Joint Learning Initiative on Faith & Local Communities

03/25/2026

We are pleased to launch the Evidence Brief: Faith, Gender and Immunization – Overcoming Barriers to Polio Eradication in Pakistan and Afghanistan. 🌍✨
Commissioned by UNICEF ROSA and developed by the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities (JLI) under the Faith and Positive Change for Children, Families & Communities (FPCC) programme, this brief shares critical insights on:
🔹 Addressing gender-related barriers
🔹 Strengthening community trust
🔹 Improving immunization in complex contexts

This work is a testament to the collective power of religious scholars, institutions, and partners like Alliance for Rethinking Coalition Pakistan (ARC), the Council of Islamic Ideology (CII), Mutaheda Ullama Council in Pakistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, TAVOON Ullama Council in Afghanistan, and our colleagues at UNICEF, RfP, WHO, and GPEI, as well as many others who participated in national consultations and regional dialogues.

Special thanks to the frontline workers whose dedication is driving us toward a polio-free future. 🛡️

📥 Get the full brief here: https://jliflc.com/resources/faith-gender-and-immunization-overcoming-barriers-to-polio-eradication-in-pakistan-and-afghanistan/

02/27/2026

📣 Join JLI for a parallel event: Practicing Hope: Inner Capacities for Gender Justice in Times of Crisis at the United Nations 70th Commission on the Status of Women.

🗓️ Date: March 12 2026, 3:00-5:00 PM
📍 Location: Tzu Chi Foundation Office
229 East 60th Street, New York, New York 10022

This event is co-organized by: Andromeda Turre, Tzu Chi Foundation, Center for Ecumenical and Interreligious Engagement at Seattle University, Episcopal Relief & Development, and the Joint Learning Initiative on Faith and Local Communities.

At , we invite you to join us for an immersive gathering features a live sound experience by Andromeda Turre, alongside a Hope Archive activation, gestalt-informed dialogue, and cross-sector learning.

Together, we will explore what it means to practice hope, as a discipline that sustains courage, solidarity, and action in the face of uncertainty. We will reflect on how hope can be cultivated within ourselves and our movements to carry gender justice work forward.

Register today!

01/21/2026

🌟 Partner Spotlight: Shafak Organization

JLI is proud to highlight منظمة شفق Shafak Organization, a non-profit and non-governmental organization founded in 2013, and operating in Syria and Türkiye to provide integrated humanitarian and developmental responses that meet the needs of conflict-affected communities.

Under its slogan “For Humanity We Work”, Shafak Organization aims to contribute to the empowerment of marginalized individuals and communities by providing humanitarian and developmental responses based on rights principles and transparency, while strengthening effective and sustainable partnerships.

Their programs evolve around the areas:
-Social Cohesion
-Mental Health: Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS)
-Role of Religious Actors
-Integration Strategy

Shafak Organization seeks to build resilient communities by providing services in the fields of health, education, food security and livelihoods, water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH), protection, and accountability to affected populations.

Their partnership with JLI is grounded in a shared belief in mutual learning and the value of building knowledge networks that connect local and international actors.

Their advice to others is simple: “Remain open to flexible knowledge exchange. True partnership requires humility and recognizing the strength of local community practices.”

Read more here 👉 https://jliflc.com/2025/12/partner-spotlight-shafak-organization/

01/14/2026

12/04/2025

The campaign continues until December 10. JLI stands with the Multifaith Advisory Council and faith communities worldwide in the global effort to end all forms of gender-based violence.

📣 Today, we spotlight our explainer on digital violence and digital safety tips. Respect for women and girls, including in online spaces, is deeply rooted across religious and wisdom traditions. These teachings affirm dignity, safety, and the responsibility to prevent all forms of sexual harassment and violence.

We also highlight the council's commitment to advocating for change and supporting faith communities in holding leaders and institutions accountable.

As one example among many sacred teachings:
From the Seventh Generation Principle in the Haudenosaunee Indigenous Tradition, “If our women are not safe, our people are not safe. Violence against women is violence against the future.”

This principle reminds us that protecting women and girls is essential to ensuring the well-being of generations yet to come.

There is for online abuse.

Learn more and join the campaign at unwomen.org 🔶

12/01/2025

📝 During a recent JLI Team meeting, we all took some time to pause, play, and reflect through a word-association drawing activity.

From the words “Localization” to “Fair & Equitable” to “Research Capacity Building,” we explored how the same words can carry different meanings, and how important it is to define, question, and stay curious.

🎨🗣️Language matters. It shapes how we collaborate, imagine solutions, and walk toward justice together. As we grow, we return to two reminders: let go of assumptions to make room for true understanding, and stay committed to seeking knowledge, because , offers us tools like , , and questions.

This is a glimpse of our , and an invitation to continue thinking deeply about the words that guide your own work. 🌍

11/26/2025

Join us for ! 🧡

From 25 November to 10 December, the Multifaith Advisory Council stands with faith communities worldwide for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence, a global campaign to end all forms of violence against women and girls.

This year, the UNiTE theme calls on everyone to and take bold action to prevent and respond to gender-based violence in all its forms.

Now through December 10, we’ll spotlight how sacred texts are sometimes misused online to silence or shame women and girls, and how faith voices can reclaim these teachings as sources of dignity, justice, and equality.

JLI is proud to support this global movement and raise awareness for a world where technology becomes a force for equality, not harm.

There is for online abuse.

Learn more and join the campaign at unwomen.org 🔶

11/18/2025

🌟 Partner Spotlight: The Peacemaker Corps Foundation Kenya

This month we are proud to highlight The Peacemaker Corps Foundation Kenya, which is the leading non-for-profit organization in the field of grass roots peacemaking targeted to global youth 18 and under.

The Peacemaker Corps Foundation Kenya, located in Kisumu City is a United Nations affiliated NGO which strives to build peace through technology to promote tolerance and non-violent conflict resolution in some of the most challenging neighborhoods in East Africa, Africa and around the world.

They
• Educate the youth on the positive exploitation of technology for peacebuilding through co-design workshops and design thinking, online zoom sessions, computer coding and community engagement.
• Build peace through filming as a platform for peacebuidling where young people are empowered through technology and film to tell their stories.
• Teach digital literacy (social media literacy) and disinformation awareness....and music, art and cultural strategies for peacebuilding both online and offline.

Their partnership with JLI is made to further understand the key roles of faith actors or FBOs in peace building as well as network with like-minded individuals and organizations to integrate our efforts for a greater impact and wider reach.

🗣️ Their advice to others is simple: " PCFK gives you a safe, supportive place to name the challenges you face in your work — and to draw on the wisdom, guidance, and solidarity of the community.”

Read more here 👉https://jliflc.com/2025/11/partner-spotlight-pcfk-kenya/

11/15/2025

JLI through its Global MEAL Hub warmly invites you to our upcoming webinar titled: “Measuring Peace: What Works and What Doesn’t in Conflict-Affected Contexts."

📅 Date: 19 November 2025
🕘 Time: 08:00 AM – New York
13:00 PM – London
16:00 PM – Nairobi

📍 Venue: Virtual on Zoom

This session will feature Godwin Yidana, who will share practical insights and reflections on what approaches have proven effective—or not—in measuring peace outcomes in complex, conflict-affected settings.

Register now at jliflc.com/event-calendar

We hope to see you there!

11/06/2025

🗺️ Yesterday, we held our State of the Debate Webinar: Faith Actors’ Experiences of and Perspectives on Localization and Decolonization in Development, Humanitarian Action and Peacebuilding.

📖 We heard from Prof. Emma Tomalin, Lecturer at the University of Leeds, Dr. Jennifer Eggert, senior researcher, and Alvin Andanje, JLI Africa Region Coordinator. Thank you to our JLI Community and Partners , , and Salvation Army International.

We concluded our session by exploring key recommendations for future policy and practice on and , focusing on how these concepts are understood and then put into action by organizations and individuals.

10/27/2025

📣 Join JLI in Upcoming Webinar with partners ADRA, ERD, and The Salvation Army, unpacking insights from the new report: “State of the Debate: Faith Actors’ Experiences of and Perspectives on Localisation and Decolonisation.”

Together, we’ll explore how faith-based actors are shaping localisation and decolonisation in development, humanitarian action, and peacebuilding.

🗓️ 5th Nov | 10 AM New York | 3 PM London | 5 PM Kenya
💻 Zoom
🔗 Register on our website to join the discussion

10/24/2025

That’s a wrap! Yesterday we concluded our online symposium – thank you to everyone who joined, and to our panelists, facilitators, and the many organizations represented in the room.

We also shared a short 3-minute video highlighting our ongoing work with . You can view and share it now – on our JLI YouTube channel.

🌍 Thank you!