Once seen outwardly as a bastion of democratic institutions, freedom of expression and relative peace, the underlying realities of unresolved conflict in the United States have surfaced and the potential for violence is undeniable.

As peacebuilders familiar with conflict analysis, it has been clear for some time that without intervention, the US in on a collision course toward violent conflict. Deep racial divisions, polarized discourse, misinformation campaigns, and the erosion of public trust have all been exacerbated by a global pandemic and rising unemployment. These same circumstances in other countries would have brought international monitoring teams into the country.  

The time for MBBI’s global community of mediators and peacebuilders to come together is now. The conditions are alarming in the lead up to the elections but it is also abundantly clear that no matter who wins, the need for community cohesion has never been greater. 

So how do we as mediators and peacebuilders step forward in this time of need?

We demonstrate C.A.L.M. during crisis. We Connect in Adversity with Leadership in Mediation. We build on existing tools and adapt them for this unique context. 

Strategically, we are fortunate to have the guidance of Alice Wairimu Nderitu, an extraordinary peacebuilder, to assist in this endeavor.

Alice Wairimu Nderitu is the 2018 Pluralism Award winner and the founder of the globally recognized Uwiano Platform for Peace. Launched in July 2010 with support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), the SMS-based information gathering and action programme were designed to ensure that the Kenyan referendum and elections were violence free. Uwiano -meaning “cohesion” in KiSwahili- also deployed a pool of volunteer monitors to hotspots across the country and established peace committees and defuse tensions. 

Alice Nderitu is a pioneer in the field of peacebuilding and violence prevention. She has served as Commissioner with the Kenya’s National Cohesion and Integration Commission and as a Founding Member and co-Chair of the Uwiano Platform for Peace, which was pivotal in preventing violence surrounding the 2013 Elections in Kenya. Currently working as a Senior Advisor and as Lead Mediator in Nigeria for the Centre for Humanitarian Dialogue (HD), she is widely published as an author and academic and has developed Kenya’s only curricular training manual for teachers on the topic of inclusion and conflict prevention.

Sadly, the application of such measures are now needed in the US context. The indicators and potential for serious problems propel us to step forward with the best that the field has developed; prevention and intervention tools such as Reflective Structured Dialogue,  Training for Active Bystanders and Joint Monitoring. 

We are proposing an Early Warning Early Response mechanism developed specifically for the United States.

On Sep 22nd and 23rd, Alice will facilitate a presentation and discussions on adapting the Uwiano Platform for Peace for the USA. Included are online tools for reporting and tracking evidence of hate speech, incitement, and other forms of violence via text, images, voice, and video. When incoming messages are received, they may be placed into one of six categories: informative, threat, positive message, hate speech, coded message, or incitement to violence.

Our collective infrastructure of peacebuilders and 300 community mediation centers as well as the crisis lines in every county across the country provide tremendous support for what is possible when we creatively unite to support full and free elections as well as mechanisms for addressing events in the months following Nov 3rd. 2020.

If you’ve ever felt called to prevent violent conflict and act as a catalyst for positive transformation, this is the time. 

You are the community and this is the opportunity.

Please join us to complete this analysis will the full strength of our diverse skills and perspectives which will contribute to our preparation, active engagement, and development of much-needed tools for conflict prevention and intervention.

Click Here to Register for the Full Event!