Projects for Peace

About Projects for Peace 

On the occasion of her 100th birthday, Mrs. Kathryn Davis, an international philanthropist alumna of I-House New York, who died in 2013 at age 106, felt some urgency to spark initiatives for building prospects for peace in the world. She committed $1 million to fund one hundred $10,000 projects for peace as she believed that today’s youth – tomorrow’s leaders – ought to be challenged to formulate and test their own ideas.

Projects for Peace is an initiative that has been open to residents of International House - UC Berkeley to design grassroots projects for the summer—anywhere in the world—which promote peace and address the root causes of conflict among parties.

We encourage applicants to use their creativity to design projects and employ innovative techniques for engaging project participants in ways that focus on conflict resolution, reconciliation, building understanding and breaking down barriers that cause conflict, and finding solutions for resolving conflict and maintaining peace. Projects will be selected for funding at $10,000 each.

Projects for Peace Summer 2024 Grants for I-House Berkeley

Eligibility

I-House Berkeley Resident during Spring 2024 semester (preferably through Fall 2024), in good overall standing. Projects for Peace Alumni are not eligible.

Timeline

Timeline for I-House Berkeley applicants:

  • November 13, 2023: Open call for applications

  • December 01, 2023: Information Session with Alumni, 3:00-4:00PM, Sproul Room

  • January 15, 2024: Submission Deadline

  • April 03, 2024: 2024 Projects for Peace final cohort announced

  • Summer 2024: Implementation & Monthly Update Meetings

  • Fall 2024: Final Report

Application Guidelines

Part A: Proposal Narrative 

Proposals must include and answer the following sections:

  1. Project summary: What issue(s) will be addressed? What approach(es) will be used? With whom will the grantee(s) work? What is the rationale for these choices? 

  1. Background: What is your working definition of peace? What preceded this proposal in terms of personal experience, forming relationships, developing knowledge, and other preparation? 

  1. Implementation: What plans have been made for use of funds, use of time, and contingencies?

  1. Anticipated Results: What are the potential short and long-term outcomes for participants, community collaborators, and grantee(s)? How will progress be monitored? How will the project contribute to peace?

    Formatting Specifications 

    Page Count 
    Two (2)  
    Page Margins
    Top 1”                            Right 1”

    Bottom  1”                             Left   1”

    Font
    Arial 10 pt.
    Document type
    PDF only 
    File Naming Convention
    ProjectYear_I-HouseBerkeley_projectitle_proposal

    example:

    2024__I-HouseBerkeley_PeaceThroughArts_proposal

    Header (include on each page)
    • Title of Project

    • Country/ies and/or tribal or ethic lands where project will take place 

    • Institution (International House, UC Berkeley)

    • Designated project leader name and all resident member names: For each resident, please list their home country and university (UC Berkeley). As a reminder, should the proposal be funded, all listed participants must provide a signed Participating Student Funding Agreement. 

    • No personal contact information (I.e. email, phone number, etc) should appear on the proposal

    Part 2: Budget Spreadsheet 

    All proposals must be submitted with a separate proposed budget. This is an estimate of anticipated costs, and it should demonstrate anticipated expenditures of the full grant amount $10,000. 

    All budgeted items should be reported in U.S. Dollars and be grouped in the categories provided. 

    Important links: 

    1. Google Sheets Template:NOTE this is a template please download this sheet and create your own document. 

    Link: https://www.middlebury.edu/sites/www.middlebury.edu/files/2021-10/budget_template_instructions.pdf?fv=VAIJIiUn

    Formatting Specifications 

    Document Type
    Microsoft Excel or Google Sheet
    Naming Convention
    ProjectYear_I-HouseBerkeley_projectitle_budget

    example:

    2024_I-HouseBerkeley_PeaceThroughArts_budget

Selection Process

A committee will use the following rubricto review all I-House Berkeley submissions. 

Projects for Peace logo
Zoom
Patrick Thelen, 2017 Projects for Peace winner

2019 Projects for Peace Presentations

Davis Projects for Peace: UC Berkeley Summer 2019 Winners

Previous Award Recipients

Summer 2023

Dinah Lawan
Foundations of Peacebuilding, Empowerment and Political Education: Building a Voice for Indigenous Women in Areas Most Impacted by the Boko Haram Insurgency, Nigeria

Read the blog post, Dinah Lawan on Advancing Projects for Peace in Nigeria(link is external)

Martin Ssemulugo
Hygiene & Sanitation4Peace at Kigungu Landing Site, Uganda

Read the blog post, Martin Ssemulugo on Promoting Hygiene and Sanitation for Peace in Uganda(link is external)

Eric Assan
Digital Literacy & Mentorship for Peace, Ghana

Read the blog post, Eric Assan on Advancing Digital Literacy for Peace in Ghana

Summer 2022

Cesar Rojas Angel
Title of project: Documentaries for reconciliation

Juan Jose Conforto and Carlos Amat
Title of project: Teaching how to teach: Education to bring light to Honduras

Paulina Tarr
Title of project: Cultivating Peace and Community in West Oakland

Molly Nantongo
Title of project: Ntongo Skills4Peace

Summer 2020/2021

Summer 2020 Winners (conducted in Summer 2021 due to COVID):

Sayantan Mitra “Sunny”
Title of Project: Sondhe Holo, Khelte Cholo: It's Evening, Let's Play!

Oluwagbemisola Akinspe “Gbemi”
Title of Project: The Hope Project

Summer 2019

I-House Worldwide Winner: Sarah Lebu (Kenya)

Title of Project: First Friday: The Peaceful Side of the Street

UC Berkeley Campuswide Winner: Maha Siddiqui (U.S.A.)

Title of Project: Activism in Heart, Health, and Medicine