Candid (formerly the Foundation Center) and Centris (Rethinking Poverty) are conducting a study on the role of philanthropy in producing safe, healthy and just societies. At a time when many people are questioning the value of philanthropy, the study aims to clarify its role in creating peaceful and inclusive societies that provide access to justice for all…
By Barry Knight Carnage on the streets of New York, London, and Paris has taught us that anyone can be affected by violent conflict. In an interconnected world, borders mean little and war spreads easily. Such attacks, where anyone can become a victim, have their roots in deeper social problems. Violent conflict brings death, lost homes,…
By Avila Kilmurray A recent study of community activism in Northern Ireland highlights resilience as a key outcome of the contribution of community action during times of both violence and tentative peacebuilding. In situations of protracted conflict, where abnormality becomes the norm, community-based organisation can create the necessary space for activists to articulate concerns and…
By Celia McKeon, Assistant Trust Secretary, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust We all know that it’s not money that builds peace, but people. The complicated process of moving from violent conflict to what might conceivably become sustainable peace only happens if people take risks to enable that transition. It is the actions of people at all…
“Any form of art is a form of power; it has impact, it can effect change - it can not only move us, it makes us move.” Ossie Davis (American actor and playwright) For the first time ever, Tamil and Muslim students from Jaffna District in the North of Sri Lanka came together and produced…
Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), York, UK Written by Andrew Milner Mission At a recent meeting of the Board of the Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust (JRCT), the Trustees wrestled with the wording of a mission statement: how to capture the essence of the organisation in a few words; how to include a sense of the…