Institute of World Affairs

International Programs since 1924

Experiences of the Subsequent Generations: A Salvadorian-American Conversation

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Adrienne Castellón, Program Associate, IWA
Margaret Smith, Director of Trauma Healing and Community Resilience, IWA

  1. Executive Summary

This pilot project convened a group of subsequent generation Salvadorian-Americans (2nd generation and 1st generation who came over as children/adolescents) with strong ties to community work to discuss and better understand the experiences and needs of the Salvadorian-American and Salvadorian community in the DC Metropolitan area.

“The expectation projected upon the refugee is that the past is less relevant than the future…”

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Book Review

The Displaced: Refugee Writers on Refugee Lives, Edited by Viet Thanh Nguyen, Abrams Press, 2018.

Viet Thanh Nguyen has become perhaps the most eloquent voice of the past decade of the immigrant experience in the United States.  Nguyen’s Pulitzer Prize winning novel The Sympathizer (2016) stakes out a very particular angle on the Vietnam war and challenges all Americans who think they know the meaning of that war to think again. Philip Caputo’s 2015 New York Times’ book review described the book as “giving voice to the previously voiceless [in other words the Vietnamese perspective] while it compels the rest of us to look at the events of 40 years ago in a new light.” …  

click here to read more on Dr. Eastman Smith’s monthly blog.

Side By Side or Together?

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SIDE BY SIDE OR TOGETHER?

Working for Security, Development & Peace
in Afghanistan and Liberia

A Report on the March 30 & 31, 2007 Workshop “Coordinated Approaches to Security, Development and Peacemaking: Lessons Learned from Afghanistan and Liberia” held by the Centre for Military and Strategic Studies (CMSS), University of Calgary and the Institute of World Affairs (IWA), Washington, D.C.

Fall 2023 Internship: Women, Peace and Security

IWA Internship on Women, Peace and Security (WPS)

This internship will support the work of IWA’s program on Women, Peace and Security (WPS). Over the past several years IWA interns have developed a database of resources pertaining to the work of women in the peace and security space. New interns will be responsible for updating the database and for conducting case studies on the record of select countries in implementing or opposing women’s engagement in peace and security affairs. Interns will also be expected to represent IWA at meetings mostly in Washington, DC that pertain to women, peace and security. This internship will immerse the individual selected in various aspects of women’s engagement in the peace and security sector from academic research to applied fieldwork. It will provide an opportunity to work directly with recognized experts and under the direction of a scholar-practitioner, IWA’s Dr. Joyce P. Kaufman, with many years of experience in the field. Outstanding research skills as well as demonstrated familiarity with the topic are required.

Qualifications: Applicants must be enrolled in or recent graduates of programs in peace studies, conflict resolution, development, human rights and allied fields. Field experience is preferred. Applicants must have excellent research, writing, and organizational skills, and be able to work independently. IWA interns generally work remotely.

Application Process: Applicants must submit a resume and a cover letter describing their experience and qualifications, and the particular program at IWA that is of interest to them and why. All internship correspondence should be directed to Dr. Joyce P. Kaufman, Director of Internships, Institute of World Affairs at jkaufman@iwa.org.

Fall 2023 Internship: Preventing Youth Violence

IWA Internship on Preventing Youth Violence

The internship is in support of the work of the Institute of World Affairs (IWA) to provide youth in Washington, DC with conflict prevention and management skills. This undertaking is a collaboration between IWA and the Alliance of Concerned Men (ACM), a non-profit community-based organization in Washington, D.C. The internship entails adaptation of training materials on conflict resolution developed by IWA and ACM to ensure they are age-appropriate and culturally suitable for the target audience. The intern will assist in the development and presentation of workshop materials and the implementation of a capstone simulation that permits the application of lessons learned by workshop participants. The intern will need to possess a basic understanding of the causes of community violence and potential conflict mitigation strategies. The internship will be supervised by Dr. Joyce P. Kaufman, a senior program director at IWA.

Qualifications: Applicants must be enrolled in or recent graduates of programs in peace studies, conflict resolution, development, human rights and allied fields. Field experience is preferred. Applicants must have excellent research, writing, and organizational skills, and be able to work independently. IWA interns generally work remotely.

Application Process: Applicants must submit a resume and a cover letter describing their experience and qualifications, and the particular program at IWA that is of interest to them and why. All internship correspondence should be directed to Dr. Joyce P. Kaufman, Director of Internships, Institute of World Affairs at jkaufman@iwa.org.

JAMS Foundation Grant Award Announcement

We are happy to announce that IWA has been awarded a two-year grant by the JAMS (Judicial Arbitration and Mediation Services) Foundation for a project to provide conflict resolution training for children in some of the most challenged communities in Washington, DC.  IWA will partner with the DC-based community organization, Alliance of Concerned Men (ACM), to implement this project.

The project involves conflict resolution training for elementary school children to provide skill sets for the mitigation or resolution of disputes before they escalate into violence. Project objectives include development of a training manual and instruction by respected community trainers. A capstone element is a simulation of a conflict situation wherein students can put learning into practice in a controlled setting. This project builds on previous work done for older youth by IWA and ACM.

Fall 2022 Internship on Mediation and Violence Prevention

Program description

This internship will support the work of the Institute of World Affairs (IWA), under the direction of Dr. Joyce P. Kaufman, in collaboration with the Alliance of Concerned Men (ACM), a non-profit community-based organization in Washington, D.C. During this period of increased violence particularly in economically and socially challenged communities, it is imperative to develop and implement programs that provide youth, especially, with tools that can help prevent violence while also building life-skills necessary to build productive lives. The target population for this effort is high school age youth from violence-prone communities in the District of Columbia. For the first time starting in the fall, we will also be working with a younger (middle school-aged cohort) at Chester Charter School in Pennsylvania as well. This project draws on IWA’s extensive experience in violence prevention, negotiation and mediation. The workshops are all developed in consultation with our ACM partners, and are presented using a hybrid format, with some of the participants in person, and others connecting via Zoom. With the exception of the final simulation, our work and delivery of the workshops will all be done via Zoom. The capstone simulation uses the University of Maryland International Communication and Negotiation Simulation (ICONS) platform. This system provides ongoing written transcripts of all interactions that can be used for analysis, debriefing and assessment.

The U.S. Needs to Look to Iran’s Youth and Future

An iconic image from 2015 is of young Iranians dancing in the streets of Tehran when news of a preliminary framework agreement with the West on Iran’s nuclear program was announced. There was genuine hope among a younger generation of Iranians that the nuclear deal, formally called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), would usher in a new era of economic improvement and greater people-to-people contact between Iran and the West.

Dr. Michael Lund Presents Findings in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

IWA Senior Associate, Dr. Michael Lund, gave two talks recently at a high-level conference in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia. The conference was attended by two hundred influential Ethiopians from the government, political parties and civil society. The conference was held to discuss how Ethiopia can build on the Prime Minister’s initial reforms to transition from its top-down political system to a more pluralistic and stable democracy. Lund presented findings from his recent research on how multi-ethnic developing countries can avoid the possible hazards of attempted political transitions, such as political violence, repression, civil war, mass atrocities, and state breakdown. The new President of Ethiopia, Sahle-Work Zewde (the first woman to hold that position), gave the opening speech, and former President of South Africa, Thabo Mbeki, was the conference keynote speaker. Several follow-up activities are planned to build momentum behind the reform effort. About this unusual opportunity, Lund noted, “I’m very grateful I could apply my research on peaceful transitions to help this great and beautiful country of 103 million people at this immensely critical moment in its history!”

Rising Tension in the Gulf Could Have Dire Consequences

There is real fear that the current face-off between Iran and the United States in the Persian Gulf can lead to war. While seemingly unthinkable, as was war in the heart of Europe roughly a century ago, many of the same ingredients are present. The mistrust and hate each side harbors inevitably lead to fear, which can lead to violent confrontation. All that’s necessary is a spark to ignite a destructive conflagration.

Erdogan Looks At Cyprus to Boost Standing In The Polls

There is always potential trouble when rulers sense their position weakening, given the possibility they will resort to drastic measures to divert the public’s attention and boost their standing.

In Turkey’s case, where President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s popularity has been declining for several months, there is a fear among Middle East observers that he may be looking at intervention in Cyprus to serve just such a purpose.

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