Nonviolence International

Last updated
Nonviolence International
Founded1989
Founder Mubarak Awad
Type Non-Profit
NGO
501(c)(3)
Focus Nonviolence, activism, human rights
Location
Area served
Global
MethodEducation, training, support
Key people
Jonathan Kuttab (Co-Founder)
Michael Beer (Executive Director)
David Hart (Co-Director)
Joshua Kirchbaum (New York Office Director)
Website nonviolenceinternational.net
Holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations

Nonviolence International (NI) acts as a network of resource centers that promote the use of nonviolence and nonviolent resistance. [1] They have maintained relationships with activists in a number of countries, with their most recent projects taking place in Palestine, Sudan and Ukraine. They partnered with International Center on Nonviolent Conflict to update Gene Sharp's seminal work on 198 methods of nonviolent action (The Politics of Nonviolent Action) through a book publication. NI has also produced a comprehensive database of nonviolence tactics, [2] which stands as the largest collection of nonviolent tactics in the world. They partner with Rutgers University to provide the largest collection of nonviolence training materials in the world. [3]

Contents

History

In 1989, Palestinian activist Mubarak Awad founded Nonviolence International along with co-founders Jonathan Kuttab, Kamal Boulatta and Abdul Aziz Said. Nonviolence International is a 501(c)(3) organization registered in Washington, DC, United States and is continuously active in educating and training the public and activists in the use of nonviolent resistance. They are particularly known for their work in conflict zones [4] and Civil Society at the United Nations, building coalitions to find and advocate for nonviolent solutions across the globe. [4]

Their mission statement is:

"Nonviolence International advocates for active nonviolence and supports creative constructive nonviolent campaigns worldwide. We are a backbone organization of the nonviolent moment, providing fiscal sponsorship to partners all over the globe. We tell the transformative stories of dynamic emerging nonviolent movements that give us hope in difficult times and are reshaping what we view as possible. By telling these inspirational stories and supporting these movements we help to create a peaceful and just future." [5]

In 1991, Nonviolence International coordinated anti-coup d'état training in Russia. This led to the organization's publication of the Training Manual for Nonviolent Defense Against the Coup d'État, which has since been used globally in both English and Spanish. [6]

In 1993 and 1994, Andre Kamenshikov partnered with Nonviolence International to found the Nonviolence International-Newly Independent States (NI-NIS), based in Moscow. NI-NIS was the first major organization to publicly warn the world about the impending war in Chechnya; the organization also released the first environmental damage assessment regarding the war in Chechnya  [ ru ].

During the 1995 International Campaign to Ban Landmines, NI was one of the endorsing organizations and was one of the attending parties of the Phnom Penh conference in Cambodia during June 1995. This conference was the largest anti-landmine conference to date and was the first gathering to take place in a heavily mined country (see land mines in Cambodia).

NI organized a groundbreaking consultation entitled "Mainstreaming Peace Teams" at American University in 1996. As a result, more than 50 experts from over 25 countries engaged in dialogue about unarmed peacekeeping and third-party nonviolent intervention.

From 1999 to 2009, NI created programs of nonviolence and peace education in Aceh during the civil war (see Aceh War); the programs were led by Dr. Asna Husin, who remains a senior researcher for Nonviolence International. In 2004, a tsunami ravaged Aceh; the NI office was destroyed and several staff members were killed or injured. Following the tragedy, NI raised and distributed funds for orphans in Aceh.

Between 1998 and 2002, Michael Beer assisted in launching the International Burma Campaign with a conference and publication in Burma Today. [7] Beer, along with Gene Sharp and Bob Helvey, provided training in nonviolent action for over 1,000 Burmese resistance guerrillas and civilians.

NI organized the International Conference on Nonviolent Resistance, which was hosted in Bethlehem in December 2005. The conference brought together over 250 nonviolent activists from around the world, including renowned activists Gene Sharp and Bernard Lafayette.

In 2013, NI expressed a need for a permanent to liaison with the United Nations. In Preparation for the ending of the MDGs and the increasing Demand for accountability in the international community NI promoted David Kirshbaum to Director of the New York Office with the task of fundraising, planning and supporting the struggling Partners. Then in 2014, David Kirshbaum raised the funding, and founded the Nonviolence International New York office (NVINY). Quickly taking on Civil Society leadership in the planning committees of the SDGs and the MGS, the New York office quickly became a champion of the stakeholder system leading and guiding hundreds of new NGOs in the new founded resources on interacting with the United Nations. Rapidly become an active board member of multiple groups at the UN. the NVINY office quickly became known for Holding civil society corruption accountable, and promoting new and unheard voices throughout Civil Society at the United Nations.

From 2006 to 2015, NI organized trainings and produced podcasts, films and texts for the largest resource center on nonviolence produced in Persian. [8]

In 2018, the NVINY changed leadership to NI's youngest Director Joshua Kirshbaum, bridging partnerships across Civil Society at the United Nations. With multiple Peace Educational program under the leadership of Joshua Kirshbaum the New York/UN office has 700+ participants (volunteers, interns, and students) working directly with the United Nations on projects across the globe. the different teams are advocating for nonviolent solutions through peace education and international advocacy; connecting a youth network of Agents of Change to Civil Society at the United Nations, through Internship, Mentorship, and Training initiatives.

Nonviolence International currently works on several projects, with focuses on grassroots activism in Sudan [9] , Ukraine, Palestine, & New York City. They are the acting United States fiscal sponsor for the Gaza Freedom Flotillas, which seeks to end the siege of Gaza using nonviolence. Director and founder Mubarak Awad, along with co-founder Jonathan Kuttab, led a delegation to Qatar with Palestinian leadership in order to advocate for a nonviolent strategy of resistance. Michael Beer served as an advisor to the 2019 Sudanese resistance movement and Under Joshua Kirshbaum the New York office has now founded The New York Graduate Plan with unprecedented access and opportunities to the United Nations and the international community for students across the globe.

Organization and affiliations

Nonviolence International operates as a collective of independent offices around the world. Each office manages its own programs and activities.

Within the United States, the central office is located in Washington, D.C.; the organization also has a satellite office in New York City directed by their youngest office head, Joshua Kirshbaum. The NY office in partnership with different civil society coalitions 4 youth-focused programs at the United Nations. With over 150 active Volunteers, interns and students Nonviolence International New York at the Harlem Research Center is the largest Nonviolence International office as yet. [10] Additional international offices are located in Banda Aceh, Jerusalem, Bangkok, Kyiv and Victoria. [4]

In addition to its own programs, the New York teams of Nonviolence International holds leadership positions and membership in a number of other organizations and campaigns, such as the International Campaign Against Foreign Military Bases, The International Action Network on Small Arms (IANSA), NGO Major Group, Coalition for Global Citizenship 2030, War Resisters' International (WRI), and the International Peace Bureau (IPB). They were a supporting organization to both the International Campaign to Ban Landmines (ICBL), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1997, [11] and the International Campaign to Abolish Nuclear Weapons (ICAN), which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2017. [12] NI also acts as a fiscal sponsor for Control Arms, Center for Jewish Nonviolence, We Are Not Numbers, Holy Land Trust, the al Watan Center and many other groups. Additionally, the organization has been widely outspoken against torture and human rights abuses propagated by the United States Government.

Leadership

Mubarak Awad, the founder and president, is an adjunct professor of nonviolent resistance at American University. [13] He is affiliated with a number of renowned global nonviolent activists such as the Dalai Lama, Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Mairead McGuire. He was born in Jerusalem in 1943 and later chose Bluffton University over Yale University to pursue degrees in social work and psychology. He has since been influenced by Mennonite and Quaker pacifist ideologies. He obtained a master's degree from Saint Francis University and later a PhD in Psychology from Saint Louis University. In 1988, Awad was deported from Palestine for his leadership in helping spark the First Intifada; he is barred from all but short visits to his homeland.

Michael Beer began working with the organization in 1991 and has maintained the executive director position since 1998. Beer is a global activist for human rights and minority rights and has been an outspoken voice for grassroots movements around the world. He focuses on nonviolence training and education and has worked with activists in numerous countries including Myanmar, Kosovo, Indonesia, Thailand, Cambodia, India, Zimbabwe and the United States. He is a frequent public speaker on nonviolence and has been broadcast on C-SPAN, CNN and other major media outlets.

Jonathan Kuttab is a co-founder and prominent civil rights lawyer in Israel, Palestine and New York. Kuttab co-founded the Palestinian Center for the Study of Nonviolence as well as the Mandela Institute for Political Prisoners. [14] He is also a co-founder of Al-Haq, a major Palestinian human rights organization. [15]

Joshua Kirshbaum is the Director of the Nonviolence International New York Office. In early 2018 Nonviolence International welcomed Joshua to be the youngest office head in the network. Quickly after taking office as the Executive Director of the New York Region, they began to expand and now Joshua and his teams run the Nonviolence International New York Office and the Nonviolence Resource Center in Harlem, [16] Nonviolence Arizona Research Program in Tucson, Arizona, the peacebuilding and VR tech project in Seville, [17] Spain, and The New York Graduate plan. He is an active member and consultant for over a dozen organizations and nonprofits around the world. Over 12 active programs spanning nonviolent action training, youth leadership empowerment, sustainable peace, and international disarmament advocacy and much more. for Joshua's young age, he has an extensive history in peacebuilding on an international scale and has been trained by some of the world's leading activists in nonviolence methodology. Joshua's past activities include his work connecting major corporate sponsors with important causes, expanding their philanthropic markets throughout Latin America. Opening a chain of philanthropic projects across South America from his community center "La Casa De La Vida" and "Estudio Ecuador" and the formation of Peace Vision Action Coalition (PeaceVAC), allowing the support of Coalitions and advocacy groups in Civil Society at the United Nations. [18] [19] [20]

Activities

The main focus of the organization is promoting nonviolent solutions through the training and education of individuals, NGOs, and governments. It provides education materials, and sponsors and organizes training and strategy sessions. Specifically the organization:

  1. Sponsors local, national, regional and international seminars on nonviolence;
  2. Offers training programs and develops educational materials; [21]
  3. Provides resources and specialists to groups or governments seeking alternative possibilities for peace;
  4. Prints and disseminates articles, newsletters, reports and undertakes public interest research on nonviolence;
  5. Provides public education through speakers and the media;
  6. Cooperates with other nonviolence, peace and conflict resolution organizations internationally in order to work together toward a common goal. [22]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonviolence</span> Principle or practice of not causing harm to others

Nonviolence is the personal practice of not causing harm to others under any condition. It may come from the belief that hurting people, animals and/or the environment is unnecessary to achieve an outcome and it may refer to a general philosophy of abstention from violence. It may be based on moral, religious or spiritual principles, or the reasons for it may be strategic or pragmatic. Failure to distinguish between the two types of nonviolent approaches can lead to distortion in the concept's meaning and effectiveness, which can subsequently result in confusion among the audience. Although both principled and pragmatic nonviolent approaches preach for nonviolence, they may have distinct motives, goals, philosophies, and techniques. However, rather than debating the best practice between the two approaches, both can indicate alternative paths for those who do not want to use violence.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">James Lawson (activist)</span> American minister, educator, and activist

James Morris Lawson Jr. is an American activist and university professor. He was a leading theoretician and tactician of nonviolence within the Civil Rights Movement. During the 1960s, he served as a mentor to the Nashville Student Movement and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee. He was expelled from Vanderbilt University for his civil rights activism in 1960, and later served as a pastor in Los Angeles for 25 years.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gandhi Peace Award</span> Peace award presented by Promoting Enduring Peace

The Gandhi Peace Award is an award and cash prize presented annually since 1960 by Promoting Enduring Peace to individuals for "contributions made in the promotion of international peace and good will." It is named in honor of Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi but has no personal connection to Mohandas Gandhi or any member of his family.

The Movement for a New Society (MNS) was a U.S.-based network of social activist collectives, committed to the principles of nonviolence, who played a key role in social movements of the 1970s and 1980s.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Gene Sharp</span> American political scientist (1928–2018)

Gene Sharp was an American political scientist. He was the founder of the Albert Einstein Institution, a non-profit organization dedicated to advancing the study of nonviolent action, and professor of political science at the University of Massachusetts Dartmouth. He was known for his extensive writings on nonviolent struggle, which have influenced numerous anti-government resistance movements around the world.

Mubarak Awad is a Palestinian-American psychologist and an advocate of nonviolent resistance.

The International Fellowship of Reconciliation (IFOR) is a non-governmental organization founded in 1914 in response to the horrors of war in Europe. Today IFOR counts 71 branches, groups and affiliates in 48 countries on all continents. IFOR members promote nonviolence, human rights and reconciliation through public education efforts, training programs and campaigns. The IFOR International Secretariat in Utrecht, Netherlands facilitates communication among IFOR members, links branches to capacity building resources, provides training in gender-sensitive nonviolence through the Women Peacemakers Program, and helps coordinate international campaigns, delegations and urgent actions. IFOR has ECOSOC status at the United Nations.

Peacemakers was an American pacifist organization founded following a conference on "More Disciplined and Revolutionary Pacifist Activity" in Chicago in July 1948. Ernest and Marion Bromley and Juanita and Wally Nelson largely organized the group. The name “Peacemakers” was taken from a section of the Bible, the Beatitudes or Sermon on the Mount: "Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God." The group’s organizational structure adopted a multidivisional organizational structure with a loose hierarchy, prioritizing local committees including but not limited to the Tax Refusal and Military Draft Refusal Committee. The Peacemakers were social anarchists whose organizational beliefs are largely attributed to Marxist philosophy. Peacemakers aimed to advocate nonviolent resistance in the service of peace.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonviolent Peaceforce</span>

Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is an international nongovernmental organization that employs Unarmed Civilian Protection. Their mission is to protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies, build peace side-by-side with local communities, and advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity. NP holds Special Consultative Status with the Economic and Social Council of the United Nations, and has been endorsed by nine Nobel Peace Prize laureates, including the Dalai Lama and former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu. In 2016, Nonviolent Peaceforce was nominated for a Nobel Peace Prize.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Audre Lorde Project</span> LGBT community and activism organization

The Audre Lorde Project is a Brooklyn, New York–based organization for LGBT people of color. The organization concentrates on community organizing and radical nonviolent activism around progressive issues within New York City, especially relating to LGBT communities, AIDS and HIV activism, pro-immigrant activism, prison reform and organizing among youth of color. It is named for the lesbian-feminist poet and activist Audre Lorde and was founded in 1994.

Civil resistance is a form of political action that relies on the use of nonviolent resistance by ordinary people to challenge a particular power, force, policy or regime. Civil resistance operates through appeals to the adversary, pressure and coercion: it can involve systematic attempts to undermine or expose the adversary's sources of power. Forms of action have included demonstrations, vigils and petitions; strikes, go-slows, boycotts and emigration movements; and sit-ins, occupations, constructive program, and the creation of parallel institutions of government.

The International Center on Nonviolent Conflict (ICNC) is an independent, nonprofit educational foundation, founded by Jack DuVall and Peter Ackerman in 2002. It promotes the study and utilization of nonmilitary strategies by civilian-based movements to establish and defend human rights, social justice and democracy.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Nonviolent resistance</span> Act of protest through nonviolent means

Nonviolent resistance, or nonviolent action, sometimes called civil resistance, is the practice of achieving goals such as social change through symbolic protests, civil disobedience, economic or political noncooperation, satyagraha, constructive program, or other methods, while refraining from violence and the threat of violence. This type of action highlights the desires of an individual or group that feels that something needs to change to improve the current condition of the resisting person or group.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Center for Global Nonkilling</span>

The Center for Global Nonkilling is an international non-profit organization focused on the promotion of change toward the measurable goal of a killing-free world. The Center for Global Nonkilling is an NGO in Special Consultative Status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council and a participant organization of the World Health Organization's Violence Prevention Alliance.

Realizing the Dream, Inc. is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization founded in 2006 by Martin Luther King III to carry on the legacy of his parents, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. and Mrs. Coretta Scott King. Located in Atlanta, Georgia, the organization carries out initiatives on both the domestic and international level. The mission of Realizing the Dream is "To champion freedom, justice, and equality by working to eliminate poverty, build community and foster peace through nonviolence." Two of Realizing the Dream's main projects are the 50 Communities Network, an effort against American poverty, and the Generation II Global Peace Initiative, a peace-building team composed of sons, daughters and grandchildren of leading 20th century activists.

Glenn Smiley was a white civil rights consultant and leader. He closely studied the doctrine of Mahatma Gandhi and became convinced that racism and segregation were most likely to be overcome without the use of violence, and began studying and teaching peaceful tactics. As an employee of the Fellowship of Reconciliation (FOR), he visited Martin Luther King Jr. in Montgomery, Alabama in 1956 during the Montgomery bus boycott where Smiley advised King and his associates on nonviolent tactics, and was able to convince King that nonviolence was a feasible solution to racial tension. Smiley, together with Bayard Rustin and others, helped convince King and his associates that complete nonviolence and nonviolent direct action were the most effective methods and tools to use during protest. After the Civil Rights Movement, Smiley continued to employ nonviolence and worked for several organizations promoting peace in South American countries. Just three years before his 1993 death, Smiley opened the King Center in Los Angeles.

The Palestinian Centre for the Study of Nonviolence (PCSN) was founded in 1983 by Mubarak Awad, a Palestinian-American psychologist, and an advocate of nonviolent resistance.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Srđa Popović (activist)</span> Serbian political activist and leader of Otpor

Srđa Popović is a Serbian political activist. He was a leader of the student movement Otpor that helped topple Serbian president Slobodan Milošević. After briefly pursuing a political career in Serbia, he established the Centre for Applied Nonviolent Action and Strategies (CANVAS) in 2003 and published Blueprint for Revolution in 2015. CANVAS has worked with pro-democracy activists from more than 50 countries, promoting the use of non-violent resistance in achieving political and social goals.

Meta Peace Team (MPT), formerly Michigan Peace Team, is a nonprofit, grassroots organization founded in 1993 that seeks to pursue peace through active nonviolence and create an alternative to militarism through empowered peacemaking. MPT provides creative nonviolence training workshops to ordinary citizens with a framework of third party nonviolent intervention (TPNI), and it deploys peace teams to conflict areas both domestically and internationally. Its peace teams have worked in places such as Iraq, Haiti, Bosnia, Egypt, Panama, Mexico, Gaza Strip, and the West Bank; they have also been placed within the United States to create peaceful presences at national and state political conventions, Ku Klux Klan rallies, and gay pride parades, among many other events. MPT also works in collaboration with other peace and justice groups around the globe, including Nonviolent Peaceforce, Christian Peacemaker Teams, Veterans for Peace, the International Solidarity Movement, Peace Brigades International, the Shanti Sena Network, and the Metta Center for Nonviolence. Its current offices are located in Lansing and Detroit, Michigan. MPT is a founding member of the Shanti Sena Network.

George Russell Lakey is an activist, sociologist, and writer who added academic underpinning to the concept of nonviolent revolution. He also refined the practice of experiential training for activists which he calls "Direct Education". A Quaker, he has co-founded and led numerous organizations and campaigns for justice and peace.

References

  1. ↑ Chenoweth, Erica; Stephan, Maria J. (2011). Why Civil Resistance Works: The Strategic Logic of Nonviolent Conflict. Columbia University Press. ISBN   9780231156820.
  2. ↑ "Nonviolence International Tactics Database". www.tactics.nonviolenceinternational.net.
  3. ↑ "Digital Library of Nonviolent Resistance · Rutgers International Institute for Peace". nonviolence.rutgers.edu. Archived from the original on March 26, 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 "Global Affiliates | Nonviolence International". Nonviolence International. Retrieved 2018-06-30.
  5. ↑ "About Us". Nonviolence International. Accessed December 8, 2010. Archived March 7, 2016, at the Wayback Machine
  6. ↑ "Training Manual for Nonviolent Defense Against the Coup d'État". ICNC. Retrieved 2019-09-11.
  7. ↑ "BURMA/CYBERWAR". Burma Today.
  8. ↑ "A Force More Powerful (Farsi)". ICNC.
  9. ↑ "NVI Stands in Solidarity with People of Sudan". Nonviolence International. 2023-06-06. Retrieved 2024-02-08.
  10. ↑ "Nonviolence International New York | Home". NVINY. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  11. ↑ "The Nobel Peace Prize 1997". NobelPrize.org. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  12. ↑ "ICAN receives 2017 Nobel Peace Prize | ICAN". Ican. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  13. ↑ "Mubarak Awad". American University.
  14. ↑ "Kuttab, Jonathan | Friends of Sabeel - North America". www.fosna.org. Archived from the original on April 12, 2020. Retrieved 2019-09-10.
  15. ↑ "Jonathan Kuttab - international human rights attorney".
  16. ↑ "Nonviolence Resource Center". nonviolenceresourcecenter.business.site. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  17. ↑ "Unity Studios". Unity Studios. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  18. ↑ "Nonprofit | Jakirshbaum Consulting". jakirshaum. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  19. ↑ "Meet The Team | Nonviolence International New York | United States". NVINY. Retrieved 2021-02-25.
  20. ↑ https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakirshbaum/ [ self-published source ]
  21. ↑ "nonviolenceny". nonviolenceny. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  22. ↑ Guinard, Caroline. From War to Peace. Nonviolence International Southeast Asia, 2002, p.176
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