In the Mexican state of Chihuahua, Rarámuri women choose corn to save for next year’s planting. They just finished participating in a farmer-to-farmer workshop on seed selection. Photo © David Lauer.

By Tory Field and Beverly Bell

“We, women from more than 40 countries, from different indigenous peoples of Africa, the Americas, Europe, Asia and Oceania, have gathered together to…

It's June, the month of Fathers Day, and once again we're featuring peacebuilding men we love.

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Sami Awad is Executive Director of Holy Land Trust, the nonprofit he founded in Bethlehem in 1998. He also directs the…

Working with PeaceMedia has provided the opportunity to be exposed to various peacebuilding tactics. It has shown that there is a plethora of information out there and that countless individuals are working tirelessly to bring about peace and resolve conflicts. Most recently, I watched a video on an orchestra in Brazil that began allowing girls to take part. Traditionally a male dominated art, this orchestra is lead by a female maestra, and has women playing alongside men. This orchestra is…

• A new Oxford University study has found that a beta-blocker drug may possibly reduce “subconscious” racism. The drug is thought to work by clocking activation of the peripheral autonomic nervous system and in areas of the brain involved with formulating emotional responses, including fear.
• The Transitional Justice Institute…

• Brandeis University in Massachusetts is offering a Master’s Program in Coexistence and Conflict with several scholarship opportunities. The program is geared towards professionals.
• The Summer Peacebuilding Institute in Harrisonburg, Virginia is still open for the 2012 year. The institute offers courses in development, humanitarian assistance,…

• At least 28 people were reportedly killed in clashes on Saturday between government troops and opposition forces in Syria as the Red Cross continued efforts to evacuate civilians from the city of Homs; while at least 89 people were reportedly killed nationwide. On Sunday, the ICRC said that…

Laura Shaz

Israel/USA

“In general, people here consider meeting Israelis as kind of betrayal. I believed that any kind of contact or talking with Israelis was like betraying my country and ignoring the long history of suffering of my people,” said Faras, a Palestinian.

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Every moment is an opportunity for change. What can…

• China announced on Friday that it had yet to receive a formal invitation to a meeting of international powers in Tunis next week to discuss the crisis in Syria; the government reportedly blocked a premiere live stream website, Bambuser, that has been used by dissidents to…

• TRANSCEND Peace University has opened its online courses in peace and conflict studies for the upcoming spring semester. TRANSCEND was founded by Dr. Johan Galtung, widely known as the father of peace studies.
• NATO announced on Wednesday that it will buy five US-made unmanned drone aircraft capable of…

The leader of a former grantee organization I used to work with in Rwanda asked me last month:

“Since you started [how-matters.org], can you see any impact around advocated issues? Any results to share?”

It’s only fair. I’m sure I asked this of local organizations like hers too many times to count.

So today, since I missed the milestone of my 100^th post, I share and celebrate the…

http://www.granma.cu/ingles/reflections-i/26sept-40Reflex1a.html

Reflections of Fidel

(Taken from…

In honor of this week's Clinton Global Initiative's Annual Meeting, I'm reposting this from early October last year. The issues remain the same; the fundraising resources for local organizations still needed.

“Is a trickle of that money ever going to reach us?”…

After sharing some development practitioners’ honest remarks on aid, Africa, corruption and colonialism last week, I thought I would also share key points made in a session hosted by Oxfam that I attended at the World Bank/IMF annual meetings’ Civil Society Policy Forum on April 15^th. Entitled “The Road to Busan: Ensuring Citizens Drive Their Own…

A new charismatic CEO, Dr. Seth Berkley will soon take up his position with the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunisation (GAVI) Alliance, the aim of which is to save children’s lives and protect people’s health by increasing access to immunisation in poor countries. Can Berkley see through the spin at global health…