URI Stories of Impact

Lejla Hasandedic, URI Youth Ambassador, helps design a project to bring together a young population divided by a violent past and differences.

Three members of the URI Cooperation Circle Euro-Asia travelled to Novosibirsk, Russia, to participate in a regional conference to honor the UN’s International Family Day.

URI Africa’s continuous advocacy for peace education in Africa finally makes headway with URI Africa’s participation at the International Expert Meeting.

With self-effacing humor Charles Gibbs laughs about his singing voice.  We, his friends, go along and beg him not to sing Happy Birthday or the National Anthem.  

In 1996, Rev. Canon Charles P. Gibbs was asked to lead URI as its Founding Executive Director. Retiring now after 17 years, Charles leaves behind a lasting legacy of servant leadership and an ever-growing global foundation for building cultures of peace, justice and healing.

During Charles’ travels for URI, he met Vjekoslav Saje, whom he has called “a charismatic leader with a contagious passion.” With a background in peacebuilding and conflict resolution, Vjeko started his Cooperation Circle, Balkan as a Soul Bridge, to contribute to rebuilding a broken and divided society after the war in Bosnia and Herzegovina.

The United Nations’ International Day of Peace (IDP) is a day devoted to strengthening the ideals of peace, both within and among all nations and peoples. Since September 21, 2004, URI has commemorated IDP by galvanizing global community action within its network of Cooperation Circles. In addition to the dozens of events that will be held by Cooperation Circles around the world, URI prepares to celebrate IDP through two initiatives: Footprints Around the World for Peace and Talking Back to Hate.