Recent weeks have put on display the power of speaking up.

Take human rights. In late July, thousands of teens took to the infamously dangerous streets of Dhaka, Bangladesh, after two students were killed by bus drivers racing to get new customers. For days, they enforced traffic laws and raised their voices for justice. They want safer streets but are more broadly targeting a culture of impunity around law enforcement.

In another case, Canada raised its voice against Saudi Arabia’s detention of women’s rights activists. Those include Samar Badawi, the sister of a dissident blogger. When Foreign Minister Chrystia Freeland tweeted Aug. 2 that she was “very alarmed,” her country brought to the fore that recent social and economic reforms go only so far.

Speaking up, of course, has its perils. Bangladesh now has tougher penalties for reckless driving – a gain for students. But the increasingly authoritarian country also sent a chill with its demand that teachers start recording the names of students who miss class. Saudi Arabia, meanwhile, has reacted harshly, expelling Canada’s ambassador, bringing home Saudis studying in Canada, and ending new trade deals.

But the broader the forum for speaking up thoughtfully, the better. In the US, that’s playing out in a particularly powerful way, despite a contentious political atmosphere: with lots of new faces running for office and strong signs that there are lots of new faces among voters, too.  

Now to our five stories, showing how people are thinking in new ways about peacemaking – in the neighborhood as well as on the battlefield.