Projects for Peace was founded by Kathryn W. Davis, an American investor, painter, philanthropist, and political activist. On her 100th birthday, Kathryn initiated the Projects for Peace by awarding $1 million to the first 100 projects. Thes projects aim to positively impact people globally. The projects employ creative and innovative avenues to focus on conflict resolution, reconciliation, and building a global understanding that leads to lasting peace. The Davis family has continued this commitment and funds 100+ projects every year that contribute to global peace.
“There will always be conflict, but I’ll remind you that love, kindness, and support are also part of human nature. My challenge to you is to bring about a mindset of preparing for peace instead of preparing for war.”
– Kathryn Wasserman Davis
ISH - Davis Projects for Peace over the years
ISH residents, as members of International Houses World Wide, have successfully been awarded Projects for Peace since 2009. Since then ISH residents have been involved in leading over 28 projects across the globe; including projects in Poland, Uganda, India, Madagascar, USA, UK, Morocco, Nigeria, Pakistan, Bolivia, Thailand, Lebanon, Rwanda, Ukraine, Sudan, Bangladesh, Japan, Romania and Nepal.
Aparajita Singh – Sankalp – One Undertaking, Several Outcomes (India)
Renee Osubu – Capturing Miracles (USA)
- Rohan Seth – Solar Connect (Rwanda)
- Prerna Rathi – Peace Through Service for Leadership: Harnessing Youth Capacity for Social Cohesion in Refugee Camps (Lebanon)
- Sukriti Gupta – Creating Safe Neighbourhoods for Urban Poor in India Leading to Peace (India)
- Jun Hao Peh – Illuminate Bangladesh (Bangladesh)
- Malgorzata Zwierzchowska – Music With No Borders (Poland)
- Cynthia Magallanes-Gonzales – Refugee/Migrant Children Education and Integration (Morocco)
- Montita Sowapark – HIV Harm Reduction for Low-Income Migrant Communities (Thailand)
- Akshat Shonak – Unnati: The Voyage to Secure Peace (India)
- Tasnim Elboute – Tackling Rural Poverty and Climate Change through Muslim-Jewish Partnership (Morocco)
- Sadanand Ugale, Mrutyunjaya Angadi & Utkarsh Mall – Achieving Peace with PACE (India)
- Mustafa Almiani – Fostering Youth-led Environmental Recuperation (Lebanon)
- Maheen Salman – Youth-targeted Digital Workshops on Legal Awareness (Pakistan)
- Camila Ferraro & Dara Bahour – Celebrating Refugee Contributions (UK)
- Maaz Idres – Transitional Justice Technical Working Group (East Sudan)
- Aneeza Pervez – Celebrating Diversity: Mitigating Conflict with Kindness (Pakistan)
- Paola Nogales Ascarrunz – Restore Peace with Nature (Bolivia)
- Astitva Jindal – Humsafar (We are Together) (India)
- Hercules Singh Munda – Peacebuilding among Soo speakers through conservation of their Linguistic and Cultural Identity (Uganda)
- Nikita Burzanitsa – Nurturing peace through music for war-affected children in Donetsk (Ukraine)
- Nickolle Mahaleth Carrasco Cerda – Tertulias: A place to Grow, Share, and Transform your Challenges into the Best Story (UK)
- Diana Andreea Catana & Alexandru-Marian Catana – Digital Environment as a Medium for National and International Peace (Romania)
- Yoshiyuki Ishikawa – Zine-making in Tokyo’s book club community (Japan)
Animesh Singh Basnet – Digital Kala (Nepal)
- Anando Ghosh – Advancing Environmental Justice through an Intergenerational Citizen Science Project (Brazil)
- Pouyan Jafarian – Ghana 3D: Bridging Tradition and Innovation in Assistive Devices
These projects showcase diverse approaches to peacebuilding – from addressing environmental challenges in Bolivia to supporting refugee integration in the UK, and preserving cultural heritage in Uganda to promoting digital literacy in Pakistan.
We are very proud of the remarkable initiatives international students living at ISH have achieved over the years. They exemplify an environment where diverse perspectives meet, global connections form, and future changemakers develop the vision and networks to create positive impact in the world.
We can imagine that these were the hopes that Mary Trevelyan had in mind when she first established International Students House.