Daryl Byler Archives - EMU News

CJP announces leadership transition

Lauren Jefferson — Tue, 16 Apr 2019 11:58:36 +0000

As ��ݮ��’s begins its 25th anniversary year, a leadership transition is taking place. Daryl Byler, CJP’s executive director since 2013, has accepted a new position as director of development with the D.C. Bar Foundation in Washington D.C.

Dr. Jayne Docherty, formerly CJP’s academic programs director, will become executive director, effective May 8.

“While we celebrate this wonderful new professional opportunity for Daryl, we also are sad to lose his gifted leadership at CJP and in the broader university,” said Provost Fred Kniss. “He has helped to lay a strong foundation for the future by working with our development office and generous donors to double CJP’s endowment and scholarship capability. He also provided guidance to the development of broadened academic programs relevant to addressing today’s challenges. He leaves the center with strong enrollment and a talented group of faculty and staff. These are all true gifts for EMU, CJP and the wider peacebuilding community.”

During Byler’s time at CJP, the center added a master’s degree in restorative justice; strengthened the Zehr Institute for Restorative Justice; managed several successful grant-funded programs, including a two-year UNDP project in Iraq to provide peacebuilding trainings for Iraqi academics and youth; and started an annual Peacebuilder of the Year Award to celebrate and honor alumni achievement.

“The past six years have been fruitful, largely because of Byler’s efforts to expand CJP’s external network and building internal capacity,” said Dr. David Brubaker, incoming dean of the School of Social Sciences and Professions at EMU and a long-time professor at CJP. “As is usually the case with exceptional leaders, Daryl is leaving CJP with a strengthened financial and management capacity and poised for continued growth as a globally renowned peacebuilding and restorative justice academic and practice center.”

Daryl Byler is one of CJP’s longest serving executive directors.

Byler was the center’s sixth director — and one of its longest-serving, since its beginnings in 1995.

“It has been an honor to work with such brilliant and creative colleagues for the past six years and I have full confidence in the faculty and staff at CJP to carry on this important work,” Byler said “The peacebuilding world changes rapidly and I believe CJP needs newly innovative leadership and vision on a regular cycle. I look forward to continuing to support and elevate the center’s global reputation and network from an organization that shares similar important goals.”

In his new role, Byler will “continue to advance causes that are near to CJP’s heart,” Kniss said. The foundation is the region’s leading funder of civil legal aid, providing more than $55 million in grants since its inception in 1978 to promote equal access to justice for the area’s most vulnerable communities.

One appeal of the position, Byler said, is that it “circles back to where I started my career as a staff attorney with East Mississippi Legal Services.” A 1988 graduate of University of Virginia Law School, Byler arrived that same year in Mississippi, working there as an attorney and pastor of Jubilee Mennonite Church until 1994. From 1994 until 2013, he worked with Mennonite Central Committee, first as director of their Washington Office and then as a regional representative, with his wife Cindy, for Iran, Iraq, Jordan and Israel-Palestine.

Docherty, who earned her PhD at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution at George Mason University and brings both practice and academic experience to her new role, praised Byler as a “wonderful leader and champion for CJP who will be missed.”

�� I have learned one thing in almost 20 years at CJP, it is that this place never stands still and it always thrives,” she said. “Our excellent faculty, staff, and students are keeping us on the leading edge of practice, research, and teaching. Our graduates are changing their communities. I look forward to making sure the many CJP stories are broadcast near and far and ensuring that we have the resources to keep leading the way in peace and justice education.”

This article has been updated. Jayne Docherty was initially named as acting executive director and subsequently moved into the executive director role.

South Korean educators study trauma and resilience at CJP

Lauren Jefferson — Thu, 14 Feb 2019 13:24:39 +0000

South Korean educator Eunkyung Ahn began her studies at ��ݮ��’s (CJP) with an intensive short course about trauma and resilience – and she knew she wanted to pass the skills and values she learned to others.

“My key learning at CJP is the importance of embodied learning in peacebuilding, which is new to peacebuilding education here but also in Korea,” she said.

This month, Ahn did just that – hosting a five-day course at EMU on “Building Resilience for Body, Mind and Spirit” for 18 visiting South Korean K-12 educators.

The “arts-based, embodied learning experience was developed to revitalize creativity for working in nonviolent social transformation,” said course creator Katie Mansfield, the lead trainer of the Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) program.

Offered in past years at CJP’s , the course was tailored for this group by Ahn and Mansfield. Goals included an understanding of how systemic and cultural violence affects individual trauma, building resilience in body, mind, and spirit through arts-based, embodied learning, and empowerment for making social change, Ahn said.

Eunkyung Ahn, an educator from South Korea and a CJP graduate student, facilitated a course for 18 Korean educators about trauma and resilience in educational environments.

“It was an honor that Eunkyung chose to bring her colleagues to CJP and EMU,” said Hannah Kelley, STAR program director. “CJP has been hosting a growing number of US and international groups for short-term trainings like this one. We learn from the people who attend our trainings: the problems in their work, their careful analysis of their context, and their creative and innovative approaches to RJ, trauma awareness and resilience. This group was no exception! These teachers are thoughtful and creative peace-builders, and we were excited to work together for a week.”

Working to transform South Korean educational systems

The educators are members of the Center for Restorative Justice in Education, an affiliate of the Movement for Good Teachers, a Christian teachers association in South Korea. The movement is “a grassroots effort by Christian teachers to transform Korean education with justice, peace and love,” Ahn said. Formed in 2011 in response to a rise in school bullying, the teacher-members are working to promote nonviolence and peace in the school environment.

Course participants Inki Hong, Eunji Park and Byeongjoo Lee are senior teachers at schools in urban neighborhoods near Seoul. Hong and Park teach elementary school in Sang-tan and Gwan-ak, respectively. Lee teaches middle and high school English in Sin-neung; he has also worked in reform schools and in China. All learned about circle processes and restorative justice in different ways, including teacher academies and international workshops, some involving Jae-Young Lee MA ‘03, founder of the Korea Peacebuilding Institute.

Before he learned about restorative justice, Hong says he played the role of a judge with his students.

“Before, when children fight, I would have to decide who is wrong and who is right,” he said. “Now, I don’t decide. I help you figure out what happened and how to make things right. The circle makes equal power and equal power is not usually found in classrooms.”

Children in Korea “do not know how to express themselves,” said Park. “In the circle, they know how. It really develops metacognitive skills.”

Lee, who teaches older children and teenagers, said with a smile that if he used the circle process in class, “my students might think I was crazy.”

“Apart from application,” he said more seriously, “I am learning how the philosophy of RJ can be shaped into many circle styles. The format and philosophy of RJ has emerged to me in a more concrete way, which I find very inspiring.”

All three educators work with newcomer teachers in their home settings and plan to share their learnings in hopes of contributing to culture and systemic change in the educational environment.

Visit to EMU fulfills ‘a dream’

The five-day course involved “exercising the creative muscle, a critical foundational practice for challenging violence,” said lead trainer Katie Mansfield, who helped develop the course.

The Center for Restorative Justice in Education has offered international learning opportunities in the past. With other center members, Ahn traveled to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, five years ago. A visit to EMU has been “a dream” for the group, she said, and shortly after she arrived at CJP for graduate studies, she began working with CJP faculty and staff.

“I am most appreciative of the supportive efforts of CJP executive director Daryl Byler, Jayne Docherty, Bill Goldberg, Hannah Kelley and Katie Mansfield, who made it happen,” she said.

Docherty is CJP’s academic programs director. Goldberg directs the Summer Peacebuilding Institute, an annual program that offers similar short courses on a range of topics.

Mansfield brings years of experience leading STAR trainings around the globe, many of which are specially adapted to meet specific needs of the hosting group.

The “Building Resilience” course invites learners “to exercise their creative muscle, a critical foundational practice for challenging violence,” she said. Participants engage in visual artistry, music making, movement exploration, poetry and short story development, and final presentations. A session with visiting co-facilitator Ram Bhagat involved drumming and contemplative practices.

Mansfield appreciated the group’s engagement: “I was so impressed at how deeply and directly the educators connected the various expressive arts exercises to the challenges they face as educators, restorative justice practitioners and citizens of Korea.”

Facets of their resilience were expressed, she said, through connections made to the ongoing civil rights journey in the US, “a moving percussion and movement performance about confronting and transcending violence,” and an arts-based lament of/transformative response to the 2014 Sewol Ferry disaster, in which 299 people died, many of them high school students.

Spreading the word

After graduation in May 2018, Ahn will take STAR II. She looks forward to seeing what she has learned since taking STAR I at the beginning of her studies two years ago. Then she’ll take some months to travel and visit spirituality-based peacebuilding communities before returning to her teaching position in South Korea.

“I am so passionate about growing as an educator and helping to educate others about valuing our whole beings,” she said. “It is so important to live with our true selves in our individual and communal lives, and I hope to share that with my students and their parents and other educators in the future.”

Tecla Namachanja Wanjala named CJP’s Peacebuilder of the Year

Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Mon, 04 Feb 2019 16:27:10 +0000

The Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at ��ݮ�� has named Tecla Namachanja Wanjala as the 2019 Peacebuilder of the Year.

Wanjala, who received her master’s in conflict transformation from CJP in 2003, is the chairperson of the Kenya-based Green String Network. Its social healing and reconciliation program Kumekucha was selected as one of the top 10 global governance solutions from among 121 projects presented at the November 2018 .

She is also the chief executive officer of the Hear Africa Center, which aims to enhance communities’ local capacities for social healing, restorative justice and reconciliation. The Center, which operates mainly in the Great Lakes Region and Horn of Africa, seeks to cultivate conflict transformation, social healing, reconciliation, restorative justice and remembrance and is a regional research, documentation and think tank center.

The Peacebuilder of the Year Award recognizes “alumni who have demonstrated exceptional commitment to its mission of supporting conflict transformation, restorative justice, trauma healing, development, organizational leadership and peacebuilding efforts at all levels of society,” said CJP executive director Daryl Byler.

All of the 628 alumni who have earned master’s degrees or graduate certificates in conflict transformation or restorative justice from CJP are eligible for the award, which includes tuition for a Summer Peacebuilding Institute course and transportation costs.

Wanjala is the fifth award recipient. The first was conferred on Ali Gohar MA ’02 in 2015, founder and executive director of Just Peace Initiatives in Pakistan. The 2016 recipient was Tammy Krause, MA ’99, an expert in restorative justice, and in 2017 it went to Jean Claude Nkundwa MA ’14, who works for peace in his native country of Burundi from exile in Rwanda. In 2018, it recognized Annette Lantz-Simmons, executive director of the Center for Conflict Resolution in Kansas City, Missouri.

‘A shining example’

CJP has produced “some of the best and finest peacebuilders in the world,” Wanjala wrote in response to the award. “For me, to be counted among this group is truly a humbling experience…. To fellow peacebuilders, especially from Kenya and Africa at large, this is ‘our’ award. May we not grow weary of putting in efforts to ensure that our communities and countries enjoy peace and harmony.”

An active peacebuilder for over a quarter of a century, Wanjala holds a PhD in peace and conflict studies from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology in Kakamega, Kenya, and has been a Pact International deputy chief of Party for Peace in East and Central Africa and a commissioner and acting chairperson of Kenya’s Truth, Justice and Reconciliation Commission.

She has also served as an in-house consultant for peacebuilding with the Japan International Cooperation Agency, a coordinator for the peace and development network PEACENET, a coordinator of relief and rehabilitation for internally displaced Kenyans, and a social worker and teacher in Utange Refugee Camp. She was a nominee for the 2005 initiative 1,000 Women for the Nobel Peace Prize, and one of three Kenyan women noted as Pillars of Peace for their interventions in ethnic clashes in the 1990s.

“Tecla is a shining example of a CJP Peacebuilder who has taken what she has learned, both from her personal experience and the knowledge and skills gained at CJP and elsewhere, and used that to develop and provide dynamic and forward-thinking peacebuilding interactions with people and institutions at all levels of society,” said Jan Jenner, former director of CJP’s Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership Program, who nominated Wanjala for the award. “Tecla is equally comfortable and articulate with a group of market women in a small village or with a group of national/international political leaders and academics. She is a deeply committed Catholic Christian and that faith undergirds her peacebuilding work – and her entire life.”

Past recipients

MCC U.S. Washington Office reflects on 50 years of advocacy

Cherelle M. Dessus/MCC — Fri, 03 Aug 2018 13:11:32 +0000

The Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) U.S. Washington Office celebrated its 50th anniversary with an open house and reception at The Hill Center in Washington D.C. on July 17.

In attendance were MCC U.S. Board Chair Ann Graber Hershberger, professor of nursing and director of cross-cultural programs at EMU, and Daryl Byler, executive director of EMU’s and former director of the Washington Office from 1994-2007.

MCC’s Peace Section opened the Washington Office on July 1, 1968, as a Mennonite, Mennonite Brethren and Brethren in Christ presence on Capitol Hill. Originally formed as a “listening post” in Washington, the office now advocates on a variety of issues, from immigration to diplomacy with “enemy” nations.

“One thing that hasn’t changed since the office’s opening is the need to uplift voices in pursuit of justice,” observed Hershberger, as she and others encouraged MCC to continue to provide prophetic witness to the U.S. government.

About 70 friends, board members and current and former staff gathered for the evening to celebrate and reflect on the first 50 years of MCC’s advocacy efforts in Washington. Some toured the Washington Office building on 920 Pennsylvania Avenue SE, purchased in 2005, during the afternoon open house. Previously, the MCC office was located in the United Methodist Building, 110 Maryland Ave NE.

In addition to Hershberger, speakers at the reception included Byler; J Ron Byler, MCC U.S. executive director; Ruth Keidel Clemens, MCC U.S. program director; Rep. Jim McGovern (D-Mass.); and Rachelle Lyndaker Schlabach MDiv. ’07, current director of the Washington Office. The children of the late Delton Franz, the office’s founding director, sent written greetings. Franz passed away in 2006.

Also sharing remarks were representatives from several faith-based organizations with whom the Washington Office partners in coalitions and working groups. Alaide Vilchis Ibarra of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America thanked MCC for its “willingness to work in an interfaith setting and [its] leadership in several working groups.”

Aniedi Okure, executive director of Africa Faith and Justice Network, mentioned the Washington Office’s efforts to uplift unheard voices on the ground when they seemed to be ignored by the government. “Your work on several policy areas has been an example to follow.”

Theo Sitther MA ’13, a former senior legislative associate who now works with the Friends Committee on National Legislation, noted, “MCC builds relationships with local partners and puts them at the center of transformational advocacy. There is nothing like having that conversation with partners in their local contexts as you advocate with their concerns and experiences.” Sitther is a 2013 graduate of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding’s conflict transformation program.

J. Daryl Byler also mentioned MCC’s unique connection to local partners as it sets advocacy priorities and speaks to policymakers. He read excerpts from letters written by Palestinian children that he had presented to U.S. government officials during his time on staff.

Rep. McGovern described his long-lasting relationship with the office, beginning when he was a congressional staff person working in the 1980s with the first director, Delton Franz. He commended the Washington Office for “always being there and reminding members of Congress to do the right thing.”

McGovern encouraged the office to continue to build agents of change and told attendees that the goodness of their advocacy work would shine through as it has in the past. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa) and Rep. Lloyd Smucker (R-Pa.) were also invited to attend.

The program also included a brief trivia game, in which attendees guessed what year quotes from the office’s newsletter were written. Although the resilience and persistence of staff over the years were noted by numerous speakers, the quotes in the game revealed that advocacy is a long-term change process and much work remains to be done.

More information is available in the spring/summer commemorative newsletter at washingtonmemo.org.

Peacebuilder of the Year Annette Lantz-Simmons honored at SPI luncheon

Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Sat, 23 Jun 2018 14:17:08 +0000

Bringing a new sense of justice to multiple city venues – neighborhoods, courts and prisons, schools and more – is a challenge that requires focus, patience and an empowering spirit.

“One bite at a time. That’s all you can do,” said 2018 Peacebuilder of the Year Annette Lantz-Simmons at the June 13 luncheon ceremony in her honor during the Summer Peacebuilding Institute (SPI) at ��ݮ��.

The executive director of the Center for Conflict Resolution (CCR) in Kansas City, Missouri, is the fourth recipient of the annual recognition of a graduate of EMU’s Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP). She first attended SPI in 2005 and earned a master’s degree in conflict transformation in 2009.

Annette Lantz-Simmons is CJP’s 2018 Peacebuilder of the Year. She was recognized during a Summer Peacebuilding Institute Horizons of Change luncheon.

In her acceptance speech, she highlighted CCR’s programs. The organization offers neighborhoods and families group facilitation, conflict resolution and mediation training, and trauma and circle workshops; has assisted the city in implementing – and anticipates expanding – restorative justice practices in schools; offered restorative processes and trauma and conflict resolution trainings in prisons, reentry facilities, and courts; and provided various organizations with group facilitation, trainings, trauma awareness and mediation.

“CCR is an example of what it takes to do real peacebuilding and effect significant change, beyond the boundaries of mediation,” said CJP academic programs director Jayne Docherty in remarks about Lantz-Simmons. “It takes long-term vision and teamwork to actually make significant transformation in systems, and not just resolve conflicts. The vision that you have held is a big vision for a less violent and more just city, and that is what we love to see.”

Affirmations

In a video made by CCR staff for the occasion, founder Diane Kyser praised Lantz-Simmons as having “brought this agency to incredible places because of the vision that she has had and then dedicated [herself] to pursue.”

“We all know how wonderful Annette is, and we’re especially pleased that now the rest of the world has a chance to discover that, too,” she said.

CCR staff described Lantz-Simmons as “intuitive,” “imaginative,” “inspiring,” and “caring,” and called her a “non-anxious presence” with the “courage to gently nudge change.”

In later emails, CCR mediator and classroom facilitator Jackie Buycks said that Lantz-Simmons has empowered her to be creative in her restorative justice work in schools. Mediator Jaylon Verser said she has worked to understand him in order “to know how she can best assist me in my work.” And volunteer Barbara Axton said that her “listening skills, depth of training and compassionate heart” mean that Lantz-Simmons can “‘be with’ each of us as we follow our own minds and hearts and create our path of peace in the organization.”

‘Educated and knowledgeable staff’

CCR has strong ties to CJP, as CCR founder Kyser and three staff have completed graduate degrees.

Gregory Winship, the first graduate of CJP’s graduate program in restorative justice, wrote in an email that Lantz-Simmons is dedicated to having “educated and knowledgeable staff” at CCR.

“The commitment of undertaking a master’s degree requires a great deal of time,” Winship wrote. “Annette afforded me not only the flexibility in my work schedule, but also the support and encouragement to be able to accomplish that undertaking.” That included granting him a “work sabbatical” even though it meant losing one of CCR’s four full-time staff for five months, “a huge burden on the remaining staff,” he said.

Debbie Bayless, a mediator who works with neighborhoods and various court diversion programs, completed her degree in restorative justice in May 2018. She noted that Lantz-Simmons “challenges conventional methods with her peacebuilding lens. She empowers by leading by example, stepping out of her comfort zone to do what she truly believes.”

Additionally, former CCR education strategist (and Annette’s daughter) Mikhala Lantz-Simmons earned a master’s degree in conflict transformation in 2015, which continues to inform her work with Absolunet, an eCommerce and digital marketing agency based in Montreal, Canada.

The award

All of the 638 alumni who have earned master’s degrees or graduate certificates in conflict transformation or restorative justice from CJP are eligible for the award.

Past recipients

CJP graduates from eight states and 12 countries charged to ‘maximize healing’

Lauren Jefferson — Mon, 07 May 2018 16:33:54 +0000

At an afternoon reception following Sunday’s Commencement ceremony at ��ݮ��, Executive Director Daryl Byler reminded the 29 graduates that they were now members of a huge and hope-filled network: 638 alumni from 78 countries currently working in 65 countries.

He also noted the personal transformations that many graduates experienced while at CJP, and shared hopes that that dynamic would continue in their future work. [Read more about practicum experiences here.]

In his 30 years of peacebuilding, he said, “various peacebuilding worlds I have inhabited have changed me more than I have changed systems that cause harm. Peacebuilding is our journey towards minimizing the harm we cause and maximizing the healing we can contribute.”

CJP conferred a total of 29 degrees. Graduates came from nine states and the District of Columbia, as well as 12 countries: Spain, Saudi Arabia, Republic of Korea, Sudan, South Africa, New Zealand, Colombia, Taiwan, Tanzania, Brazil, Iran and Kenya.

Sylvia Menendez Alcalde hugs Professor Johonna Turner during the CJP graduation reception Sunday afternoon.

Fourteen degrees were conferred in and three in restorative justice. Additionally, three students earned graduate certificates in conflict transformation, and one in restorative justice.

Eight members of the Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership Program, all from Kenya, earned graduate certificates in peacebuilding leadership. [Read more about this cohort here.]

These graduates are particularly significant, as Commencement speaker Leymah Gbowee MA ‘07 was instrumental in the founding of the program in 2011. This cohort’s successful completion brings the total number of WPLP graduates from Africa and the South Pacific to 42 women.

CJP grad awarded university’s first honorary doctorate

Earlier in the day, Gbowee became the recipient of the university’s first honorary Doctor of Justice degree “for her extraordinary achievements in peacebuilding or social justice work,” according to Provost Fred Kniss, who ceremonially made the recommendation to President Susan Schultz Huxman.

Read Leymah Gbowee’s 2018 Commencement address.

President Susan Schultz Huxman congratulates Leymah Gbowee MA ’07 after the presentation of the honorary Doctor of Justice degree.

“In one hundred years of EMU’s existence, who would have told anyone that a girl from West Africa, a tiny village, a tiny country, who came here to validate and to justify her inclusion in peacebuilding work at the community level would come back several years later as the first honorary degree awardee?” Gbowee said, after giving thanks for the award.

Gbowee’s address, titled “Urgently Needed! Defenders of Peace and Justice,” offered statistics about the rising numbers of global conflicts, armed and insurgent groups, drug cartels, terror attacks and deaths. “Beyond these numbers, when we look around our world, especially in places people never think about, you have issues of housing crisis, you have rape and exploitation of women in different parts of the world, the threat to the environment and many other vices.”

The “burning” question, she said, is “Who is going to fix our world? Who is going to give hope or the hopeless? Who is going solve the problems of the world?”

“Step out,” she urged. “Whatever your calling may be, defend peace and justice with your actions, your interactions and your attitude. Most especially, when issues are not longer trending and the hashtags are no longer hashing, and the lights and the cameras are off, defend peace, defend justice. You can never go wrong.”

Mturi, Lee speak for graduates

Kajungu Mturi talks about the impact of his time at CJP.

Kajungu Mturi, of Tanzania, and Jennifer Chi Lee, of South Africa, were selected to address their classmates, faculty and friends at the afternoon reception.

Mturi assured the faculty, who had invested so much in them, that dividends would be repaid. “We promise we will use every single opportunity we have to stand for justice, invisible or visible. We will do our best,” he said. “I know my friends, and my friends will do what they can when they see injustice. This is a heavy burden, but we will carry it.”

Lee passed around a spindle of red yarn, replicating a process that had been shared in a reflective circle among graduates and CJP community a few days before.

“There is a thread that connects the dots of our lives,” she explained. “This thread may be difficult to see, and it’s not always easy to explain how we came to this little town in the Shenandoah Valley studying something called conflict transformation and passing things around in circles.”

Jennifer Chi Lee was the second of two graduate speakers.

She urged her classmates to find the threads, “sleep with the bread that makes us feel safe,” and embrace the mystery, the risk, and the unknown of the promise of peace.

A tradition of the reception is for professors to give short speeches about each graduate. In his welcoming introduction to this part of the reception, Professor Carl Stauffer highlighted how close the community becomes.

“We danced together, sung together, sat on the floor together, had long hard conversations in offices, sat in circle and sat and ate together, walked through the anxiety of com exams, and all of this is how we become a learning community. It’s not about the degree, it’s about you and the gift we see you as in the world.”

Graduates

Master of Arts in Conflict Transformation

Silvia Menendez Alcalde, Madrid, Spain
Nourah Abdullah M. Alhasawi, Riyadh, Saudi Arabia
Brenna Case, North Canton, Ohio
Matthew Ryan Fehse, Redding, Calif.
Liana Rose Hershey, Mount Laurel, N.J.
Youngji Jang, Seongnam-si, Gyeonggi-do, Republic of Korea
Andudu Adam Elnail Kuku, Kadugli, Sudan
Jennifer Chi Lee, Johannesburg, South Africa
Wayne Francis Marriott, Christchurch, New Zealand
Ian Steele Pulz, Cranbury, N.J.
Brian McLauchlin, SVD, Washington D.C.
Matthew Michael Tibbles, Harrisonburg, Va.
Andrea Carolina Moya Urueña, Ibague, Colombia
Chihchun Yuan, Taipei, Taiwan

Master of Arts in Restorative Justice

Deborah M. Bayless, Raytown, Mo.
Mturi Kajungu Samson, Mugumu, Tanzania
Boris Alejandro Ozuna Urueta, Sincelejo, Colombia

Graduate Certificate in Conflict Transformation

Jesse Noël Morales, Greensboro, N.C.
Claudia Costa Moreira, Sao Paulo, Brazil
Maryam Shahmoradi, Tehran, Iran

Graduate Certificate in Peacebuilding Leadership

Maryam Sheikh Abdikadir, Nairobi, Kenya
Judith Nasimiyu Mandillah, Nairobi, Kenya
Rachel C. Mutai, Nairobi, Kenya
Violet W. Muthiga, Mombasa, Kenya
Sarah Chelimo Naibei, Kitale, Kenya
Catherine Gaku Njeru, Nairobi, Kenya
Beatrice Kizi Nzovu, Nairobi, Kenya
Shamsa Hassan Sheikh, Nairobi, Kenya

Graduate Certificate in Restorative Justice

Lyle D. Seger, Lawrence, Kan.

Capstone coverage

Read about 2018 capstones presented by MA candidates (now graduates!)

More Commencement coverage

Scholars from five Iraqi universities gather for CJP-led conflict analysis training

Lauren Jefferson — Tue, 10 Apr 2018 13:47:02 +0000

In early February, 20 scholars from five leading Iraqi universities and a representative from Iraq’s Ministry of Education gathered in Beirut, Lebanon, for a five-day training on conflict analysis. The diverse group – which included both men and women who represented Sunni, Shia and Assyrian Christian faiths – would lay the foundation for their eventual development of a peace education curriculum for Iraqi university students.

“They were passionate in jointly exploring systemic dynamics of conflicts in Iraq. This was a first for most, given the divides in recent decades,” said Catherine Barnes, a professor at ��ݮ��’s (CJP) who has taught and facilitated peacebuilding processes in more than 30 countries.

One project gathered Iraqi youth of different cultures and religions together in a mall on Valentine’s Day to interact with shoppers. (Courtesy photo)

The training was part of a multi-phase, multi-year peacebuilding project with youth and academics in Iraq that has involved several CJP faculty and alumni.

The $1.3-million initiative is funded by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and is being jointly implemented by CJP, Kufa University and two NGOs, the Iraqi Al-Amal Association and the Imam Al-Khoei Foundation.

Project supports youth-led interfaith peace projects in Iraq

The project’s second phase concludes in April, having provided five total trainings since beginning in fall 2017. Seventy-five youth, selected in a competitive application process, were supported in the creation and implementation of interfaith peace projects in communities across Iraq.

The academic trainings involved 46 scholars and educators, with the goal of creating a common peacebuilding curriculum to be taught in five Iraqi universities.

Iraqi academics participate in interactive lessons on conflict analysis.

As key stakeholders in Iraqi social fabric, youth and academics are “seen as instrumental in strengthening social cohesion and promoting civil society initiatives and dialogue between various ethnic and religious groups,” according to the project grant.

“We estimate that the trainings and youth peace projects touched hundreds of lives and will have exponential benefits to the region in the future,” said Daryl Byler, CJP’s executive director. “Both the young people and the academics are empowered to continue their work, and to adapt their learnings in meaningful and sustainable ways.”

Laying the foundation for peace education in Iraq

The academic trainings support the promotion of a peace education framework for reconciliation.

The workshop facilitated by Barnes included professors of the humanities, political science and law from universities of Anbar, Baghdad, Karbala, Kufa and Tikrit.

Participants collaboratively constructed a 100-year timeline of Iraq, leading to an illuminating dialogue on underlying issues, patterns and turning points in their shared history.

“An initial goal of the project was to help equip educators to teach the subject of peacebuilding and conflict resolution in their university classrooms and to support them to serve as resources for the development of peace education in Iraq,” said , a consultant and professor who regularly teaches at CJP’s .

Participants showed determination to initiate change and valued an approach that was respectful of cultural traditions and knowledge, she added.

Jadallah, who is also president and managing director of the Fairfax, Virginia-based firm Kommon Denominator, has been involved in all phases of the project since it began in October 2016. She has conducted six youth workshops and four workshops for academics.

The five-day training in Beirut, Lebanon, included 20 scholars from five leading Iraqi universities and a representative from Iraq’s Ministry of Education.

Barnes’ agenda for the recent workshop included theories and models of conflict analysis, conflict perceptions and relationship lenses, conflicts as systems and political economy. Participants collaboratively constructed a 100-year timeline of Iraq, leading to an illuminating dialogue on underlying issues, patterns and turning points in their shared history. They also jointly analyzed current conflict ‘drivers’ and the political economy system in Iraq. A final day highlighted the psychosocial dimensions of conflict, including discussions of dignity, trauma and the cycle of violence.

“One important conceptual foundation that we discussed was that conflict is an intrinsic human phenomena that crosses scale barriers, and needs a holistic and interdisciplinary approach to understand and work with it,” Barnes said. “That’s why it was really beneficial to have humanities professors in the room with political science professors, and to use interactive exercises and dialogical discussions, instead of a lecture model, to build participants’ analytic skills regarding an understanding of conflict.”

Aala Ali MA ’14, UNDP development officer, was one of the “visionaries” of this project, according to Byler. Contributors included Myriam Aziz MA ’17; Cynthia Nassif MA ’14 of Lebanon , and Najla El Mangoush MA ’15 of Libya, both doctoral students at George Mason University; Ahmed Tarik MA ’16, of Iraq; and Professor Carl Stauffer MA ’02. Professor Jayne Docherty was also involved in early curriculum development.

Seven CJP graduate students selected to present at Notre Dame peace conference

EMU communications — Tue, 03 Apr 2018 16:28:34 +0000

Seven graduate students from ��ݮ��’s have been selected to present at the 2018 Notre Dame Student Peace Conference April 13-14 in South Bend, Indiana. This year’s conference focuses on the theme, “Toward Justpeace: Exploring the Intersections of Justice and Peace.”

Fulbright Scholars Filip Cventanovski, Kamran Mamedovi and Bouela Lehbib Brica will present a roundtable discussion entitled, “Self- Determination versus Territorial Integrity,” focusing on “contradicting principles in international relations that often lead to conflict.”

Brenna Case and Bethany Renata Loberg will present a talk entitled “Network-weaving with Restorative Justice for Oakland Youth’s Truth-telling, Racial Healing, and Reparations Mapping Initiative: Building an Emergent Grassroots Racial Truth-Telling and Healing process,” focusing on the mapping initiative’s goals and aims, and “network-weaving as a methodology that allows for emergent action and collaboration among grassroots actors.”

Samira Ibrahim Abou Alfa, also a Fulbright Scholar, will present a paper entitled “The Syrian Civil War: Are Peace and Justice Compatible?” about the Syrian Civil War and “the short-term incompatibly of negative peace and justice.”

Katrina Poplett will present “Racist Structures and Restorative Justice: RJ As a Catalyst for Meaningful Conversations.” The workshop invites participants into a role play and circle process to examine “how restorative questions promote deeper listening and empathy, all while critically thinking about the larger criminal legal system within the United States.”

The students were selected to present from a pool of over 72 proposals. Fifty-one students from 20 colleges and universities will present papers, media projects and workshops that highlight their own research, practice and projects in the interdisciplinary field of peace studies.

“CJP students have been presenting at the Notre Dame Student Peace Conference for several years now,” said CJP executive director Daryl Byler. “This first-rate conference gives our students a platform to showcase CJP’s unique peacebuilding approach of holding scholarship and practice in tandem.”

The Notre Dame Student Peace Conference, sponsored by the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, is an annual event organized by students and for students to engage in dialogue on important issues related to peacebuilding, global issues and social justice. Each year, the event draws hundreds of students from across the United States and around the world.

“I strongly believe that the Student Peace Conference is the best peace studies conference for undergraduates in the country,” says Ernesto Verdeja, associate professor of political science and peace studies and director of undergraduate studies at the Kroc Institute. “We are looking forward to learning with and from this year’s presenters.”

In describing this year’s conference theme, Notre Dame student leaders wrote, “As we endeavor to establish peace and envision a shared future with fewer harms against one another, we question how to most effectively address the conflict and violence of the past. We seek to understand how themes of justice can heal hurts of the past, promote positive peace in the present, and guide our actions in the future.”

Attendees will also hear keynote speaker Alexis Templeton, one of the founders of Millennial Activists United. Templeton was also featured in the 2017 documentary Whose Streets?, which chronicled activism and nonviolent direct action in Ferguson, Missouri, following the police shooting of 18-year-old Michael Brown.

The Kroc Institute is part of the Keough School of Global Affairs at the University of Notre Dame.

Weekend performances engage EMU audiences in emotions and history of Israel/Palestine conflict

Lauren Jefferson — Mon, 26 Feb 2018 17:59:45 +0000

Four theatrical performances highlighting multiple perspectives of the Israel/Palestine conflict brought approximately 400 viewers — and one Washington Post theater critic— to ��ݮ�� (EMU) in late February.

EMU was the last stop on ’s Voices from a Changing Middle East tour, which also included University of Oklahoma, Grinnell College and University of Chicago.

The tour, which featured performances of Izzeldin Abuelaish’s “I Shall Not Hate” and Sir David Hare’s “Via Dolorosa,” was the first for the three-year-old Washington D.C.-based theater company, which features “transformational, socially relevant art” with opportunities for audience engagement with the art and artists through talkbacks and discussions.

At EMU, the weekend performances were hosted by the and the theater department.

“It was an honor for EMU to host the award-winning Mosaic Theater Company of D.C.,” said CJP Executive Director Daryl Byler. “Their two riveting plays and the talkbacks that followed are poignant examples of how the arts have the potential to open space for conversation on difficult issues. The new generation of CJP students frequently reminds us that peacebuilding is enriched by its growing collaboration with the arts.”

Scholarship funds grow

Admission to the weekend’s performances was free, thanks to a generous donation from underwriters and longtime CJP donors James and Marian Payne, who also seeded a scholarship fund for a female Middle East student to embark on graduate studies in conflict transformation at EMU.

More than $40,300 has been raised, including donations from the weekend’s performances, towards the estimated cost of $43,200 to cover two years of study (this total includes tuition, travel, living expense and health insurance).

The scholarship is the result of a partnership with the , an educational nonprofit founded by Dr. Izzeldin Abuelaish to commemorate the lives of his three daughters and a niece who were killed by Israeli bombs in their home in Gaza. It was through Abuelaish that EMU’s connection with Mosaic Theater was made. In 2014, the doctor visited EMU to speak about his memoir “I Shall Not Hate,” which was subsequently adapted into a play.

In fall 2017, CJP partnered with Abuelaish’s foundation to host an in Washington D.C. The inclusion of EMU on the Mosaic Theater’s national tour followed.

‘Voices’ festival brings multiple perspectives

One goal of the national tour was to “broaden the conversation” in the United States about the conflict, said the Mosaic Theater’s artistic director and founder Ari Roth in one of his welcoming addresses to the audience over the weekend. “Publicizing multiple perspectives to engage many … that is one purpose of these performances and discussions, to create potential for activism, to pressure and involve and work on not just one side, but all sides. How can we show the Israeli side and the Palestinian side?”

At EMU, the conversation is real and ongoing. CJP offers peacebuilding skills and training through graduate studies and to peacebuilders from the region, while the university has sponsored .

Washington Post critic Peter Marks led his , published Feb. 23 with post-performance reactions from two EMU students who spent their 2017 spring semester traveling through the Middle East.

Along with students who had travelled in the region, CJP students and EMU community members, the audiences also included many former residents of the Israel/Palestine region.

Hope over hate

In one talkback session, a woman tearfully remembered hiding from the bombing in her father’s basement during the 1967 Six-Day War.

“Thousands of people should see this,” she said. “Where are the people?”

Another refugee, of a similar generation, said, “I was of the belief that time will solve our problem and my parents died with that hope. I am 82 years old and I will die without seeing a solution to the problem. It has to do with the attitude of both sides.”

After watching the character of Abuelaish choose hope over hate, graduate student and talkback facilitator Samira Abou Alfa, a Fulbright scholar from Lebanon, observed that the artwork, as an example of cross-cultural relationships, evoked within her a hope for transformation and cooperation.

“Just the fact that this story can be heard,” she said. “I am hopeful that this piece of art made it out of Palestine to here in the United States, which I consider one of the main actors in the region, so that people can learn more.”

Learn more

UPDATE: Ari Roth reflects on the university/college tour in the .
At EMU, cross-cultural studies are a curricular focus for both undergraduate and graduate students. Visit the EMU cross-cultural program website. View a .
Read an op-ed about the U.S. embassy move to Jerusalem from longtime cross-cultural leader Dr. Linford Stutzman.
James and Marian Payne were founding donors of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding. Marian died in August 2017. amd James in January 2018. EMU will host a memorial service in May.

‘Guns Into Plowshares’ sculpture is the site of a vigil for Florida shooting victims

EMU communications — Mon, 19 Feb 2018 16:15:49 +0000

A vigil hosted by Trinity Presbyterian Church/Rally the Valley gathered at ��ݮ�� on Sunday evening to honor��Ի� commemorate the 17 students and staff killed last Wednesday by a young man with an assault weapon in Parkland, Florida.

The group used as their gathering place the immense “Guns Into Plowshares” sculpture located on campus. The 16-foot-tall, 4-ton sculpture depicting a plow is covered with more than 3,000 handguns. It was dedicated in an October 2017 ceremony during which speaker Daryl Byler, executive director of EMU’s reminded the gathered of the prevalence of gun violence in the United States.

The sculpture in daylight. (Photo by Andrew Strack)

“Columbine, Virginia Tech, Sandy Hook and Las Vegas, just last week, are only a few of the horrific shootings that have violently interrupted the past two decades,” he said.

Yet another mass shooting was added to that list on Wednesday, Feb. 14.

According to WHSV coverage, speakers mourned the loss of those in Parkland before directing their anger to politicians — including Representative Bob Goodlatte, who has received money from the National Rifle Association.

Among those interviewed was Harrisonburg High School student Joshua Lucas. “The fact that this happens, that it’s allowed to happen, is just ridiculous,” he said. “We need to say and be heard that this is not okay.

Exploring a paradigm: South Koreans visit EMU to learn about the roots of restorative justice

Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Thu, 01 Feb 2018 15:23:08 +0000

Last year in South Korea, middle school teachers Yongseung Roh and Kyungyun Hwang read Howard Zehr’s seminal text Changing Lenses with a study group. This year, they were part of a South Korean delegation that came to ��ݮ�� (EMU) to learn directly about restorative justice from Zehr himself.

“We wanted to learn deeply about the roots of this movement,” the husband-wife duo wrote in an email – and to “meet people who were walking toward the same way that we wanted to go.”

Katie Mansfeld (center of tables, right) leads a Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience training session. (Courtesy photo)

The group of 21 teachers, students, community leaders and legal professionals was hosted by EMU’s and the Jan. 16-17 during an 11-day east coast tour organized with the (KOPI). Since 2000, KOPI has educated and trained individuals and organizations in various domestic and international peace education programs.

The participants on this trip had already learned from restorative justice (RJ) and discipline workshops in Korea, said KOPI director Jae Young Lee. The purpose of this trip was to learn about the “spiritual, cultural, and historical backgrounds” of the restorative justice movement.

�� we believe RJ is a paradigm and not a program, it is important to know the Anabaptist/Mennonite tradition emphasizing peace and justice as a center of their faith,” he said.

Howard Zehr, KOPI director Jae Young Lee, Johonna Turner and Carl Stauffer lead a session titled “Restorative Justice in Anabaptist tradition & Christian Theology.” (Courtesy photo)

To that end, Zehr Institute co-directors and co-facilitated a session on restorative justice in Anabaptist tradition and Christian theology. Other sessions led by professors and provided overview and discussion of such varying topics as the implications of RJ and historical harms for educators. The group also experienced a one-day Strategies for Trauma Awareness and Resilience (STAR) training led by Katie Mansfield.

A 2003 CJP graduate whose work has been featured in Peacebuilder magazine, Lee said that the RJ education such as he experienced at EMU doesn’t impact only enrolled students.

“When you transform one person’s life through education, it can [create] transforming power for hundreds and thousands of people in the future,” he said, adding that KOPI held nearly 1,500 workshops and lectures on RJ and peacebuilding during 2017 alone.

The visit was also an opportunity for “two-way” learning, said CJP executive director Daryl Byler – for both CJP staff and graduates like Lee and fellow delegation participant Yoonseo Park, who earned his masters in conflict transformation in 2016.

Members of the South Korea delegation with the Guns Into Plowshares sculpture on the EMU campus. (Courtesy photo)

“They and others have taken the restorative justice training they received at CJP and expanded its application to a variety of Korean contexts – including the criminal justice, educational and health systems, as well as in housing and church conflicts,” Byler said.

Although preparing for such delegations requires a major commitment of time and resources at CJP, Byler said that “the payoff is priceless.”

Following their two days at EMU, the delegation also visited the Mennonite Central Committee headquarters and Material Resources Center in Akron, Pennsylvania; met with shooting victims and family members in the Nickel Mines Amish community; toured Belleville, Pennsylvania; and visited two Washington D.C. schools that practice restorative discipline.

EMU’s peacebuilding institute invites leaders of U.S. Congress to learn more about talking sticks and circle processes

Lauren Jefferson and Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Tue, 23 Jan 2018 21:04:12 +0000

��ݮ��’s has invited leaders of Congress to learn more about using talking sticks in circle processes at its (SPI).

The invitation was issued after a group of senators used a talking stick to help negotiate an end to the recent government shutdown. It was extended via an email from , the center’s executive director, on Tuesday – which will be followed by a mailed letter – to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.), Majority Whip John Cornyn (R-Texas), Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Minority Whip Dick Durbin (D-Ill.), and to House of Representatives Majority Leader Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.), Majority Whip Steve Scalise (R-La.), Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) and Minority Whip Steny Hoyer (D-Md.).

Speaker of the House Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) was also invited, as was Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), who initially introduced the talking piece to her fellow senators.

“The senators’ use of the talking stick demonstrates that it can be an effective practice,” said SPI director . “Ultimately, it would benefit our nation to have all members of Congress engage in circle processes.”

The , taught at SPI by internationally renowned circles practitioner , is offered May 24-June 1, 2018. Twenty other courses are also taught, including several related to collaborative communication practices involving facilitation, truth-telling and restorative justice.

Since 1994, SPI has hosted more than 3,200 people from 120 countries.

During the government shutdown, Collins – reportedly tired of members of the Common Sense Coalition talking over each other – initiated the use of a in negotiations. The discussion reportedly was not without mishap, when the resulted in slight damage to a glass elephant in Collins’ office. After the incident, the group switched to using a small rubber ball.

“How to have healthy discussions – to listen respectfully and wait your turn to speak – is exactly part of what we teach in our circle processes classes,” said Bill Goldberg. “But we don’t have any glass elephants.”

EMU to host memorial service in May for CJP founding donor James Payne

Lauren Jefferson — Wed, 17 Jan 2018 18:37:48 +0000

James Payne, a founding donor of the at ��ݮ�� who also was involved in the center’s initial curriculum development, died Dec. 21, 2017.

He passed away in his Richmond, Virginia, home just months after losing his wife of 60 years, Marian Yoder Payne, on Aug. 6, 2017.

A remembrance, written by his family and published in the Richmond Times-Dispatch, shared that after his five children and nine grandchildren, “James was equally proud of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding (CJP) at ��ݮ��. He and Marian were founding donors and strong supporters of CJP. James often said it was the second best investment he ever made – after his children.”

A memorial service will be held at 2 p.m. on Saturday, May 12, at EMU’s Martin Chapel, 1181 Smith Avenue. In lieu of flowers, to the Payne Family Endowed Scholarship, which funds graduate studies for students at CJP.

Helping CJP’s light to shine around the world

The Paynes began their support of CJP in 1993, helping to fund the new center at their undergraduate alma mater. An educator, James was among those consulted by then-sociology professor Vernon Jantzi when he was tasked with developing CJP’s curriculum.

The couple helped to fund several initiatives and projects of CJP over the years, many of which were designed to share the story of empowered peacebuilders and peacebuilding initiatives around the world.

“My parents often said that ‘CJP would be a shining light for the world,’” remembers their daughter Barb Swan. “They felt their support for CJP was a way for them to leave a lasting and meaningful legacy.”

In 2013 and 2014, as CJP approached its 20th anniversary, the Paynes met with CJP Executive Director to ask two questions: “How can CJP’s peacebuilding philosophy become more globally recognized? How can CJP expand its impact in the world?”

Among the projects they funded was a special double issue of Peacebuilder magazine in 2015 to explore the impact of 12 initiatives around the world that emerged from CJP’s Summer Peacebuilding Institute.

Teacher, builder, artist

James Payne was born Sept. 2, 1931 to Gladys (Roth) and A. Roy Payne in Pocomoke City, Maryland, but spent the majority of his childhood in Kishacoquillas Valley, Belleville, Pennsylvania.

He led a rich and varied life, working as a milk inspector, builder, minister, missionary, teacher and college professor. He spent two years in Ethiopia as a builder before marriage. After completing his bachelor’s degree in education at ��ݮ�� in 1958, he returned to Ethiopia with his pregnant wife and two children to be the administrator at the Emperor’s School for Blind Boys.

He returned to the U.S. to serve as head teacher for an elementary school in Roaring Springs, Pennsylvania, while serving as pastor of the Martinsburg Mennonite Church. After completing a doctorate in elementary education at Pennsylvania State University, he then taught for 20 years in the Elementary Education Department at Shippensburg State University.

Outside of his professional interests, Payne built cabins (three of them, all created without power tools), made hand-hooked rugs, gardened, read and wrote.

The couple has five children and nine grandchildren.

Editor’s picks and top reads of 2017

Lauren Jefferson — Tue, 09 Jan 2018 13:44:12 +0000

January brings the traditional review of the most-read news stories of 2017, many of which echoed themes of broader national interest. Our is one of the most-visited on the EMU website, with readers coming from all the countries in the world but two (so if you live in Tonga or French Polynesia, or know of someone who lives there, encourage them to check us out!).

To stay in touch with what’s going on campus and with our alumni around the world, to our weekly news digest.

Also take a moment to enjoy our “Top Photos of 2017,” curated by photography and videography manager Andrew Strack.

***

A tragic loss

Our readers checked in for information related to alumnus Michael J. Sharp ’05, a young peacebuilder killed in the Democratic Republic of Congo while working for the United Nations. This tragic event was covered by global news outlets. Other articles about M.J. were among the 20,000-plus hits and 9,800 Facebook engagement: his memorial service at EMU, the stirring chapel sermon given by his friend Kevin Ressler ’07, and the posthumously awarded Life Service Award, accepted by his parents at the Centennial Homecoming and Family Weekend. [M.J.’s life and work were also noted by Washington Post’s .]

No matter where you’re from…

2017 was the year of Immanuel Mennonite Church’s “Welcome Your Neighbor” sign. The sign, with a distinctive tri-color banding, reads in three languages: No matter where you’re from, we’re glad you’re our neighbor. Our coverage, with 4,300 hits and several hundred Facebook likes, noted its spread around the United States, thanks to a flood of attention from supportive citizens and media outlets [click here to read by Harrisonburg native Camila Domonoske], spurred on by social media posts. Immanuel is led by Pastor Matthew Bucher, a 2015 graduate of Eastern Mennonite Seminary and the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding, and his congregants who contributed to the sign’s inception and dispersal include many EMU alumni.

Healing Justice Fast

Daryl Byler’s Healing Justice Fast over Lent 2017 touched hearts and minds around the world. See initial coverage, final coverage, and visit his . The fast by the executive director of the Center for Justice and Peacebuilding spanned 40 days of President Donald Trump’s first 100 days in office. Each day, Byler wrote and tweeted a letter to Trump, reflecting on the passages of the Presbyterian Daily Lectionary. Among the many comments was one appreciative of “modeling a listening, loving, and prayerful approach to the deep divides in our human family.”

Standing up to hate

EMU News covered alumni and faculty engagement at the Aug. 12 white supremacist rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. Just days before the fall semester began, the event stunned many in our community. Eastern Mennonite Seminary graduate Brittany Caine-Conley, marching arm in arm with other clergy at the Aug. 12 , made national news for her activism and nonviolent protest. The Charlottesville resident, now in the final stages of the United Church of Christ ordination process, co-founded Congregate Charlottesville in the months leading up to the rally. The organization worked to train religious leaders in direct action, public witness and rapid response.

In November, Caine-Conley was a co-recipient of the National Council of Church President’s Award for Excellence in Faithful Leadership. [Caine-Conley will speak Jan. 16 at the seminary’s .]

Yoder Scholars

The long-awaited announcements about the newest recipients of our full-tuition Yoder Scholarships, and social media sharing [#EMUview ], always help this announcement into the top-read ranks each year, as we welcome our newest group of Royals.

A symbol of nonviolence

A column by Washington Post historian John Kelly may have helped this coverage skyrocket. “Guns Into Plowshares,” a 16-foot-tall, 4-ton sculpture depicting a plow covered with more than 3,000 handguns collected from the Washington D.C. streets, was dedicated in an afternoon ceremony Oct. 10, with artist Esther Augsburger ’72 making an address.

EMU’s Centennial celebration

With a 100-year build-up to Centennial activities, no doubt the community was on pins and needles waiting to hear of the much-planned and -anticipated announcement of Centennial activities. Despite the more than 80 events scheduled in an action-packed fall Homecoming and Family Weekend, there’s still more planned for this spring! View a schedule here.

Mystery of the Year

And our Mystery of the Year: Web analyst Joshua Lyons was puzzled (flabbergasted is actually a better description) by the popularity of two separate Suter Science Seminar previews, receiving thousands of discrete hits: an article in February about biopharmaceutical expert Jennifer Bryant and then in October, one about neuropsychologist Jennifer Koop.

Top Tweet

And maybe another mystery…the best-laid plans for earth-shattering Tweets mean nothing when yummies come into play: here’s the most-shared and re-Tweeted Tweet of 2017:

Thanks to the @EMUbaseball1 team for the surprise pre-exam hot chocolate and candy cane treats! Good luck to students with the start of finals! #EMUview

Kenyan women earn graduate certificates in peacebuilding leadership

Christopher Clymer Kurtz — Thu, 21 Dec 2017 15:45:01 +0000

Violet Muthiga has seen the impact of extremist activities on women in Kenya’s recent history, including in the marginalization of mothers whose children had been arrested on charges of suspected radicalization, vetted and later released. Because the police were suspicious of them and their communities were scared, the women kept to themselves.

Muthiga spoke of her trauma counseling and reintegration work during an early December graduation ceremony in Nairobi. She was among eight women to earn graduate certificates in peacebuilding leadership from the Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership Program (WPLP) of ��ݮ��’s (CJP).

Muthiga is CEO of Mombasa-based Sauti Ya Wanawake Pwani, a local women’s organization that works in six coastal counties. She conducts trauma counseling for mothers of radicalized youth and reintegration programs for de-radicalized youth, among other activities, and said she is “lucky” to have had the opportunity to bolster her skills through WPLP.

Other graduates in the ceremony expressed similar appreciation for new skills related to conflict analysis, restorative justice and trauma resilience, said CJP executive director . “WPLP built their level of self confidence, helped them understand who they are, and develop as leaders.”

Affirmation also came from Samson Sorobit, who said that through the strength of the people in WPLP, “we’ve seen change happen.” Sorobit spoke on behalf of local partner , which supports peacebuilding, development and social change initiatives in the region.

Rachel Mutai, another graduate, said that she had been promised that WPLP would be “a journey of learning and relearning,” and that proved true. “There are things I thought I knew that I didn’t know, and there are things that once I tested in the field, I realized I needed to be learning again, and do something different.”

Mutai is the curriculum development coordinator at African Leadership and Reconciliation Ministries. She coordinates the development of and training for peacebuilding and leadership curriculum, and has conducted trauma healing programming for women, led youth leadership development activities, and been involved in a domestic violence counseling ministry.

The program offered a “very relevant” balance of theory and practice that gave the group confidence and is “very apropos in the field” for them as women who are making a difference, Mutai said.

Funding for WPLP is primarily provided through USAID Kenya and East Africa and by international development organizations that administer USAID grants.

The fourth cohort included:

Maryam Sheikh Abdikadir formerly worked for Serve Women and Children Empowerment and Development Agenda, which rallies Somali women in Garissa and Kismayo to work for peace using clan and family networks, but most recently ran for a seat in Kenya’s parliament during the country’s 2017 election. She also volunteers for an association for Somali professionals, and is a writer and a poet who uses her talents for advocacy and activism. She has a bachelor’s degree in education and a master’s degree in development studies.
Judith Nasimiyu Mandillah is the chief probation officer of the Kakamega High Court; she was previously a probation officer for 25 years. In her current role, she leads and advocates for alternative dispute resolution processes. In a volunteer capacity, she has worked in crime prevention with youth in Bungoma and Kakamega, and in justice and family conflict programming throughout western Kenya. She has also registered an organization which advocates for alternative dispute resolution among women leaders and youth. She has a bachelor’s degree in guiding and counseling from Kampala International University and is completing an master of science degree in peace and conflict studies from Masinde Muliro University of Science and Technology.
Rachel Cherotich Mutai is from Kericho County and has a bachelor’s degree in theology from Kenya Highlands Evangelical University and an MDiv from Africa International University.
Violet Wairimu Muthiga lives and works in Mombasa County, where she also works with county peace committees and court users committees to create programming for local communities. She has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Egerton University and is completing her master’s degree in project planning and management the University of Nairobi.
Sarah Chelimo Naibei is from Mt. Elgon Sub County. She has worked for the Peace and Rights Program, where she played a role in the signing of a peace agreement between conflicting communities in Mt. Elgon, and has rehabilitated ex-combatants and child soldiers. She recently transitioned into the role of assistant county commissioner, and is now responsible for county peace activities. She has a passion for facilitating reconciliation and trauma healing programs in the Mt. Elgon area and for working with communities and widows of the conflict to find sustainable, locally-owned solutions to conflicts. She has a bachelor’s degree in gender and development from Makarere University and a master’s degree in project planning and management from the University of Nairobi.
Catherine Gaku Njeru is from Embu County, where she is a gender specialist at the International Peace Support Training Center. Using this platform she has been involved in the design of Kenya’s national action plan for implementing UN 1325, has rolled out training for the military in peacebuilding, and has implemented a child development program in Embu county. Her work also took her to Marsabit County, where she engaged in women’s empowerment activities; she was recently relocated to do similar work in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. She has more than ten years of experience in gender mainstreaming and curriculum development. Catherine has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Egerton University and a master’s degree in project planning and management from the University of Nairobi.
Beatrice Kizi Nzovu works in Majengo for Life and Peace Institute as the lead Kenya program advisor. Her work there focuses on how communities – and specifically women – can build resilience against violent extremism. In the past she has worked with cattle rustling and resource issues in North and South Rift, land conflicts in the coast, gender mainstreaming at the regional level, and post-election violence in Nakuru. Beatrice has a bachelor’s degree in sociology from Maseno University and a master’s degree in peace studies and conflict transformation from European University.
Shamsa Hassan Sheikh recently accepted a position with Act Change Transform (ACT!), a Kenyan non-governmental organization that works with environmental and natural resources management as well as democracy and human rights and peacebuilding and conflict transformation. Previously, she worked for the Wajir County Land Management Board, designing and facilitating local alternative dispute resolution processes for land and resource-based conflicts in Wajir county. She also played a role in reviewing and drafting land and resource-based policies. Shamsa has a bachelor’s degree in law from the University of Nairobi.