The Dalai Lama’s Lessons on How to Build Peace, with Darine Abdulkarim

Darine Abdulkarim is Generation Change fellow and a medical doctor from Sudan who works on the physical and psychological rehabilitation of internally displaced women and their reintegration into society. She is one of 25 young civil society leaders from a dozen nations facing violent conflict whom USIP gathered in 2017 for training and mentorship with the Nobel peace laureate and spiritual leader, the Dalai Lama. In recent years, USIP and the Dalai Lama have joined to strengthen such young leaders, recognizing the outsized role that youth can play in halting the world’s violent upheaval and warfare, which is concentrated in countries with relatively young populations.

"Inside the Dalai Lama's compound in Dharamsala, along with 24 other youth leaders from different countries, religions, ethnicities and cultures, I sat in a circle with the world's most iconic figure of peace," she says. "It was a gathering that no words can justly describe. For me, it was nothing short of a healing experience. Most of us openly shared our most painful stories and engaged with the Dalai Lama in a dialogue about loss, resilience and inner peace."

Read Darine's personal essay about the experience

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The United States Institute of Peace works to prevent, mitigate, and resolve violent conflict around the world. USIP does this by engaging directly in conflict zones and by providing analysis, education, and resources to those working for peace. Created by Congress in 1984 as an independent, nonpartisan, federally funded organization, USIP’s more than 300 staff work at the Institute’s D.C. headquarters, and on the ground in the world’s most dangerous regions.