Cohort 4

Every Food Has a Story

Every Food Has a Story is a peacebuilding initiative developed through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum, using food as a universal entry point to nurture empathy and human connection in an increasingly polarized world. Rooted in Asian food cultures, the project integrates storytelling, communal meals, vlogging, and participatory workshops to bridge divides shaped by difference, stereotypes, and misunderstanding. By combining social action with research, it aims to create a community of practice and a knowledge repository around “food peacebuilding”—a neutral, sensory-rich approach to deconstruct conflict and reconstruct peace. The project unfolds in four phases: building foundations, forming partnerships, implementation, and scaling, with plans to disseminate insights through academic articles, art exhibitions, web series, and conferences. Scalable, inclusive, and adaptable, Every Food Has a Story invites collaborators to contribute expertise in ethics, storytelling, funding, and cultural knowledge to grow a global peace movement—one shared meal at a time.

Team Information:

Gia Querubin, Founding Executive Director, Weaving Ecosystems
Project Role: Team Member
Email: giaquerubin@gmail.com

Elaine Pratley, Founder and Director, Peace Kitchen and Peace Inc.
Project Role:  Project Lead
Email: elainepratley@gmail.com

Andrea Y. Park, Regional AI Skilling Advisor, Microsoft
Project Role: Team Member
Email: yoosunee@gmail.com

Ilham Hayeeyama, Senior Consultant, Kenan Foundation Asia
Project Role: Team Member
Email: ilhamhjyama@gmail.com

Asantha Kalyananda, CEO, Third Shift 
Project Role: Team Member
Email: asantha.k@thirdshift.lk

Phasiree Thanasin, Founder, Wocation
Project Role: Team Member
Email: phasiree.t@gmail.com

Panfun Pramojanee, Child Protection Project Coordinator,  Save the Children Thailand
Project Role: Team Member
Email: Panfun.p@gmail.com

Raymond Hyma, Researcher,  Monash University/Warwick University 
Project Role: Team Member
Email: raymondhyma@gmail.com

Suyheang Kry, Executive Director,  Women Peace Makers 
Project Role: Team Member
Email: suyheangsri@gmail.com

Krystle Reid Wijesuriya, Co-founder and Director, GenUth Initiative
Project Role: Team Member
Email: krystle.s.reid@gmail.com

Wanweena Tangsathianraphap, Global Communication Advisor, Diakonia
Project Role: Team Member
Email: wanweena.tangsathianraphap@diakonia.se

For more information, please email Elaine Pratley

Additional Resources:

Every Food Has a Story _ Presentation

Food and Peace Knowledge Base _ Survey

Youth Exchange for Peace

Youth Exchange for Peace is a regional initiative developed through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum to address the systemic exclusion of young people from peacebuilding processes. Rooted in the belief that youth are not just future leaders but active agents of change—especially in conflict-affected settings—the project creates safe, inclusive, and empowering spaces for young people to exchange ideas, build networks, and design community-led peace actions. The program will launch with a pilot Global Youth Forum in August 2025 in Pattani, Thailand, bringing together 50 youth from across Asia for dialogue, skill-building, field visits, and cultural exchange. Follow-up activities include local peace actions, biannual alumni gatherings, and the creation of an online platform for mentorship and narrative-sharing. By combining training, storytelling, and grassroots engagement, Youth Exchange for Peace aims to build a regional movement of young peacebuilders equipped to challenge exclusion, counter hate, and advocate for justice. The team is currently seeking feedback, funding, youth nominations, and host partners to bring this vision to life.

Team Information:

Sajeed Fahurdeen, Advisor/ Attorney at Law, EDWDF
Project Role: Facilitator, Content Co-Creator
Email: Sajeeds304@gmail.com

Man Sokkoeun, Executive Director, Youth for Peace Organization
Project Role:  Co-facilitator/Organizer, Content Co-creator
Email: sokkoeunman@gmail.com

Ratawit Ouaprachanon, Project Manager, Peace Resource Collaborative Foundation
Project Role: Co-Facilitator, Content Co-Creator
Email: ratawito@gmail.com

Anwar Koma, Faculty of Political Science, Prince of Songkla University
Project Role: Coordinator,  Content Co-Creator,  host institution
Email: anwar.k@psu.ac.th

For more information, please email Anwar Koma

Additional Resources:

YEP _Presentation

BRIDGE

BRIDGE is an arts-based initiative developed through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum that supports healing, expression, and empowerment for marginalized and indigenous youth affected by conflict and disasters. In many communities, trauma goes unrecognized, and young people lack access to safe, inclusive platforms that reflect their cultural identity and support emotional recovery. BRIDGE responds with a decolonizing approach centered on photovoice—a creative method where youth use photography and storytelling to share their lived experiences, promote healing, and spark community dialogue. Rooted in indigenous knowledge systems and culturally grounded art practices, the project transforms personal narratives into tools for advocacy, visibility, and systemic change. BRIDGE operates across multiple countries—including the Philippines, Nepal, India, Indonesia, and Afghanistan—with plans for community exhibitions and locally tailored workshops. The team is currently developing trauma-informed protocols, designing participatory materials, and seeking partners, facilitators, and funders to sustain and scale this transformative platform for youth-led peacebuilding.

Team Information:

Aurece Aubrey Bahala, Senior Program Manager, Institute for Autonomy and Governance
Project Role: Implementer (Philippines) & Budgeting
Email: aubreybahala@gmail.com

Ni Wayan Surya Mahayanti, Associate Professor, Universitas Pendidikan Ganesha
Project Role:  Need analysis and Workbook developer
Email:  surya.mahayanti@undiksha.ac.id

Pratik Karmacharya, Director of Advocacy, Freedom Studio
Project Role: Implementer (Nepal) & building training materials
Email: pratikkarmacharya@studiofreedom.org

Geeta Vaishnavi, Founder & CEO, JK Arts Foundation 
Project Role: Implementer (India) & Building training materials
Email: geetavaishnavi@gmail.com

Denise Rafaeli Cadorniga, Communications Officer for South East Asia
Project Role: Implementor & Graphic Designer
Email: deniserafaelicadorniga@gmail.com

Shataakshi Verma, Founder & Director, Art of Freedom (AOF) Global Foundation
Project Role: Building training materials and facilitator/budgeting, and proposal building
Email: shataakshiverma@gmail.com

For more information, please email Shataakshi Verma

Additional Resources:

BRIDGE _ Presentation

Belonging, Uninterrupted 

Belonging, Uninterrupted is a gamified storytelling initiative developed through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum that centers the voices, histories, and rights of marginalized and Indigenous communities often excluded from mainstream narratives and social and climate justice movements. Recognizing that traditional advocacy can be confrontational, inaccessible, or unsustainable, this project harnesses the power of gamification to foster empathy, raise awareness, and drive action in an engaging, non-threatening way. Through co-created content and immersive gameplay, the platform invites users to explore the lived experiences, challenges, and strengths of communities whose stories are too often unheard. The project aims to combine impact with sustainability by building a model that is scalable and monetizable, ensuring lasting visibility and inclusion. The team is now defining core concepts, building partnerships, and seeking collaborators to support game development, funding, and community engagement.

Team Information:

Harithra Chandrasehar, Clinical Psychologist, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT) and Emerge Lanka Foundation
Project Role: Team Member
Email:  harithrac.consultant@gmail.com

Anithra Varia, Researcher, Business and Human Rights Resource Centre 
Project Role: Team Leader
Email: Anithrav@gmail.com

Zoreen Agustin, Program Manager, Save the Children Philippines 
Project Role: Team Member
Email: zoreenagustin@gmail.com

For more information, please email Anithra Varia

Additional Resources:

Belonging, Uninterrupted _ Presentation

Seeding Hope, Brewing Futures: A Coffee Project for the Bangsamoro

Seeding Hope is a peace-aligned livelihood initiative developed through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum, focused on sustainable reintegration of former combatants in the Bangsamoro region of the Philippines. Despite a formal peace agreement, many ex-members of the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) remain economically marginalized. This project proposes building a localized coffee value chain—from cultivation to market—leveraging the region’s favorable climate and the global demand for specialty coffee. Through cooperative formation, agroforestry-based training, and complementary education in peace, leadership, and inclusion, the initiative aims to empower former combatants, women, and youth. A flagship product—Bangsamoro premium coffee drip bags—will generate both livelihood and seed funding for future community development. Rooted in local wisdom and supported by capacity building, Seeding for the Future connects economic opportunity with long-term peacebuilding. The team is now gathering data, seeking regional partnerships, and exploring funding to transform this vision into sustainable impact.

Team Information:

Ryoya Tasai, Director, Overseas Business, Uminomukou Coffee, Sakanotochu Ltd.
Project Role: Project Director
Email: ryoryoryoooooya@gmail.com

Aliah Adam, Director, The Strategic Communication & Capacity Building (SCCB)
Project Role:  Project Coordinator
Email:  aliah.adam@sccb-project.org

Krittanan Pensirisomboon, University Lecturer, Navamindradhiraj University
Project Role: Project Analyst
Email: krittanan@nmu.ac.th

Lawal Seun Isaac, Principal Assistant Registrar, Akwa Ibom State University  
Project Role: Project Administrator
Email: seunlawal@aksu.edu.ng

Deisyi Batunan, Assistant Professor, Universitas Negeri Manado
Project Role: Project Specialist (Capacity Building)
Email: deisyibatunan@unima.ac.id

For more information, please email Ryoya Tasai

Additional Resources:

Seeding Hope  _ Presentation

Strengthening Community-Led Negotiation and Resilience in Myanmar 

Strengthening Community-Led Negotiation and Resilience in Myanmar is an initiative emerging from the Asia Peace Innovators Forum in response to the complex governance and conflict dynamics following Myanmar’s 2021 military coup. As resistance groups and community-based institutions increasingly fill governance gaps in areas like health, education, and justice, local communities face mounting tensions over taxation, service delivery, and fragmented leadership. This project aims to empower community leaders—particularly in Sagaing, Magway, Rakhine, and Northern Shan—by building their capacity for proactive negotiation, dialogue, and conflict mediation with resistance and ethnic armed actors. Focused on strengthening grassroots resilience, the initiative will develop localized training frameworks and practical toolkits for community-led dispute resolution. The team is currently conducting stakeholder mapping and preparing consultations, while seeking partners with expertise in curriculum development, as well as funding to pilot and scale their work in high-need regions.

Team Information:

Arkar Hein, Independent Consultant, Public Policy, Gov Affairs, International Development
Project Role: Project Focal and Technical Support
Email: ahein.2021@protonmail.com

Win Naing, Program Manager, INGO in Myanmar
Project Role: Project management support, communication and M&E
Email:  winnaing.khir@gmail.com 

Cho Zin Thet, Deputy Director (Capacity Building), Institute for Strategy and Policy-Myanmar  
Project Role: Training lead and project management support
Email: chozinthet14@gmail.com

Chintan Raj, Consultant to the Development Commissioner, Government of Bihar, India, Piramal Foundation
Project Role: Research support and external liaising
Email: raj.chintan1@gmail.com

For more information, please email Arkar Hein

Additional Resources:

Presentation

Passing the Parcel: Journal of Peace

Journal of Peace is a traveling book and digital platform developed to humanize peacebuilding by collecting and sharing personal stories and visions of peace from individuals living in diverse conflict contexts. In response to the abstract, top-down, and externally framed narratives that dominate the field, this initiative creates an intimate and tangible way to foster empathy, connection, and future-focused dialogue. As the physical book is passed from one contributor to another, participants add written reflections and visual expressions (photos, drawings, or artwork) depicting their experiences of conflict and aspirations for peace. Each entry becomes part of a growing archive, supported by an online platform that translates, displays, and connects these stories across geographies. Journal of Peace empowers communities to reclaim their narratives, offers societies a living document of conflict realities, and provides the peacebuilding field with a grassroots tool for reflection and innovation. The team is now organizing logistics, mapping the book’s journey, and seeking partners to support the next phase.

Team Information:

Ankita Singh Rathour, Program Manager, Nepal Peacebuilding Initiative (NPI) 
Project Role: Team member
Email: ankita@nepalpeacebuilding.org

Dominik Balthasar, Academic Program Director & Associate Professor (Development Management), Asian Institute of Management 
Project Role: Team member
Email:  dbalthasar@aim.edu

Darshatha Damith Gamage, Director / Co-Founder, IMPACT VOICES  
Project Role: Team member
Email: darshathagamage@gmail.com

For more information, please email Darshatha Damith Gamage

Additional Resources:

Journal of Peace _ Presentation

Reimagining TJ in Asia 

Reimagining TJ in Asia is a grassroots transitional justice (TJ) initiative developed through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum to address the limitations of elite-driven, Global North-centric transitional justice models in Asia. With formal TJ mechanisms often seen as distant or ineffective,  reimagining TJ   proposes a community-centered alternative—capturing informal, locally grounded practices of healing, justice, and accountability from conflict-affected regions like Sri Lanka, Myanmar, and Iraq. Through a participatory and comparative approach, the project documents and analyzes small-scale, culturally rooted acts of justice to inform more inclusive and context-sensitive peacebuilding strategies. By creating a platform for victim advocates, human rights defenders, and local experts to share their lived experiences,  Reimagining TJ  seeks to build trust, empower communities, and influence broader policy conversations. The team is currently mapping resources, collecting case examples, and seeking partners to help scale and communicate their findings across Asia through publications, collaborations, and public engagement tools.

Team Information:

Htu Sam, Project Coordinator
Project Role: Project Manager
Email: htusam089@gmail.com

Phone Pyae Soe, Independent Researcher, School of Public Policy, Chiang Mai University
Project Role: Focal Point for Myanmar and Deputy Project Manager
Email:  curtisbloomsoe@gmail.com

Krmanj Othman, Focal point of Iraq and Kurdistan and Legal Advisor, ISHR 
Project Role: Legal Expert
Email: krmanjothman@gmail.com

Nishandeny Ratnam, Independent Researcher and Human Rights Activist
Project Role: Focal Point for Sri Lanka and Project Coordinator
Email: nishandenyratnam@gmail.com

For more information, please email Nishandeny Ratnam

Additional Resources:

Reimagining TJ _ Presentation

SALT

SALT is a healing-centered initiative developed through the Asia Peace Innovators Forum to support the well-being of humanitarian and development workers (HDWs) across the Asia-Pacific. Rooted in principles of Support, Acknowledgement, Listening, and Trust, the project responds to the inner toll of peace work by fostering spaces for reflection, storytelling, and care, not through clinical mental health interventions, but by centering cultural rootedness, decolonial perspectives, and relational healing. Through a digital journal, story recordings, and interactive resources, A Pinch of SALT invites HDWs to share “a day in their life,” reflect on emotional resilience, and find solidarity across borders. The project enables listening and learning from lived experience, aiming to shift organizational cultures toward deeper acknowledgment of emotional labor. Currently in its research and co-design phase, the team conducts needs assessments, develops journal content, and builds a platform, while seeking collaborators for content creation, funding, and outreach.

Team Information:

Ronald Del Castillo, Behaviour Change and Inclusion Officer, World Food Programme
Project Role: Project Co-Lead
Email: rdelcastillo2581@gmail.com

Angeli Monique Siladan, Project Development and Programme Support Officer, International Organization for Migration 
Project Role: Project Co-Lead
Email: angelimonique@gmail.com

Bernadette Fernandez, Senior Peace Mission Leader, Teach Peace Build Peace Movement
Project Role: Project Co-Lead
Email: blfernandez@tpbpm.com

For more information, please email Ronald Del Castillo

Additional Resources:

SALT _ Presentation