Meet the 2019 GATHER Fellows working towards sustainable peace

The incubator week here in Stockholm kicked off this year’s GATHER Fellowship and we were finally able to welcome, and introduce you to the 16 inspiring Fellows that will be supported over the year to develop their initiatives and ventures.

This year’s 16 GATHER Fellows were selected from over 200 applicants from over 40 countries. They are from Egypt, Jordan, Israel, Palestine, Tunisia, Pakistan, Mexico, and the United States, and are using social innovation to build thriving communities across areas affected by conflict. They’re an experienced and inspiring group of people, all passionate about conflict transformation, all working towards sustainable peace.

Meet them all below:

Divya is publishing stories of unaccompanied refugee youth, whose voices are not heard in the political and professional discourse, in order to highlight the effects of forced migration and build a more comprehensive understanding of their plight and empathy for their experience. (the United States)

Scott is embarking on a road trip across the United States to produce stories, videos, and a series of workshops illuminating the many ways Americans are building bridges to connect with one another, against a backdrop of ever-growing societal divides. (the United States)

Shira is creating a cause-based musicians’ guild in Israel that would provide musicians and artists the framework and community needed to create political art and advance progressive messages to the public. (Israel)

Asghar is using education to counter threatening narratives and to promote religious tolerance and pluralism in a society torn apart by religious extremism. (Pakistan)

Marwa is using dialogue to create social cohesion amongst women who are facing discrimination in their communities when young members of their families are recruited into extremist groups. (Tunisia)

Mehwish is mobilising and empowering youth by educating them on key issues and developing their skills as leaders and peace builders, countering the religious extremism in Pakistan that has created a culture of violence and gender inequality. (Pakistan)

Naissa has developed a network of dialogue programmes in high schools along the northern East Coast that aims to develop empathy and a more worldy perspective in an effort to address growing discord and division, and dearth of civil discourse. (the United States)

Wael is using storytelling to build connections amongst conflicting groups in order to promote diversity of background and thought. His work will result in a creative group project. (Egypt)

Yousef will use his voice and platform as an author and memoirist to tell his story to Western audiences of growing up in Gaza as a way to bring about meaningful debate and action, and as a way to lend credibility to those advocating for Palestinians, especially those who live in Gaza. (the United States)

Tugba is addressing rampant gender inequality in Turkey by developing a curriculum and online learning platform for use at home or in school to combat stereotypes and promote empathy and dialogue. (Turkey)

Liel is creating spaces for discussion between groups who are working on evolving the Israeli-Palestinian conflict, allowing activists normally working in isolation to learn more and engage more fully, and organisations to bolster effective programmes. (Israel)

Monica is developing a participatory peace-building process to allow local communities to generate their own solutions utilising design thinking, popular education, and appreciative inquiry. (the United States)

Theo is creating a bilingual curriculum that fosters cross-border dialogue and learning amongst youth and educators from the United States and Latin America that explores the systemic effects of drug use and drug policy, all in an effort to bring the voices of those directly impacted into policy discussions. (Mexico)

Mariam is addressing the high unemployment rate amongst women in Egypt by creating an educational technology platform in Arabic that provides workforce development tools specifically geared toward women. (Egypt)

Mohammad is building a network for the Middle East diaspora in Europe to serve as a springboard for cultural and business projects, while also combating the rise of anti-Semitism, Islamophobia, and xenophobia. (Jordan)

Nas is a farmer from a Palestinian village who is establishing a food community network that will provide resources for refugees coming to Europe to launch small food businesses, which will help them integrate into their host communities culturally and economically. (the United States)

Photo credit: Stina Svanberg