Michael Shipler is the Regional Director of Asia Programs where he oversees program offices in Indonesia, Nepal, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, and Timor Leste. Michael has been working in peacebuilding for thirteen years, developing a range of programs focused on youth, media, civil-military affairs, and governance. He previously served as our Senior Program Advisor, providing support to peacebuilding and democratization initiatives in a number of countries, including Yemen, Zimbabwe, Pakistan, Angola, and others. He supported our programs in methodology and strategy development. He co-led technical assistance on a 17-country communications initiative, The Team, using sport, television drama series, and community-based activities to build peace. He previously served as Director of Programs for our Nepal office where co-started and directed a national, multi-pronged media and community program in support of the peace process. He is the founder and former director of our global Children & Youth Division. In that capacity he co-founded the Washington Network on Children and Armed Conflict (WNCAC) and co-created The Child Soldiers Initiative – a global project aimed at eradicating the use of children as soldiers – done in partnership with Lt. General Roméo Dallaire and other institutions. He served as an advisor for the Nigerian television series, The Station, and supported children and youth-focused peacebuilding programs around the world. He authored Youth Radio for Peacebuilding: A Guide, as part of Radio for Peacebuilding Africa. Previously, while working for Youth for Peace, a youth-led organization in Cambodia, he developed a youth leadership development division that helps youth find ways of avoiding violence and contributing to reconciliation in their own communities. Michael is currently pursuing his MA in War in the Modern World at Kings College in London. He is the author of The Dancing Country and Other Stories.