GATHER Advisor Dr. Ceasar McDowell Speaks on Ethics, Design and Democracy

Ceasar McDowell, a professor of civic design at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and a longtime senior adviser to the GATHER curriculum, gave an inspiring lecture in Chicago recently attended by several Chicago Peace Fellows as well as Goldin Institute board and staff. Ceasar gave the 2019 Ikeda Lecture entitled “Dialogue in Demographic Complexity: Overcoming… Continue reading GATHER Advisor Dr. Ceasar McDowell Speaks on Ethics, Design and Democracy

GATHER Alumnus Previews Chicago to Mthatha Robotics Collaboration

The Goldin Institute was thrilled to welcome GATHER alumnus Dieudonne Allo from South Africa to our hometown in Chicago September 29-October 1, a visit that fortuitously coincided with a visit from Ceasar McDowell, a professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology who has been a senior advisor to the GATHER program since it was first conceived.… Continue reading GATHER Alumnus Previews Chicago to Mthatha Robotics Collaboration

GATHER Alumnus Lo Ivan Castillon Shares Update from the Philippines

  Greetings from Phillippines! The Volunteers’ Initiatives in Bridging and Empowering Society (VIBES) is pleased to share with the Goldin Institute’s supporters about our activities in September 2019. What were the highlights from your work this month? VIBES through its Chairperson, Lo Ivan Castillon, participated in the Consultation Meeting as an organizational member of the… Continue reading GATHER Alumnus Lo Ivan Castillon Shares Update from the Philippines

Building On Our Assets Workshop with the Nsongwa Community in Cameroon

Dear Friends and Supporters: I hope this missive meets you well. Just to inform you that we met with the community leaders of Nsongwa Mile 90 recently. This community is amongst the four noted with high recruits of child combatants and separatist fighters. Also, the land is not fertile. After the meeting, the community leaders… Continue reading Building On Our Assets Workshop with the Nsongwa Community in Cameroon

GATHER Alumni Focus on Child Soldiers, Mitigating Trauma

On August 6, Global GATHER alumni Lissette Mateus from Colombia, and Diana Alaroker and Geoffrey Omony from Uganda engaged in an online video conversation about child soldiers and war-affected children for their peers among the inaugural Gather Fellow cohort. They were joined by Theresa Betancourt, a Boston College professor who’s been performing a longitudinal, intergenerational… Continue reading GATHER Alumni Focus on Child Soldiers, Mitigating Trauma

Leading Lights Shine in South Africa

Dear All, It has been a while since I provided updates about my grassroots project as a GATHER Fellow and I thought with so much happening at the Global Leading Light Initiative (GLLI), it would be nice to share some of the news. I must warn you that this will be an unusually long missive… Continue reading Leading Lights Shine in South Africa

Solving Tough Issues through Community Parliaments in Uganda

Warm greetings from Uganda! On Saturday, April 20, Youth Leadership for Restoration and Development (YOLRED) organized a community dialogue, called a ‘Kabake,’ where the community was granted a platform to share their experiences and derive solutions. The dialogue was attended by, among others, local council leaders, the police, child rights activists, business men and women,… Continue reading Solving Tough Issues through Community Parliaments in Uganda

Principles and Practices that Empower Shared Learning

On Wednesday, April 3, the Chicago Peace Fellows came together to build a list of principles and practices that will unlock shared learning and collaborationfor the group. This workshop was hosted by Peace Fellow Alex Levesque at his Automotive Mentor Group, where he trains young men and women to remodel classic cars. His program recruits… Continue reading Principles and Practices that Empower Shared Learning

GATHER: For the Margins, not the Masses

DePaul University Professor Lisa Dush recently presented the Goldin Institute’s GATHER program as “A Learning Platform for the Margins, not the Masses,” at an April 1, 2019 “Research Meet and Greet” event for colleagues, members of the university community and special guests. GATHER is both a curriculum for grassroots organizers and an on-line learning system… Continue reading GATHER: For the Margins, not the Masses

Learning Together with the Chicago Peace Fellows

After her son Darren was shot to death in 2012, Lisa Daniels was frustrated that media coverage focused exclusively on his criminal record. Her son made bad decisions with consequences he didn’t anticipate, but he was a loving child, father and loyal friend, and Lisa felt strongly that he should be remembered for more than… Continue reading Learning Together with the Chicago Peace Fellows