On November 9, 2023, the United States Institute of Peace (USIP) hosted an “Indigenous Peace Building and Youth, Peace, Security Strategy Workshop” which gathered Indigenous youth leaders from around the world in conjunction with the White House Tribal Youth Forum. This event mindfully organized participants into tables with a mixture of Indigenous youth leaders, government representatives, and peacebuilding working professionals to open opportunities for dialogue on the meanings of peace and traditional resources for peacemaking within a variety of cultural contexts. Through conversation, participants were able to share stories about their communities including traditional spaces for dialogue, mediation, and decision-making. When discussing the meaning of peace, some common themes across the cultures represented included peace as being connected with community, related to nature, dignity, and compromise. Participants often discussed the importance of shared safe spaces and of collective decision-making, including centering traditional Indigenous practices.

I recently conducted a facilitation on the ideas of resilience, being a good teammate and friend, and finding validation within oneself with some of the adolescents that play at the volleyball club I coach for. I was given this avenue through the Shinnyo-en Fellowship I received a year ago. During my time as a fellow, I also have to create an impact project that be related or unrelated to the work I do at the organization of my choosing. I had a couple ideas bouncing around for this project, and ultimately decided on facilitating a dialogue in the volleyball club I coach for.

… in a responsive way instead of a directive one? If we approached local mediators as bearing duties and not just watchful spectators and advisers holding rights? If we supported reconciliation structures by putting insider mediators at their heart?

In the Summer of 2022, all MHCR undergraduates were awarded research funds through the Undergraduate Research Scholars Program (URSP) within George Mason's Office of Scholarship, Creativity, and Research (OSCAR). Expanding from this, these awardees–Hannah Adamson, Merisa Mattix, and Greta Roberson–applied and were accepted to present at the 2023 National Conference for Undergraduate Research (NCUR) in Eau-Claire, Wisconsin. This conference included 3,600 undergraduate students and faculty from across the country. The MHCR students reflect on their experiences presenting and participating in the conference.

On the morning of May 2, 2023, the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation (MHCR) hosted a webinar titled, Negotiating with the Terrorist: Lessons Learned from Mediation Attempts with al-Shabaab. MHCR Director Antti Pentikäinen moderated the event, and the panelists were individuals he had previously worked alongside during high-stakes negotiations in Somalia.

Working at the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation has granted me many firsts such as: making my first academic CV, conducting my first research interviews, and writing my first policy brief. During my first semester at MHCR, I was able to couple the internship with earning George Mason University’s minor in Conflict Analysis and Resolution Studies. By having both work and study combined, I had a way of learning about peace and conflict from both scholars and practitioners. One complemented the other seamlessly. I was improving my writing inside and outside the classroom while learning theories, listening to guest speakers, and coming to work to produce more knowledge in the field.

On Monday, March 27th, 2023 at 9 AM ET, the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation (MHCR) hosted a webinar during the Spring 2023 Carter School Peace Week event titled, “New Frontiers on the Wellbeing of Reconciliation Practitioners'' with guest panelists, Giselle Ali, an undergraduate student at the Carter School, and Wendpoulemde André Koala from the Sant’Egidio Foundation for Peace and Dialogue (SFPD). There were 40 participants who attended and gained knowledge on the topic. This event was facilitated and presented by Research Officer, Beltina Gjeloshi, and Program Officer, Hannah Adamson, with the welcome by Associate Director, Nicholas Sherwood. 

How do the experiences of insider mediators differ from those working on the outside? How might their needs differ from outsider peacebuilders? And what can be done to support insider mediators during their work? These and other crucial questions guided MHCR’s recent participation in the Peer Exchange on Improving Support for Insider Mediators.

On the evening of Tuesday, March 7th, 2023, the Mary Hoch Center for Reconciliation hosted a virtual webinar, Learning from Latin America: Successes of Transitional Justice, featuring guest experts: Dr. Jo-Marie Burt, Associate Professor at GMU’s Schar School for Policy and Government and Senior Fellow at the Washington Office on Latin America (WOLA), and Eduardo Gonzalez, MHCR Research Affiliate and Think Peace Convener. This event was moderated by MHCR Communications Officer and Shinnyo Fellow, Amanda Peña.

For two weeks, I conducted fieldwork in Nairobi and Diani Beach, Kenya, as part of MHCR’s ongoing grant projects with the Finnish Ministry of Foreign Affairs. A group of us—including MHCR Director, Antti Pentikäinen, and Programs Officer, Hannah Adamson——also met with colleagues and collaborators on these grants to plan and implement a three-day Co-Creation Workshop on Integrating Mental Health/Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) and Peacebuilding throughout the Horn of Africa.