GCRF Development Award MADAR
Lead Research Organisation:
Keele University
Department Name: Faculty of Humanities & Social Sciences
Abstract
The Maghreb Action on Displacement and Rights (MADAR) Network Plus focuses on protection in contexts of conflict and displacement in the central Maghreb region of Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. MADAR 's core team includes a wide range of regional, national, and interdisciplinary research expertise. We work with civil society organisations to respond to the protection needs of refugees and other displaced people in the region.
The Maghreb region has links across Africa, the Middle East and Europe and it is often associated with emigration and transit northwards, but the Maghreb is also a destination region for thousands of displaced people fleeing conflict and poverty in countries across Africa and the Middle East (e.g. Syria and Libya). The Maghreb countries cooperate with Europe to manage migration and reduce arrivals on European shores. But increasing numbers of displaced people in the Maghreb are at risk and in need of protection and governments lack the resources to support the most vulnerable. As a result, the rights of displaced people are undermined.
MADAR responds to Sustainable Development Goal number 16 to: "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels". MADAR hopes to improve the humanitarian protection of vulnerable, displaced people in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. MADAR aims to:
1) Bring together the regional expertise of UK and Maghreb-based scholars from across the arts and humanities and the social and political sciences.
2) Commission research that will bring together and strengthen the work of researchers in the Maghreb and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.
3) Share best working practices to strengthen partnerships between researchers, activists, artists, and practitioners.
4) Identify ways to help displaced people to get better healthcare, education, and jobs.
5) Influence and help governments to support and protect displaced people in the Maghreb.
6) Work with civil society organisations to combat racism and xenophobia in the region.
The Maghreb region has links across Africa, the Middle East and Europe and it is often associated with emigration and transit northwards, but the Maghreb is also a destination region for thousands of displaced people fleeing conflict and poverty in countries across Africa and the Middle East (e.g. Syria and Libya). The Maghreb countries cooperate with Europe to manage migration and reduce arrivals on European shores. But increasing numbers of displaced people in the Maghreb are at risk and in need of protection and governments lack the resources to support the most vulnerable. As a result, the rights of displaced people are undermined.
MADAR responds to Sustainable Development Goal number 16 to: "Promote peaceful and inclusive societies for sustainable development, provide access to justice for all and build effective, accountable and inclusive institutions at all levels". MADAR hopes to improve the humanitarian protection of vulnerable, displaced people in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. MADAR aims to:
1) Bring together the regional expertise of UK and Maghreb-based scholars from across the arts and humanities and the social and political sciences.
2) Commission research that will bring together and strengthen the work of researchers in the Maghreb and the wider Middle East and North Africa region.
3) Share best working practices to strengthen partnerships between researchers, activists, artists, and practitioners.
4) Identify ways to help displaced people to get better healthcare, education, and jobs.
5) Influence and help governments to support and protect displaced people in the Maghreb.
6) Work with civil society organisations to combat racism and xenophobia in the region.
Planned Impact
The MADAR Development Award aims to have first and foremost a direct impact on project partners and other non-academic organisations across the Maghreb, specifically in Morocco and Tunisia (LMIC countries) and Algeria (UMIC country). MADAR will foster interdisciplinary and cross-sector collaboration and networking beyond academia in the Maghreb region as well as capability development to generate evidence-based solutions to meet the protection needs of refugees, forced migrants and other displaced people in Algeria, Morocco, and Tunisia. The network's commitment to meaningful partnerships with established and early career researchers as well as civil society organisation will foster collaborative research on humanitarian protection of displaced people, promote partnership and dialogue between research institutes across the Maghreb, and enhance the impact and effectiveness of support structures for displaced populations.
The MADAR Development Award will impact on THIRD-SECTOR ORGANISATIONS, PROFESSIONALS, AND PRACTITIONERS WORKING ON CONFLICT AND DISPLACEMENT in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (including project partners from the proposed Network Plus team) in the following ways:
a) The research capacity and skills of MADAR Network Plus Project Partners will be enhanced through co-design and co-delivery of the project.
b) The capacity and skills of the NGO sector in the Maghreb will benefit from our set of events by learning about working practices deployed effectively across the Maghreb to support forcibly displaced communities.
c) The enhanced research capacity of NGOs will enable them to attract future research and development and engender community regeneration.
d) Long-lasting relationships amongst Project Partners will be fostered through the project's plan of team activities (in Morocco and Tunisia)
The MADAR Development Award will impact on THIRD-SECTOR ORGANISATIONS, PROFESSIONALS, AND PRACTITIONERS WORKING ON CONFLICT AND DISPLACEMENT in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia (including project partners from the proposed Network Plus team) in the following ways:
a) The research capacity and skills of MADAR Network Plus Project Partners will be enhanced through co-design and co-delivery of the project.
b) The capacity and skills of the NGO sector in the Maghreb will benefit from our set of events by learning about working practices deployed effectively across the Maghreb to support forcibly displaced communities.
c) The enhanced research capacity of NGOs will enable them to attract future research and development and engender community regeneration.
d) Long-lasting relationships amongst Project Partners will be fostered through the project's plan of team activities (in Morocco and Tunisia)
| Title | BOZA Trailer |
| Description | MADAR partner Racines aisbl have produced the trailer for a documentary film that showcases the stories of the struggles of three sub-Saharan individuals living in Morocco, each with a different story. The film aims to raise public awareness of the real trajectories of migrants and the difficulties they face and to participate in the deconstruction of the media discourse on the issues of migration and forced displacement in Morocco. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | The film has made it into the official selection of the Lift-off Festival, which will bring the issues to a larger audience, both international and regional and trigger a discussion regarding the migratory conditions in Morocco. The trailer has been shared with Racines aisbl's networks, and has been viewed by a large audience. The Boza film was also selected to be showcased at the Student World Impact Film Festival (SWIFF) 2023. |
| URL | https://vimeo.com/757645256 |
| Title | Maghreb Action on Displacement and Rights |
| Description | An animated promotional video was created to introduce the project aims and project partners. The filmmaker is based in Morocco. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2020 |
| Impact | The film has been used by partners in the Maghreb (Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia) to promote the aims of the MADAR network and to facilitate an understanding of the project with potential applicants to MADAR's funding calls. |
| Title | Témoigner pour agir: Nya gives her testimony for action! |
| Description | MADAR partner Racines aisbl has produced a short film as part of a platform that gathers testimonies from migrants and NGOs/Activists working on the issue of migration and forced displacement in North Africa. The film shares the testimonial of the feminist activist Nyabang Otto, originally from South Sudan, on her journey and her experience of settlement in Morocco. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The output is part of a larger campaign to raise awareness of issues of urgent concern related to migration and forced displacement while seeking to inform and shape policy at the national and international levels- as the film was recently released there are no impacts to report as yet. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ElAgxhjcZQM |
| Description | With this award, we aimed to: 1. support the co-development and co-design of a strong full application for a Network Plus that will address development challenges associated with the protection of displaced people in LMICs in the central Maghreb region (Algeria, Morocco, Tunisia). We were successful in that we secured the GCRF-AHRC Network Plus full award. 2. The award set to nurture our established strong, equitable, and sustainable partnerships with research institutions and advocacy groups in the Maghreb. And we managed to work cohesively as a team. 3. Provide additional training to CARITAS (our partners) practitioners. This was achieved. 4.Develop a region-specific (Central Maghreb) review of key research and policy about protection and scoping current data sources (including in Arabic, English, and French).This is still ongoing. |
| Exploitation Route | The region-specific (Central Maghreb) review of key research and policy about protection and scoping current data sources (including in Arabic, English, and French), which is still ongoing, will provide a significant starting point to conduct research on protection of displaced people in the region. It can be a useful tool for other research teams and to other sectors (eg. humanitarian and policy). |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy Government Democracy and Justice |
| Description | THIRD-SECTOR ORGANISATIONS, PROFESSIONALS, AND PRACTITIONERS WORKING as part of our team in Algeria, Morocco and Tunisia have benefited and will continue to do so. Our commitment to meaningful partnership with both established researchers and civil society organisation will enhance the impact and effectiveness of support structures for displaced populations: a) The research capacity and skills of Project Partners is enhanced through co-design and co-delivery of the project. b) The enhanced research capacity of our partners will enable them to attract future research and development and engender community regeneration. c) Long-lasting relationships amongst Project Partners will be fostered through the project's multilingual and interactive website which will showcase findings and outputs such as policy briefs and our handbook on protection in the Maghreb. d) Collectively we have secured further funding for the next 4 years. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2020 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Culture, Heritage, Museums and Collections |
| Impact Types | Economic |
| Description | MADAR Network Plus 'Inception Funding' |
| Amount | £98,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Department | Global Challenges Research Fund |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 02/2019 |
| End | 06/2020 |
| Description | Maghreb Action on Displacement and Rights (MADAR) Network Plus |
| Amount | £1,871,675 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/T008008/1 |
| Organisation | United Kingdom Research and Innovation |
| Department | Global Challenges Research Fund |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 03/2020 |
| End | 03/2024 |
| Description | CREAD - Algeria |
| Organisation | Centre de Recherche en Economie Appliquée pour le Développement |
| Country | Algeria |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | CREAD is a key partner in this award. Together we set up a team and hired two Research Assistants at CREAD - supporting and enhancing research capacity and developing a larger project (see additional funding). |
| Collaborator Contribution | They developed a region-specific (Central Maghreb) review of key research and policy about protection and scoping current data sources (including in Arabic, English, and French). |
| Impact | eview of key research and policy |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Blog post - INTERCULTURALITY AND PERFORMANCE: CREATIVE EXPRESSION AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN THE MAGHREB. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A blog post summarising MADAR's second webinar on the theme "Interculturality and Performance,". The blog was shared on social media and with partners. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://madar-network.org/en/blog/interculturality-and-performance-creative-expression-and-mutual-un... |
| Description | Equality, Diversity and Inclusion workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In 2020 MADAR held a number of cross-sector capacity building and training workshops with external facilitators and project partners including a session on Equality, Diversity and Inclusion. The training led to increased awareness and understanding among the team and formed the basis for the co-development of a MADAR Equality, Diversity and Inclusion workshop policy and procedure. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Key team meeting will all partners in the Central Maghreb |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Attended by academic and non-academicProject Partners and international Co-Is from the proposed Network Plus team. This meeting was an opportunity to strengthen relations with international academic and non-academic partners in the Maghreb. Day 1 was devoted to engaging in activities to build trust and solidify team (e.g. world cafe session); discussing country and context specific priorities and challenges; establishing effective and sensitive working practices which can work across the multiple cultural, geographical and linguistic contexts; and exploring inter- disciplinary working and cross-sectors patterns. Day 2 and morning of Day 3 will was devoted to co-designing and co-developing key vision for the Network Plus full application. Afternoon of Day 3 was centred around setting up a network and building channels between the UK and the Maghreb to build a sustainable legacy. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | MADAR Facebook page |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A MADAR Facebook page was set up in May 2021 to promote the MADAR network, build awareness of our work, and encourage participation and engagement in our opportunities from the Maghreb and beyond. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.facebook.com/MadarNetworkPlus |
| Description | MADAR website |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | A dedicated multilingual and interactive MADAR Network Plus website was set up in 2020 to increase the visibility of MADAR outputs and promote wider public engagement. The website will showcase activities, resources and outputs as they are created throughout the project; promote Dissemination events; and host blogs by MADAR team and Project Partners, researchers, and practitioners from commissioned projects. The website has hosted 2 blog posts by MADAR project Partners, which have also been shared on our social media platforms (Twitter). |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020,2021 |
| URL | https://madar-network.org/en/ |
| Description | Press coverage of report |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | ENASS media in Morocco wrote an article about MADAR partner in Morocco, Racines aisbl's, new policy report on 'Migration policy in Morocco: Between European pressures and Moroccan blackmail" . The coverage of the report in the media has amplified the reach of the report. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://enass.ma/2023/01/09/migration-une-nouvelle-etude-fait-le-bilan-de-la-snia/ |
| Description | Project partner blog post: CARITAS ALGÉRIE - UNE AIDE HUMANITAIRE AUX MIGRANTS |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A blog post written by MADAR partner organisation Caritas Algeria, outlining the humanitarian work they carry out with migrants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://madar-network.org/en/blog/caritas-alg%C3%A9rie-une-aide-humanitaire-aux-migrants/ |
| Description | Safeguarding training |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In 2020 MADAR held a number of cross-sector capacity building and training workshops with external facilitators and project partners including a session on safeguarding. The training led to increased awareness of safeguarding issues and formed the basis for the co-development of a MADAR Safeguarding policy and procedure. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Safeguarding training for practitioners |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Safeguarding training workshops facilitated by CARITAS in in Algeria for practitioners who work with displaced people in need of protection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | THE NATIONAL IMMIGRATION AND ASYLUM STRATEGY (NIAS): THE UNCERTAINTY REVOLVING AROUND REFUGEE POLICIES AND REFLECTED IN THE DESIRE FOR INTEGRATION AND BORDER CONTROL. |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | A blog written by two Moroccan academics was posted on MADAR's website in June 2022, as part of a scoping project under the aegis of MADAR, focusing on migration in Morocco. The blog post examines the uncertainty around refugee policies in Morocco and has been shared with partner organisations as well as the general public via the MADAR mailing list and on MADAR social media channels, in order to increase awareness and understanding of migration issues amongst the general public in Morocco, the UK and beyond. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://madar-network.org/en/blog/the-national-immigration-and-asylum-strategy-nias-the-uncertainty-... |
| Description | Training workshop- ethics and risk |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In 2020 MADAR held a number of cross-sector capacity building and training workshops with external facilitators and project partners including a session on ethics and risks. The training led to increased awareness and understanding among the team and formed the basis for the co-development of a MADAR Ethics and Risk policy and procedure. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | WEBINAR: INTERCULTURALITY AND PERFORMANCE - CREATIVE EXPRESSION AND MUTUAL UNDERSTANDING IN THE MAGHREB |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | MADAR's second webinar was an exploration of the theme "Interculturality and Performance," following on from World Refugee Day on June 20th, and to celebrate World Music Day on June 21st. These events are open to the public and we seek to address a wide variety of audiences. There were 25 people in attendance and the webinar enabled MADAR to build our network and initiate conversations on the main topics and themes related to MADAR. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://madar-network.org/en/events/webinar-interculturality-and-performance/ |
| Description | Webinar: Migration, Displacement and the Arts |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | 55 people attend MADAR's first webinar in our webinar series, bringing together members of the MADAR network and external speakers, to explore questions and topics - such as antiracist advocacy, action research, and gender in the context of migration- interlinked with the challenges of displacement and protection in the Maghreb region. The first webinar in the series explored arts-based methodologies and displacement and included MADAR partners as well as an external speaker from a university in Algeria. There was a lot of interest in the webinar from external audiences and this enabled MADAR to build our network and initiate conversations on the main topics and themes related to MADAR. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://madar-network.org/en/events/webinar-migration-displacement-and-the-arts/ |
| Description | Workshop training on Principles |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In 2020 MADAR held a number of cross-sector capacity building and training workshops with external facilitators and project partners including a session on Principles. The training led to increased awareness and understanding among the team on the main principles and terms of engagement that inform the MADAR project. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |