Colette Rausch presented on Speaking Their Peace at the International Studies Association's 58th annual convention. Books were available for purchase at the booth during the conference.
Eighty, everyday people have shared their pursuit of peace in Colette Rausch's new book. Colette as acting VP of Governance, Law, and Society at the US Institute of Peace knows everyone has a story. However, due to fear, conformity, and indifference many are afraid to share that story. The goal of her book is to give a voice to the voiceless and share how ordinary individuals are bringing peace to the world.
The Dalai Lama who wrote the foreword for the book calls it "a beautiful contribution to the promotion of peace." Watch Colette's appearance on New Day Northwest to discuss the making of Speaking Their Peace and some of the memorable stories she heard during the process.
Arts and culture can become powerful media for bolstering peacebuilding efforts and steering individuals towards nonviolent expression. On July 16, USIP help a special photography display and panel discussion spotlighting the faces and stories of peacebuilders around the world. The event is part of a series in 2014 and 2015 to mark the Institute's 30th anniversary.
At the event, Ambassador Cynthia Schneider, a distinguished professor at Georgetown University, moderated a discussion with peacebuilders and photographers Leon Shahabian, Manuel Leon, and Colette Rausch. They discussed the role of the individual in building peace, and the value of visuals in sharing those stories.
Colette Rausch and Susan Hayward (both from the U.S. Institute of Peace) held a facilitated discussion grounded in Rausch's new collection of global voices, Speaking Their Peace. They explored how narratives, such as those from the book and others, reveal the shared hopes, challenges, and aspirations of seemingly disparate people from around the world.
Colette Rausch, author of Speaking Their Peace, read excerpts from her book and reflected on her memories of conducting three interviews during the creation of the book.
She discusses an interview with a warfighter in Nicaragua, details the story of a wife and widow from Peru, and highlights the harrowing account of a worker in Nepal.