Associazione Io Deposito : B#Side War Academy
Carso Upland, Italy
http://www.iodeposito.org/ and http://www.bsidewar.org/
The Carso Upland, extending along the border between Italy and Slovenia, was severely damaged by conflicts over the centuries. The Upland is isolated and harsh, and the inhabitants say that the red leaves, which are typical of its shrubbery, are in fact “painted by the blood that was spread here.” The Upland, a natural border between the Balkans and the Northeastern edge of Italy, was never an inviting place for the multiple ethnic groups of Slovenians, Italians, Istrians, Bosnians, and Serbians.
The situation has become worse since the most recent humanitarian crisis. Due to the wars in Middle East, Asia and North Africa, thousands of refugees following the “Balkan route,” arrive every day. In the last two years, twelve percent of the current inhabitants of the Upland are refugees from those regions. The lack of integration and communication among the various ethnic groups makes everyday life difficult and prevents the creation of joint services and practices to sustain life in the Upland.
Associazione Io Deposito proposes to create an Academy of cultural management and practice for young people. Using invited fellows from different ethnicities and cultural backgrounds (Slovenian, Serbian, Bosnian, Italian, Afghan and Sudanese), the Academy aims to prepare these young people to create a better cultural environment for the Uplands. Participants will learn and practice the management of cultural programming in order to respond to the main local issues. These include the Uplands’ history of past war and conflicts, the need for sustainable cultural tourism, and an active cooperation with a network of artists, NGOs, municipalities and museums. Project outcomes include the structuring of the Academy and to invite the first group of fellows. These activities will provide the first round of events and activities involving the different ethnic groups.
Herchacha Nepal: Intercultural Economic Development Program (IEDP)
Kathmandu, Nepal
https://www.facebook.com/care4nepal
Since the deadly earthquakes of 2015, many families in Sankhu Village, Nepal, still live in temporary structures, without running water or electricity, lack daily necessities and are unable to send their children to school. There are four main social-cultural groups in the area: Tamang, Dalit (Low caste), Newar, and Brahman (high caste). IEDP plans to use Lisle’s seed grant to improve intercultural understanding among the four groups which will, in turn, facilitate their efforts to help the poorest members of the community get their children back into school, improve their economic conditions, and become self-reliant.
To help improve intercultural understanding through an agricultural project, IEDP will provide seed and goats to participants, which will make up three groups of eight individuals/families each, with two from each of the 4 cultural subgroups. The groups will meet every month to share their work, and their cultures, thus helping to develop cultural awareness, while also improving their economic status and ability to send their children back to school continuously.
The program will provide technical training for modern agricultural and goat farming. Each family will be given seeds and one goat to raise. At monthly meetings, participants will share their knowledge and report their progress to one another. Thus, they will become more familiar with each other’s cultures and learn to work together more cooperatively.
B4P CODEFOUND (Business for Peace Community Development Foundation): Young Women, Peaceand Development Dialogues
Monrovia, Liberia
www.b4pcodefound.org
B4P CODEFOUND is organizing a Women, Peace and Development Forum in Liberia, with the purpose of engaging young women from various ethnic backgrounds to understand and participate in the broader post-conflict peace and development trends across the country.
Currently, most ongoing national level meetings exclude university and college women from these discussions. To further assess this situation and create an opportunity for engagement, B4P CODEFOUND proposes a ten-dialogue series to be held in at least three universities across Monrovia.
At least 30 young women from different ethnic and religious backgrounds will come together at the first session to discuss issues of concern that will then be presented at a National Women Peace and Development Forum, with a special space created for inter-generational exchanges and learning. Key points from these meetings will then be used to develop nine more university-based dialogue sessions that are expected to target at least 120 students, mostly young women.
It is expected that all ten dialogues will generate information leading to a national strategy formulation for B4P CODEFOUND to use in its 2019 programming and engagement with young women across the country.
Learn-Empower-Act-Promote (LEAP):
Uniting Youth for Intercultural Peace Building and Conflict Resolution
Faisalabad, Punjab, Pakistan
https://www.facebook.com/LEAP12pk
The goal of the LEAP project is to reduce hatred, crime and extremism among youth in the Faisalabad district and to unite them through inter-cultural peace, conflict resolution and community building.
Young people make up 60% of the total population of Pakistan. Unfortunately, there is a growing intolerance among youth that is contributing to hatred and violence, frequently observed and experienced on the streets, roads, markets, colleges, universities, offices and other common places. At the root of the conflicts are growing economic and cultural divides, extremism, poverty, and economic instability.
In response, LEAP will use Lisle seed grant funding for the following activities: The formation of ten youth peace groups, each with twenty participants from diverse cultural and religious backgrounds; the formation of five university and college youth peace groups; a three-day training of fifty participants on democratic leadership, peace building, conflict resolution and tolerance; the establishment of a youth peace network of youth, district peace committees and social and political leaders; one sports competition, one cultural gala, and the printing of posters.