor’s in International Affairs from the American University of Paris.

 

For more about the Institute for Economics and Peace, please visit theirWEBSITE

For their sister site, Vision of Humanity, and more about the GPI, CLICK HERE

Video overview video for the GLOBAL PEACE INDEX

Video overview for the U.S. PEACE INDEX

Nimesh Ghimire ‘15 Awarded Davis Project for Peace Grant to Establish ‘Peace Innovation Camp’ in Nepal

Congratulations to Nimesh Ghimire ‘15 for winning a Davis Project for Peace Award.  Here is the organization’s press release:

106-year-old philanthropist renews Projects for Peace grants for college students

 Swarthmore College Student Project to Provide a Wireless Internet Network and Runs a Week long ‘Peace Innovation Camp’ in Rural Nepal

 MIDDLEBURY, Vt. – College students across the country are once again being challenged to design and undertake “Projects for Peace” around the world, thanks to philanthropist Kathryn W. Davis. Now 106 years “young” Davis launched Projects for Peace on the occasion of her 100th birthday in 2007 and has renewed her commitment every year since. In 2013, over $1.20 million will be awarded in $10,000 grants to students submitting the winning proposals for projects to be completed over the summer of 2013.

Davis is eager for motivated young people to come up with effective building blocks for peace-building in the world, and she is providing the money to make their plans a reality. Projects that address conflict resolution and reconciliation, foster understanding, provide opportunity, and build community are among the many successful endeavors to date.

Undergraduates at 90 partner schools of the Davis United World College Scholars Program (see www.davisuwcscholars.org), as well as those at International Houses Worldwide, Future Generations, the Graduate Institute in Geneva, and the University of Maine are invited annually to submit plans for Projects for Peace. Winning proposals selected from competitions at all these campuses are funded through Davis’ generosity.

“Competition is keen and we congratulate the students whose projects have been selected for funding in 2013,” said Philip O. Geier, executive director of the Davis United World College Scholars Program, which administers Projects for Peace. “Kathryn Davis feels a great urgency about advancing the cause of peace in the world, and she is investing in motivated youth and their ideas in order to accelerate efforts for peace in the 21st century.”

nimeshSwarthmore College student, Nimesh Ghimire ‘15 proposes to use the Davis Projects for Peace grant to direct and establish a wireless internet network and run a week long ‘Peace Innovation Camp’ at Shree Gyanodaya Higher Secondary School in Sahilitar, a rural village of Lamjung district in western Nepal. The wireless network project will introduce a new world of technology to the village and the Peace Innovation Camp will allow the students with the creative freedom to design new, interesting projects to solve local peace-building challenges in their local communities. Both programs of the project will also strengthen the recently started Peace Innovation Lab (www.tinyurl.com/peaceinnovationlab) – Nepal’s first local peace innovation hub, located at the proposed school – as a resource hub to create, promote and sustain inclusive peace building efforts in Sahilitar village in Lamjung district. The project will start at the beginning of June and conclude in August, 2013.

“I want to use my birthday to once again help young people launch some initiatives that will bring new energy and ideas to the prospects of peace in the world,” said Davis. “My many years have taught me that there will always be conflict. It’s part of human nature. But love, kindness and support are also part of human nature, and my challenge to these young people is to bring about a mindset of preparing for peace instead of preparing for war.”

For more information on Projects for Peace, see www.davisprojectsforpeace.org.