ENGAGING YOUTH IN CONFLICT ZONES
Rye Barcott, Cofounder, Carolina for Kibera
Ronan Farrow, Special Adviser on Humanitarian and NGO Affairs, Afghanistan and Pakistan, U.S. Department of State
Rye Barcott was a college student heading into the Marines when he sought to better understand the roots of ethnic violence by spending a summer in one of Nairobi, Kenya’s largest slums, Kibera. He lived in the slum, learned the local language, asked questions, and made friendships that launched his journey into productive engagement with an emphasis on engaging youth. From Ronan Farrow’s experience traveling to areas devastated by genocide to his current position with the State Department where he is working to enhance the ability of U.S. missions abroad to respond to the needs of young people, he too has seen the impact of projects that seek to empower youth. Join The Chicago Council for a discussion with Barcott and Farrow on the challenges of rebuilding civil society in both active and post-conflict zones and the vital role that programs targeting youth serve in creating long term stability and prosperity.
Rye Barcott cofounded Carolina for Kibera as an undergraduate student at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, in collaboration with Salim Mohamed and Tabitha Atieno Festo. He went on to serve five years on active duty in the Marine Corps, where he attained the rank of captain and was deployed to Bosnia, the Horn of Africa, and Iraq. In 2006, ABC World News named Barcott a “Person of the Year” for his dual service to Kibera and the Marine Corps. During his graduate work at Harvard University, he was a Reynolds Social Entrepreneurship Fellow and a member of Harvard Endowment’s Advisory Committee on Shareholder Responsibility. In 2009, Barcott was part of the inaugural class of TED Fellows. Currently, he works in the Sustainability Office at Duke Energy. Barcott is the author of the newly released book, It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine's Path to Peace.
Ronan Farrow is the special adviser on humanitarian and NGO affairs for Afghanistan and Pakistan at the U.S. Department of State. He has previously worked as a UNICEF spokesperson for youth in Nigeria, Angola, and Sudan, and as a representative of the Genocide Intervention Network. Farrow’s writing has appeared in The Wall Street Journal, Newsweek, and the Los Angeles Times. In 2008, Farrow was a corecipient of the McCall-Pierpaoli Humanitarian Award. He was named “New Activist” of the year by New York Magazine in 2009. Farrow received his B.A. from Bard College and his J.D. from Yale University.
Barcott’s book, It Happened on the Way to War: A Marine’s Path to Peace, will be available for purchase and signing following the program.
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