My name is Lamis Ahmed and I am a Senior majoring in international studies and political science. My interest in conflict studies comes from the region where I grew up, the Middle East. Conflict with its various levels and types has been always part of my daily life, whether directly in my hometown in Egypt or indirectly through news about our neighboring countries. Because of the circumstances and the long period of continuous conflict most if not all people surrounding me believe that peacebuilding is a joke. I grew up hearing people scoff whenever the term “peacebuilding” was mentioned. Despite my firm belief in peace and change, this habit grew on me. I became very skeptical about the mechanism and efficiency of any peacebuilding program. My time in the United World College and my classes made me even more skeptical of the possibilities of transforming conflict areas into peaceful ones. The number of conflicts and structural violence cases I personally experienced, heard about from my classmates and studied in college made me see peace as an impossible-to-reach dream.
A reminder of why taking actions matter.
I applied to SPP because I felt I am being a hypocrite saying I want to help reach peace and stability in my country while doing nothing to learn about the process. I started reading more about peacebuilding in my free time because my college courses are more focused on exploring the source and reasons of the conflict and not the solutions to reach peace. I am expecting SPP to be my first major step in learning about the possibilities of being an effective force in peacebuilding programs in the future, in my country and abroad. In addition to generally reducing and eliminating the violence of conflict, I am an advocate for human right. I am the vice president of an Organization called Disability Inclusion and Awareness at the University of Oklahoma and participated in many events against gender inequality, forced disappearances, and arbitrary arrests against political oppositions.
The Carol Mason Student Activism award.
