Projects for Peace

Overview

This project was incredibly influential in how I view the world and the role everyone plays in realizing everyone’s human rights. In helping bring this project to fruition, it fortified my want to work towards a more equitable future, where anyone can lead a healthy life.

– Eduardo Fernandez, 2018 Projects for Peace Recipient

Every year, 100 or more student leaders are each awarded a grant in the amount of $10,000 to implement a “Project for Peace,” typically over summer break. Most grantees are undergraduates. The program encourages young adults to develop innovative, community-centered, and scalable responses to the world’s most pressing issues. Along the way, these student leaders increase their knowledge, improve skills, and begin to see themselves as agents of change.

Projects for Peace partners with more than one hundred colleges, universities, and other educational institutions each year, including UNC-Chapel Hill. The selection process at UNC-Chapel Hill is managed by the Carolina Center for Public Service.

The program is made possible by the late Kathryn Wasserman Davis, an accomplished internationalist and philanthropist, who celebrated her 100th birthday in 2007 by committing $1 million for 100 projects for peace. She was so pleased with the outcome that she has continued funding these projects. For more information, visit the Projects for Peace website.

What do you mean by peace?

Applications for a Projects for Peace grant will need to be able to clearly articulate what they understand peace to be and how the project may contribute to peace. Prospective applicants might wish to review and reference resources such as the Strategic Peacebuilding Pathways from the Kroc Institute for International Peace Studies, resources offered by the Institute for Economics and Peace or publications from the United Stated Institute for Peace

Submission Guidelines

Each participating institution will select and submit one proposal for funding along with up to two additional proposals to be considered. The Carolina Center for Public Service oversees the selection process at UNC-Chapel Hill.

To be considered, an undergraduate student (or group of students) must prepare an online application that:

• describes the project (who, what, where) and how it will promote peace,
• includes expected outcomes,
• includes a realistic budget and
• describes prospects for future impact.

Applications for the 2023 Projects for Peace will be accepted November 1, 2022 through January 13, 2023. Apply online through the CCPS Application and Nomination Portal.

Please note that communication between students writing proposals for this award and the Projects for Peace office at Middlebury College is prohibited. Please direct any questions about this award to Ryan Nilsen at RBNilsen@unc.edu.

International Travel Restrictions

According to current university policy on international travel, undergraduate University-affiliated international travel outside of study abroad is currently prohibited. This means that proposals for Projects for Peace grants should not include undergraduate international travel outside of study abroad.

2022 Award Recipients

Aimee Yan, a sophomore studying public policy and Asian studies; Brooke Chow, a sophomore studying public policy and business administration; Michael Zhang, a first-year studying education and public policy; and Pratyush Seshadri, a first-year studying mathematics and economics, received a 2022 Davis Projects for Peace grant for their project, Visibility Forward: Addressing Anti-AAPI Violence through Culturally Representative Education. Visibility Forward is an educational organization they founded that seeks to increase the teaching of Asian American history in secondary school classrooms throughout the United States. To that end, the organization plans to compile a comprehensive catalogue of resources that educators can utilize and incorporate into their own lesson plans. Visibility Forward plans to implement change through policy development to ensure knowledge of Asian American issues and understanding within North Carolina and the broader US. In light of anti-Asian violence during the COVID-19 pandemic, Visibility Forward’s ultimate goal is to increase public well-being and safety, increase Asian American visibility, and create a more compassionate society.