We are happy to inform you that the MPI 2020 Annual Peacebuilding Training will be held from May 18 to June 5, 2020 in Davao City, Philippines. We will be celebrating 20 years of providing space for people of diverse backgrounds to gather together, share and learn in a safe environment where all viewpoints are encouraged and respected. The theme for next year’s training is: “MPI 2020: A Vision of Peace.”

The application form and the information packet listing all the courses that will be offered in 2020 and the names of the facilitators and their profiles as well as other pertinent information will be available here in the first week of December 2019. Once this is disseminated, you can apply.

If you are interested in being on MPI's E-Mailing List and receiving announcements of our programs and activities, please sign-up for our newsletter here.

You will then be notified when applications can be submitted for the MPI 2020 Annual Peacebuilding Training.

It has been almost two years since the Marawi siege when Philippine government forces first began their military assault on the city to root out the Dawlah Islamiya, popularly known as the Maute Group, who believed that promoting their vision of Islam required the use of violence. It took almost five months for the government to defeat the Maute Group and their allies. During the war, many civilians were kidnapped, injured and killed, and thousands were displaced.

Throughout the siege and for the many months that followed, MPI alumni with skills in peacebuilding and conflict transformation responded to those most in need, working to restore just relationships and dealing with those traumatized by the war. Little did they know that many of those with whom they were working or connected were also MPI alumni, that is until 12 March 2019.

On that day, MPI alumni gathered for their first reunion in Northern Mindanao. Twenty peacebuilders, a mix of practitioners and the academe from Lanao del Norte, Lanao del Sur, Misamis Oriental and Agusan del Norte, came together at the Institute for Peace and Development in Mindanao (IPDM), Mindanao State University (MSU) in Iligan City, Lanao del Norte.

Many were surprised at the connections, saying: “Hey, I didn’t know you also attended MPI.” These MPI alumni work together on different peacebuilding issues in that region, especially on issues related to the Marawi siege and the impact it still has on peace and development and the life of the people in Marawi and beyond. Only at this MPI alumni reunion in Iligan did they realize their common roots of knowledge on peacebuilding, conflict transformation or active nonviolence. No wonder that after looking around and seeing so many MPI alumni engaged in Marawi, one alumna said: “It would be good to find out what the relevance of MPI is in Marawi.” This is certainly a research project that MPI could consider.

MPI is pleased to share the Board of Trustees member Dr. Norodin Salam was recently appointed as the Officer-in-Charge of the Bureau of Public Information of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region of Muslim Mindanao (BARMM). We learned of this through the following press release from the Philippine Information Agency (PIA) in Cotabato City.

COTABATO CITY, Aug. 22 (PIA) ---In an aim to promote transparency and moral governance, the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao (BARMM) government launched on Monday, August 19, the media forum dubbed as "Kapihan sa Bangsamoro."

According to the Bureau of Public Information (BPI-BARMM), the "Kapihan sa Bangsamoro" will allow government officials in BARMM to have a dialogue with the media and representatives from non-government organizations. Also, it will discuss not only issues but most especially matters on the progress of the region.

The newly installed officer-in-charge of the BPI-BARMM, Dr. Norodin Salam emphasized that the media forum was established to provide updates on the accomplishments of the different ministries of BARMM.

"We want that information will not only be confined in the four corners of our offices, we want to make sure that the information is centralized and consolidated in order to provide valid information," Salam said adding that the recently launched media forum aims to create awareness on the developments in the Bangsamoro region.

The "Kapihan sa Bangsamoro" was formed under the directive of BARMM spokesperson and minister of local government Atty. Naguib Sinarimbo.

It will be conducted every Tuesday by the BPI-BARMM, the information arm of the BARMM government. (PIA-COTABATO CITY) 

The Mindanao Peacebuilding Institute Foundation, Inc. (MPI), is pleased to announce that we will be welcoming eleven scholars to our 2019 Annual Peacebuilding Training through a Non-Degree Faculty Enrichment Grant from the United Board for Christian Higher Education in Asia.

This is the fifth year in a row that MPI has welcomed United Board scholars to its Annual Peacebuilding Training. Recipients for this year’s training hail from Hong Kong, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines and Sri Lanka. The scholarship allows these educators to participate in all three weeks of the Annual Peacebuilding Training.