Alice Musabende (left) and Dr. Ellen Kennedy, Executive Director

In 2005, Dr. Ellen J. Kennedy spent two weeks in Rwanda. She met a young Rwandan woman, Alice Musabende. Alice was orphaned at age 14 during the Rwandan genocide, losing her grandparents, parents, 12-year-old sister, and 9-year-old and 2-year-old brothers. Alice’s experience affected Dr. Kennedy deeply, particularly because Alice is the same age as her own daughter. Dr. Kennedy shared her experience of visiting post-genocide Rwanda with one of her classes. Upon learning that in 1994 nearly a million people were slaughtered in a hundred days, one of Kennedy’s students asked, “What are we going to do about this?”

Using the model of the Genocide Intervention Network, founded by Mark Hanis, Kennedy began World Without Genocide with a dedicated and gifted group of students. Over the past 18 years our organization has focused on education through many different opportunities – classes, workshops, films, exhibits, conferences – and we have advocated successfully for city and state legislation.  We address conflicts in the past, those occurring today, and the challenging problems of child soldiers, human trafficking, gender-based violence, weapons trafficking, and resource scarcity or abundance as causes of conflict.

Mission

World Without Genocide works to protect innocent people around the world; prevent genocide by combating racism and prejudice; advocate for the prosecution of perpetrators; and remember those whose lives and cultures have been destroyed by violence.

Vision

World Without Genocide envisions a future in which genocide and other mass atrocities, perpetrated against innocent people based solely on who they are, will disappear from the earth.

Core Values

• We believe that people care deeply about each other.
• We believe that we must create opportunities for people to develop empathy for others and a social and political climate in which people will stand up to protect marginalized people everywhere.
• We empower educational, faith, and community leaders to make genocide prevention an important goal at the local, state, national, and international levels.
• We believe that we must end a culture that allows perpetrators of mass atrocities to act with impunity.
• We believe in the importance of preserving the stories of individuals and cultures whose survival has been at risk.

Current Programs

• Political Engagement. World Without Genocide (World) advocates in local, state, and federal government for passage of bills that align with our policy objectives. World successfully advocated for a Genocide Awareness and Prevention bill that passed in the Minnesota legislature in 2013.
• Internships, Fellowships, and Research Associateships. We engage young people through internships and special programs, to develop leaders who make human rights and justice for all a central objective in their lives.
• Speakers’ Bureau. We have experts who travel the region educating about genocide. We have spoken to tens of thousands of people in faith, educational, human rights, and civic communities.
• Educational Films. World Without Genocide, in partnership with the Center for Holocaust and Genocide Studies (University of Minnesota) and Twin Cities Public Television, created a documentary, “Genocide Again: Darfur” in 2009. World Without Genocide and Twin Cities Public Television produced a second film, “Children of Genocide:  Five Who Survived,” in 2010; it was nominated for a regional Emmy award.
• Media Opportunities. World Without Genocide and Executive Director Dr. Ellen Kennedy  are frequently featured on cable television shows, radio programs, and in newspaper interviews throughout the country.
• Plays “Upstanders.” We have written readers’ theatre plays featuring people who took a stand against genocide, including Oskar Schindler, Dith Pran, and Samantha Power. Translations are available in Spanish, Oromo, and Somali. The plays are available without royalty fees and are widely used in training programs, diversity education classes, and faith communities.
• Genocide Education Certificate. World Without Genocide offers certificates to those who attend programs, conferences, lectures, and events about genocides that include Armenia, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Darfur, and current crises.
• Continuing Education. World Without Genocide offers continuing education credits for Minnesota teachers, lawyers, and other professionals, as appropriate, at workshops, lectures, and other events
• Outreach and Program Scope. We address historical conflicts, including Native Americans, the Herero, the Armenians, the Holocaust, Cambodia, Bosnia, Rwanda, Sri Lanka, Argentina, and East Timor. We address current crises in Burma, Darfur, Ivory Coast, North Korea, Guatemala, and Congo; gender-based violence; child soldiers; human trafficking; the global ‘responsibility to protect;’ and issues of justice, prevention, and prosecution.

Organization Information

World Without Genocide is a 501(c)3 non-profit organization.

World Without Genocide is a member of the Association of Holocaust Organizations, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits, American Coalition for the International Criminal Court, and Minnesota Alliance for the International Criminal Court.

Download World Without Genocide’s non-discrimination policy here.

World Without Genocide formally changed its name from “Genocide Intervention Network – Minnesota (MNGIN)” in 2009. Name change certificate available here.

Non-partisanship Statement

World Without Genocide is a 501(c)(3) organization, with tax-exempt nonprofit status granted by the IRS on June 10, 2009. To comply with IRS regulations for this status, the organization cannot be involved or intervene in political campaigns on behalf of, or in opposition to, any candidate for political office.

Contact us

We want to hear from you.
E-mail: info@worldwithoutgenocide.org
Phone: 651-695-7621
Mailing Address: Mitchell Hamline School of Law,
875 Summit Avenue, St. Paul, MN 55105