We are excited to invite you to join us for another installment of Nonviolence International’s webinar series - We Are All Part of One Another.

The Crisis of Apartheid: Report Back from Palestine

Tuesday, March 28th from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm ET 

In 2023 Israeli apartheid is intensifying. While Palestinians remain steadfast on their land, the new far right government is outright encouraging settlers to violently attack Palestinians and giving the green light to Occupation forces to carry out explicit ethnic cleansing policies. As more and more people around the world turn their attention to Palestine and demand accountability for apartheid, we will gather for a report back from two Palestinian experts on nonviolence and conflict resolution about their recent experiences on the ground.

If possible please review one of our experts, Jonathan Kuttab's recent, moving travel blog posts before joining us. If you haven’t yet read his visionary and important short book, Beyond the Two State Solution, please consider doing so. It is available for free on our site in Arabic, Hebrew, and English. If you want a print copy, we urge you to support this wonderful DC area book store. If you don’t have time to read the book, please read the Executive Summary or watch this under 5 minute video where Jonathan speaks to NVI interns about why he wrote this book at this time. 

Our Experts

Jonathan Kuttab is co-founder of Nonviolence International, the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq, and Just Peace Advocates. A well-known international human rights attorney, he has practiced in the US, Palestine, and Israel. He serves as the Executive Director of Friends of Sabeel North America, and as a board member of Nonviolence International and Just Peace Advocates. He was the head of the Legal Committee negotiating the Cairo Agreement of 1994 between Israel and the PLO. Jonathan is the author of Beyond the Two State Solution, which articulates a vision of a binational state that challenges both Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism. This book invites readers to begin a new conversation based on reality: how will two peoples live together in some sort of unified state?

Mohammed Abu Nimer is an internationally renowned expert on conflict resolution and dialogue for peace. He serves as a professor of International Peace and Conflict Resolution at the American University School of International Service, and as a Senior Advisor to the KAICIID Dialogue Centre, an international organization that specializes in interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Mohammed is also a member of NVI's Board of Directors. Prof. Abu-Nimer's research has focused on a wide array of topics in peacebuilding and conflict resolution and has been both author and editor of more than 13 books on faith-based and interfaith peace-building. His more recent areas of focus have included faith-based peacebuilding, interfaith dialogue in peacebuilding and building social cohesion, and pedagogical considerations on incorporating peace and forgiveness education in the Arab world.

Host

Tess Greenwood joined NVI’s staff in August 2022 as the Office and Intern Manager. Tess is a community organizer with a background in youth leadership development and anti-Occupation activism. She holds a BA in Labor Studies from Hampshire College. When she's not working with NVI, Tess organizes with IfNotNow, the movement of American Jews organizing their community to end U.S. support for Israeli Apartheid.

Sponsored by Nonviolence International (NVI).

Cosponsored by Friends of Sabeel North America (FOSNA),  the Fellowship of Reconciliation, and Just Peace Advocates.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders.

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series—please sign up to hear about our next webinar.

We are excited to invite you to join us for another installment of Nonviolence International’s webinar series - We Are All Part of One Another.

On Thursday, January 13th from 11:00 am - 12:30 pm ET (4:00 pm - 5:30 pm UTC) we will hold a discussion on...

 The Two-State Solution is Dead - Now What?

The two-state solution is no longer viable. What is our path forward? Beyond The Two-State Solution, by Jonathan Kuttab, articulates a vision of a one-state solution that challenges both Zionism and Palestinian Nationalism. This book invites readers to begin a new conversation based on reality: two peoples will need to live together in some sort of unified state. In this interactive webinar, Jonathan continues this conversation, engaging in a discussion with renowned activists and academics about the necessity of a one-state solution. Panelists included Jeff Halper, Huwaida Arraf, and Noura Erakat. Hosted by Jonathan Kuttab. 

Panelists:

Jonathan Kuttab is co-founder of Nonviolence International and a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq. A well-known international human rights attorney, he has practiced in the US, Palestine, and Israel. He serves on the Board of Bethlehem Bible College and is President of the Board of Holy Land Trust. He is co-founder and board member of the Just Peace Advocates. He was the head of the Legal Committee negotiating the Cairo Agreement of 1994 between Israel and the PLO.

Jeff Halper is an Israeli anthropologist. He serves as the Director of the Israeli Committee Against House Demolitions in Jerusalem and is a founding member of the One Democratic State Campaign. Jeff is the author of An Israeli in Palestine (London: Pluto Press, 2008) on his work against the Occupation; Obstacles to Peace (ICAHD’s manual for activism in Palestine/Israel); and War Against the People: Israel, the Palestinians and Global Pacification (Pluto, 2015), which was shortlisted for the Palestine Book Award. His latest book is Decolonizing Israel, Liberating Palestine: Zionism, Settler Colonialism and the Case for One Democratic State (London: Pluto, 2021). 

Noura Erakat is a human rights attorney and associate professor at Rutgers University, New Brunswick. She has served as legal counsel to the U.S. House of Representatives and as a legal advocate for Palestinian refugee rights at the United Nations. Noura's research interests include human rights and humanitarian, refugee, and national security law. She is a frequent commentator, with recent appearances on CBS News, CNN, Fox News, and NPR, among others, and her writings have been widely published in the national media and academic journals.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders.

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

We are excited to invite you to join us for another installment of Nonviolence International’s webinar series - We Are All Part of One Another.

On Wednesday, March 10th from 10:00 am - 11:30 am EST  we will hold a discussion on...

 "Resisting Occupation: Connecting Palestine and Western Sahara"

This webinar is historic. This is one of the first times that we can hear Palestinian and Sahrawi voices share their experience of nonviolent resistance to occupation in Palestine and Western Sahara on the same panel. Israel and Morocco are in contravention of the UN charter through their military occupation and annexation of neighboring territories. Our Palestinian speakers, Mubarak Awad and Jonathan Kuttab have travelled to the Western Sahara and will speak about/on the parallels between the two occupations. Kuttab, a renowned international lawyer will also talk about the illegality of occupations and annexations and how these are a threat to world peace. Salka Marco will speak about Sahrawi resistance to Moroccan occupation and human rights abuses. Kamal will speak to the need for solidarity with Palestinians and Sahrawis and how support for occupations and violation of human rights is damaging to the people of Morocco. Stephen Zunes will provide an academic perspective outlining the similarities and connections between these two conflicts including the US government’s recognition of the Moroccan annexation in return for Morocco recognizing Israel.

Panelists:

Kamal Lfahssi is from Morocco and was born in 1971 in Morocco. He graduated from college in 1993 with a bachelor's degree in biology. At the same time, he became a leader among the National Union of the Students of Morocco. After graduating, Mr. Lfahssi joined human rights activities and became the president of a local organization, the National Association of the Unemployed University Graduate in Morocco; later was arrested in 1999 for his role as a president and sentenced to 6 months in prison. 2000 Mr. Lfahssi left Morocco to the United States and continued his education later and graduated from the Grove School of Engineering in New York City as environmental engineering. Currently, He is a Field utility Engineer and safety specialist of natural gas pipeline for a government agency in New York. Mr. Lfahssi is among many Moroccans who stands with the Saharawis in their plight of self-determination and a supporter of promoting human rights issues in Western Sahara and Morocco.

Salka Barca is a nonviolence struggle advocate Born in Laayoune, the capital city of Western Sahara. She lived the first years of her childhood in the refugee camps, southwest Algeria. Obtained education in Tripoli, Libya and then Algeria. Barca was a literacy teacher in refugee camps. Furthermore, she was a member of the Saharawi women union. Ms. Barca was the first Woman to advocate for Western Sahara nationally on immigration status in the United States. Worked with several organizations as an outreach for the Saharawi Cause, such as American Friends Service Committee and Sahara Fund; Ms. Barca is a linguist and a legal and medical interpreter/translator; an advocate for domestic-violence prevention. She translated (50 crucial points for nonviolence struggle). Visited the occupied territories after 43 years in exile but was under surveillance of the Moroccan police. co-founder of Karama Sahara, the first Non-governmental organization to include Moroccan human rights activists as honorary members.

Stephen Zunes is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he served as founding director of the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Zunes serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun. He is the author of hundreds of articles for scholarly and general readership on Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, nonviolent action, and human rights. He is the principal editor of Nonviolent Social Movements (Blackwell Publishers, 1999), the author of the Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism (Common Courage Press, 2003) and co-author (with Jacob Mundy) of Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution (Syracuse University Press, 2010).

Mubarak Awad is a co-founder of Nonviolence International, an organization which promotes nonviolence worldwide. He was a leader in the 1st intifada in Palestine before he was deported by Israel to the United States. He visited Western Sahara in 2015 where he provided training in nonviolent struggle. He has a PhD in psychology, and also is the founder of a number of organizations that have focused on advocating and providing support for troubled and orphaned youth.

Jonathan Kuttab is a co-founder of Nonviolence International. Kuttab is a well-known international human rights attorney who is a member of the bar in Israel, Palestine, and the United States. He is the author of Beyond the Two-State Solution and many other publications. He is also a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq and is President of the Board of Bethlehem Bible College. He has travelled to the occupied Western Sahara twice to provide training in human rights law and in nonviolent action.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our new webinar series a regular part of your week. Each week you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days. 

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

We are excited to invite you to join us for Nonviolence International’s webinar series - 

We Are All Part of One Another.

Jonathan Kuttab’s Booklet Launch - Beyond The Two-State Solution

https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/beyond2states

Wednesday, December 16th 11:00 am EST  

We are just starting to roll out the short book, Beyond The Two-State Solution, by Jonathan Kuttab, and already we are thrilled with the overwhelmingly positive response we are getting. These days many of us are looking for hope in hard times. Jonathan gives us just that. Share the inspiration for a new and better world by participating in this event.

PANELISTS:

Jonathan Kuttab is co-founder of Nonviolence International and a co-founder of the Palestinian human rights group Al-Haq. A well-known international human rights attorney, he has practiced in the US, Palestine, and Israel. He serves on the Board of Bethlehem Bible College and is President of the Board of Holy Land Trust. He is co-founder and board member of the Just Peace Advocates. He was the head of the Legal Committee negotiating the Cairo Agreement of 1994 between Israel and the PLO.

Azmera Hammouri-Davis is a Black-Palestinian professional poet, speaker, prayer warrior, educator and producer from Keaau, Hawaii with a Master of Theological Studies from Harvard University. She prays, performs, teaches and collaborates alongside faith-based activists, creatives and grassroots organizers across the world to #breaktheboxes of domination and oppression. In 2019, Harvard's Religion and Public Life program sponsored her to promote cultural identity and english literacy in Ramallah, Palestine where she connected with her Hammouri family in Al Quds and Al Khalil. She currently is the lead facilitator for a growing network of Black Christians for Palestine through Friends of Sabeel North America Palestinian Ecumenical Organization, a Teaching Fellow at Harvard Graduate School of Education, Africana Spirituality Advisor at Tufts University Chaplaincy, and founder of Break The Boxes Incorporated

Robert Herbst is a human rights lawyer in New York City and a member of the Westchester, New York chapter of Jewish Voice for Peace. He has been speaking and writing on Israel-Palestine since Operation Protective Edge in Gaza in 2014. Before moving to Westchester, Bob served on the Board and Executive Committee of Congregation Bnai Jeshurun on Manhattan’s Upper West Side, and as Chair of its Social Action Committee.

Rabbi Lynn Gottlieb, one of the first women to become a rabbi in Jewish history, is a “visionary” Jewish educator, feminist, community organizer, peace activist, writer, klezmer dancer, percussionist, visual and ceremonial artist, and master storyteller. She writes on the cover of Jonathan’s book, “some are trapped by the past. This book opens the gate to the future.

HOST:

David Hart is Nonviolence International’s Co-Director. David is an experienced progressive movement leader, conflict resolution practitioner, and nonprofit manager. He was the Chief Executive Officer of the Association for Conflict Resolution and Director of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) Mediation Program at the Key Bridge Foundation. David has served as Executive Director of local, state, and national nonprofit organizations, including Veterans for Peace.

For those interested, here is his recent piece on this topic: https://www.nonviolenceinternational.net/annexation_looms

Do you already know you want to help promote this booklet. If so, you can fill out this quick form to let us know how you want to help.

Do you know people who might be interested in this exciting new approach? If so, please invite them. We will need a substantial team to change the conversation.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world. We celebrate the visionary work of these passionate leaders and look forward to sharing the inspiration with all of you.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our new webinar series a regular part of your schedule. Each time you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days. 

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

Democracy Defense II: Global Activists’ Advice for US Transition

November 18 from 12:00 pm - 1:30 pm EDT (17:00-18:30 GMT) 

Co-Hosted By Nonviolence International & Beautiful Trouble

Co-Sponsored by O/R Books, Haymarket Books, and BlackOUT

Join us for an interactive webinar featuring international activists sharing critical lessons and advice for organizing after election wins ousting authoritarian leaders in divided societies. 

Presenters from around the world include:

• Rafif Jouejati (Syria) as moderator, 
• Shunleiyi Thinzar (Myanmar), 
• Muhammed Bah (Gambia), 
• Ivan Marovic (Serbia)
• Patricio Zamorano (Chile)

This is offered as part of Nonviolence International's ongoing Wednesday webinar series: We Are All Part of One Another.

PANELISTS

Ms Thinzar Shunlei Yi is a youth advocate and activist based in Yangon. She is highly passionate about democracy and human rights, youth engagement and local governance. Over 2012-16, Thinzar co-organised and led nation-wide and regional youth forums in Myanmar, as well as the National Youth Development Policy process. The first woman coordinator of National Youth Congress (NYC) and a two-term president of Yangon Youth Network, Thinzar is currently an advocacy lead at Asian Youth Peace Network (AYPN). She also works with Action Committee for Democracy Development (ACDD) as an Advocacy Coordinator. Thinzar received the US State Department’s “Emerging Young Leaders Award” in 2016, and the "Women of the Future South East Asia" award in 2019. She also sits on advisory boards of Plan International Myanmar, Women Voice and Leadership Program, Purple Feminists Group, and is one of the Obama Foundation’s inaugural selected #ObamaLeaders for Asia Pacific. She co-founded the "Under 30 Dialogue" TV show with Mizzima TV, and serves as the show’s weekly host, discussing political issues with prominent youth leaders.

Muhammed Bah (MS) Assistant Editor Foroyaa Newspaper a Human Right independent newspaper. He is an Award Winning Journalist and Board Member of  Activista-The Gambia. National Coordinator Hopes of Tomorrow (HOT) a youth led movement that educates and advocates for youth and women political participation and Human and civil right advocacy. He is the 2nd Vice President Young Journalist Association-The Gambia (YJAG). He was a key coordinator on the Gambia Has Decided movement that defended the will of the people in 2016 when the former president refused to concede defeat after the elections.

Ivan Marovic is an organizer, software developer and social innovator from Belgrade, Serbia. He was a student organizer and one of the leaders of Otpor, a resistance movement which played a critical role in the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. After a brief time in politics, it was time to grow up and move to more serious things, so Ivan started developing video games like A Force More Powerful and People Power, and platforms for local organizing like Moba. He successfully stayed out of politics for two decades, the time he spent advising activists and organizers around the world on strategies for citizen self organizing and movement building. Ivan holds a BSC in Process Engineering from Belgrade University and MA in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Patricio Zamorano is an academic, political scientist, journalist, and television and radio commentator on United States foreign and domestic policy. He is an experienced international consultant in academic development and political affairs, democracy, governance, and hemispheric relations between Latin America and the United States. He is also a specialist in strategic communication, social media management, and online content development. He has experience as an adjunct professor, speaker, and consultant at various universities and institutions in the Americas

HOST:

Rafif Jouejati is an incoming board member of Nonviolence International. She is the co-founder and director of the Foundation to Restore Equality and Education in Syria (FREE Syria), and the principal architect of the Syrian Freedom Charter project, which surveyed more than 50,000 Syrians on democratic aspirations and political transition. She is also a founding member of the Syrian Women’s Political Network, a member of the Board of Directors of The Day After, and President of the Board of Directors of Baytna. Rafif is the CEO of a company that helps client organizations evolve to higher levels of capacity and maturity through business development, targeted training, and strategic communication. 

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world. We celebrate the visionary work of these passionate leaders and look forward to sharing the inspiration with all of you.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our new webinar series a regular part of your schedule. Each episode you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days. 

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

Join Nonviolence International, Beautiful Trouble, BlackOUT Collective, and OR Books for a webinar on:

"Democracy Defense: Advice from Activists Around the World."

Tuesday, October 6, 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm EDT (16:00-18:00 GMT)

This interactive webinar will feature presentations by scholars and activists who took part in people power defense of democracy and elections. Speakers include:

• Philippine professor and activist Joaquin Gonzalez
• Serbian professor and nonviolent organizer Ivan Marovic
• Gambian organizer and activist Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan
• American professor and author Stephen Zunes
• Brazilian organizer and activist Joana Varon
• Our host will be author and activist Maria J. Stephan

Is U.S. democracy staring at its own grave? Might we need to protect election results against a militarized, white supremacist effort to stop a full vote count? Are Americans up against something unlike anything they’ve experienced in our lifetime? If you answered “yes” to any of the above questions, you’ll certainly understand why we’ve organized a panel of global anti-coup experts to advise Americans on their strategy for the months or years ahead. And we want you to be a part of it. We invite you to join us on a public 2-hour Zoom call moderated panel and discussion that can help us strategize about the very real threats that feel new for so many Americans, but are all too familiar for those who have resisted dictators before.

PANELISTS:

Joaquin Gonzalez (Philippines/USA) is the Mayor George Christopher Professor of Public Administration at Golden Gate University in California. Prior to immigrating to the United States, Dr. Gonzalez was a street activist in the 1986 People Power Revolution which peacefully removed a long-time Philippine authoritarian ruler. He started out as a volunteer with the non-partisan National Movement for a Free Elections (NAMFREL) tasked to ensure that votes were properly cast and counted.

Ivan Marovic (Serbia) is an organizer, software developer and social innovator from Belgrade, Serbia. He was a student organizer and one of the leaders of Otpor, a resistance movement which played a critical role in the downfall of Slobodan Milosevic in 2000. After a brief time in politics, it was time to grow up and move to more serious things, so Ivan started developing video games like A Force More Powerful and People Power, and platforms for local organizing like Moba. He successfully stayed out of politics for two decades, the time he spent advising activists and organizers around the world on strategies for citizen self organizing and movement building. Ivan holds a BSC in Process Engineering from Belgrade University and MA in international relations from the Fletcher School at Tufts University.

Stephen Zunes (USA) is a Professor of Politics and International Studies at the University of San Francisco, where he served as founding director of the program in Middle Eastern Studies. Zunes serves as a senior policy analyst for Foreign Policy in Focus project of the Institute for Policy Studies, an associate editor of Peace Review, and a contributing editor of Tikkun.

He is the author of hundreds of articles for scholarly and general readership on Middle Eastern politics, U.S. foreign policy, nonviolent action, and human rights. He is the principal editor of Nonviolent Social Movements (Blackwell Publishers, 1999), the author of the Tinderbox: U.S. Middle East Policy and the Roots of Terrorism (Common Courage Press, 2003) and co-author (with Jacob Mundy) of Western Sahara: War, Nationalism and Conflict Irresolution (Syracuse University Press, 2010).

Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan (Gambia) is an award winning Pan African Advocate of the year 2018 and was named as 100 most influential young people leaders in Africa in 2019. As a human rights activist he organized widespread protests to get long Gambia dictator Yaya Jammeh to step down. Muhammed Lamin the Movement Coordinators of Africans Rising for Justice, Peace and Dignity. A Pan African grassroots Movement of the people and organizations working to foster an Africa-wide solidarity and unity of purpose of the Peoples of Africa to build the Future we want – a right to peace, social inclusion and shared prosperity. Muhammed Lamin Saidykhan is a Gambian with a back ground on community organizing, youth and women development, campaigns for social change, policy advocacy, movement building and none violence activism.

Joana Varon (Brazil) Executive Directress and Creative Chaos Catalyst at Coding Rights, a women-run organization working to expose and redress the power imbalances built into technology and its application, particularly those that reinforce gender and North/South inequalities. Technology and Human Rights Fellow at the Carr Center for Human Rights Policy from Harvard Kennedy School and affiliated to the Berkman Klein Center for Internet and Society at Harvard University. Former Mozilla Media Fellow, she is co-creator of several creative projects operating in the interplay between activism, arts and technologies, such as transfeministech.org, chupadados.com, #safersisters, Safer Nudes, protestos.org, Net of Rights and freenetfilm.org.

Host and Contributor:

Maria J. Stephan's (USA) career has bridged the academic, policy, and non-profit sectors, with a focus on the role of civil resistance and nonviolent movements in advancing human rights, democratic freedoms, and sustainable peace globally. Stephan is the co-author (with Erica Chenoweth) of Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict, which was awarded the 2012 Woodrow Wilson Foundation Prize by the American Political Science Association for the best book published in political science, and the 2013 Grawemeyer Award for Ideas Improving World Order. She is the co-author of Bolstering Democracy: Lessons Learned and the Path Forward (Atlantic Council, 2018); the co-editor of Is Authoritarianism Staging a Comeback? (Atlantic Council, 2015); and the editor of Civilian Jihad: Nonviolent Struggle, Democratization and Governance in the Middle East (Palgrave, 2009). Stephan, a native Vermonter, received her PhD from the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy and is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.

PARTNERS:

Beautiful Trouble exists to make nonviolent revolution irresistible by providing an ever-growing suite of strategic tools and trainings that inspire movements for a more just, healthy, and equitable world.

BlackOUT Collective is a radical full service direct action organization. We build organizations’ capacity to execute creative and effective direct actions in service of their organizing and advocacy work. We do this through providing personalized direct action trainings and on the ground action support. We see ourselves as a “Liberation Lab”- a container for experimentation, deep space visioning and learning.

OR Books is a new type of publishing company. It embraces progressive change in politics, culture and the way we do business.

This webinar is part of NVI's series - We Are All Part of One Another. The purpose of the webinar is to educate the world about nonviolent activism and its utility in defending democracy. Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International educates, inspires, and builds a strong community as we work for a better world. We celebrate the visionary work of these passionate leaders and look forward to sharing the inspiration with all of you.

We will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our webinar series a regular part of your schedule. Each episode you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days.

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

We are excited to invite you to join us for another installment of Nonviolence International’s Wednesday webinar series We Are All Part of One Another.

On August 12th from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT (1430-1600 GMT) we will hold a discussion on...

 "Nonviolent Activism in the Islamic World in a Time of Islamophobia"

This interactive webinar features presentations by scholars and activists who have dedicated their life's work to promote human rights and justice in various parts of the Islamic world. Speakers are Thai professor and activist Chaiwat Satha-Anand, Sudanese social justice activist, researcher, and feminist Hala Al-Karib, and Kashmiri writer-activist Mushtaq Ul-Haq Ahmad Sikandar, Lebanese-American scholar and former Director of NVI's Islam and Peace program, Karim Crow. Our host will be Nonviolence International board member and American University professor Mohammed Abu-Nimer.

PANELISTS:

Chaiwat Satha-Anand was born in Bangkok, Thailand in 1955. He holds a Ph.D. in political science from the University of Hawaii at Manoa, is a professor of political science at Thammasat University, Bangkok, and director of the Thai Peace Information Centre, which conducts studies and activism in relation to the Thai military and social issues. He is an expert on nonviolence theory as well as activism, and on Islam. Chaiwat has published numerous articles and book chapters on the military, alternative defense, religion and peace, Islam and nonviolence, and modern political philosophy. For several years he directed the International Peace Research Association’s (IPRA) commission on nonviolence and he serves at the Scientific Committee of the International University for Peoples’ Initiative for Peace, IUPIP, in Rovereto Italy.

Hala Al-Karib is a Sudanese social justice activist, research practitioner, and full-time feminist, who has intensively and comprehensively worked in the Horn of Africa region. Currently, she is the Regional Director of the Strategic Initiative for Women in the Horn of Africa (SIHA Network), and the Editorial Head of “Women in Islam” Journal. Hala's experience extends more than 20 years with a major interest in women and girl's rights, displaced, refugee and migrant groups, and minorities. She started her career as a researcher in different institutions in South Sudan and Egypt. She later joined institutions like the World Food Programme, World University Services, Accord International, Goal Ireland, and Concern International. As well as being a former board member of the Open Society Initiative for East Africa (OSIEA) and chairperson of Sudan Democracy First, she is currently a board member of Musawah Global Movement. Hala has also published a number of articles in Al Jazeera and Open Democracy, with extensive engagement training and facilitating different workshops, as well as occupying regional and international panels advocating for equality and social justice issues.

Mushtaq Ul-Haq Ahmad Sikandar is a writer-activist based in Srinagar, Kashmir, and has completed his Masters in Political Science from Kashmir University. His interests span a wide range of issues from writing to activism. His write-ups and book reviews appear regularly in various newspapers, magazines, journals, and websites. Mushtaq is frequently invited to present academic papers on issues related to religion, politics, terrorism, conflict resolution, feminism, and Islamic revivalist movements. He actively participates in inter/intra-faith, ethnic, and regional dialogues. He has also penned down numerous poems and short stories. Mushtaq is also an activist and volunteers with various humanitarian organizations working in the Kashmir Valley as he believes that writing alone doesn’t work unless corroborated by activism.

Karim Crow, a Lebanese-American scholar and former director of the NVI's Islam and Peace Program.  Crow’s research focuses primarily on psycho-spiritual functions of faith, ethical and metaphysical topics, and Islamic Peace studies. When at Nonviolence International he traveled the world organizing conferences on Islamic peace studies. Crow has publications in two edited volumes, as well as thirty-five published articles including, Islam and Reason, Islam-Image and Realities, and Peaceful Striving and Combative Struggle.

HOST:

Mohammed Abu-Nimer is Palestinian-American and was born in Israel. He serves on the Board of Directors for Nonviolence International. He is a professor at American University. He is an expert on conflict resolution, and dialogue for peace. While his research has focused on a wide array of areas in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, his most recent areas of focus have included faith-based peacebuilding, interfaith dialogue in peacebuilding and building social cohesion, and pedagogical considerations on incorporating peace and forgiveness education in the Arab world. He is also the action Senior Advisor to the KAICIID Dialogue Centre, an international organization that specializes in interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Prof. Abu-Nimer has been both author and an editor of more than 13 books on faith-based and interfaith peace-building (e.g. Nonviolence and Peacebuilding in Islamic Context: Bridging Ideals and Reality (2003); Peace-Building By, Between and Beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians (2009)), as well as interfaith dialogue and its role in peacebuilding and reconciliation (e.g. Unity in Diversity: Interfaith Dialogue in the Middle East (2007); Dialogue Conflict Resolution and Change: Arab-Jewish Encounters in Israel (1999)). Abu-Nimer's newest volume, Faith-Based Peacebuilding: Challenges of Practice, jointly edited with Michele Garred was scheduled for release in 2017.

In a time of substantial Islamaphobia across the world, Nonviolence International will host experts in the field of Islam and nonviolent activism. They will discuss the rich diversity of nonviolent resistance and activism in Thailand, Kashmir, Sudan, Palestine, and other Muslim states and communities. We hope that people will learn about the exciting range of nonviolent activism happening today and explore ways to support and raise up these efforts.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world. We celebrate the visionary work of these passionate leaders and look forward to sharing the inspiration with all of you.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our new webinar series a regular part of your schedule. Each episode you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days. 

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

We are excited to invite you to join us for another installment of Nonviolence International’s Wednesday webinar series We Are All Part of One Another.

On July 1st from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT (14:30-16:00 GMT) we will hold a discussion on...

 "People Power and Democracy in Sudan"

This interactive webinar is scheduled to feature presentations by Sudanese and Sudanese-American leaders who have been involved in the successful grassroots revolution Sudan experienced during the winter/spring of 2019 as well as the country's continued democratic transition. Speakers are Anthony A. Haggar from the Haggar Group, Sudanese civil society activist Asma Ismail Ahmed, Sudanese-American journalist and human rights activist Jalelah Sophia Ahmed, and progressive leader US Representative Pramila Jayapal. Our host will be Michael Beer, Executive Director of Nonviolence International.

PANELISTS:

Pramila Jayapal is a US Representative and has been a long time US leader highlighting the importance of human rights, democracy and peace in Sudan. She currently is working to de-list Sudan from the US government designation of Sudan as a state sponsor of terrorism and to increase US diplomatic and economic support for the transition government.

Anthony A. Haggar is a Sudanese professional who is currently the CEO of the Haggar Group. He holds a Bachelor of Science in Business Administration from Georgetown University (Washington) and diplomas from INSEAD (Fontainebleau). He has played an important role in transitioning the family business to its present hybrid form, blending the people and social focus of a family business with the best practices and discipline of a successful multinational company.

Asma Ismail Ahmed is a Sudanese civil society activist. Asma's activism and professional work have been focused on promoting democratic governance and the rule of law. She worked on a number of civil society campaigns and initiatives focusing on issues related to enhancing the participation of civil society in political and peace processes, electoral and constitution-making processes, peacebuilding, as well as youth development and political participation.

Jalelah Sophia Ahmed is a proud Sudanese American journalist and human rights activist. She is a recent graduate of the Penn State School of International Affairs. Her concentration is in East African Affairs Conflict Resolution and Development. She has over ten years of experience as a journalist and has worked at Fox News in Houston, Texas, Al Jazeera America in New York City as a weather anchor, McClatchy Tribune, and AccuWeather. She completed her undergraduate studies from the Pennsylvania State University in 2011, with two degrees, her first in International Relations and her second in Broadcast Journalism. Jalelah has appeared on Fox News, CBS News, NBC News, AccuWeather, NFL Network, and many other American and international television programs. She is an empathetic, culturally fluent writer and savvy digital media professional. She has traveled to over 55 countries and plans on visiting the rest when she has time. She can play the piano and violin and has two small dogs named after characters from The Godfather, Sonny Corleone, and Luca Brasi. She’s most passionate about the reproductive rights of women as well as accessibility and acceptance of the LGBTQ community. Her pronouns are she, her and hers.

HOST:

Michael Beer has been the Executive Director of Nonviolence International since 1998. Michael is a global activist for human rights, minority rights, and argues against war and casino capitalism.  He has trained activists in many countries, including Myanmar, Kosovo, Tibet, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Zimbabwe, and the United States. He is a frequent public speaker on nonviolence and has been broadcast on CSPAN, CNN, and other major media outlets. Michael is the co-parent of two children with his life partner, Latanja.

One year after the successful overthrow of the thirty-year-old Omar al-Bashir dictatorship, Nonviolence International will host Sudanese and Sudanese-American leaders in a discussion about the country's nonviolent revolution and the current situation facing the Sudanese people and their government. Sudanese professionals, civil society activists, and journalists will share their hopes and plans for Sudan's future and articulate ways in which the international community, and specifically the USA, can help.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world. We celebrate the visionary work of these passionate leaders and look forward to sharing the inspiration with all of you.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our new webinar series a regular part of your schedule. Each episode you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days. 

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

We are excited to invite you to join us for another installment of Nonviolence International’s Wednesday webinar series We Are All Part of One Another.

On June 3rd from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT (14:30-16:00 GMT) we will hold a discussion on...

 "Co-Resistance and Solidarity with Palestinians"

This interactive webinar is scheduled to feature presentations by leaders of Holy Land Trust (HLT) from Bethlehem and from the Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV). Our host will be Mohammed Abu-Nimer, leading conflict resolution specialist and new NVI Board member. Speakers are Elias D'eis and Said Durzi Zarar from HLT and Scout Bratt from CJNV.

Panelists:

Elias D'eis was born into a Christian family with a long history of nonviolent resistance in Beit Sahour. Elias D'eis’s life was shaped during the First Intifada, watching his father and his community find the path towards justice through peaceful resistance. It was through his Christian upbringing, holding onto Jesus’s sacred words of “loving thy neighbor,” that led Elias into a life journey of engaging his community in transformation. Through this challenge, he staked out a path of education that would lead him directly into the middle of peacemaking, seeking a deeper understanding of the nature of the violence, the historical roots, and how generational trauma contributes to cycles of unrest and bloodshed.  Joining Holy Land Trust in 2007 as a travel coordinator, Elias has grown the Travel & Encounter program of Holy Land Trust. His department now facilitates tours and educational packages to some 1,500 peacemakers and sojourners a year. Elias recently got promoted to be the Executive Director of Holy Land Trust since July 2019. On top of his full-time job, his quest to change the communities around him has led him into an array of leadership positions across the Bethlehem Governorate. Elias is the Chairman of the board of Al Ghad Al Jadid (New Generation) Organization in Beit Sahour, and was recently elected to the Beit Sahour City Council - one of the youngest members in the history of the council. While on the board, he manages the tourism portfolio, engaging in international relations and community development projects and has been a critical representative to Japan, Turkey, and Lithuania. Elias's lived experience, growing up during the Second Intifada, challenged himself and others to find alternative modes to violence within a Christian framework, and the path it has led him down serves as a remarkable story for every Christian and peacemaker.

Said Durzi Zarar is the Creative Manager of Holy Land Trust, organizing the event planning for Bet Lahem Live, as well as the lead coordinator for the Travel & Encounter Department. He began his work for Holy Land Trust in August 2012. As a theater actor, director and playwright, Said became the artistic director for the annual Bet Lahem Live Festival, working with the logistics of the Travel and Encounter program, and coordinating all other events hosted by Holy Land Trust. Said graduated from Bethlehem University with a Bachelor's degree in Literature and Translation in 2010 but his real passion is networking and communications. At Holy Land Trust, and as a certified Travel Expert, Said builds itineraries for our incoming delegations, joining in the daily trips as well as building relationships and friendships.

Scout Bratt serves as the Operations Manager for the Center for Jewish Nonviolence (CJNV). Scout has worked as the Outreach & Education Director at Chicago Women’s Health Center (CWHC), providing body-positive, queer-inclusive, gender-expansive comprehensive sexual health education in schools and organizations across the city. Scout has also led CWHC’s training and consultation for area partners seeking to create safer, more inclusive spaces for people of all gender identities and expressions. Scout holds a Master of Education in Youth Development from the University of Illinois at Chicago.

Mohammed Abu-Nimer is Palestinian-American and was born in Israel. He serves on the Board of Directors for Nonviolence International. He is a professor at American University. He is an expert on conflict resolution, and dialogue for peace. While his research has focused on a wide array of areas in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, his most recent areas of focus have included faith-based peacebuilding, interfaith dialogue in peacebuilding and building social cohesion, and pedagogical considerations on incorporating peace and forgiveness education in the Arab world. He is also the action Senior Advisor to the KAICIID Dialogue Centre, an international organization that specializes in interreligious and intercultural dialogue. Prof. Abu-Nimer has been both author and an editor of more than 13 books on faith-based and interfaith peace-building (e.g. Nonviolence and Peacebuilding in Islamic Context: Bridging Ideals and Reality (2003); Peace-Building By, Between and Beyond Muslims and Evangelical Christians (2009)), as well as interfaith dialogue and its role in peacebuilding and reconciliation (e.g. Unity in Diversity: Interfaith Dialogue in the Middle East (2007); Dialogue Conflict Resolution and Change: Arab-Jewish Encounters in Israel (1999)). Abu-Nimer's newest volume, Faith-Based Peacebuilding: Challenges of Practice, jointly edited with Michele Garred was scheduled for release in 2017.

Our impressive partners, HLT and CNJV, are leading the way to a model of grassroots co-resistance and solidarity that has the power to transform our beautiful and broken world. We celebrate their visionary work and look forward to sharing the inspiration with all of you.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our new webinar series a regular part of your week. Each week you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days. 

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.

We are excited to invite you to join us for another installment of Nonviolence International’s Wednesday webinar series We Are All Part of One Another.

On May 6th from 10:30 am - 12:00 pm EDT (14:30-16:00 GMT) we will hold a discussion on...

 "Nonviolent Resistance to Nuclear Weapons and War"

This interactive webinar is scheduled to feature presentations by plowshare activists, Patrick O’Neill and Martha Hennessy, who are both facing additional prison time for their disarmament action at the Kingsbay Submarine Base; Alyn Ware of Abolition2000 and winner of the 2009 Right Livelihood Award, and Mani Shankar Aiyar, a former Indian parliamentarian and diplomat, and Divina Maloum, the co-winner of the 2019 International Children Peace Prize.

Panelists:

Patrick O'Neill, A journalist for almost 40 years. Enjoys writing about religion, track and field/running, and politics. Co-founded the Fr. Charlie Mulholland Catholic Worker House in Garner, NC in 1991. Hitchhiker and dumpster diver extraordinaire. Served significant prison time for NV protests. Sentencing for his participation in the Kingsbay Plowshare NV action scheduled for late May.

Martha Hennessy seventh grandchild of Dorothy Day divides her time between the family farm in Vermont and practicing the works of mercy at Maryhouse Catholic Worker in New York City. She is 64, a retired occupational therapist, and a grandmother of eight. She has been imprisoned protesting war and nuclear power/weapons, the use of drones, and the torture of prisoners in Guantanamo. She has traveled to Russia, Egypt, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Korea, and Palestine to understand the effects of United States military policy and war in other countries. Martha travels and speaks on the topics of life and work in the community, Catholic Social Teaching, nuclear abolition, and peacemaking efforts in the tradition of the Catholic Worker movement.

Alyn Ware is a New Zealand peace educator and campaigner in the areas of peace, non-violence, nuclear abolition, international law, women's rights, children's rights, and the environment. He has served as the Global Coordinator for Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament since it was founded in 2002. His previous positions include Director of Aotearoa Lawyers for Peace, Executive Director of the Lawyers Committee on Nuclear Policy (USA), Director of the Peace Foundation Schools Outreach Programme for the UN Decade for a Culture of Peace, and Founding Director of the Mobile Peace Van. Alyn has won many awards including the Right Livelihood Award.

Mani Shankar Aiyar is an Indian politician and former career civil servant diplomat, serving as a member of the Indian National Congress Party. He represented the Mayiladuthurai constituency of Tamil Nadu in the 10th Lok Sabha, 13th Lok Sabha, and 14th Lok Sabha, in addition to serving in the Rajya Sabha from 2010-2016. He is also a part of the Hon. Board of Advisors of India's International Movement to Unite Nations (I.I.M.U.N.), a youth organization comprising 26,000 young organizers who put together student conferences in 160 cities across 22 countries and work with over 7,500 schools impacting 10 million students. He is one of the Co-Presidents of the Parliamentarians for Nuclear Non-Proliferation and Disarmament. 

Divina Maloum is a student in Cameroon and civil society activist  In 2015, she founded Children for Peace (C4P), a children and girl led movement working across Cameroon in complex cultural systems for Children rights, gender equity and peace-building. She works with regional and international organizations as African Network of Young Leaders for Peace and Sustainable Development and Kidsrights Foundation, Parliamentarians for Nuclear Nonproliferation and Disarmament (PNND), UNFOLD ZERO, Abolition 2000 and Move the Nuclear Money movement for peacebuilding, disarmament, disinvestment in nuclear weapons and increased investment in sustainable development goals. She was co-winner of the 2019 International Children Peace Prize organized by KidsRights Foundation.

This is a rare opportunity for our organization along with some of our partners and friends to address the continuous manufacturing and stockpiling of nuclear arms, putting the world at more and more risk of a nuclear conflict or accident. According to the Bulletin of Atomic Scientist, the doomsday clock has us closer to global catastrophe than ever as we are only 100 seconds away from midnight (the marker indicating nuclear annihilation). We will discuss important campaigns that promote nonviolence in the face of the increasing nuclearization and militarization many countries are undergoing.

Through these timely webinars, Nonviolence International will educate, inspire, and build a strong community as we work for a better world.

Over the coming months, we will be hosting an impressive range of nonviolent activists, thinkers, and leaders. We hope that you will make our new webinar series a regular part of your week. Each week you will hear a powerful story of how people are using creative nonviolence in these difficult days. 

We look forward to an interactive and inspirational webinar series.