After 52 years of war, the Western hemisphere’s longest running conflict came to an end when Colombia signed its historic Peace Accords in 2016. Now the controversial peace deal between the Colombian government and FARC rebels may be in jeopardy …
Author: Maria Polychronis

ROAM Magazine: Inside Guatape, Colombia
This past March, I travelled to Medellin and the surrounding country side, where I explored the villages of the Andes Mountains. I wrote about my trip to Guatape for ROAM Magazine, one of my favorite communities of traveling writers and …

International Development Journal: NYC vs. Big Oil
Last month, the International Development Journal published my article on New York City's recent lawsuit against five major energy companies for climate change damages. As a New Yorker, I am more than pleased that my city is tackling Climate Change …
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Year in Review: The Best and Worst Gender Stories of 2017
It’s the second week of 2018 and there’s already good news breaking on the gender equality front: the pay gap is now illegal in Iceland, the #MeToo movement has turned into the more actionable #Times Up, and the buzz is …
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Times Talk: Exposing Male Abuse of Power
Last week, I had the pleasure of attending the Exposing Male Abuse of Power Times Talk, hosted by the New York Times here in NYC. The all female panel, three New York Times investigative reporters that broke some of the …

Policy Brief: Food Security in Nigeria
I've recently written a policy brief on market development programs and their impact on food security in Nigeria. This is an overview of what market development programs are, how they work and which major international donors are currently implementing these …

Peacebuilding: The Cyprus Problem
For being a relatively tiny island nation in the Mediterranean, Cyprus and its political woes have been a thorn in the side of the international community by remaining one of the world’s longest running intractable conflicts. Being from the island …

Notes from my Field Work in Ghana
My last field assignment took me to West Africa where I was tasked with evaluating rural access to health care in Ghana. Specifically, I evaluated their National Health Insurance Scheme (NHIS), a government initiative to meet health related Millennium Development …