By Marianna Tzabiras and Steve Molnar
The Peace Brigades International community is saddened by the recent passing of Joan (Joke) Edenburg, on February 6, 2026.
She was based in the Netherlands, but her heart was with Turtle Island and she became a passionate supporter of PBI’s work in this region.
As a professional archivist, she was instrumental in collecting and cataloguing all the documentation on PBI’s founding and the various projects around the world. Her legacy lives on in the extensive historical records, which are being stored at McMaster University, in Hamilton, Ontario.
-by Marianna Tzabiras.
Steve Molnar, formerly of PBI USA, writes eloquently about his experiences working with Joke.
In Memory of Joan (Joke) Edenburg
Joke and I worked closely together in the 1990s and 2000s on the North America Project (NAP) Committee, the International Personnel Committee, and the International Council. It brings me great joy and sadness to reflect on her and our experiences together.
Joke was so dedicated to the work of Peace Brigades International, to nonviolence, to caring. She was a thoughtful problem-solver, humble, hardworking, and collaborative. She paid attention to details and was always good at following through.
Joke also enjoyed playing, laughing, and carrying on late into the night. She was a joyful person, so alive.
We worked together on the North America Project, inventing a project from scratch, using PBI’s experience in a new context. Much time was spent reaching out to others, visiting Indigenous communities to listen, setting up a viable project, and keeping the work going. We had so many good experiences with that work.
I remember our time together at Birdsfoot Farm in Canton, NY, doing trainings and preparation for the project. The initial work was a collaboration between people from PBI-Canada and PBI-USA, and then, others from Europe joined in as well. Some of the early starters included Alaine Hawkins (Central America Project, PBI-Canada), Phyllis Fischer (PBI-Canada), Alan Dixon (PBI-Canada), Anne Harrison (PBI-UK), Ulli Laubenthal (PBI-Germany), and so many more.
Joke got a laugh about us being on the NAP committee, as if we had the leisure to take a nap.
In the early years, some of our closest ties were with the Mohawk and Innu. We learned so much from these communities about the structural violence and racism, and we grew stronger as a project and a committee with each of these visits.
At the same time, the project struggled for funding and even full recognition within PBI. Joke was there through thick and thin, dedicated to carrying out the work. It was with a heavy heart that we decided to close the project after ten years. Over this time, 94 volunteers from 11 country groups were involved in the project. Joke chronicled the project’s contributions in a book she compiled, Making Space for Peace.
Joke and I later found ourselves as a two-person team on the International Personnel Committee. We came to the International Office (IO) in London to find challenging staff dynamics and very few policies to guide us. Over the next few years, Joke and I researched suitable personnel policies and reached out to Josie Kiernan (PBI-UK) for professional help. We built a consensus with the IO and the International Council (IC) to approve and implement the new policies. And then, from there, we were assisting projects that were in need of policy.
Our work with Helen Yuill and Laura Clark at the IO was always so intense and meaningful. We listened to the issues, provided support, served as a liaison between the IO and IC, and helped work through everything going on in that office. We had a stellar staff. It was an honor to contribute to this work.
Joke and I were very involved in the IC’s work, attending conference calls and face-to-face meetings, joining special committees, and planning the triennial General Assembly meetings. There were so many good people working so hard to support the work of the projects and PBI. It was always challenging to work through budgets and practical problems and to reach consensus.
We had so many meetings with IC members, project coordinators, and IO staff. Face-to-face meetings were also an opportunity to meet with the IO staff in our role on the Personnel Committee. We worked together to create work plans in an environment of big dreams and a limited budget. In addition to the IC’s work supporting the projects, we were also working on a restructuring plan for the organization.
Joke and I enjoyed each other’s company and the work we shared. We had thousands of emails between ourselves and people throughout the organization. We visited each other on both sides of the ocean and were involved in meetings, drama, and PBI business. It was a pleasure to work with her.
I found myself thinking of Joke just before I heard she had passed away. I can only imagine her spirit was waving at me. Joke is deep in my heart.
I am honored to have known her.
-by Steve Molnar.
To make a donation to Peace Brigades International in honour of Joan (Joke) Edenburg, please click here.
