The Journey of Personal Peace | PPA 2024 Reflections

The Peace Practice Alliance (PPA) believes in a holistic and integrated approach to peace practice, starting with the individual and radiating outward to impact one's relationships, communities, and the world at large. This month, the focus on personal peace practice has been a deep dive into this principle, guiding participants through introspection and the cultivation of inner peace as a foundation for broader societal change.

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Euphrates Facilitates Inaugural Practicing Peace Workshop

On the 14th and 15th of February, Euphrates hosted an online practicing peace together workshop attended by fifty-eight (58) peace-loving people across the world. The 2-day workshop was centered around what it means to practice peace and the integration of practice in our personal, interpersonal, and community relations.

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Finding hope in times of darkness

 My prayers went to our community members around the world who are experiencing darkness in different forms. Many in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Gaza, Sudan are in dire situations, and darkness seems to blanket so many regions right now. How does one hold onto hope when you don’t know when the light will come, you can’t provide warmth or food for your child, or you can not be with loved ones?

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Visionaries | Global Connections Call Notes 12.6.23

On our final Global Connections call of 2023, Euphrates invited all of our past Visionaries of the Year to join us to share their updates and renewed vision for the world. Founder Janessa Gans Wilder facilitated an incredible conversation with Sami Awad, TH Culhane, Ronny Edry,  Nousha Kabawat, Ahmad Shah Karimi, James Offuh, and Libby Traubman.

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Where is your voice?

Janessa Gans Wilder is the founder of Euphrates Institute. In response to the escalation of war in Israel and Gaza, Janessa is sharing her voice, her reflections and response.

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Portraits in Faith | Global Connections Call Notes 10.4.2023

Daniel Epstein has been long involved in community service focused on reconciliation and dialogue across racial, religious, and ethnic communities. His work is propelled by his primary passions - helping others heal, bringing people of different faiths and cultures together, global travel, and photography. During his tenure at Procter & Gamble that he conducted most of the Portraits In Faith interviews. 

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"Unsung Hero of Compassion" | Global Connections Call 9.6.23

Compassion is the foundation of Sister Marilyn Lacey’s work. In a world witnessing great loneliness, overwhelmed by despair, suffering, divisiveness, and violence, Marilyn has felt the call to become engaged in spreading healing and hope. “I’ve always tried to live with compassion, believing we are all connected.”

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Peace and Healing Circles | Global Connections Call Notes 7.5.23

Jenny Canau and Zelda Ann Hintsa, joined our July Global Connections call to share their personal stories and provide us with a window into the healing work they are doing in their communities in South Africa.  Jenny and Zelda are currently working to establish Peace and Healing Circles, an organization that focuses on the support of women (and eventually men) in their region in finding healing in various forms of self-care and personal and interpersonal peace practices

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Culturing Peace | A Youth Movement for Global Peace Leaders

Established in 2021, Culturing Peace grew from peacebuilder (and Peace Practice Alliance graduate) Rebecca Hoskyn’s inspiration to connect youth to peace leaders from around the world. Her vision was to facilitate regular discussions about relevant topics like racism, human rights, nonviolent communication, and both personal and global peace practices that would empower the next generation.

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The Good You Are | Global Connections Call 6.7.23

James Okina is a social entrepreneur. He founded Street Priests Incorporated,  a youth-led movement that aims to transform the lives of street children. After experiencing life on the streets as a child himself  a complete turnaround inspired James to dedicate himself to helping young people in similar situations. James joined us this month to share his story and wisdom.

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Climb Your Everest | Global Connections Call Notes 5.3.23

We all have an Everest to climb. Our days, seasons, years bring us new challenges and opportunities - new Everests! These spaces are ripe for discovery as we explore new ways to practice peace amidst the challenges. Dr. Sara Safari is an author, speaker, mountain climber, college professor, electrical engineer, and advocate for women’s empowerment. She is the founder and president of a nonprofit called Climb Your Everest that focuses on empowering marginalized young women through educational programs. Sara is the first Iranian in history to climb the Seven Summits, the seven highest peaks in each continent.

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The Poetry of Peacebuilding

he month of April is marked in the United States as National Poetry Month. Creative arts has been a part of human expression for millenia. While poetry may simply be viewed as a form of creative writing or even entertainment, it can also play an important role in peacebuilding efforts. Poetry has the power to bring people of different cultural, religious or even political backgrounds together, to share stories and experiences that transcend cultural and linguistic barriers. Poetry can also be an opportunity for marginalized voices to be heard and for difficult issues to be addressed in a creative and non-violent manner.

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An Invitation to Inhabit Earth's Garden | Reflections from a current PPA Participant

The Peace Practice Alliance holds space for individuals to deeply connect, learn, and reflect with fellow visionary leaders around the world to further their peace leadership practices. In this program, there are six modules that explore the practice of peace. This year’s cohort has moved through personal and interpersonal practices and are now into the community practice learning space. One of our participants, Salome, shared a deeply moving reflection on how we can collectively embody the practice of peace.

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Celebrating Women as Peace Leaders

Conflicts and violence are prevalent in many regions of the world with devastating impacts on women and girls. Women often bear the brunt of the suffering caused by conflict and must be included in peacebuilding efforts to ensure that their voices and needs are heard and addressed. Without the active participation of women, peace agreements and post-conflict reconstruction efforts are less likely to be successful and sustainable.

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Interfaith Work that Cultivates Peace | Global Connections Call Notes 3.1.23

Tahil Sharma is the Regional Coordinator for North America at the United Religions Initiative (URI), the world's largest interfaith network of grassroots communities, dedicated to establishing cultures of peace, justice, and healing in the world. Tahil's Hindu and Sikh background inspires his work for education, pluralism, and justice, working in local, regional, and international spaces for over a decade.

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