Using a Participatory Approach to Create SEL Programming: The Case of Ahlan Simsim

This paper highlights the use of a participatory, trauma-informed approach in the creation of Ahlan Simsim, a Sesame Street television program for the Middle East, and asserts the importance of using a participatory approach to designing culturally relevant SEL content. Ahlan Simsim is a component of a larger initiative of the same name, which was created by Sesame Workshop and the International Rescue Committee and funded by the MacArthur and LEGO foundations. This program brings early learning and nurturing care to children and families affected by the Syrian crisis through a combination of mass media and direct service programming. In this article, we present a review of the research and consultations Sesame Workshop conducted with local communities and local child-development experts in Iraq, Jordan, Syria, and Lebanon from August to November 2018. Sesame Workshop's aim was to identify and refine the television program's focus area and to create locally relevant, trauma-informed content that draws from social and emotional learning strategies that resonate most and have the greatest impact with audiences in the Syrian response region. We argue that, for SEL programming to achieve maximum impact, it is critical that program designers develop social-emotional frameworks for children from the ground up by working with local caregivers and practitioners.

Smartphones and social media in reporting the asylum seeker crisis in Europe

During the European asylum seeker crisis, circa 2015, asylum seekers used social media and smartphones for communication alongside journalists using disposable and short-form media, streaming media, and civilian drones for real-time stories that changed practices in journalism. Some journalists uploaded live video whilst others stitched together documentaries with short video clips. Google collaborated with the International Rescue Committee to develop an information site for essential services. A data visualisation developed by independent producers also showed the extent of the crisis. A former refugee, as well as media producers, used drones for aerial filming to help rescue people at sea, but as the crisis worsened, drones were used by authorities to stop people from crossing borders. The crisis also exposed journalists to trauma, even without working directly in conflict zones, revealed by the Dart Center for Journalism and Trauma, which plays an important role for the safety and protection of journalists.

Kekerasan Seksual dalam Hukum Internasional

Kekerasan terhadap perempuan dan anak sebagai kaum rentan dapat terjadi dalam segala situasi yakni saat konflik berlangsung, proses melarikan diri, maupun di tenda pengungsian. The International Rescue Committee melakukan survei pada tahun 2015 yang menunjukkan bahwa 40% dari 190 perempuan dan anak perempuan di Dara’a dan Quneitra telah mengalami kekerasan seksual dari para personil Organisasi Internasional saat mengakses layanan bantuan kemanusiaan. Kekerasan seksual yang terjadi di Suriah adalah tindak kekerasan seksual dengan penyalahgunaan kekuasaan, atau penyalahgunaan kepercayaan, untuk tujuan kepuasan seksual, maupun untuk memperoleh keuntungan dalam bentuk uang, sosial, politik dan lain sebagainya. Berdasarkan Pasal 7 Ayat (1) Rome Statute of The International Criminal Court, kekerasan seksual adalah tindak kejahatan terhadap kemanusiaan (crimes against humanity) yang masuk dalam kategori The most Serious Crime, sehingga Hukum Internasional punya peran dalam hal ini. Penelitian ini merupakan penelitian yuridis normatif, dimana membahas terkait asas dan konsep Hukum Internasional mengenai kedudukan Organisasi Internasional selaku Subjek Hukum Internasional yang memiliki Legal Personality dan Legal Capacity. Oleh karena itu perlu diketahui pengaturan terkait dengan kekerasan seksual dalam hukum internasional.

Heroes and Mentors: Roger Baldwin and William J. “Wild Bill” Donovan

This chapter describes Ambassador vanden Heuvel's relationship with the two most important mentors of his early life: Roger Baldwin and General William J. "Wild Bill" Donovan. His friendship with Roger Baldwin – political activist, conscientious objector and founder of the American Civil Liberties Union – lasted from 1947 until Baldwin's death in 1981. His relationship with General Donovan, the most decorated American hero of WWI and the founder of the OSS, included working as Donovan's personal adjutant when Donovan served as ambassador to Thailand 1953-1954, and accompanying him in work for the International Rescue Committee (of which Donovan was Chair) during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956. The chapter includes Ambassador vanden Heuvel's eulogy for Roger Baldwin, his journal entry on the fall of Dien Bien Phu in Vietnam, and his report on the Hungarian Revolution.

Kegagalan Badan Antikorupsi

Director of Global Supply Chain Compliance at International Rescue Committee, Michael Ndichu Kuria (2012), dalam sebuah tulisannya berjudul “Why do anti-corruption agencies fail?” memaparkan fakta mengejutkan tentang badan antikorupsi. Orang yang berpengalaman dalam bidang tugas konsultansi kontra-penipuan dan kontra-korupsi (terutama untuk wilayah Timur, Tengah dan Tanduk Afrika), ini mengemukakan bahwa sebagian besar dari 50 negara paling korup di dunia membanggakan setidaknya satu lembaga antikorupsi terpusat yang bertugas untuk mencegah, menyelidiki dan mengadili kasus-kasus korupsi.