After a 2.5 month hiatus (due in part to Lebanon's electricity crisis & co), Let's Talk Peace is back! 

This episode was recorded last month, and features Parwitz Karimi,  founder of a non-profit called the Afghan Youth Association.

We speak about Afghanistan, its politics, history, what things are like under Taliban rule.

A peculiar new mural graces a now special wall in the bustling Burj Hammoud neighborhood of Beirut. Lebanon might be in the midst of several crises, but one way its youth are challenging the system and expressing their desire for positive change is through art - particularly street art.

This specific story started when Alice from Lebanon, Jade from the Netherlands, and Hanna from Ethiopia somehow all ended up in Beirut together in the right place, at the right time.

This week’s guest is Andrew Clarke.

Andrew currently lives in Belfast where he is studying history at Queen’s University, and he is the force behind an initiative called Tanistry.  Since 2018, he has been working to make Irish history more accessible to people, and especially to those who don't have the time or resources to study it academically. Through Tanistry, Andrew is untangling Ireland's history to encourage a shared heritage and dialogue about the past.

And I just think that’s amazing. The way that a nation’s history is understood and taught can hold enormous peace building potential. History specifically tends to be a very sensitive subject, especially in places that have experienced conflict.  Northern Ireland, much like Lebanon (where I come from) is a place where there is no unified historical narrative. And this lack of a unified narrative says one thing very clearly: it indicated a lack of social unity.

In this episode, we talk peace with Pamela Hindi, the founder of Saudade.

The topic of death and loss is mired in taboo almost anywhere in the world. regardless of this, it is something that we all face by virtue of being human and mortal. The only thing worse than losing a loved one is losing a loved one and having to face the experience alone. this is why we must get better at being there for one another in those darker times. Pamela Hindi is doing this in a unique way through her platform Saudade. In this episode, we discuss how to make peace with loss. 

In this episode, we talk peace with Yousra Mshmsh, an artist and activist from Jordan. Yousra is the regional manager of the global organization Peace First in the MENA region. 

In this episode, we talk peace with Nader Akoum, an architect, activist, and the founder of Studio Madane. 

This week we talk peace with Raeesah Noor Mohammed, a 19 year old activist from South Africa. As a student, Raeesah organized Friday school boycotts for climate justice and performative art protests. Since the, she has worked with Greenpeace, African Climate Alliance, and the Ahmad Kathrada Foundation. She currently studies at the University of Capetown and in this episode we discuss activism, life in South Africa, and visions for a better world. 

This week we talk peace with Charles al Hayek, a historian, consultant and educator. Charles is sharing his passion and historical expertise with the public through his initiative heritage and roots, a platform promoting understanding and appreciation of Lebanese and Middle Eastern history and heritage. In times of crisis, we look for answers. Oftentimes, we happen to look to history for these answers. History when taught as a subject is seldom neutral. The way it is framed and taught influences a population tremendously. Luckily, the way history is taught can hold enormous peace building potential, and Charles is tapping into this powerful possibility. 

This week we talk peace with Callie Chamberlain from the US to discuss race related hate crimes, maternal health, and the meaning of peace. 

amongst many things, Callie is the Director of Social Responsibility at Optum, where she is advancing health equity and leading the effort to revolutionize maternal health. She is co-founder of the Refugee Relief Project, an organization supporting Syrian Refugees in Greece, and she co-produced an award-winning documentary highlighting the role of women in the refugee crisis. She has worked on several projects with various UN agencies and is a practicing brith doula. 

This week, we talk peace with Kimberely Weischel. Kim is a thought leader, a social entrepreneur, non-profit leader, educator, and cultural bridge builder with over 30 years of extensive global experience. Kim has served as CEO of Peace X Peace, an international women's peace building organization, she teaches at American University in Washington DC and is a Rotary Peace fellow. Kim is also a prolific writer. She has written several books and her newest, 'Uncovering New Possibilities: Insights from Our Time', has recently been released.