The Stories of the Storytellers

Amy Clark
Peacebuilder Fellow to Mexico (Short-Term)

“Civilization has been a permanent dialogue between human beings and water.” This observation by Paolo Lugari, underscores my childhood, legal, academic, and recent Colombian experience. To witness and collect the myriad of perspectives on this singular, yet overarching, element of conflict, and to act as the conduit for those whose stories should be told, I saw as a propitious opportunity to use my advocacy skills on behalf of those who may not otherwise have a voice. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Allison Collender
Peacebuilder Fellow to West Bank

I heard about the Peacebuilder’s Fellowship through a professor from CNU, and I immediately became excited about the idea of going to any of the four countries, especially the West Bank. I am beyond excited to go back to the land that changed my life, and to have the opportunity to immerse myself in the Palestinian culture. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Janine Joyce
Peacebuilder Fellow to Burma

I am motivated to become a Center for Conflict Studies Peacebuilder Fellow because I have the capacity to act as storyteller; listening and sharing that which others hold as precious. I think that it is as we understand each other that we become more motivated to create change and work for peace in our world. For me, peace is relational and it is as we communicate and share, that we begin to mobilise ourselves, to use our resources in service to the other.  Some may be moved by our stories to help redirect resources, some may pray and use their minds more peacefully in their own communities, perhaps others may use their talents to continue to design simple water harvesting units. I don’t really know. But what I do know is that many humanbeings have a great heart and when we feel a need we can mobilise to find creative solutions. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Ainhoa Martinez
Peacebuilder Fellow to Mexico

Making visible and giving voice to certain cases would contribute to my training and in the future I will be proud to develop my labor in the field of International Law and Human Rights, knowing that I have started my career with the Peacebuilders Fellowship.
Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Lukas Matzkows
Peacebuilder Fellow to West Bank

The Israeli – Palestinian conflict has been at the center of my interest for many years now, both academically and personally. The conflict is one of the longest protracted conflicts, that shaped the whole region for more than half a century. Coming from a background and a family in which environmental issues always played a big role, the possibility of looking at water conflicts in particular is a great chance for me. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Phoenix McLaughlin
Peacebuilder Fellow to Ethiopia

The power of individual stories is something I look forward to exploring. The act of turning knowledge into action can be a difficult one, and the presence of a personal narrative can often make the difference. I hope that utilizing this outlook while in Ethiopia will help take my research beyond academic discovery and towards catalyzing storytelling.Traveling to Ethiopia to study water conflict will be my first true field work on the subject, and to say I am excited is an understatement; I’ve been hoping to find something like this for the past two years. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Katie Petit
Peacebuilder Fellow to Ethiopia

I am a firm believer in Center for Conflict Studies’ mission of giving voice to the voiceless and see it as an essential part of our work in the peace field. I look forward to hearing the stories in Ethiopia surrounding water conflicts and learning from all the people I meet. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Jessica Sanchez
Peacebuilder Fellow to Mexico

My interest in becoming a Peacebuilder Fellow arose from wishing to expand my knowledge of human rights issues in Mexico. Having gained substantial experience in the legal and civil culture of Mexico’s capital, I very much look forward to delving into a specific topic and giving water rights stakeholders a voice. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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Namsai Wongaseree
Peacebuilder Fellow to Burma

I became interested in the Peacebuilders Fellowship because of its goal to “Give voice to the voiceless”, which I strongly agree with. I am a strong believer in the power of storytelling. I believe that everyone is entitled to the freedom of expression, the right to know the truths, and the right to share their versions of truths, which will, hopefully, contribute to further understanding and actions. I am very interested in working with local people in conflict zones to gather first-hand information and then to publish their stories. By learning more about conflicts and the people’s versions of conflicts, I hope to be able to empower the people while at the same time conduct comprehensive conflict analyses. Moreover, water conflict is a fundamental dispute in the world that deserves more attention and research. Read More.

Follow my story as I tell stories.

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