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International Alert is a non-governmental organisation operating in over 30 countries and territories that aims to help people directly affected by conflict find peaceful solutions. It runs projects in Africa, the Middle East, Central Asia and the Caucasus, and South and Southeast Asia. The organisation was founded in 1986 and has its headquarters in London.

International Alert provides peacebuilding training and support for local people to empower them to bring about change in their communities. The organisation researches what drives conflict and uses findings to advise businesses, governments and international institutions on how they can support peace in different contexts.

=History=

International Alert was founded in 1986 by a small group of scholars and human rights activists led by Martin Emnals from Amnesty International. In a year when conflict was escalating in Sri Lanka and Northern Ireland, a state of emergency was declared in apartheid South Africa and the Soviet Union was beginning to break up, they were wrestling with the challenge of how to reduce conflicts within countries.

They decided to merge two organisations working to achieve this - Standing International Forum on Ethnic Conflict, Development and Human Rights, and the US-based International Alert on Genocide and Massacres – to form International Alert.

International Alert has worked in 60 countries since being founded. Their current CEO is Harriet Lamb. She took over from Dan Smith (British author) in November 2015.

=Vision and mission=

International Alert’s vision is to work towards “a world where people can resolve their differences without violence and build a more peaceful future for their families and communities.” The organisation's mission is to build a more peaceful world by:


 * Working with people directly affected by conflict to find peaceful solutions.
 * Shaping policies and practices to support peace.
 * Collaborating with all those striving for peace to strengthen our collective voice and impact.

=Regional programmes=

Africa
In Africa International Alert have programmes in Burundi, DRC, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Rwanda, Somalia and Uganda.

Their work in Nigeria includes supporting women and girls who have been victims of Boko Haram sexual violence. In 2016, International Alert and UNICEF published a report which showed that when they escape captivity they are often stigmatised by their communities. This led the organisation to launch a campaign called #FutureForOurGirls with UNICEF and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (Netherlands).

In Rwanda International Alert brings genocide survivors, perpetrators and ex-combatants together to build trust through ‘dialogue clubs’.

In DRC and Burundi the organisation advocates for women to get more involved in community life and peacebuilding, while a focus of their work on Mali is on tackling violent extremism.

In Liberia and Uganda they bring authorities and communities together to help ensure benefits from natural resources are distributed fairly, and business developments support peace.

Caucasus and Central Asia
In the Caucasus, International Alert run projects to change attitudes of people affected by conflict. They have created a regional business network to encourage cooperation across borders.

In Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan in Central Asia, the organisation encourages dialogue between governments and civil society leaders of different religious and ethnic communities.

Europe
In Ukraine, International Alert provides peacebuilding training and works with its partners to help groups affected by the conflict, including through trauma counselling.

The organisation also works with people from diaspora communities in the United Kingdom to tackle Islamophobia.

Middle East and North Africa
International Alert has programmes in Jordan, Lebanon, Syria and Tunisia.

One focus of their work in this region is building trust between authorities and vulnerable young people, including those who risk being recruited by armed groups. A report they published in 2016 found that it is a lack of opportunities and not religious motivation that drives young people to join armed groups like ISIS.

International Alert also run projects with local partners to improve relations between Syrian refugees and their host communities in Lebanon and Jordan. These have involved artists, technologists and healthcare professionals.

=Thematic work=

International Alert focuses its research and projects around seven broad issues that it believes affect peace: climate change, community relations, addressing crime, violence and instability, gender, natural resource management, economic development and state-citizen relations.

The organisation produces numerous publications every year related to these themes.

One notable example is guidance for how extractive industries should operate in conflict areas.

In 2014, they published a report that called for a ‘gender-relational approach’ to peacebuilding.

In 2015 they were part of a consortium alongside think-tank Adelphi, the European Union Institute for Security Studies and the Wilson Center that published a report setting out recommendations for how the G7 should respond to the threat of climate change.

=Events and initiatives=

Talking Peace Festival
International Alert has run the Talking Peace Festival annually since 2014. This takes place around the International Day of Peace on 21 September. The events aim to start conversations about issues that affect peace Most take place in London.

One feature of the festival is Conflict Café – a pop-up restaurant that serves food from countries affected by conflict to raise understanding about them.

Talking Peace Festival also includes #ART4PEACE - a campaign set up by International Alert that uses street art to raise awareness about peace and conflict issues. This has included live paints and exhibitions and auctions. Previous festivals have also featured poetry recitals, film screenings and talks.

Peace Talks
International Alert also launched an initiative called #peacehack in the first Talking Peace Festival. It has been a feature of the programme ever since. These are hackathons which bring peace practitioners and technologists together to come up with technological ideas for building peace. #Peacehack events have now taken place with other organisations in cities around the world including Athens, Beirut, New York and Washington.

International Alert began running a panel discussion series called ‘Peace Talks’ in 2012. These focus on different topics around the world affecting peace.

=Funding=

International Alert receives funding support from a wide range of donors. Its latest accounts are published on the Charity Commission Regulations website.

=Patrons and Trustees=

Archbishop Desmond Tutu was the first Vice-Chairman of the organisation and he remains a patron today. International Alert has a Board of Trustees with 11 members: Chris Deri, Padma Jyoti, Oliver Kemp, Helena Puig Larrauri, Gordana Duspara Moriarty, Alaa Murabit, Funmi Olonisakin, Soli Ӧzel, Dhananjayan Sriskandarajah, Gregor Stewart and Carol Allen Storey. The Chair of the Board is Chris Mullin (politician).