Search for Common Ground

Despite producing 90% of Nigeria’s export earnings thanks to an abundance of oil resources, the people of the Niger Delta region feel neglected and marginalized. The federal government effectively ended a decade-long militancy in the region when it instituted the Presidential Amnesty Process in 2009 to demobilize and reintegrate former militants. Nevertheless, the region continues to feel the effects of the conflict. People in the Niger Delta remain disempowered by a persisting culture of violence, loss of alternative livelihoods, lack of opportunity for entrepreneurship, and a lack of transparency in public decision making.

Through our project "Tomorrow is a New Day,” we support stability in the Niger Delta region by promoting a culture of nonviolence, increasing collaboration and communication between authorities and communities to improve local security, and encouraging the inclusion of women in community decision-making. With two critical events anticipated in 2015, the national elections and the proposed end of the Amnesty Program, these goals take on a new significance.

To build a space for women and youth to participate in community decisions, we helped build "Information Resource Centers” featuring radio studios and internet cafés in violent communities. These centers have supported and encouraged youth, including former agitators, to create their own radio programs that showcase positive youth leadership and peacemaking. Women and youth are also encouraged to use this new platform to air their concerns and grievances and to peacefully advocate for change. The first phase of the project made significant contributions to promoting cohesive, engaged communities and removed some barriers to community healing.

In the second phase of the project, launched in April 2014, we are targeted 12 key trend-setting communities in the four states of Abia, Bayelsa, Delta and Rivers in the Niger Delta. We have teamed up with local partners in each state, as well as community-elected Local Project Committees, to educate key leaders and security agents on conflict transformation. We also train women and youth in non-adversarial advocacy approaches so they can increase communications with community leaders and make their voices heard. To involve as many people as possible, we sponsor regular community meetings on security issues and Peace Architecture Dialogues with important local actors. These meetings are designed to improve information sharing and collaboration on key issues.

This project is funded by the European Union’s Instrument Contributing to Stability and Peace.

We acknowledge youth as positive agents of change that must be empowered to play a proactive role in transforming conflicts, so we provide them with opportunities to practice non-violent community leadership. In December 2013, our team in Pakistan successfully completed the implementation of a project entitled "Promoting Peace in KPK & FATA – Connecting Youth Leaders and Policymakers through Mediation and Dialogue,” referred to as Pakistan Peace Promoters.

Through activities ranging from trainings and workshops to dialogue forums, the 23-month project was implemented in 25 districts of the Khyber Pakhutnkhwa province (KPK) and the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (FATA), the most troubled and conflict-affected areas of Pakistan. Based on the findings of a Post-Crisis Needs Assessment conducted in 2010, the initiative built peace by encouraging dialogue among youth and policymakers. We equipped them with a "Common Ground Approach” in handling conflicts and disagreements.

The trained youth leaders established 25 District Dialogue Forums (DDFs) in their respective communities, where they resolved local issues and discussed such topics as rule of law, unemployment, lack of access to health and school facilities, and social justice.

We also organized Networking Sessions to create space for policymakers and youth leaders to examine issues together and formulate policy recommendations.

The five most enterprising and promising youth leaders were awarded small grants that will allow them to carry on their work beyond the project and create sustainable peace in their communities.

The project made use of mainstream and social media to promote messages of moderation and tolerance to the people in these volatile regions. We produced seven video case studies featuring success stories of youth leaders and five radio magazine programs focusing on peacebuilding and non-violence. These were aired on local TV and radio stations across KPK and FATA.

Our initiative also produced a project documentary (https://vimeo.com/83005873) , beautifully illustrating our peacebuilding actions and capturing personal stories of people who benefited from the project.

Difficult living conditions, overcrowding, and management issues within the Moroccan prison system expose the guards and detainees to significant risks. Prison staff have limited resources and training to manage the situation. Individual conflicts and tensions among detainees- between detainees and staff, or even between staff themselves- are always liable to occur. To promote human rights and reforms for detainees, both groups must learn to manage conflict constructively. We are therefore working to encourage constructive approaches to conflict resolution and modernize the penitentiary system in Morocco.

We are engaging with prison directors and managers, guards as well as detainees by means of a series of trainings and dialogues on conflict transformation, detainees’ rights, and the reintegration of detainees back into society. We are also working with our various partners to bring the penitentiary system in line with international standards regarding detainees’ rights. The ultimate goal of this project is to reduce the high rates of recidivism by improving the ability of detainees to manage conflicts and disputes effectively when they are in prison and after their release.

We have previously worked with 14 prisons throughout the country to train prison directors, prison administration staff, and detainees in techniques and mechanisms for managing conflict. Today, we are working in 34 prisons, which is half of all the prisons in Morocco. This project will facilitate the formation of a national platform on the state of human rights in prisons, good governance, and prison reform in Morocco.

This project is funded by the European Union and implemented in partnership with the General Delegation of Penitentiary Administration and Reintegration, the Foundation Mohammed VI for the Reintegration of Detainees, and the Rabita Mohammadia of Moroccan scholars.

As the Syrian conflict enters its fourth year, more than one million Syrian refugees have fled to Lebanon and now represent over 25 percent of the population in a country of four million people. This dramatic increase in population has brought about significant disruptions to the Lebanese economy, infrastructure, demographics, and society. In addition, Syrian refugees are often concentrated in already economically underdeveloped areas of Lebanon. As a result, Lebanese youth in these areas suffer from high levels of unemployment and feel marginalized in their own country, further fueling discrimination and resentment towards refugees.

Women and children make up nearly 80 percent of the Syrian refugees in Lebanon and are especially vulnerable to the consequences of conflict. The emotional costs incurred by Syrian refugees are profound. Most have experienced the death of relatives or close friends or have been separated from their families, and many cross into Lebanon unaccompanied.

Once in Lebanon, many young Syrian refugees forgo education in favor of work to support themselves and their families, making them susceptible to exploitation. Without a proper education, another consequence is that these young people often struggle to focus their energy and participate fully in society. These issues cause tensions and reinforce negative stereotypes between Syrian refugees and Lebanese locals. The refugees who are able to attend school are often bullied and marginalized by their Lebanese peers.

In response to this unprecedented refugee crisis, we have partnered with two local organizations, LOST in the Bekaa Valley and DPNA in South Lebanon, to address the challenges of social cohesion among Syrian and Lebanese youth through arts. “Better Together: A Youth-led Approach to Peaceful Coexistence” begins with two summer camps in which Syrian and Lebanese youth participate in conflict resolution trainings and artistic workshops in drawing, theater, music, and film. Three-hundred and twenty youth will attend these trainings and workshops over two years and learn to express themselves through art, as well as how to battle the stereotypes and misconceptions they hold against each other. Once the camps are completed, these youth will be ready to become leaders and improve relations between these two communities.

After the summer camps, the project continues with year-long artistic workshops to address trauma and promote mutual understanding nationwide, as well as a “pen pal” activity that will allow the youth to keep in touch with other participants throughout Lebanon. Though outside of the formal educational system, these activities engage Syrian refugees and their Lebanese youth counterparts by encouraging them to address everyday challenges together and focus their energies productively and creatively.

In addition to our workshops and activities, we are using our relationships with Lebanese media to broadcast short videos detailing our efforts across local TV channels. The videos will be also shown at public events held by us and our partners in order to exhibit the artistic outcomes of the project. These artistic performances will give community members the opportunity to explore the issues such as social cohesion, stereotypes, and misconceptions about “the other.” Finally, we will hold a discussion with expert facilitators to reflect on the project.

Violent extremism can be an extremely difficult issue to tackle, particularly when the government and moderate religious leaders lack the theological training, organization, and leadership skills needed to counter radical narratives. These groups can, however, serve as a positive alternative to more radical clerics if they demonstrate strong leadership skills, transparency and sound theological training emphasizing tolerance and pluralism. We’re using our global experience with intra-religious dialogue to establish a working group of key actors who can support ideals of religious tolerance and cooperation and coordinate messages about countering violent extremism.

The project brings together influential actors to form a cooperative working group focused on understanding violent extremism. The working group, The Research Institute for Islamic Studies, was established in May 2014. This is the first group in Kyrgyzstan created as a platform for members of government and law enforcement agencies, the Muslim community, and civil society leaders to discuss issues related to radicalization in the religious sphere.


This project was created by local experts and is driven by local participants and local actors, creating a space for local solutions.
The program fosters dialogue between diverse participants, allowing all voices to be heard and helping members find common interests and solutions. Women, youth, local leaders, religious actors, and the security sector all participate.
Applied research papers about violent extremism expand academic knowledge and create a platform for discussion.

After years of political instability, Madagascar is gradually returning to democracy and good governance. Yet, this process is hampered by recurring institutional crises. One of the main causes of this political fragility is the lack of trust and cooperation between key sections of society.


To tackle this challenge, we launched an 18-month project called Samy Gasy, in partnership with the Embassy of the United States. The goal of the initiative was to reduce confrontational approaches and increase dialogue between groups within Malagasy society, including government leaders, civil society organizations, media professionals, youth leaders, and the armed forces.

The main component of Samy Gasy was an international training program in conflict transformation and peacebuilding, offered in two parts.


The first one was a long-term training program for a group of 25 people who became local certified peacebuilders. The program was divided into 4 sessions of 3 days spread throughout the year. To graduate, the participants had to develop their own local peacebuilding initiatives. Their ideas were then presented to the public as part of a reality radio show in collaboration with our media partners. A panel of experts evaluated the initiatives on air and the public voted for their favorite one. The four themes of the training program were conflict analysis and the Common Ground Approach, security sector reform and peacebuilding, youth leadership and peacebuilding, and advocacy techniques for inclusion and reconciliation.


The second part of the program was a specialized training on each of the themes, organized in independent sessions of 3 days. These sessions offered more in-depth knowledge.


Under a third component of the Samy Gasy project, we built the communication and media engagement skills of institutions that promote transparency and accountability in Madagascar. These included the anti-corruption agency BIANCO, the anti-money laundering agency SAMAFIN, and the Ministry of Finance.


Anyone aspiring to become a certified local peacebuilder, without distinction of background, profession, gender, age or region, was able to apply to participate in Samy Gasy. Our international experts came to Madagascar to lead the training modules, while the Madagascar team supported the coaching sessions.


Samy Gasy has produced some transformative results. Of those targeted by the program, 90 percent believe that dialogue is the most effective method to create positive change for social cohesion. Similarly, 88 percent said that they have developed techniques and approaches for conflict transformation.


In addition to building the participants’ capacity for dialogue and community-based peacebuilding, Samy Gasy has also helped them form relationships, which have led to impactful collaborations. For example, some have created a social media group for peacebuilders in Madagascar, where they can share their successes and lessons learned.

The Tanganyika and Haut-Katanga provinces, known for their rich deposits of copper and other metals, used to be a stable area of the DRC. In 2013, the region has plunged into conflict, pitting the tribes of the Luba and the Twa against each other; since then, relationships between communities have been defined by deep mistrust and high tension.

With support from the National Social Fund, we are responding to the population’s need for reconciliation and supporting the government’s efforts to bring back stability with the project Jirani Ni Ndugu – “My Neighbor is My Brother”.

In close collaboration with traditional leaders and local teachers, we formed 25 peace committees to mitigate local conflict. With our support, these committees organize solidarity activities, sports events, and public initiatives that open a space for dialogue and cooperation between the Twa and the Luba.

We also use participatory theater to start conversations between the two groups, helping each side shift their perspective on the conflict. Performances by theater troupes trained and supported by our staff mix serious topics with humor. During every play, the public is encouraged to interact with the actors and find nonviolent solutions to the problems presented on stage.

Radio programming is also part of our set of tools. Jirani Ni Ndugu is also a popular soap opera, broadcast on a weekly basis by our radio partners throughout the region. It helps dispel misinformation, rumors, and prejudices, and shows ways to resolve conflict peacefully. At listening clubs across the target provinces, we encourage the audiences to discuss the topics presented in the program and provide feedback to help us improve the quality of the show.

As we continue to promote nonviolent conflict resolution in Eastern Congo, the Tanganyika and Haut-Katanga provinces will remain a strategic area of interest for our work in the coming years.

Propaganda plays a critical role in violent extremist organization’s operations as they are still seeking ways to inspire new support in the digital environment by spreading provocative and hateful messages to nurture intolerance.

In Indonesia, violent extremist narratives have been produced and disseminated by three main groups. Though they each have different ideals and interests, these three main groups disseminate hateful propaganda and intolerant narratives to gain support from the digital and social media users. In some cases, social media has also been used as a tool to recruit youth to become active, either as a member or a supporter.

Violent extremist organizations target young people with messages that resonate with them: adventure, power, heroism, brother/sisterhood, economic independence, and protection of one’s family, community, or identity. Their recruitment messages give young people a sense of belonging that is often lacking in their daily lives. Therefore, we put a particular emphasis on young people entering public universities.

To counter these narratives and build community resilience, we launched Promoting Peaceful Narratives in Indonesia. This project is designed to build the capacity of local messengers to produce and disseminate alternative messages that counteract the appeal of violent extremism. We also aim to reduce the influence of violent extremist narratives among internet users, particularly youth, in response to growing intolerance and hate speech online.

To achieve this overall goal, our project uses three approaches. The first is to employ online and offline tools and analysis that identify targets for messaging campaigns, including both those at-risk for radicalization and those who are critical to preventing engagement. The next is to develop diverse tactics that provide alternatives to violent extremist ideologies through strengthening the capacity of messaging hubs to effectively adapt and respond to the ever-changing extremist narratives. This also includes creating targeted transmedia messaging campaigns. Finally, we aim to expand the capacity of young leaders and messenger networks to deliver locally-resonant messaging that reduces the appeal of violent extremist ideology and recruitment efforts.

For over three years, violent conflict has devastated Yemen, leading to many lives being lost and causing massive amounts of destruction. But through all of this, there are still sparks of hope.

In November 2017, we launched Peace Education in Yemeni High Schools. Partnering with the Ministry of Education in Aden and Lahj governorates, we began working with teachers and students in eight high schools toaddress violence among youth and provide alternative paths to self-determination and expression.

To strengthen young people’s resilience to violence, we first engaged secondary school teachers, increasing their knowledge about providing conflict sensitive and nonviolent education for students. Aside from training teachers in dialogue, facilitation, and nonviolent communication, educators also learn how to pass on these methods to their students, helping them learn to resolve conflict amicably and become positive agents of change.

Only eight months after launching this project, The Elders, a group of global leaders working together to promote peace and human rights and founded by Nelson Mandela, honored us. As part of a celebration in Johannesburg, South Africa, taking place on the 100th anniversary of Nelson Mandela’s Birth, The Elders selected 100 “Sparks of Hope.” These are initiatives that advance Nelson Mandela’s commitments to peace, health, justice, and equality.Additionally, The Elders also recognized our programs in Nigeria and South Sudan, making us the only organization to be selected three times.

As Peace Education in Yemeni High Schools progresses, we will continue to expand the number of educators, school directors and inspectors, and students involved. Thus far, our team has conducted a Training of Trainers for 44 educators, including 17 female educators. Additionally, we have created a Student Mediation Club manual, a tool that teaches young people mediation skills and advises them on how to form their own mediation clubs.

But we are not stopping there. Currently, we are establishing school-based Trust Funds that will allow students and teachers to initiate youth-led community projects. Our complementary Mubadaraty project, meaning “My Initiative”, also allows participants to develop their own projects for promoting peacebuilding in schools and communities through various activities like sports games, communal TV-viewings, and evening classes.