Thank you to those who stand with Haiti

Daniel Tillias (Haiti) leads session on GATHER Principles

By Daniel Tillias, Goldin Global Fellow, Haiti A letter to the Goldin Institute’s global network of champions for community driven social change on the 10th Anniversary of the earthquake in Haiti Thank you for keeping your promise. After the earthquake, ten years ago, a lot of promises were made. I remember people saying that out… Continue reading Thank you to those who stand with Haiti

2019 Chicago Peace Fellows Report

For nearly two decades, the Chicago-based Goldin Institute has worked to build the capacity and amplify the voices of grassroots organizers in communities contending with the most challenging circumstances on Earth. In late 2018, the Goldin Institute was asked to design a course for grassroots organizers by the Partnership for Safe and Peaceful Communities, a coalition… Continue reading 2019 Chicago Peace Fellows Report

Celebrating the Achievements of 2019

Lo Ivan Castillon (Philippines) Leads Session on Volunteering

By Ethan Michaeli, Senior Advisor Happy New Year from the Goldin Institute! 2019 was a momentous year with the debut of the Chicago Peace Fellows, our fellowship for grassroots organizers in our home town, and numerous accomplishments for the international graduates of GATHER, our integrated curriculum and tablet-based software. Below we’ve created a month-by-month timeline… Continue reading Celebrating the Achievements of 2019

Testimony and Transformation

The weekend of October 12-13, the Goldin Institute partnered with the Voices & Faces Project and Brothers Standing Together, an organization founded by GATHER alumnus Raymond Richard, to lead “Testimony & Transformation: A Writing Workshop for Returning Citizens.” Hosted at the Samuel DeWitt Proctor Conference in the Chicago Defender building on the city’s South Side,… Continue reading Testimony and Transformation

Partnering with DePaul’s Technology for Social Good Lab

One of the Goldin Institute’s core values is to build partnerships that are rooted in the power of communities working together to build solutions that can help generate local social change. The Chicago Peace Fellows have done this throughout the 2019 GATHER course, working to build community not only within their neighborhoods, but also among… Continue reading Partnering with DePaul’s Technology for Social Good Lab

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

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

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

Can We Talk About “Celebrating” International Women’s Day?

International Women’s Day is a particularly relevant moment for us, as it coincides with our founding 15 years ago. Since that day, we have struggled to fight for the rights of women and girls who have suffered from sexual and gender-based violence through the Commission of Women Victims for Victims (KOFAVIV) in Haiti. International Women’s… Continue reading Can We Talk About “Celebrating” International Women’s Day?