Jana El Horr
As this year's recipient of the Mary Lynn Boland award, a Fulbright scholar, and founding member of the Center for Conflict Resolution and Peacebuilding, I asked Ph.D. student Jana El Horr what else she would like to accomplish. Her response was simple: "My next big goal is to finish my dissertation in addition to learning five new languages." This is one full plate, and there is still more. Jana is the International Peacebuilding Fellow at the American Islamic Congress and is spearheading efforts to strengthen Arab-Muslim participation in the Darfur movement. Jana has worked extensively with issues of conflict resolution in the Middle East and organized youth training seminars on issues of leadership, youth empowerment, and human rights. Recently, Jana met with U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to discuss Lebanon and what steps are necessary to promote an indigenous movement for democracy promotion in the country.
On youth issues more generally, Jana acknowledges that peacebuilding approaches are ever-changing, especially when faced with new technology. "Facebook has proved to be a more efficient way to rally youth around issues than emails or ads, and we need to keep up with it," says Jana. Methods for outreach are constantly changing and Jana is at the forefront in using new technology.
On her time at the Institute for Conflict Analysis and Resolution (ICAR), Jana hopes the Institute "will broaden the scope of issues they are involved with in the Middle East," emphasizing that Middle East research at ICAR often focuses on the Arab-Israeli conflict, while there are other conflicts in the region that need to be addressed—including sub-Saharan conflicts, Syrian-Lebanese relations, and human rights abuses in Egypt and Saudi Arabia.
Jana's efforts in resolving conflict are at the core of ICAR's goals. As an example, Jana recently published a training kit with the Council of Europe addressing issues of cultural diversity and minority rights in the Euro-Mediterranean region. Students like Jana, who are involved in both the theory and practice of conflict, exemplify the knowledge and experience that breathes life into ICAR.