Tools: the United States Institute of Peace

I have to admit that when the plans for the United States Institute of Peace began (in the 70s) I was a bit skeptical. This was a government sponsored project from the beginning, and though it is “non-partisan”, there have been at times some very partisan actions involved with the appointment of its Director. However, let me say categorically that the USIP does great work and its site and publications are an excellent, and constantly updated, source of information. Also, its work has branched out in many directions, showing an appreciation of the many dimensions of peace. Another plus: the site is quite well organized. Look at the right hand side bar on the home page and you will see the “Practitioner Toolkit”, and go down a little further and you will see the “Education and Training Center”. You will note that you can “Take an Online Course” and I hope this is exploited by individuals and groups alike since there is a great need for such peace education materials–even the most basic. There are also all sorts of reports and newsletters which you can downloaded. In short, high quality information is here, and IG says: check it out!