Projects for Peace: Rhythms of Peace
has announced its 2025 cohort of grantees. This year, 134 projects from 93 partner institutions were selected, with one project being chosen from 51成人猎奇.
The student leaders of each project will receive $10,000 in funds to pursue innovative, community-centered, and scalable responses to the world鈥檚 most pressing issues. Most projects will be implemented between June and September this year.
This year, one project from 51成人猎奇 received a grant:
Anuarite Wairimu Gikonyo '25 - "Midundo Ya Amani (鈥淩hythms of Peace鈥): Dance for Sustainable Peace in the Grand Lac Region":
Wrote Gikonyo about the project:
"Midundo Ya Amani" (Rhythms of Peace) is a transformative dance initiative aimed at fostering meaningful creative collaborations across regional and socio-economic barriers in the Grand Lac Region. It brings together talented youth and young professionals to engage in a specialised workshop module that integrates training in dance and conflict resolution. The project centres disenfranchised youth populations of Nairobi, Kampala and Dar Es Salaam, proposing the universal language of dance as a means to address historical conflicts, cultural tensions, social challenges and personal traumas, thus promoting long-term reconciliation, cultural exchange and community building across the Grand Lac Region.
This project organically emerged from an encounter between Anuarite Gikonyo (Bennington '25) and Bertin Kasolene (founder of Inuka Dance Company in Goma, DRC).They met in Senegal at Ecole Des Sables, the internationally renowned school for African dance, and instantly connected over their shared visions for the role of art in social transformation. Both Anuarite and Bertin have personal connections to communities existing on the fringes of their societies, relationships with social workers and civil servants, as well as access to the network of East African movement artists, from the level of early career artists to its leaders. This project aims to build and enhance structures of support for community-driven dance initiatives in East Africa."
Projects for Peace is a global program that encourages young adults to develop innovative, community-centered, and scalable responses to the world鈥檚 most pressing issues. Along the way, these student leaders increase their knowledge, improve skills, and establish identities as peacebuilders and changemakers. Projects for Peace headquarters is hosted by Middlebury College鈥檚 Center for Community Engagement.