New York, USA: The United Nations has embraced advocacy quilting by joining with The Advocacy Project (AP) to launch a spectacular display of quilts at UN headquarters on International Women's Day (March 8th).The event, 'Women Are the Fabric,' featured 11 quilts from AP partners in eight countries and attracted over 250 well-wishers, including several American craftswomen who helped to assemble the quilts in the US. The exhibition will remain up until April 27th and is drawing hundreds of visitors a day.  Read more…

Strasbourg, France: Eight vulnerable Roma women and their families have been offered permanent housing and the chance to make handicrafts by the city of Strasbourg, after they produced a powerful advocacy quilt denouncing discrimination against the Roma in Europe. The initiative was brokered by the Council of Europe, which commissioned the quilt in the spring of 2011 with support from The Advocacy Project (AP). It suggests that quilting can not only help marginalized communities to tell their story, but also change lives.  Read more…

Uvira, DRC-Congo: Traditional leaders are playing a major role in helping survivors of rape in the Eastern Congo to reunite with their families and avoid the stigmatization associated with sexual violence. This is one of the key findings to emerge from the work of SOS Femmes en Danger (SOS FED), a Congolese organization which helps survivors of sexual violence in Fizi Territory. It represents one of the few bright spots in a year that has seen a sharp increase in attacks on women in Fizi . Read more...

Washington, DC: This year, thirty Peace Fellows volunteered for social justice in over 15 countries, working on 27 different human rights issues. From the recent eviction of Dale Farm Travellers in the UK to the approaching elections in DR Congo, Peace Fellows report back with their eye witness accounts on these incredible historical events. Here we've compiled excerpts from some of the highlights of their summer peace fellowships.  Read more...