Ameth Diouf and Jean Baptiste Talla are the Kroc Institute’s 2009 Catholic Relief Services (CRS) fellows. They have taken a six-week leave from their positions at Catholic Relief Services in Senegal and Cameroon, respectively.
Diouf is a member of the CRS West Africa Regional Office Peacebuilding/Partnership and Governance Advisors Team, and Talla is the CRS Regional Technical Advisor for Peacebuilding and Partnership for the Central Africa Regional Office.
At Kroc, Diouf will research the use of traditional conflict early warning systems in West Africa, as well as the role of women in peacebuilding. He also will contribute data on Liberia and Sierra Leone for the Kroc Institute’s Peace Accords Matrix. Talla will conduct research on the Catholic Church’s role in conflict prevention and transformation in Central Africa.
The Kroc Institute and Catholic Relief Services have sponsored the CRS fellowships for four years. Past fellows have come from Burundi, Indonesia, and the Philippines. The fellowships allow experienced CRS staff to conduct research in a university setting, while also bringing insights from experienced practitioners to bear on Kroc’s academic programs.
Both Diouf and Talla have participated in the Catholic Relief Services-Kroc Institute Summer Institute in Peacebuilding, which explores Church action for peace and justice.
Catholic Relief Services is the official international humanitarian agency of the U.S. Catholic community. The agency provides assistance to people in more than 100 countries.
Contact: Renée LaReau, lareau.3@nd.edu, (574) 631-5098