Nasema Zeerak

I was born in Afghanistan and spent my early childhood in Pakistan due to the civil war in Afghanistan. I am a 3rd semester International Policy and Development student at Middlebury Institute of International Studies at Monterey. For me development work is very personal. I come from a developing country where there is ongoing conflict between different ethnicities with external threats from insurgent groups. As an International Policy and Development student at MIIS, I want to pursue a career as a development practitioner. I see conflict resolution and peacebuilding at the heart of development. Development aid is most needed in societies that are emerging from conflict, violence and war. Thus, it is fair to conclude that sustainable development and peace building go hand in hand. Sustainable development in such societies requires multidisciplinary strategies where it cannot be successfully achieved in isolation of peacebuilding and conflict resolution. The introductory conflict resolution course during my first semester at MIIS, helped me understand the roots and dynamics of conflict. I want to attend Summer Peacebuilding Program as I want to be a part of a group of learners among many other practitioners and scholars in the field. I want to learn from contextual examples and experiences of my fellow participants about the tools most effective in peacebuilding and resolving conflict.