Mediators Beyond Borders International

MBBI’s Kenya Initiative Calls on Kenya’s National and County Governments, Political Parties, Police and Security Forces, and Citizens to Embrace Peaceful Discourse and Reject Violence

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NAIROBI, KENYA, May 22, 2017—As we come closer to the second general election since the 2010 Constitution, we are saddened that many of the people of Kenya are currently living in a state of unrest and, as many areas remain unstable, the challenges of displaced communities are intensifying.

It is with great concern that we hear daily news from the Mediators Beyond Borders’ Peace Guardians in Baringo and Laikipia.  While many conflicts have been avoided over the past few months through the direct intervention of grassroots cross-community activist mediators, far too many instances remain where innocent people and livestock are injured or killed.

Government-led initiatives like the Kenyan Livestock Insurance Programme (KLIP), providing crucial relief through insurance payments to pastoralists, are important steps that will help to alleviate some of the hardships that communities are facing. These steps will lead to wider community stability and general security. [Read more…]

MBBI Stichting Opens Office in The Hague, The Netherlands

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MBBI is excited to announce that in February 2017, MBBI was welcomed to the ‘City of Peace”- the Hague, the Netherlands – where it registered as Stichting MBBI. MBBI is delighted to enter this stage of its global work. Its first course of action is to host the MBBI’s 2017 Conference Keep People Affected by Conflict in Charge. Stichting MBBI opened its office at Laan van Meerdervoort 70 (pictured below) and on 16 May 2017, held its first team meeting there. [Read more…]

Ways to Promote Peace

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By Caitlyn Henehan-Foppe, MBBI Member from Cincinnati, OH

In 2011, I moved over 2,000 miles away from home for my graduate degree to California. During this time, Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) was having one of their Congresses in Los Angeles— after hearing about it though my school I decided to attend. Since I was majoring in Negotiation, Conflict Resolution, & Peace building, I thought it might be a great way to meet others in my field and network. At the congress, not only did I join the local MBBI chapter/regional group I also volunteered to run the group. In addition to be president of the regional group, I also volunteered to be on the Rwanda Assessment Team, the Chapter’s Committee Team, and eventually was the liaison for university chapters. [Read more…]

MBBI to Hold Women in Mediation International Institute from 8-12 May 2017 in Bogota, Colombia

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ROSSLYN, VA, May 5, 2017 – Mediators Beyond Borders International (MBBI) is pleased to announce that it will host the 4th regional cohort of its Women in Mediation International Training Institute in Bogota, Colombia from 8-12 May 2017. MBBI thanks Rotary International and the American Arbitration Association- International Center for Dispute Resolution for their generous funding to support 31 participants from the Andean region in receiving peacebuilding and mediation training.

This ITI will develop the capacities of women as mediators and peacebuilders in: Bolivia, Colombia, Ecuador, Panama, Peru and Venezuela. In the region, unresolved traumas of: rebel insurgencies, drug trade, military regimes, and domestic violence, present recurrent obstructions to the personal and economic wellbeing of individuals, organizations, and governments. In addition to the economic and social ties that exist between the six countries, this ITI will strengthen existing networks of women peacebuilders in the region and introduce them, and their best practices, to other parts of the world. [Read more…]

MBBI-LA Hosts, “The Intersection of Immigration Law and Community Dialogue” 04/15

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LOS ANGELES, CA, April 12, 2017 – The Mediators Beyond Borders International Los Angeles Chapter is pleased to present a groundbreaking lecture and interactive training, “The Intersection of Immigration Law and Community Dialogue.” This one-time event will take place on Saturday, April 15, 2017 1-4 pm at the LA84 Foundation, 2141 West Adams Blvd., Los Angeles, CA 90016.

The Intersection of Immigration Law and Community Dialogue includes a short panel presentation to provide information on immigration law/immigration rights today and the immigrant experience. It will be followed by an interactive, facilitated, community dialogue to elicit individual members of the public and other participants’ attitudes toward immigration and to provide tools for understanding varying perspectives on difficult issues in effective public discourse about immigration to the United States.

This event addresses historic issues relating to the current national climate on temporary, permanent and refugee migration to the U.S., and attempts to understand the rapidly changing immigration laws—with a view toward facilitating conversation now, and in the future, around these issues in productive ways. It stands to be a blueprint for future dialogues and presentations on these issues as this is the first event of its kind. [Read more…]