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.

Winners of Summer 2025 Projects for Peace $10K Grants

Ahmed Abubakari

Cervicare for Peace: A path to health and lasting unity for Kayayei in Ghana, Ghana

Christian Yesashimwe

Sparks of Hope: Fighting Genocide Ideology Through Sports, Kenya

James Mawien Manyuol Dau

Increasing Access to Water Aimed at Reducing Intercommunal Conflicts Among Pastoralist Communities in Tonj North County, Warrap State-South Sudan

James Supeyo Kibiro

Growing Peace: School Gardens for Learning, Climate and Nutrition in Kenya, Kenya

Projects for Peace Summer 2026 Grants for I-House Berkeley

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Eligibility

I-House Berkeley Resident during Academic Year 2025-26 semester in good overall standing.

Projects for Peace Alumni are not eligible.

Timeline

Timeline for I-House Berkeley applicants:

Info Session: September 10, 2025 @6PM-7PM
Great HallCall for Proposals: December 2025
Proposals Due: January 2025
Announcements: April 2026
Implementation: Summer 2026

Application Guidelines

Part A: Proposal Narrative

Proposals must include and answer the following sections:

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?

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

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

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: 2025__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:

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

Link: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1jqFpbmOengz6tWZcdQcP4oRmeYK7_7kR/edit?usp=sharing&ouid=103948998330228453629&rtpof=true&sd=true

Detailed Instructions for Using the Budget Template:

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: 2025_I-HouseBerkeley_PeaceThroughArts_budget

Selection Process

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

Projects for Peace Scoring Table

CRITERIA	POINTS	SCORE	COMMENTS
1. Alignment with Mission of Projects for Peace	30
a. Project operates on grassroots level	10
b. Project aligns with and promotes their definition of peace	10
c. Project identifies and addresses root cause of conflict among parties	5
d. Application followed all instructions and application is complete	5
2. Proposal Narrative and Application	50
a. Project demonstrates innovation and/or experimentation in finding solutions	10
b. Project goals are realistic given personnel, budget, and time constraints	10
c. Project indicators of success are measurable and achievable	10
d. Project makes use of partnerships or collaborations with local community groups, nonprofits, or businesses	5
e. Letter of support from faculty, mentor, or content expert included in application	5
f. Applicant demonstrates knowledge of field of study	5
g. Applicant demonstrates an understanding of the culture(s) and possible risks in which the project will be operating	5
3. Budget	10
a. Budget is realistic and allows applicant to achieve desired results	5
b. Budget is balanced in terms of allocation across areas	5
4. Sustainability	10
a. Project demonstrates sustainability beyond the length of the grant	10
TOTAL	100

Scoring Key Table

SCORING KEY
1 of 5	1-2 of 10	Unsatisfactory: Applicant does not adequately answer the question/address the content area of question.
2 of 5	3-4 of 10	Below Average: Attempts to answer the question, but thoughts or ideas are not fully articulated. The reader is left with significant questions about the project.
3 of 5	5-6 of 10	Average: Answers the question but does not provide significant detail. The reader may be left with questions.
4 of 5	7-8 of 10	Above Average: Answers the question with detail, and thoughts and ideas are articulate. The reader has limited questions regarding specific elements of the project.
5 of 5	9-10 of 10	Exceptional: Answers are creative, innovative, and fully articulated. The reader fully understands the project.

Resources

Part 1: Initiating a Project for Peace

Part 2: Planning a Project for Peace

Parts 3 & 4 coming soon!

Previous Award Recipients

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Summer 2024

Excellence Anurika Joshua

Building Peace Through Digital Empowerment in Anambra State, Nigeria

Hussein Orekoya

Climathon Kano: Climate Conflict Mitigation for Sustainable Peacebuilding in Nigeria Project, Nigeria

Okechukwu Iroegbu

Clean Water for Communal Health, Sanitation, and Peace: A Pilot Project for Villages Impacted by Lack of Drinkable Water in South-Eastern Nigeria

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