Nonviolent Peaceforce at the BHFH

This past month, the Beacon Hill Friends House was proud to host an event featuring members of the Nonviolent Peaceforce.

Nonviolent Peaceforce is a nonpartisan unarmed peacekeeping organization with the goal of protecting civilians and reducing violence in areas affected by armed conflict. It started in 1999 after longtime activists David Hartsough and Mel Duncan met at the 1999 Hague Appeal For Peace. Since then, Nonviolent Peaceforce has expanded into a full fledged organization with offices in Geneva, Switzerland and Minneapolis, Minnesota. Along with working with a talented administrative staff and pro bono attorneys, their protection advisors are on the ground working in conflict areas including South Sudan, Myanmar, the Philippines, Syria, and Ukraine. To find out more check out their work at www.nonviolentpeaceforce.org.

Our speaker for the event was Shannon Radsky. Shannon Radsky grew up in Maine and later moved to Washington DC to attend American University for college. Later she studied in London at the London School of Economics and received a masters in International Development. Her interest in social enterprises led her to Nonviolent Peaceforce. For the past 6 months she has been living and working in South Sudan.

In our full meeting room, Shannon talked about how we define conflict and what it means in the context that she works in. I was amazed at how she communicated these difficult to grasp topics as well as make the issues facing South Sudan more accessible and personable.