Traveler's Aid:   The project attracted Steve Aimes, an important Obama supporter from the Campaign, and we hope for even more.

USIP:   Mary Hope Schwoebel of USIP (United States Institute for Peace) met with the group and agreed to develop a program of sessions at USIP with our group as a partners on intercultural conflict management.  Mary Hope  Schwoebel is a program officer in the Education and Training Center/International. She holds a Ph.D. in conflict analysis and resolution from George Mason University and an M.Ed. in adult and non-formal education from the University of California, Davis. Her dissertation was entitled Nation-building in the Lands of the Somalis and compared three state-building and peacebuilding interventions in terms of how they negotiated Somali, Islamic, and Western models of governance and conflict resolution.

David Soleyman:   David raised some interesting ideas on the continuing struggle in Somalia.  We hope to continue this discussion when Zahra Omar and Mustafa return from their trip to Egypt.

Pravin Gandhi:   Pravin gave a formal presentation on the conflict in Afghanistan and it was agreed we needed to continue this discussion at the September meeting.

Next Meeting.  We plan to meet next in late September, to accommodate the schedule of Mary Hope Schwoebel who will be in Colombia the two middle weeks of Sept, and Larry Roeder, who will be in London the first two weeks.

Next topics:  

• Risk Reduction:  Sálvano Briceño , our member in Geneva, Switzerland, recommended we consider disaster risk reduction as a topic.  He also recommended local speakers from the National Science Foundation and the World Bank to speak with us.  The group agreed this was a very good idea.  Poor disaster risk reduction creates enormous risks to cultures and societies, as well as major risks in foreign aid.   Note on Sálvano Briceño:  he was appointed the Director of the Secretariat of the International Strategy for Disaster Reduction (UN/ISDR) in June 2001.  His career has focused on the management of environmental and sustainable development programmes at the United Nations, the World Conservation Union and the Government of Venezuela. Prior to joining UN/ISDR, Mr. Briceño was the Coordinator of the BIOTRADE and GHG Emissions Trading Initiatives of the UN Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD), Geneva. Before that, he was Deputy Executive Secretary of the UN Convention to Combat Desertification secretariat (1996-1999), following several years as the Coordinator of Intergovernmental and Institutional Support of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. Further UN experience includes five years with UNEP's Caribbean Environment Programme at Kingston, Jamaica, where he collaborated closely with the Pan-Caribbean Disaster Preparedness and Prevention Programme (1987-1991).  Earlier in his career, Mr. Briceño worked on environmental education programmes of the World Conservation Union (IUCN) and coordinated a worldwide network of experts (1985-1987).  Mr. Briceño received a Doctorate in Administrative Law from the University of Paris II (Panthéon-Sorbonne) in 1975 and a Master's in Public Administration from Harvard University in 1984.
• End to War:  Judy Lerner, a famous anti-war activist in the UN New York community recommended to Larry suggested we invite PeaceAction, one of America's most famous anti-war NGOs to talk to the group on their activities to end war as a tool of foreign policy.  the group agreed.    PeaceAction believes that war is not a suitable response to conflict, that every person has the right to live without the threat from nuclear weapons and that America has the resources to both protect and provide for its citizens.  At PeaceAction "We are the nation's largest grassroots peace network, with chapters and affiliates in 30 states. We organize our grassroots network to place pressure on Congress and the Administration through write-in campaigns, internet actions, citizen lobbying and direct action. Through a close relationship with progressive members of Congress, we play a key role in devising strategies to move forward peace legislation, and, as a leading member of United for Peace and Justice and the Win Without War coalition, we lend our expertise and large network to achieving common goals."