Posts Tagged: catalyst for peace

Sacred Opening in a Time of Pain and Possibility

Photo by Charles Gibbs

The call of this moment
and of all moments
is to seek the light
and to face the darkness
within and without
with unflinching honesty
and unswerving devotion
to journey at least a little each day
 toward enlightenment –
living in love,
fearless, joyous and free –
in service
to this glorious and wounded world.

As the coronavirus flows invisibly over the face of the Earth transforming life as we have known it and creating seemingly ….Keep reading this post >

As Our Work Grows, So Too Is Our Team

As our team continues to support the growth of a global community of learning and practice building peace from the inside out, we have also needed to grow our team. Beyond skillful administrative skills, we were looking for someone with experience and background in grassroots organizing, communications, and coalition building. Our new addition comes with that and more. He brings multi-cultural and multi-lingual resilience and spiritually-based formation that enriches our ….Keep reading this post >

In a time of closings, a Sacred Opening

Bruce Springsteen has a rousing rendition of the classic folk anthem “This Little Light of Mine” on his Live in Dublin album, which opens with Springsteen calling out to his keyboardist, “Charles, bring us home!” Charles Giodarno then jumps into play with a galvanizing rendition of the tune, setting the stage for The Boss, his band, and ultimately the whole audience to join in singing, dancing, and letting our light ….Keep reading this post >

At the heart of it all

What exactly IS #insideoutpeace? And what does it mean for leading transformational social change in the world?

We are happy to announce the release of our new publication Building Peace from the Inside Out: A Transformational Approach to Partnership, which traces the emergence-in-practice of #insideoutpeace as it has been embodied through the decade+ partnership of Catalyst for Peace and Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone, the partnership at the heart of it ….Keep reading this post >

Wan Fambul (One Family) National Framework for Inclusive Governance and Rural Development in Sierra Leone

The Government of Sierra Leone is pioneering a national policy framework that will put its people and communities in the center and at the helm of the country’s planning and development. (For more on the process of our partnership with them in its development, you can check out these posts.)

You can read and download the complete Draft Framework here.

Here is a brief overview and list of highlights of the Framework ….Keep reading this post >

Government’s role in community healing and people-led development – Sierra Leone leads the way

How can government and funders support community healing and people-led planning and development? That was our focus at planning meetings at Ulster University in Belfast in mid-November. Senior government leaders from Sierra Leone gathered to focus on the planning and rollout of the flagship Wan Fambul National Framework for Local Governance and Rural Development, along with partner organizations (I was there representing Catalyst for Peace and John Caulker from our ….Keep reading this post >

National Elections in Sierra Leone

Our thoughts are with Sierra Leoneans as they hold their national elections and await the outcome. You can read below the full statement to press that we issued yesterday together with our Sierra Leonean partner Fambul Tok, calling for peaceful elections and cohesive work to fulfill the nation’s promise after the elections. You can also listen here to the jingle we produced that is now airing across the Sierra Leone, ….Keep reading this post >

Celebrating and Nurturing Women’s Leadership in Peacebuilding – Malindi Reflection

Thank you for your leadership.

These words, spoken by a Kenyan woman peacebuilder, both gladdened and surprised me – gladdened because it’s always nice to have someone affirm a positive contribution they feel I’ve made; surprised because my focus had been on serving, not leading.

She spoke at the conclusion of a five-day retreat whose theme was Celebrating and Nurturing Women as Peacebuilders. Co-convened by Catalyst for Peace and Green String Network, ….Keep reading this post >

From Peace to (People-Centered) Development – tracing the journey

Catalyst for Peace’s work with Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone has shifted from its initial focus on post-war community reconciliation. As we have written about elsewhere, building on the lessons of that work, we are focused now on creating spaces for communities to lead in their own development, supported by an inclusive governance infrastructure. Simply stated, the work has moved from peacebuilding to development (and inclusive governance) – while still ….Keep reading this post >

Growing Inclusive Governance Nationally: A learning and planning retreat in N. Ireland

In the last week of March, Catalyst for Peace and our partner Fambul Tok moved further towards partnership with the Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development in Sierra Leone to help grow inclusive governance throughout Sierra Leone. Together with Ulster University, CFP, FT and the Ministry convened a gathering in N. Ireland to imagine and think through how to design and operationalize a national policy that would support a truly ….Keep reading this post >