Mountaintop International’s Post

🤲 Around the world, religious leaders and faith actors play significant roles in providing material and social support, shaping public norms, and influencing interactions among diverse groups. Yet most do not receive training on how their actions might exacerbate sources of tension within their communities, or strengthen local capacities for peace. Michelle Garred, former senior advisor at CDA, describes how, in three case studies conducted by World Vision in the Philippines 🇵🇭, El Salvador 🇸🇻, and Kenya 🇰🇪, faith leaders tended to use Do No Harm as a lens for personal transformation, rather than as an analytical tool, centering their practice around contextual Dividers and Connectors naturally relevant to their contexts. 🧠 Why does this matter? “While often weak on institutional mainstreaming, faith actors do show significant promise in their efforts to transform small organizations by transforming key people inside of them. Undoubtedly, both institutional and individual change are needed – yet most conflict sensitivity efforts focus squarely on one or the other. There would be great value in expanding both research and practitioner resources on how to interweave individual and institutional change together in conflict sensitivity practice.” ❗Read the article from Michelle Garred, PhD and Johonna McCants-Turner, Ph.D. on Do No Harm as a tool for interfaith peacebuilding: https://ow.ly/qzes50PGwOU 🤝 MORE: CDA and World Vision have partnered and collaborated for nearly 30 years on issues spanning the humanitarian-development-peacebuilding nexus. We have been engaged on humanitarian risk and conflict sensitivity, community engagement and accountability, local capacities for peace and Do No Harm, and interfaith peacebuilding around the world. https://ow.ly/q0pz50PGwOT

📢 We believe in an intersectional and multidirectional approach to memory, highlighting the profound connection between memory and social justice ✊ 👉 This is why we are part of the EU-funded project MultiMemo, which discusses and initiates various forms of active remembrance in the public spheres across several European countries. 👉 A remembrance that does not exist in a social vacuum, and instead highlights the need to stand up to contemporary practices of violence and exclusion. 👀 Get to know more about it here: https://lnkd.in/dvbNCpeZ FestivALT

Part 2 of the reading of my chapter "EMERGENT AFRICAN IMMIGRANT PHILANTHROPY IN NEW YORK CITY" in J. Krase and R. Hutchison, eds. 2004. Race and Ethnicity in New York CityResearch in Urban Sociology, Volume 7, 181–193.I now turn to definitions. Here, I give a brief definition of immigrants.Philanthropy is one of the central ideals of African traditional mores. It is nowonder then that African philanthropy takes many forms within New YorkCity’s immigrant community. The key features of immigrant African philanthropy include the prominent role of informal institutions, lack of visibility to external observers and non-members of group, and small-scale philanthropic efforts by groups organized along ethnic, kinship, and national lines. Globalization shapes the decision to become an immigrant, the location chosen for settlement, and the challenges faced in both home country and country of settlement. Many African immigrant organizations are male dominated in leadership and decision making, with an emphasis on volunteerism and recognition of those with leadership skills.Professional associations tend to be national rather than continent-wide. Because the focus of these groups is derived from the historical experience of their members, there is high interest in foreign policy issues, and U.S. foreign policy toward Africa is subjected to much discussion, debate and thought. However, the presence of African immigrants is too limited to be felt in policy advocacy circles. #AfricanImmigrants #Philanthropy #NewYorkCity #globalization #HometownAssociations https://lnkd.in/eYGJJYVe

Not all of us will become founders; some of us will be invaluable support pillars to them, and that's absolutely acceptable. The ultimate goal should be every young person working collaboratively to create peaceful, safer, and just communities. This involves some individuals taking the lead to initiate projects while others offer assistance. Our generation may sometimes mistakenly view choosing to assist instead of starting something as a sign of weakness or lack of ambition. However, it's essential to recognize that there are no successful founders without competent team members, and meaningful impact cannot be achieved without dedicated volunteers joining the mission. Every individual should have the freedom to choose the path that aligns with their skills and passions without facing discrimination, as this is the only way we can collectively make a more significant and positive impact. As a young Peacebuilder, I am dedicated to creating and curating opportunities for young people to actively participate in building a more peaceful and just world. It's crucial for young people to be actively engaged, not only in starting initiatives, but also in supporting and enriching existing ones. Together, we can shape a better future for all. I am Oluwaseun Kolawole (AICMC)- The Peace Shaper. I am committed to creating safer, and more peaceful schools for children through peace education and advocacy, while helping aspiring peacebuilders find their path to making meaningful impact in the global peace sector. #ThePeaceShaper #Globalgoals #Peacebuilding #Youth4Peace #youthengagement

In this piece, a part of an oped series with Peace News Network, ALLMEP shared its overarching vision for the peacebuilding field. As a network of 160 unique member organizations working in the region, ALLMEP puts into practice the idea that "the peacebuilding field can be more than just the sum of its parts." Read more here: https://lnkd.in/dzbDdjiU

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There are two strategies towards international missions: 1) Sending missionaries/global workers to an area 2) Supporting local churches in an area Many focus on one or the other, but when it comes to the 10/40 window (which runs across north Africa, the Middle East, and much of Asia) it really needs to be a both/and. With 3.2 billion people living in areas with little to no access to the Gospel, we need to be sending and supporting. Sending allows the church to parachute the Gospel into areas where there may not be any known believers. And supporting local churches in these areas eliminates the cultural, language, and sustainability challenges that many who are sent face. I'm thankful for the vision and mission of Radical. Radical's Training Center is focused on helping churches send and send well, and our Global Investment team is focused on helping churches use their resources to support biblically faithful and practically effective work among unreached people groups. If I can help your church in either of these areas please reach out. We are here to serve you and your church as you live on mission among your neighborhoods and among the nations. #radical #missions #church

https://lnkd.in/e5wkNPXG Sometimes a successful journey in life is patience and consistency.

Last month, Glasswing attended the Central America Donors Forum #CADF2023 in San José, Costa Rica, the main gathering place for civil society, philanthropy, government, and the business sectors to discuss priority issues and build alliances to foster development in Central America. Our Regional Program Director, Florencia Garcia de Cerdas, participated and spoke on the panel “Addressing the Root Causes of Migration and Fragility in Central America ” along with fellow speakers from the Migration Policy Institute, International Organization for Migration IOM-UN, and the USAID Venezuela Response and Integration Activity. Together, they reflected on the growing body of evidence that shows fragility and instability in the region are preventing Central Americans from unleashing their potential and that these challenges at home fuel irregular migration worldwide. The CADF discussed viable pathways to resiliency at home and in host communities throughout Central America to enable effective migrant (re)integration, and to build on the comprehensive framework for migrant-centered responses to fragility and stability laid out in the U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Root Causes of Irregular Migration. #WorldDevelopment #Migration #Resilience #CommunityDevelopment #philanthropy #InternationalDevelopment #GlasswingInternational