Euphrates Institute

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Transform It started with a river.

In early 2004, Janessa Gans Wilder, founder of Euphrates, was on a military base outside Fallujah, Iraq, during a major battle between US marines and Iraqi insurgents. Sitting on the bank of the Euphrates river weeks later, she was struck by the calm, uninterrupted flow of the water. With images of the conflict fresh in her mind, she couldnโ€™t imagine how any two scenes could be more different. Yet

, even through downtown Fallujah, the river surged on, untouched and unstopped by the chaos, death, and destruction happening around it, still bringing life, sustenance, and hope to the desert. Since that day, she has tried to fully appreciate that powerful lesson, often wondering how we can be more like the Euphrates river.

08/20/2026

๐–๐ก๐š๐ญ ๐ข๐Ÿ ๐ญ๐ก๐ž โ€œ๐ซ๐ž๐ฅ๐ข๐ ๐ข๐จ๐ง ๐ฐ๐ž ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ฎ๐š๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ง๐ž๐ž๐โ€ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ฒ? ๐ŸŽถ

In this thought-provoking clip from Peace Is Power, Maestro Karim Wasfi offers a beautiful challenge: perhaps what humanity needs most is not sameness, but harmony and equilibrium.

We don't have to agree on everything. We don't have to share the same beliefs, identities, cultures, or ways of seeing the world.

๐–๐ž ๐œ๐š๐ง ๐›๐ž ๐๐ข๐Ÿ๐Ÿ๐ž๐ซ๐ž๐ง๐ญ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐ข๐ฅ๐ฅ ๐ก๐š๐ซ๐ฆ๐จ๐ง๐ข๐ณ๐ž.

Just as different notes can create music without becoming the same note, our differences do not have to lead to dissonance. We can disagree at one level and still find connection, dignity, and coexistence at another.

For peacebuilders, this is a powerful invitation: Can we learn to create harmony without demanding uniformity?

๐ŸŽง Watch the short clip, then listen to the full conversation with Janessa Gans Wilder and Maestro Karim Wasfi on Peace Is Power.

๐Ÿ”— https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3730

๐๐š๐ค๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ - ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐”๐ ๐š๐ง๐๐š Sharitah led Bake for Peace and Prosperity, A Community Baker...
08/19/2026

๐๐š๐ค๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐š๐ง๐ ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฌ๐ฉ๐ž๐ซ๐ข๐ญ๐ฒ - ๐๐ซ๐จ๐ฃ๐ž๐œ๐ญ ๐ฎ๐ฉ๐๐š๐ญ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐ซ๐จ๐ฆ ๐”๐ ๐š๐ง๐๐š

Sharitah led Bake for Peace and Prosperity, A Community Bakery Initiative in Hoima City, Uganda, bringing together livelihood skills, community care, and peacebuilding.

The project began with listening, as Sharitah visited women in the community, heard their stories, and worked with them to identify products that could be sold locally. She then secured equipment, ingredients, and the use of a community hall, where local bakers and a training assistant supported participants in learning baking techniques, hygiene practices, simple business skills, packaging, pricing, and selling.

The initiative directly engaged 30 participants, including young women, older women, male youth, and community leaders. Monthly reflection sessions became just as important as the baking itself, giving women space to share challenges, celebrate progress, and support one another. One young woman who had dropped out of school began managing packaging and pricing and shared, โ€œFor the first time in my life, I feel like I can do something. I feel like I matter.โ€

Participants reported earning small yet meaningful income, contributing to household needs, and experiencing greater respect at home. Sharitah plans to continue by reinvesting bakery income, working with volunteers, and seeking additional funding to train more women.

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ ๐€ ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐„๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž! Can music bring peace?What happens when, in the aftermath of violence, someo...
08/17/2026

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ ๐€ ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐„๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž!

Can music bring peace?

What happens when, in the aftermath of violence, someone chooses to respond not with fear, but with music?

In this new episode of Peace Is Power, Janessa Gans Wilder speaks with renowned Iraqi cellist, composer, and conductor Maestro Karim Wasfi about the healing power of music, culture, and human connection.

Karim shares the story of performing his cello at the site of a car bombing in Baghdad, a powerful act of reclaiming space for humanity, dignity, and connection.

Together, they explore why peace is not passive or weak, but one of the most strategically powerful forces available to humanity, why harmony begins within us, and why arts and culture belong at the heart of peacebuilding.

๐ŸŽง Listen to the new episode:
https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3730

What if music could help us remember our shared humanity?

08/13/2026

๐–๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง ๐ฐ๐ก๐จ ๐ฌ๐ญ๐จ๐ฉ๐ฉ๐ž๐ ๐š ๐œ๐ข๐ฏ๐ข๐ฅ ๐ฐ๐š๐ซ.

For 14 years, Liberia was engulfed in civil war. Then women organized.

In this powerful story, Dr. Scilla Elworthy recalls how Liberian women came together in a mass movement for peace, issued a statement of intent, and took their demands directly to the warring factions during peace negotiations in Ghana.

Around 200 women, dressed in white, surrounded the negotiation room and refused to let the process end without an agreement. Their persistence, courage, and collective action helped push the negotiations forward, and their movement continued to contribute to peace in Liberia.

Their story is a powerful reminder: communication is not just about words. It can be a form of power.

๐ŸŽง Watch the clip, then listen to the full conversation with Janessa Gans Wilder and Dr. Scilla Elworthy on Peace Is Power.

๐Ÿ”— https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3725

What can today's peacebuilders learn from the courage and persistence of the women of Liberia?

๐ŸŒ International Youth Day | Youth & Peace in PracticeAt Euphrates, we are committed to supporting young people to streng...
08/12/2026

๐ŸŒ International Youth Day | Youth & Peace in Practice

At Euphrates, we are committed to supporting young people to strengthen their capacity for peace practice and leadership. Today, we are highlighting a project supported through the Peace Practice Alliance in Nigeria that worked with young people and their communities.

Evelyn led Move for Positive Change in Jos, Nigeria, focusing on trauma awareness, personal peace, self-awareness, self-care, active listening, compassionate communication, and the effects of substance and alcohol use on youth and community life.

The initiative directly engaged 104 participants, including youth, women, educators, faith leaders, community leaders, and local stakeholders. The sessions created space for participants to speak honestly about emotional wellbeing, personal choices, and healthier relationships.

Many participants were learning about inner peace and self-care for the first time. Youth participants, including those affected by substance and alcohol use, shared their experiences and reflected on the deeper needs behind harmful coping patterns. Compassionate communication helped participants think about how words, tone, body language, and listening can shape relationships. Evelyn also saw signs of the learning moving beyond the workshop.

During a follow-up visit, one participant shared that she had welcomed and encouraged someone struggling with alcoholism who had previously felt rejected. Insecurity, school closures, and limited stakeholder engagement affected the reach of the project. Evelyn hopes to continue through schools, churches, mosques, parent-teacher groups, and wider youth networks.

๐ŸŒ ๐–๐ž๐ฅ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž! ๐Ÿ•Š๏ธ There is something special about bringing ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ” ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž๐›๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ from ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ...
08/10/2026

๐ŸŒ ๐–๐ž๐ฅ๐œ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž, ๐Ÿ๐ŸŽ๐Ÿ๐Ÿ” ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž ๐€๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ข๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž! ๐Ÿ•Š๏ธ

There is something special about bringing ๐Ÿ’๐Ÿ” ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž๐›๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ from ๐Ÿ‘๐Ÿ ๐œ๐จ๐ฎ๐ง๐ญ๐ซ๐ข๐ž๐ฌ into one shared space, and we are delighted to welcome the newest members of the Euphrates community.

The 2026 Peace Practice Alliance brings together peacebuilders working across youth leadership, education, interfaith dialogue, gender advocacy, refugee support, environmental peacebuilding, Indigenous leadership, civic engagement, community healing, and more. Each brings a unique context, experience, and perspective, along with a shared commitment to learning how we can practice peace more intentionallyโ€”in our work, our relationships, and our everyday lives.

At the heart of the PPA is a simple belief: ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ง๐จ๐ญ ๐จ๐ง๐ฅ๐ฒ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฐ๐ž ๐ก๐จ๐ฉ๐ž ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ. ๐ˆ๐ญ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐ฌ๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ญ๐ก๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ฐ๐ž ๐ฉ๐ซ๐š๐œ๐ญ๐ข๐œ๐ž. Through reflection, dialogue, curiosity, and learning from one another, this cohort will explore what it means to cultivate personal, interpersonal, community, and global peace.

We are excited to learn alongside this new cohort, to hear their stories, and to witness how their practices and insights ripple into the communities they serve. Welcome to the journey! ๐Ÿ’›

Meet the 2026 Peace Practice Alliance cohort: https://www.euphrates.org/ppa-2026

08/07/2026

๐–๐ก๐ฒ ๐๐จ ๐ฐ๐ž ๐œ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ข๐ง๐ฎ๐ž ๐ญ๐จ ๐ข๐ง๐ฏ๐ž๐ฌ๐ญ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฆ๐ฎ๐œ๐ก ๐ข๐ง ๐ฐ๐š๐ซ ๐š๐ง๐ ๐ฌ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ข๐ญ๐ญ๐ฅ๐ž ๐ข๐ง ๐ฉ๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž?

In this clip from Peace Is Power, Dr. Scilla Elworthy shares her perspective on why peacebuilding remains underfunded. She reflects on the influence of longstanding power structures, the challenges women often face in decision-making spaces, and why expanding women's leadership is essential to building a more peaceful future.

This conversation doesn't just ask difficult questions. It invites us to imagine different possibilities and consider what it would take to invest in peace with the same commitment we invest in conflict.

๐ŸŽง Watch the clip, then listen to the full conversation with host Janessa Gans Wilder and Dr. Scilla Elworthy:
https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3725

What changes do you think are needed to make peacebuilding a greater global priority?

๐–๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐…๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž Throughout history, women have often carried the weight of conflict while leadin...
08/04/2026

๐–๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐…๐ฎ๐ญ๐ฎ๐ซ๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž

Throughout history, women have often carried the weight of conflict while leading the work of healing, resilience, and lasting peace. Today is no different.

Our friends at American Friends of Combatants for Peace are hosting an inspiring conversation that brings together remarkable women leaders working across peacebuilding, community resilience, and social movements.

๐–๐จ๐ฆ๐ž๐ง ๐จ๐ง ๐ญ๐ก๐ž ๐…๐ซ๐จ๐ง๐ญ๐ฅ๐ข๐ง๐ž๐ฌ ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐‚๐ก๐š๐ง๐ ๐ž: ๐๐ฎ๐ข๐ฅ๐๐ข๐ง๐  ๐‰๐ฎ๐ฌ๐ญ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐“๐ก๐ซ๐จ๐ฎ๐ ๐ก ๐‚๐จ-๐‘๐ž๐ฌ๐ข๐ฌ๐ญ๐š๐ง๐œ๐ž

๐Ÿ—“ Wednesday, 5 August
๐Ÿ• 1:00 PM EST | 6:00 PM London | 8:00 PM Jerusalem

Hear from:
๐ŸŒณHanadi Hussin Sayed, Palestinian activist, researcher, author, and gender specialist whose work focuses on womenโ€™s empowerment, displacement, and the experiences of women living through and beyond conflict.
โ›ฐ๏ธTova Kahan, Israeli activist and Protective Presence Consortium project manager working alongside Palestinian villages under threat while helping strengthen community resilience and joint action.
๐ŸŒDr. Gail Bradbrook, co-founder of Extinction Rebellion and internationally recognized organizer who has inspired movements for climate justice, systems change, and grassroots action across the globe.
๐ŸชทModerated by Tiffany Goodwin-Van Camp, Executive Director of American Friends of Combatants for Peace.

This conversation explores why investing in women's leadership is essential for building more peaceful, just, and resilient societies. Whether you are a peacebuilder, activist, student, or someone committed to nonviolent change, this discussion offers valuable insights and inspiration.

๐Ÿ”— Register today and join the conversation: https://l.facebook.com/l.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fforms.monday.com%2Fforms%2F9287c179e03e23b8d3668c5fb6d2625e%3Fr%3Deuc1%26fbclid%3DIwZXh0bgNhZW0CMTAAc3J0YwZhcHBfaWQQMjIyMDM5MTc4ODIwMDg5MgABHo3XMYDfgEDDc4I4nzSLupNQZuekJEVaoxuDUkcfRNPRdnxoIH1VEN66OYaj_aem_LwGgVuHy4oopSeNobh2FDA&h=AUA0A2ULRqnF8kYtgW2Tf_HjTEiZ84cDPRS4Vwh-9L1u800kNK_ixDYmXZpfWI3YwAY72Y4hrSn_RTDngClhpfplFEh2B6jQT3e6GEqIiI-IwSn0wOAqO9UiCKZLfyo9zZBoXvSN6BqpVfRr7sO7iA&__tn__=-UK-R&c[0]=AUDMyq8NXsA5cKRF7UmkcgldyyYuPAeMHcDtU2Y6uya-rhtZcBbBzLse8ICv9StfGioBv5TZz4_niABiO0TGvKagmWWYku1MYaSVNsFFn0onojRgJNjg-9ObQRG2WT_XF9rQUxHOLpYlLXY-kkz3nm0VNtsD3Q5KAqVpRceFzhDZmEwBaN4lZ-mpRkvewDpgKVHLDLULowJQoXG9DYeYAhMHiA

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ ๐€ ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐„๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž! If peace works, why isn't everyone talking about it?In this new episode, Jan...
08/04/2026

๐ŸŽ™๏ธ ๐€ ๐๐ž๐ฐ ๐„๐ฉ๐ข๐ฌ๐จ๐๐ž ๐จ๐Ÿ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ˆ๐ฌ ๐๐จ๐ฐ๐ž๐ซ ๐ข๐ฌ ๐‡๐ž๐ซ๐ž!

If peace works, why isn't everyone talking about it?

In this new episode, Janessa Gans Wilder is joined by Dr. Scilla Elworthy, a three-time Nobel Peace Prize nominee and founder of Oxford Research Group and Peace Direct, to explore one of the most important questions of our time.

Together, they unpack why peacebuilding remains underfunded and underrepresented, why communication is one of the most powerful tools for creating change, and how courageous listening, women's leadership, and the wisdom of the heart can transform conflict.

Whether you are a peacebuilder, changemaker, educator, or simply someone searching for hope in a divided world, this conversation offers practical insights and lasting inspiration.

๐ŸŽง Listen now: https://saspod.com/Janessa/190/3725

What if the greatest challenge facing peace isn't that it doesn't work, but that we haven't learned to tell its story?

Today is ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ, our monthly invitation to pause, reflect, and intentionally practice peace in our everyday ...
08/03/2026

Today is ๐๐ž๐ซ๐ฌ๐จ๐ง๐š๐ฅ ๐๐ž๐š๐œ๐ž ๐ƒ๐š๐ฒ, our monthly invitation to pause, reflect, and intentionally practice peace in our everyday lives. At Euphrates Institute, we observe the first Monday of every month as a reminder that every act of kindness, empathy, and understanding helps build a more peaceful world.

This August, we are exploring ๐Ÿ๐จ๐ซ๐ ๐ข๐ฏ๐ž๐ง๐ž๐ฌ๐ฌ as a powerful practice for cultivating peace from within. Forgiveness invites us to release resentment, soften judgment, and create space for healing, compassion, and connection.

As you reflect on this month's prompts, consider how extending grace to yourself can become the foundation for extending peace to others.

We would love to hear from you. Share your reflections or insights in the comments and join us in making peace a daily practice. ๐Ÿ’™

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