International House is proud to recognize 23 members of our community who this summer have been implementing their own grassroots projects all over the world to promote peace through the Davis Projects for Peace program.

The Davis Projects for Peace is the vision of the late Kathryn Davis ‘32, an I-House alumna who, on her 100th birthday in 2007, launched this program at over 90 college campuses. Each year, the program awards $1 million to 100 student projects, in the amount of $10,000 each, which is channeled through partner colleges and universities. Due to Davis’s special relationship with I-House, a separate 20 projects are awarded to Residents of International Houses worldwide, with 10 projects specifically earmarked for Residents of International House in New York.

Grants for the summer of 2021 were awarded to 13 I-House Residents and Alumni from 2020 and 2021, along with 10 winners from last summer whose projects were put on hold due to the pandemic. Collectively these 23 projects will positively impact people in specific regions and throughout the globe. Winning proposals demonstrate creativity in designing projects and employing innovative techniques for engaging project participants in ways that focus on conflict resolution, reconciliation, building understanding and breaking down barriers that cause conflict, and finding solutions for resolving conflict and maintaining peace.

We congratulate these grantees, listed below with project title and impact location.

1. Ali Almurtadha, Rights Education (Yemen)
2. Isador M. Amaral, Adopt a Park (Brazil)
3. Matthew Argame, Bridging the Gaps Between Justice, Art & Medicine to Resolve Global LGBTQ+ Health Disparities (Grenada, Lesser Antilles, West Indies)
4. Rich Brown, Flashpoint: Kekchi Territory Documentary Series and Conflict Resolution Campaign (Guatemala)
5. Tenzin Chemey, Youth Ambassador for Peace Program (India)
6. Meher Dev, Using Artivism for Kashmiri Youth Led Peace Advocacy and Healing (India)
7. Aleth Berenice Heger-Hedløy, Ius (Global)
8. Basbibi Kakar, Economic Empowerment of Vulnerable Afghan Women (EEVW)
   Project Location: Afghanistan
9. Ruth J. Kissam, Raise Her Voice (Papua New Guinea)
10. Mitsuki Koh, Sensitization Campaign for the Silent Crisis of Mental Health and Illness in The Gambia Project (Gambia)
11. Michelle Lee, Peacebuilding through Tech: Preparing the Young Tech Leaders of the Middle East (Iraq)
12. Bohao Liu, Fly the Eagles in Liangshan (China)
13. Yan Liu, Rebuilding a Peaceful Haven in Hong Kong (China)
14. Lebogang Mahlare, Gender-Based Violence: #ItEndsWithMe (South Africa)
15. Samantha Mandiveyi, Dialogue & Digitization: Meditating Peace for Craftsmen & Women (Zimbabwe)
16. Chikezie Omeje, Preventing Farmer-Herder Violence in Nigeria through Solution Journalism (Nigeria)
17. Prachi Patel, Promoting Peace Through Accessible Health Care and Health Security (India)
18. Maryann Philbrook, How do Tours and Tourists Affect the Understanding of ‘The Conflict’ in the Holy Land? (Israel)
19. Mariano Ruiz, Creating Diverse Communities for Receiving Syrian Refugees in Argentina (Argentina)
20. Paola Siclari, What is the Infrastructure for Urban Peacebuilding? (Colombia)
21. Thuy Hang Tran, Cultivating Peace with Youth in Binh Dinh, Vietnam (Vietnam)
22. Ying Xin, First Anti-Sexual Harassment Toolkit for Chinese Civil Society (China)
23. Je Seung You, The School on the Borders (Kenya)