The Center for Mediation, Peace and Resolution of Conflict (CEMPROC) is a nonprofit organization based in Cumming, GA, USA; and Quito, Ecuador with the ultimate purpose of reducing conflict in Latin America. It was founded in 2003 by Jeffrey Pugh, who serves as its Executive Director. CEMPROC’s leadership also includes a Director for Ecuador, Omar Rodriguez. The organization is governed by an International Board of Directors in consultation with a local Board of Directors in Ecuador, which oversees the Ecuador branch. CEMPROC offers training and educational programs, mediation services, and consulting, especially for marginalized areas in the developing world and among immigrant communities in the United States, building local capacity in peaceful conflict resolution and mediation.
¡CityArts! began its work in 1992, with a summer camp assembled by a handful of neighborhood social service agencies, families, and community leaders. The camp was an initial response to the community’s critical need for positive programs to engage youth during out-of-school time. This need persists and significant demand for ¡CityArts! programs has resulted in year-round afterschool and summer classes which now serve over 1500 youth annually. Today, in addition to working with local artists and educators, ¡CityArts! youth have exceptional opportunities to take field trips to local museums, perform at community gatherings, receive homework help from students attending our partner universities, engage in neighborhood service projects, and have their work displayed in galleries throughout Providence!
The Institute for the Study and Practice of Nonviolence has a mission to teach the principals and practices of nonviolence and to foster a community that targets the reduction of gang related violence in Rhode Island. Providence is one of the poorest cities for children in the nation, and poverty levels directly correlates to violence rates.There are estimated to be over 1,400 gang members in the city,where approximately 50% of youth have lost a family member to homicide. The Institute works with law enforcement, families of victims, convicted persons, employment services, as well as hospitals to reduce violence in the Providence area. Through a series of Nonviolence Trainings in prison and schools, Street Outreach, hospital response to violent crime, employment services, and enrichment activities, the organization successfully serves both victims and perpetrators of violent crimes. The Institute works from all angles to renew community bonds. In an effort to continue our work once back in the United States, three groups of students have been working on various projects with the Nonviolence Institute.