Janet Feldman's Page

What motivated you (or your organization) to become involved in peace and conflict resolution?

I originally became involved in this work because my own personal life was full of conflict, and I wanted to learn more about that, including ways to address it "peacefully". I have also been asked frequently to mediate conflicts that others are having, this before I had any actual training.

I grew up in the turbulent 1960's, at the time of the Vietnam War, which motivated me to learn more about war and peace issues, and in particular how human beings might address conflict via its peaceful management or resolution.

In college and then in graduate school (in international relations, law, and diplomacy), I studied conflict and means of its resolution at the international level. I also became a trained mediator and worked for the Mediation Program at Harvard University. I became a court liaison for two years for that program, steering some cases better suited to mediation to the Mediation Program. I received a certificate in Bargaining and Negotiation, also at Harvard, and created a special field of study around international conflict resolution for my MA work at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University.

Since those years in graduate school (1985-1990), I have had many occasions to use conflict resolution techniques and other things I learned during that time. I work in the fields of HIV/AIDS and development, where conflict and its work resolution are important related issues.

Last year, I was involved for four months in peace-related activities in Kenya, which at that time was experiencing extreme civil unrest due to a contested presidential election.

For many years, I had a health condition that kept me behind four walls, and also brought with it conflicts of a different kind.

All of these experiences have motivated me to learn more about conflict--from the personal to the interpersonal to the communal and international--and in particular more about peace, including peaceful approaches to conflict.

Please feel free to provide a short bio about yourself or the work of your organization (no more than 3 paragraphs)

I am founder/director of two health and development nonprofits, one the international branch of a Kenyan HIV/AIDS organization, KAIPPG (http://www.kaippg.org), and the other an international arts coalition called ActALIVE (http://www.actalive.org), whose 300 members in 30 countries use the arts and media to address HIV/AIDS and the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs). I am a collage artist and social-change activist.

I am an editor of the arts and MDGs e-journal, art'ishake; Task Force member and Adult Ally of the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS; and co-creator of development projects that focus on arts and media, information and communication technologies (including distance-learning), nutrition and food security, empowerment of women and youth, health and education, anti-trafficking, and poverty-alleviation.

I attended Hampshire College, where I received a BA in Art History, History, and Women's Studies; studied international law, diplomacy, and development at the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy, Tufts University, where myself and fellow students helped to create a special field of study in international conflict resolution; and trained as a mediator at Harvard Law School, also earning a certificate there in Bargaining and Negotiation.

Please list the countries and/or regions in which you (or your organization) have direct and significant expertise

My work spans the globe, but I have the most experience in Africa and some parts of Asia. I have a number of personal ties to Kenya and Haiti.

What is your current country of residence (or location of your organization)?

United States

What is your current job (and organization) and/or where and what field are you studying?

I am founder/director of KAIPPG International--the international wing of a Kenyan HIV/AIDS and development nonprofit--and also founder/director of ActALIVE, an international arts coalition whose members use arts and media to address HIV/AIDS and the MDGs. In addition, I am a co-founder, as an adult ally, of the Global Youth Coalition on HIV/AIDS, a 4000+ member network located in most countries of the world.

What is your personal or organizational website?

http://www.kaippg.org

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://www.peacechild.org

What is one of your favorite websites in the field? (please provide one answer per box)

http://www.womenforwomen.org

Which are your primary sectoral areas of expertise (or the primary sectoral areas of your organization) ?

Alternative Dispute Resolution, Conflict Resolution, Culture, Development, Diplomacy, Education, Gender, Health, Information and Communication Technology, Media

Which are your primary skills areas(or the primary skill areas of your organization)?

Advocacy, Capacity Building, Communication, Fundraising, Information Technology, Training

What are some of your current areas of research (if any)?

I currently do not do research, but at some point I would like to do research based on my current work in the fields of health and development.

If appropriate feel free to list several of your (or your organization's) publications

Recent articles include one on ActALIVE members and their use of arts to address grief related to human losses from HIV/AIDS (this is in a book called "The Art of Grief"), and one on Kenyan artists and their responses to the post-election violence in 2008. This was published in the e-journal, art'ishake, and can also be found at the ActALIVE website, on the Art4Development page. Please see www.actalive.org