Nonviolent Peaceforce’s Story

In Mindanao Philippines, men from the Moro Islamic Liberation Front, and the Armed Forces of the Philippines, who once fought on opposite sides, are meeting for an afternoon of scuba diving. They will undergo skills training, followed by a joint dive, in a hard-won show of trust. Once unimaginable, this has become a reality due in part to the trust-building initiative of the Nonviolent Peaceforce, an international NGO that champions unarmed civilian protection.

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) works with local communities in some of the most challenging environments in the world such as Ukraine, Iraq, Myanmar, and the Mindanao region of the Philippines, to co-create peacebuilding and intervention strategies that foster trust, nonviolence and inclusion. The organization’s trust-building work begins with the creation of local teams that deliberately bring together diverse actors who reach out to different segments of local society, including groups that have lacked a voice in the conflict previously.

Currently operating in nine countries, NP trains volunteers in civilian protection, relationship-building, and monitoring and reporting skills. In the Philippines, the organization has empowered former female combatants to become peace facilitators, shifting their roles from armed resistance to community peacebuilding. In South Sudan, they bridge ethnicities to strengthen the advocacy skills of women and promote their integration into the peace process. In Iraq, NP works across ethno-religious divisions and uses common activities like sport to build relationships between Sunni Arab and Yazidi communities.

NP’s nonviolent intervention projects have included several strategic international partnerships, such as in Aceh, Indonesia. Since 2023, NP and six partner organizations have been promoting a holistic approach to transitional justice and strengthening the truth and reconciliation process. Working together, they are advancing women’s and children’s rights and bringing leaders together to address past conflicts and foster a sustainable peace. 

Globally, NP is rooted in solidarity and witnessing, not force, helping people reach across long-standing historical divides, cooperate and build meaningful personal ties. In addition, it stands up for unprotected civilians and works to dismantle systemic political and socioeconomic power imbalances that underpin so much of the violence in the world today.  Its neutral and non-judgmental approach upholds our common humanity and reaches across differences.

New Life Trust Organization’s Story

Women sit around the table, focusing intently on the delicate pieces of metal and gemstones in their hands. A few women discuss a concept for a new design, comparing different traditions from their diverse regions of Afghanistan and the merits of different approaches. Ongoing political, economic, social and humanitarian instability in Afghanistan has severely reduced women’s abilities to earn income and find employment. For many of these women, their engagement with the New Life Trust Organization (NLTO) provides them with a much needed sense of meaning and an opportunity to participate in supporting their families, while simultaneously connecting with and building friendships with others from across the country.

NLTO is one of the few organizations of its kind to operate effectively in Afghanistan. With sensitivity to social and political challenges, NLTO helps diverse women from different parts of the countries find meaningful work producing local handcrafted jewelry, improving social and economic prospects for themselves, their children and families while at the same time making friendships across ethnic lines.

Established in 2023, NLTO empowers women through skills development, entrepreneurship and artistic expression. The organization provides vocational training in goldsmithing, gem-cutting and jewelry design and helps women develop business, English language and basic computer skills. Training and mentoring sessions are conducted in workshop spaces, and childcare is provided.

In a country that is home to 14 ethnic groups, tribal divisions are difficult to bridge. NLTO does it by welcoming women into its programs from a range of ethnicities, including Pashtun, Uzbek, Turkmen, Sayed, Hazara and Tajik. The organization also makes room for women with disabilities. The organization has helped forge powerful connections among program participants since 2023, and more than 60 percent of these women are now active in local markets or managing their own business. Through its social enterprise model, NLTO collaborates with international retail partners to organize exhibitions and provide market access.

Produced using traditional techniques and local resources—such as lapis lazuli—the jewelry helps preserve Afghani culture locally and around the world. Thanks to the opportunities that NLTO provides to participate in the economy, women are transformed into entrepreneurs and community leaders, rekindling the hope and independence they yearn for.

Mais Diferenças’ Story

“We’re not strengthening teachers’ inclusion skills only for children living with disabilities,” says Zirlene Ferreira, a pedagogical coordinator with Mais Diferenças (More Differences). “We’re doing it for the benefit of other children as well, because they will become adults who are free from ableist thinking, and ready to welcome everyone as capable human beings.”

Zirlene is speaking about Mais Diferenças’s Play Project. Play is a partnership with the São Paulo Municipal Department of Education to integrate inclusive pedagogical practices into early childhood education. The aim is to eliminate barriers of exclusion at an early age by establishing play as a way for children of all abilities to interact. Since Brazil has implemented laws requiring schools to mainstream students with disabilities, more than 17,000 Sao Paulo educators have been trained on Play’s approach, and nearly 400,000 students have benefited from its inclusive focus.

Mais Diferenças is a civil society organization that promotes the rights of persons with disabilities. By bringing together individuals with diverse disabilities, rather than focusing on a single impairment, Mais Diferenças fosters mutual learning and a sense of solidarity. In education, Mais Diferenças develops accessible materials to help ensure that educational networks and schools seek to equalize learning opportunities for all.

The organization’s cultural work includes the production of books in multiple accessible formats. Book designers use simple language, image descriptions, Brazilian sign language and other tools to democratize access and introduce thousands of new readers to the joys of reading. Mais Diferenças also helped draft laws that pluralize education rights to include students with disabilities.

Through advocacy, Mais Diferenças influences public policies and legislation that promote the rights of people with disabilities so they can participate fully. The organization participates in forums and rights councils, working closely with public administrators and politicians to create a more inclusive society. For example, it contributed to incorporating the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities into the Brazilian Constitution. Since its launch in 2005, Mais Diferenças has developed more than 200 projects in inclusive education and culture and made accessible more than 4,000 products, publications and materials. Mais Diferenças’ broad collaborations create space in which to unite people of various abilities. Its ongoing success in reducing societal barriers ensures that increasing numbers of people have equitable opportunities to participate fully in social, cultural and economic life and contribute to a more inclusive society.

CONAMI’s Story

Scrolling through Facebook, a post comes up that another indigenous woman has been murdered in her community in Mexico. This notice is devastating, and a national organisation of volunteers is determined to let this life be more than a number. One of their projects aims to humanize the victims, recording their names, their family and stories about their life to emphasize their right to justice.

This is a grassroots project of Coordinadora Nacional de Mujeres Indígenas de México (National Coordinating Committee of Indigenous Women, CONAMI) called Community Gender Emergency (ECG). ECG compiles data on the various forms of violence against Indigenous girls and women in Mexico and goes beyond collecting names and numbers. It contextualizes events with narratives about a victim’s experience, then publishes the information on Facebook. ECG is a powerful means to make space for victims of violence, celebrate their lives and identify the factors and patterns that expose them to extreme violence.

ECG is typical of CONAMI’s work, combining current academic approaches and a wealth of ancestral community knowledge to promote local and national Indigenous welfare. CONAMI is the only organization of its kind in Mexico—a network of more than 20 community groups across 17 states of the republic. Formed in 1997, CONAMI coordinates and strengthens community spaces in which women play active and leading roles. The network advocates to eradicate all racism and enable Indigenous Peoples to achieve self-determination, autonomy, justice and full political participation.

Over two decades of activism, CONAMI has been instrumental in amplifying Indigenous women’s voices and addressing the systemic challenges they face. The Casas de las Mujeres Indígenas (Houses for Indigenous Women, CAMI) project is a fine example. It provides culturally responsive legal, medical and psychological care to Indigenous women in 35 communities across Mexico. Now supported by public policy and funded by the federal government, CAMIS is the realization of CONAMI’s work to influence state policies, integrate intercultural perspectives and show Indigenous women as agents of change.

CONAMI also partners internationally with organizations such as Enlace Continental de Mujeres Indígenas de las Americas (Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas, ECMIA), which advocates for the application of Indigenous practices to inform social change. CONAMI also collaborates with the International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI), which has supported CONAMI with funding and human resources development.

By advancing legal rights and strengthening grassroots networks, CONAMI is a leading force in promoting the social, political and economic empowerment of Indigenous communities in Mexico.

Sudanese Youth Network’s Story

At a community meeting space in Nairobi, young Sudanese men and women, along with children and families, listen to guest speakers talk about their ideas around moving to a ceasefire and opening humanitarian corridors. “Until now, my whole life has been war,” says a member of Sudanese Youth Network for Ending the War and Establishing a Democratic Civil Transformation (SYN).  

A woman comes to the mic, warning the group about the uphill challenge they face and how difficult it will be to achieve their goals. She implies they are overly idealistic and do not have a large enough support base or leverage to influence the actions of Sudanese militia leaders and political elite. But rather than get frustrated, the youth leading the session welcome the criticism and say they will use it to strengthen their advocacy campaigns.

The war in Sudan has forced more than 11 million people from their homes since 2023, making it the largest displacement crisis in the world. SYN has been a leading youth voice against the war since its founding in 2023. It is led entirely by young people, all volunteers, with more than 400 members in chapters in Sudan and neighbouring countries.

Members of SYN include youth from different ethnic, political, cultural and socio-economic backgrounds. Each chapter elects one male and one female representative, setting a level of engagement by women that is rarely seen in Sudanese society. While diverse, the group shares a joint mission to bring about a ceasefire, end to the war and transition to a civilian government.

SYN maintains political and ideological neutrality. The organization actively engages with political officials and organizations to have a voice in peacebuilding efforts, and develop campaigns that galvanize the views of Sudanese youth around key topics such as the ceasefire, or transitional government.

To strengthen the skills of its members and other Sudanese youth, it hosts trainings and workshops on topics such as mediation, negotiation and advocacy skills. Its work has caught the attention of important international and regional bodies. For example, SYN members have been invited to a number of consultations and dialogues organized by the African Union’s on resolving the conflict in Sudan. SYN has participated and continue to take opportunities to advocate for greater youth inclusion in Sudanese peace talks. Recognition like this helps affirm SYN’s efforts to advance social and political change.   

Cesta Von’s Story

In a small room inside a caravan, a mother sits on the floor holding her child, not yet old enough to walk. Across from them a woman wearing a shirt that reads “OMAMA” (an old German word for grandmother) and smiling encouragingly, leads them through a series of exercises to look at different colours and shapes. She then offers the mother a book which she opens up and reads to her child, enjoying this moment of shared learning and engagement.

The Roma population in Slovakia face levels of discrimination and social exclusion that are difficult to imagine in Europe in 2025. More than one third of the community’s children do not complete elementary school. Almost 70 percent rely on social assistance. And it can be difficult, especially for women, to find work outside of the settlement.

In this context Cesta Von, Slovakian for Way Out, works alongside Roma communities to help break the cycle of poverty that has keep many Roma from participating fully in broader Slovak society.   Cesta Von’s work is perhaps best exemplified in its OMAMA initiative, where Roma women who often have no formal education themselves, are employed as mentors to mothers in their communities to support with children’s learning and development. It has shown such success that the Ministry of Social Affairs has approved a groundbreaking early childhood development strategy based on the OMAMA model.

The program helps more than 1,100 children and their families across 40 communities in Slovakia. Widely respected, OMAMA is lauded as a best practice for early childhood development. It is now being implemented in Czechia, and various organizations from other countries have also expressed interest in the model.

In addition, Cesta Von runs an afterschool program for Roma young people, called Zebra, where they can engage in music lessons, dance classes and find mentoring support with their homework. Its FILIP initiative engages social workers who work in partnership with families to tackle the financial challenges they would most like assistance in overcoming. And the organization’s Amal (“friend”) volunteer online program connects Roma and non-Roma through mentorship and language practice sessions—providing a window into each other’s lives and building a foundation of friendship and understanding. Building connections is Cesta Von’s goal—to create a society without the exclusion of Roma people where all can prosper, belong and dream beyond the boundaries of poverty and discrimination.

Artistic Freedom Initiative’s Story

“Lawyers are not always the most empathetic people in the world, but that was very different with AFI”, said Margarita Kuleva a Russian interdisciplinary artist. “I found lawyers who were very interested in my work.” After becoming a vocal critic of the war in Ukraine, Margarita needed to leave Russia. Now, Margarita is a practicing artist in the NYC area and teaches at NYU Arts & Science and Steinhardt.

She is just one of the thousands of artists from more than 60 countries and in more than 40 disciplines who have been supported by Artistic Freedom Initiative (AFI). Since its inception in 2017, AFI has provided pro bono support to over 4000 at-risk artists and family members.

AFI‘s mission is to uphold artistic expression as a core pillar of democracy and artistic freedom as a means for artists to continue to shape, celebrate and preserve the cultural narratives of silenced and marginalized groups. Although there are plenty of organizations that support human rights and free expression, AFI provides a holistic mix of direct legal, immigration and resettlement services to artists at risk of persecution or censorship, combined with in-depth reports to strengthen rights protection mechanisms and actionable policy recommendations to support advocacy.

AFI also amplifies the work of artists in exile. Its Artists for Social Change public arts program, for example, helps artists raise their voices against racism, xenophobia and patriarchy. Artists for Social Change, alongside their Legal and Resettlement programs, work in tandem to open doors for artists to collaborate with US and Europe-based artistic partners.

The organization’s Global Policy & Advocacy team builds on evidence gathered during case work. It publishes country-specific human rights reports that examine how legal mechanisms, funding control and ideological appointments are used to deny artists the opportunity to participate as cultural contributors in their home countries. AFI’s advocacy campaigns deliver actionable policy recommendations for national governments and international bodies, such as the United Nations, that have the power to improve conditions for artists in their home countries.

In a time when it is increasingly risky in many parts of the world to publicly express different viewpoints, AFI protects the vital role of art and artists and works to safeguard the universal right to free creative expression.

Welcoming America’s Story

When David Lubell was five years old, his parents sat him down and told him: Don’t talk to strangers. It’s a common refrain, but it led David to feel fear for the first time.

Today, decades after David received what he calls “the stranger danger talk,” the United States is experiencing the fastest immigration growth rate since the early 1900s. Also on the rise is anxiety and mistrust in communities with high rates of immigration, hate crimes targeting foreign-born residents, anti-immigration policies, and alienation between immigrants and long-term residents.

David was living in Tennessee when he realized that despite his state’s 400 per cent increase in immigration in the past decade, there was no widespread coordination of efforts to help immigrants. He also noticed that there was no effort to prepare host communities for the major demographic changes they were facing. David launched Welcoming Tennessee in 2006 to help immigrants become active members in their new society—with the support of their host communities. Now, Nashville, Tennessee, has grown to become an economic leader in this region. Civic and business leaders attribute this success to the city’s welcoming climate and successful integration of immigrants.

Welcoming Tennessee soon became Welcoming America, an award-winning non-profit organization that builds bridges between newcomers and long-time residents. The organization has developed a Welcoming Standard, which provides a comprehensive roadmap for immigrant inclusion. It encourages interactions between immigrants and their receiving community to build trust and help local leaders involve newcomers in the city’s planning. Today, Welcoming America has created more than 570 inclusive policies and programs to improve the lives of immigrants by helping them learn English, succeed at school, build a career, open a business or participate in civic life. Welcoming America has expanded to 380 communities across the United States, and has partnerships in Germany and Australia.

At the heart of the organization is the belief that when newcomers feel valued and are encouraged to participate in the social, civic, and economic fabric of their adopted hometowns, everyone benefits. Communities become better—more vibrant and more prosperous—when they embrace diversity and nurture the potential of their new residents.

Wapikoni’s Story

Quebec filmmaker Manon Barbeau was deeply troubled by the suffering and high rates of suicide she had witnessed among indigenous youth in Quebec. She produced a full-length film featuring the voices of 15 youth and, in the process, formed a particularly strong bond with a young woman named Wapikoni Awashish. When Wapikoni was killed at the age of 20 by a logging truck, Manon felt she had lost a daughter. Two years later, in 2003, she decided to honour the memory of her friend.

Noting the ease and joy that came over indigenous youth as soon as they had a camera in hand, Manon partnered with First Nations of Quebec and Labrador Youth Council and the Atikamekw Nation Council to create Wapikoni Mobile, a non-profit organization that gives voice to indigenous youth through filmmaking.

Wapikoni Mobile is the only mobile studio in Canada that travels to remote indigenous communities to teach youth filmmaking techniques with state-of-the-art technology, which they use to create their own short films and musical works. Wapikoni Mobile then distributes their work, organizing 200 screenings per year at locations ranging from remote high schools to prestigious film festivals. Following the screenings, the young directors are encouraged to speak about their work, which forges new relationships between indigenous and non-indigenous people with a view towards reconciliation.

Wapikoni Mobile has also established the International Network for Aboriginal Audiovisual Creation, which uses cinema to promote respect for indigenous rights and social inclusion throughout the world. Today, Wapikoni Mobile has mentored 4,000 youth from five First Nations in Canada, and 17 communities throughout five countries in Latin America.

Though the organization has won several awards and garnered international acclaim, its success is best measured by the accomplishments of its participants, who are appearing at the Sundance Film Festival and in university classrooms, winning full scholarships at prestigious international film schools, starting the Idle No More movement, and speaking at the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. Through their films they have contributed to the fight against racism, prejudice and isolation that Canada’s First Nations have suffered for generations. Wapikoni Mobile set out to engage indigenous youth living in remote communities, and in the process it has deeply enhanced filmmaking in Canada with new voices and perspectives.

Sawa for Development and Aid’s Story

In December of 2011, 22-year-old was visiting her family in Lebanon when she heard about the first 40 Syrian refugees crossing the border into Lebanon. She got into a car and drove to meet the refugees. After asking them what they needed, she sent a text message to everyone she knew, explaining the tragic situation and the families’ urgent needs. Her message spread, prompting hundreds of people to contact her with offers of donations or to volunteer.

By the end of 2011, Rouba Mhaissen had created Sawa4Syria, a grassroots youth-led initiative that was one of the first organizations in Lebanon dedicated to responding to the needs of Syrian refugees. The name Sawa means “together.” Soon, the organization expanded to become the non-profit organization Sawa for Development and Aid, which provides multi-faceted relief for Syrian refugees in Lebanon and, now, in the United Kingdom.

In addition to traditional humanitarian relief, which it provides in 18 tented camps to thousands of refugees, Sawa incorporates education and livelihood programming to help refugees become financially independent. In their free kitchen, run by Syrian and Lebanese volunteers, Sawa feeds more than 5,000 people on a daily basis. Their educational centre prepares Syrian children for entrance into Lebanese schools, and their cash-for-work programs employ around 50 refugees at any one time.

With more than 1.5 million Syrian refugees in Lebanon, tensions have risen between refugees and their host communities, an issue Sawa is addressing through education and outreach in Lebanon. All of Sawa’s programming is conceived, designed and implemented by refugees, which ensures that its work is directed at the issues that matter most to the people it helps.

When Rouba drove to meet the first Syrian refugees in 2011, she did not know that, six years later, she would have started an organization with a wide network of local and international partners that is meeting the needs of Syrian refugees in Lebanon and the United Kingdom. In 2011, she simply asked, “What do you need?” She discovered that, beyond humanitarian relief, they needed to be given a chance to contribute in meaningful ways to their new society. She also learned that Lebanon, by embracing diversity, has become a richer, more tolerant place in which to live.