United States Institute of Peace

A quick blurb in the June/July Ode special advertising section caught my eye: United States Institute of Peace. Their website is usip.org. Their website says, “The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) provides the analysis, training and tools that help to prevent, manage and end violent international conflicts, promote stability and professionalize the field of peace-building.” Who knew there even was one?

From their website:

Peace-building: A Global Imperative

It is essential that the United States, working with the international community, play an active part in preventing, managing, and resolving conflicts. Fragile states, ethnic and religious strife, extremism, competition for scarce resources and the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction all pose significant challenges to peace. The resulting suffering and destabilization of societies make effective forms of managing conflict imperative. The United States Institute of Peace (USIP) is dedicated to meeting this imperative in new and innovative ways.

“USIP's Mission and Goals

The United States Institute of Peace is an independent, nonpartisan, national institution established and funded by Congress. Its goals are to help:

* Prevent and resolve violent international conflicts
* Promote post-conflict stability and development
* Increase conflict management capacity, tools, and intellectual capital worldwide

The Institute does this by empowering others with knowledge, skills, and resources, as well as by directly engaging in peace-building efforts around the globe.
“USIP's Programs and Activities

In order to achieve the above goals, the Institute undertakes a unique combination of activities, including the following:

• Operating on-the-ground in zones of conflict, most recently in Afghanistan, the Balkans, Colombia, Iraq, Kashmir, Liberia, the Korean Peninsula, Nepal, Pakistan, the Palestinian Territories, Nigeria, Sudan, and Uganda. Specific projects involve:
  • Mediating and facilitating dialogue among parties in conflict
  • Building conflict management skills and capacity
  • Identifying and disseminating best practices in conflict management
  • Promoting the rule of law
  • Reforming/strengthening education systems
  • Strengthening civil society and state-building
  • Educating the public through events, films, radio programs, and an array of other outreach activities
• Performing cutting edge research resulting in publications for practitioners, policymakers, and academia (over 400 to date).
• Identifying best practices and developing innovative peace-building tools. Tools developed by USIP include a seminal set of books on international mediation, a portfolio of resources on religious peacemaking, a toolkit for promoting the rule of law in fragile states, guidelines for civilian and military interaction in hostile environments, a preeminent series on cultural negotiating behavior, and field-defining textbooks on conflict management.
• Training on conflict management - including mediation and negotiation skills - to government and military personnel, civil society leaders, and the staff of non-governmental and international organizations.
• Educating high school and college students about conflict, strengthening related curricula, and increasing the peace-building capabilities of future leaders.
• Supporting policymakers by providing analyses, policy options, and advice, as well as by sponsoring a wide range of country-oriented working groups. Recent efforts include the Iraq Study Group; Task Force on the United Nations; and standing working groups on Afghanistan, Cote d'Ivoire, DRC, Haiti, Iran, Iraq, Korea, Liberia, Syria, and Sudan.

Expertise:

The United States Institute of Peace draws on a variety of resources in fulfilling its mandate, including Institute staff, grantees, fellows, and a broad set of governmental and non-governmental partners:

• Institute Specialists: The Institute employs more than 70 specialists with both geographic and subject-matter expertise. These experts are leaders in their fields. They come from the government, military, NGOs, academia, and the private sector. .
• Partners/Grantees: The Institute works with an extensive network of partners, including non-profits, academic institutions, government agencies, international organizations, and the military. Through its grant-making program, the Institute has invested $58 million in over 1,700 peace-building projects in 76 countries around the world.
• Jennings Randolph Fellows: The Jennings Randolph Program for International Peace awards residential fellowships annually. Since the program’s inception, Senior Fellows have produced more than 125 books and special reports. The Jennings Randolph program also awards non-resident Peace Scholar Fellowships to students at U.S. universities working on doctoral dissertations related to the Institute's mandate.

It’s gratifying to know that Congress got behind this initiative. Now, let’s help create a Cabinet-level Secretary of Peace as well as citizen diplomats for peace all over this beautiful world of ours.

For spiritual nourishment, go to www.susancorso.com.