Author

Development and Peace was established in 1967 by the Canadian Conference of Catholic Bishops in response to Pope Paul VI's encyclical letter Populorum Progressio, which says that Development is the new word for Peace. Peace cannot be seen simply as the absence of war. It must be built daily, and it must strive towards a more perfect justice among human beings (Populorum Progressio, 76). That founding principle of Development and Peace is still maintained today.

Development and Peace seeks ways to help people of all faiths in the Third World break the cycle of poverty through community-based, sustainable development initiatives. Over the years, the focus of Development and Peace shifted from a "project-based" organization to a "program-based" organization.

Development and Peace supports partners working in order to improve living conditions in 70 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America and the Middle East. Our programs involve issues relating to people’s right to better education, women’s equality, agrarian reform, housing and cooperative movements. The funds we send abroad support grassroots organizations run by people who know first hand the issues facing the developing world. These overseas partners help us determine the nature of our agency’s involvement abroad. Since our inception we have funded 15,200 projects world-wide.

After training in biology, anthropology, psychology, and communication, and after several jobs as a community manager, web project manager, and in fair trade, and after passing through the different statuses of employed, freelance, and shopkeeper, Maïa Dereva suffered a severe burn-out at the end of which she said: “Now I want to work exclusively for the common good.” She then created the website semeoz.info which is an observatory of collaborative and constructive practices, and devotes time to many projects such as the P2P Foundation.

Jerry Koch-Gonzalez helps companies and organizations implement sociocracy to create adaptive and effective organizations where all members’ voices matter. He is a consultant and certified trainer in both Dynamic Governance/Sociocracy and Compassionate Communication (NVC), with a focus on governance, decision making, communication skills, and conflict resolution.

He has been a Board member of the Institute for Community Economics, United for a Fair Economy and Class Action, and a trainer with Movement for a New Society, the National Coalition Building Institute, DiversityWorks, Cambridge Youth Peace & Justice Corps, Lesley College Center for Peaceable Schools, Boston College Center for Social Justice, the Association for Resident Controlled Housing, and Spirit in Action.

Jerry is currently the CEO of The Sociocracy Consulting Group (itself a limited liability company run on sociocratic principles).  Jerry is a founding and current resident of Pioneer Valley Cohousing, a 21-year old community in Amherst MA that has been successfully using Sociocracy for the last 3.5 years.

Travis Putnam Hill wrote this article for Gender Justice, the Summer 2016 issue of YES! Magazine. Travis is a freelance journalist and composer based in Austin, Texas. Follow him @TPutnamHill.