Peace journalists press ahead despite numerous obstacles
Given the dumpster fire that was 2020, I wouldn’t have thought any less of my peace journalism colleagues if they had taken the year off and hunkered down. Instead, these peace journalists earned even more of my respect by pressing on with the hard work of spreading the peace journalism gospel.

As the pandemic loomed, we managed to pull off a peace journalism project in Northern Ireland in March. This project, sponsored by the US Embassy-London, was capped by an outstanding trauma reporting seminar taught by Paul Gallagher, Kathryn Johnston, Allan Leonard, Alan Meban, and Dr. Jake Lynch, whom I finally had the pleasure and honor of working with. (For details, see http://stevenyoungblood.blogspot.com/2020/03/amid-traumatic-threat-seminar-discusses.html ).

In April, the Center for Global Peace Journalism at Park University published the first of two Peace Journalist magazines this year that featured stories from talented writers from around the world. (Links--April edition and October edition)

Thanks to the talented and driven peace journalist Salem bin Sahel in Yemen, we were able to organize a seminar via Zoom for Yemeni journalists. The commitment of Yemeni journalists to peace amidst an ongoing conflict transcends was awe inspiring.  (Details: http://stevenyoungblood.blogspot.com/2020/07/war-toxic-media-underscore-need-for.html ). 

The US Embassy in Khartoum, Sudan did the heavy lifting in organizing another Zoom PJ seminar, this time for 255 journalists from around the country—the largest single peace journalism event that I know of. The logistics in getting this set up were daunting, yet the event went off smoothly. (Details: http://stevenyoungblood.blogspot.com/2020/08/zoom-seminar-reaches-energizes-255.html )

I was also privileged to receive a US State Dept. alumni/Partners for the Americas rapid response grant, and used this to deliver a media literacy program to students from Center High School and Center Middle School, Johnson County Community College, and Park University in the Kansas City area. Co-presenters Lewis Diuguid and Allan Leonard shined, arming the students with critical thinking skills. The project culminated with the production of an excellent magazine wherein students showcased their media literacy project. (For details, see previous post below).

The hard work of these fine peace journalists and peace journalism sponsoring organization under the most difficult of circumstances inspires me and fills me with hope for an even better 2021. 

Happy New Year.