The Sacrifice of Honey: Stories of the Life and Work of Rebecca Joshua Okwaci of Sudan

Rebecca Joshua Okwaci is a journalist by profession and the secretary general of Women Action for Development (WAD) in South Sudan. As a peace advocate, Okwaci co-led the Sudanese delegation to the U.N. Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China in 1995 and facilitated dialogue between women from the south and north. Her progressive work to bring the groups together was recognized by international institutions and governments and culminated in the founding of Sudanese Women’s Empowerment for Peace (SuWEP), an organization included in the list of 1,000 women nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. She is also a founding member of the Sudanese Women’s Association in Nairobi and Sudanese Women’s Voice for Peace (SWVP), the first grassroots peace organization established by Sudanese women living in exile in Kenya, and she co-led the Sudanese women’s delegation to The Hague Appeal for Peace in 1999. With SWVP, Okwaci carried out the first peacebuilding and conflict resolution programs and trainings in the Shilluk Kingdom in Mid-West Upper Nile in what is now South Sudan. In her role as secretary general for WAD, Okwaci strives to educate women and communities in skills necessary to advance the agenda of peace in Sudan and South Sudan. She has conducted several trainings and is assisting in the creation of a WAD office in Juba, the capital of the south. Okwaci recently contributed to the Collo (Shilluk) Conference on Peace and Development with a presentation of her views on women’s roles in peace and development. With successful strides in engendering the government of South Sudan at all levels, Okwaci is still working toward the realization of 25 percent women’s effective representation within South Sudan.As an executive producer at Sudan Radio Service, Okwaci produces programs targeting women, such as “Our Voices” and “Women’s Corner,” and contributes to programs educating citizens on elements of the Comprehensive Peace Agreement (CPA) signed in 2005. As the only female member of the Association for Media Development in Southern Sudan, Okwaci has been instrumental in the drafting of three media bills focused on issues of public service broadcasts, access to information and regulation of broadcasts. Additionally, she is contributing to the formation of a code of media ethics and a code of conduct for Sudanese journalists. She is a member of a media council task force designed to guide and support journalists in the proper usage of the code of ethics.https://digital.sandiego.edu/ipj-research/1044/thumbnail.jp

The Impact of Contact: An Impact Evaluation Of The Conflict Transformation Across Cultures (Contact) Summer Institute

Throughout the world a handful of peacebuilding institutes exist which act as conflict transformation initiatives. These institutes generally aim to provide professional competencies in the areas of conflict transformation theory and practice to those currently working in the peacebuilding field or other related fields. Yet, to date, very little research is available concerning the impact of these peacebuilding institutes as tools of change within the field of conflict transformation. This work represents one such evaluation of a single peacebuilding institute: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures (CONTACT) Summer Institute located at the School for International Training. The purpose of this study is to determine the perceived impact of participation in the CONTACT Summer Institute on its participants’ work and lives. Two surveys were disseminated via the internet to attain both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate impact. The culmination of this research shows the extent to which the program has affected its participants as well as ways in which participants have integrated the knowledge, skills, tools, and elevated levels of personal awareness acquired from the institute into their respective environments. The purposes of this work are to illuminate the effects the CONTACT Summer Institute has on its participants, create a forum for CONTACT alumni to reflect on their own experiences as they relate to the program, and to create a framework for understanding the ways in which peacebuilding institutes similar to CONTACT may contribute to the transformation of conflict

The Impact of Contact: An Impact Evaluation Of The Conflict Transformation Across Cultures (Contact) Summer Institute

Throughout the world a handful of peacebuilding institutes exist which act as conflict transformation initiatives. These institutes generally aim to provide professional competencies in the areas of conflict transformation theory and practice to those currently working in the peacebuilding field or other related fields. Yet, to date, very little research is available concerning the impact of these peacebuilding institutes as tools of change within the field of conflict transformation. This work represents one such evaluation of a single peacebuilding institute: Conflict Transformation Across Cultures (CONTACT) Summer Institute located at the School for International Training. The purpose of this study is to determine the perceived impact of participation in the CONTACT Summer Institute on its participants’ work and lives. Two surveys were disseminated via the internet to attain both quantitative and qualitative data to evaluate impact. The culmination of this research shows the extent to which the program has affected its participants as well as ways in which participants have integrated the knowledge, skills, tools, and elevated levels of personal awareness acquired from the institute into their respective environments. The purposes of this work are to illuminate the effects the CONTACT Summer Institute has on its participants, create a forum for CONTACT alumni to reflect on their own experiences as they relate to the program, and to create a framework for understanding the ways in which peacebuilding institutes similar to CONTACT may contribute to the transformation of conflict

Stress Management

The content of this training revolves around stress management, the attitudes towards it, and the skills and knowledge required on individual bases, to manage it. In this training, the personal definitions of stress are addressed, as well as the coping skills that the participants currently use. In addition, new ways of coping, managing or dealing with stress are brought into the room by participants as well as by the activities housed within this design. This training was designed for graduate students to enrich their personal learning experience while at school by assisting them in discovering the best way for each of them to manage their stress. However, it could be easily utilized with other groups who are looking for ways to manage, cope or become friends with their daily or continual stress. Activities are comprised of a range of thought-provoking and physical activities consisting of a stress-relieving icebreaker, two connected art activities, small group as well as whole group discussion and brainstorming