Posts By: Libby Hoffman

Inviting Courage

Women in brightly colored dress sit around a table deep in conversation

Hon. Mohamed Juldeh Jalloh, Vice President of Sierra Leone gives remarks at the Constellating Peace 2.0 opening

Every official event in Sierra Leone begins with both a Muslim and a Christian prayer. Sierra Leoneans are a very religious people, and there is a fairly evenly split Muslim and Christian population here (who by the way coexist remarkably harmoniously – a topic for another post perhaps). For Constellating Peace 2, ….Keep reading this post >

Peace and development leaders are growing a global community—from the inside, out

 

I just arrived in Sierra Leone with my colleagues Charles Gibbs and Joni Celiz; we are readying to receive 50 of the most inspiring peace and development leaders, from all around the world, for a week-long immersion into the heart of the work and legacy of Fambul Tok and the inside-out approach we have been pioneering-in-practice together for the last 17 years.

The week in Sierra Leone is the centerpiece of ….Keep reading this post >

Showers of Recognition

Alongside New England’s record seasonal rainfalls, this spring and early summer have brought showers of recognition for The Answers Are There, with the book winning several major book awards. The Nautilus Awards, the Independent Book Publishers Association, the Nonfiction Authors Association, the Independent Publisher Book Awards, and Indie Excellence have all awarded it top honors, with several in more than one category. See below for more information on the individual awards.

Keep reading this post >

My New Book Braids Lessons From a Lifetime of Peacebuilding

How do we lead from wholeness, even in the middle of brokenness? This is a question I’ve held throughout my 30 years as an international peacebuilder. My new book The Answers Are There: Building Peace from the Inside Out, published in October, tells the story of how I’ve been doing that in practice and, especially, in partnership with Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone.

We’re confronted on a daily basis with the ….Keep reading this post >

As Our Work Grows, So Too Is Our Team

As our team continues to support the growth of a global community of learning and practice building peace from the inside out, we have also needed to grow our team. Beyond skillful administrative skills, we were looking for someone with experience and background in grassroots organizing, communications, and coalition building. Our new addition comes with that and more. He brings multi-cultural and multi-lingual resilience and spiritually-based formation that enriches our ….Keep reading this post >

In a time of closings, a Sacred Opening

Bruce Springsteen has a rousing rendition of the classic folk anthem “This Little Light of Mine” on his Live in Dublin album, which opens with Springsteen calling out to his keyboardist, “Charles, bring us home!” Charles Giodarno then jumps into play with a galvanizing rendition of the tune, setting the stage for The Boss, his band, and ultimately the whole audience to join in singing, dancing, and letting our light ….Keep reading this post >

“Community Healing from the Inside Out”

We’re pleased to share “Community Healing From the Inside Out: Systems lessons from Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone,” a chapter by Libby Hoffman that’s included in the book, Locally-Led Peacebuilding: Global Case Studies, edited by Stacey L. Connaughton and Jessica Berns, coming from Rowman & Littlefield in September 2019.

Enjoy!

 

At the heart of it all

What exactly IS #insideoutpeace? And what does it mean for leading transformational social change in the world?

We are happy to announce the release of our new publication Building Peace from the Inside Out: A Transformational Approach to Partnership, which traces the emergence-in-practice of #insideoutpeace as it has been embodied through the decade+ partnership of Catalyst for Peace and Fambul Tok in Sierra Leone, the partnership at the heart of it ….Keep reading this post >

Wan Fambul (One Family) National Framework for Inclusive Governance and Rural Development in Sierra Leone

The Government of Sierra Leone is pioneering a national policy framework that will put its people and communities in the center and at the helm of the country’s planning and development. (For more on the process of our partnership with them in its development, you can check out these posts.)

You can read and download the complete Draft Framework here.

Here is a brief overview and list of highlights of the Framework ….Keep reading this post >

Government’s role in community healing and people-led development – Sierra Leone leads the way

How can government and funders support community healing and people-led planning and development? That was our focus at planning meetings at Ulster University in Belfast in mid-November. Senior government leaders from Sierra Leone gathered to focus on the planning and rollout of the flagship Wan Fambul National Framework for Local Governance and Rural Development, along with partner organizations (I was there representing Catalyst for Peace and John Caulker from our ….Keep reading this post >