Creating Safer Space: Strengthening Civilian Protection Amidst Violent Conflict
Lead Research Organisation:
Aberystwyth University
Department Name: International Politics
Abstract
"Creating Safer Space" is a four-year international, interdisciplinary research network, which supports local civilian processes that build sustainable structures of protection from physical harm for and with communities affected by violent conflict. The Network brings together conflict-affected communities, protection practitioners, academics, policymakers and artists to jointly work on the vision of enhancing unarmed protection practices, which create safer space for communities and individuals amidst violent conflict, raise their levels of resilience and help prevent displacement.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are now a record high of 68.5 million people forcibly displaced by violent conflict (UNHCR 2019), and the majority of deaths in conflicts are among civilians. This makes the protection of civilians from physical harm in contexts of war a pressing issue of our time. While the international community has acknowledged the need for protection, the physical safety of civilians is still seen almost exclusively as a task of armed outside actors like UN blue helmets.
The originality of this Network is its focus on protection provided by unarmed actors and deployed at the local level of communities, be it by "outside" specialists or "insider/local" protection actors. Unarmed civilian protection (UCP) organisations accompany human rights defenders and deter armed actors from carrying out attacks against them through their presence and proactive engagement strategies. They use networks of relationships built with armed and unarmed parties to a conflict to negotiate safe passage of internally displaced persons to a safe camp or to bring forcefully recruited youth back to their families. They also monitor ceasefires & agreements. Moreover, some violence-affected communities self-protect by setting up peace communities and weapons-free zones, creating safer space for civilian life amidst violent conflict.
There are over 40 international NGOs and a growing number of national and local organisations currently undertaking protection work in 24 countries in conflict, in addition to local self-protection initiatives. They illustrate that the protection of civilians by civilians without the use or threat of force can work to create physical safety, and may even do more: by providing a role model, and by not fuelling further violence, UCP can help break cycles of violence and thus contribute to longer-term peacebuilding. Initial research has suggested that UCP may often be more effective than armed protection and indeed, latest UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions mention the potential of UCP, indicating some change in thinking.
"Creating Safer Space" aims to enhance and broaden the practice of UCP by engaging a wide range of stakeholders in networking, capacity-building, research and impact activities around three broad themes:
A. Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict: Which different kinds of vulnerabilities interact in what ways in situations that require protection, and which different protection strategies do they require?
B. Building local protection infrastructures: How can outside protection strategies and self-protection mechanisms in communities work together for best protection results and without undermining each other?
C. Developing civilian protection capabilities: How can unarmed local protection be scaled up in size/scope and include new actors and collaborations with a view to protect more people from violence and displacement and develop stronger protection capacity?
To address these questions, our Network delivers activities for academic and non-academic partners from the Global North and South across three strands of work: networking and capacity enhancement; collaborative and innovative research; and knowledge sharing and advocacy. Taken together, these activities aim to increase the number of people benefiting from civilian protection worldwide.
According to the UN Refugee Agency, there are now a record high of 68.5 million people forcibly displaced by violent conflict (UNHCR 2019), and the majority of deaths in conflicts are among civilians. This makes the protection of civilians from physical harm in contexts of war a pressing issue of our time. While the international community has acknowledged the need for protection, the physical safety of civilians is still seen almost exclusively as a task of armed outside actors like UN blue helmets.
The originality of this Network is its focus on protection provided by unarmed actors and deployed at the local level of communities, be it by "outside" specialists or "insider/local" protection actors. Unarmed civilian protection (UCP) organisations accompany human rights defenders and deter armed actors from carrying out attacks against them through their presence and proactive engagement strategies. They use networks of relationships built with armed and unarmed parties to a conflict to negotiate safe passage of internally displaced persons to a safe camp or to bring forcefully recruited youth back to their families. They also monitor ceasefires & agreements. Moreover, some violence-affected communities self-protect by setting up peace communities and weapons-free zones, creating safer space for civilian life amidst violent conflict.
There are over 40 international NGOs and a growing number of national and local organisations currently undertaking protection work in 24 countries in conflict, in addition to local self-protection initiatives. They illustrate that the protection of civilians by civilians without the use or threat of force can work to create physical safety, and may even do more: by providing a role model, and by not fuelling further violence, UCP can help break cycles of violence and thus contribute to longer-term peacebuilding. Initial research has suggested that UCP may often be more effective than armed protection and indeed, latest UN Security Council and General Assembly resolutions mention the potential of UCP, indicating some change in thinking.
"Creating Safer Space" aims to enhance and broaden the practice of UCP by engaging a wide range of stakeholders in networking, capacity-building, research and impact activities around three broad themes:
A. Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict: Which different kinds of vulnerabilities interact in what ways in situations that require protection, and which different protection strategies do they require?
B. Building local protection infrastructures: How can outside protection strategies and self-protection mechanisms in communities work together for best protection results and without undermining each other?
C. Developing civilian protection capabilities: How can unarmed local protection be scaled up in size/scope and include new actors and collaborations with a view to protect more people from violence and displacement and develop stronger protection capacity?
To address these questions, our Network delivers activities for academic and non-academic partners from the Global North and South across three strands of work: networking and capacity enhancement; collaborative and innovative research; and knowledge sharing and advocacy. Taken together, these activities aim to increase the number of people benefiting from civilian protection worldwide.
Planned Impact
The "Creating Safer Space" impact agenda is informed by its underlying Theory of Change: Our vision is to contribute to the creation of safer space for an increased number of conflict-affected individuals worldwide. To this end, the Network functions as an inclusive platform to provide evidence for and share good practice in civilian protection, strengthen local protection infrastructures based on a deep understanding of dynamics of vulnerability, and broaden the community of practice using local civilian protection strategies. Taken together, this will contribute to creating safer space for communities to transform their own conflicts, break cycles of violence and displacement and create conditions for development.
Impact will arise directly from activities in Network Strands 1 (networking and capacity development) and 2 (commissioned research) and from targeted dissemination and impact activities under Strand 3. Five main beneficiary groups and respective pathways to impact have been identified:
1) Conflict- and displacement-affected communities:
The Network will enable better protection of (more) communities in conflict. Participatory research activities will ensure needs-based protection provision that builds new or supports existing local protection capacity. "Sowing Seeds" grants will expand civilian protection to communities thus far not or insufficiently protected. The dissemination of good UCP practice will be supported through reports, briefings & arts and media outputs (e.g., illustrations, film screenings, exhibitions, or performances).
2) The global UCP community of practice:
The Network activities will impact the global UCP community of practice in the form of strengthened capacity that ultimately benefits conflict-affected communities. Through networking, sharing experiences, increased research capacity, strengthened links to national and international researchers, and tailored monitoring & evaluation methods, the community of practice will be better able to evaluate what works and how, to enhance their existing work, to expand it to new communities, and to provide more convincing evidence of the effectiveness and sustainability of local civilian protection to funders. A UCP knowledge database, skills and methods online courses, a UCP E&M manual and any other outputs will be available online beyond the Network's lifetime and create a legacy for future UCP work.
3) Policymaker/donor communities:
To promote greater UCP awareness, support and use, the Network will organise events with policymakers/donors to disseminate project and synthesised findings. Events will take place nationally in the four core countries, regionally in Addis Ababa (African Union), Jakarta (ASEAN) and Chiapas (Network of Protection Organisations), and internationally in London (UK stakeholders), Geneva (humanitarian/human rights agencies) and New York (United Nations).
4) Societies in the countries of the Network's core activities:
The Network will encourage and fund creative forms of research and outcome dissemination that lend themselves to raising societal awareness of the need for and merits of civilian protection of conflict-affected communities (e.g., collaborations with artists and media specialists). The aimed impact is a positive change in attitudes of the public engaged through these activities towards non-forceful protection measures that help break cycles of violence.
5) The general global public:
The Network will create an interactive and engaging website to inform about its research and findings, provide practical information about UCP approaches, and engage with individuals or organisations interested in joining the Network as Associated Partners. The aim is to expand knowledge of UCP strategies to more people and organisations worldwide, and to highlight their potential uses, not least also in countries of the Global North (e.g., protection of refugees and migrants, prevention of urban/gang violence).
Impact will arise directly from activities in Network Strands 1 (networking and capacity development) and 2 (commissioned research) and from targeted dissemination and impact activities under Strand 3. Five main beneficiary groups and respective pathways to impact have been identified:
1) Conflict- and displacement-affected communities:
The Network will enable better protection of (more) communities in conflict. Participatory research activities will ensure needs-based protection provision that builds new or supports existing local protection capacity. "Sowing Seeds" grants will expand civilian protection to communities thus far not or insufficiently protected. The dissemination of good UCP practice will be supported through reports, briefings & arts and media outputs (e.g., illustrations, film screenings, exhibitions, or performances).
2) The global UCP community of practice:
The Network activities will impact the global UCP community of practice in the form of strengthened capacity that ultimately benefits conflict-affected communities. Through networking, sharing experiences, increased research capacity, strengthened links to national and international researchers, and tailored monitoring & evaluation methods, the community of practice will be better able to evaluate what works and how, to enhance their existing work, to expand it to new communities, and to provide more convincing evidence of the effectiveness and sustainability of local civilian protection to funders. A UCP knowledge database, skills and methods online courses, a UCP E&M manual and any other outputs will be available online beyond the Network's lifetime and create a legacy for future UCP work.
3) Policymaker/donor communities:
To promote greater UCP awareness, support and use, the Network will organise events with policymakers/donors to disseminate project and synthesised findings. Events will take place nationally in the four core countries, regionally in Addis Ababa (African Union), Jakarta (ASEAN) and Chiapas (Network of Protection Organisations), and internationally in London (UK stakeholders), Geneva (humanitarian/human rights agencies) and New York (United Nations).
4) Societies in the countries of the Network's core activities:
The Network will encourage and fund creative forms of research and outcome dissemination that lend themselves to raising societal awareness of the need for and merits of civilian protection of conflict-affected communities (e.g., collaborations with artists and media specialists). The aimed impact is a positive change in attitudes of the public engaged through these activities towards non-forceful protection measures that help break cycles of violence.
5) The general global public:
The Network will create an interactive and engaging website to inform about its research and findings, provide practical information about UCP approaches, and engage with individuals or organisations interested in joining the Network as Associated Partners. The aim is to expand knowledge of UCP strategies to more people and organisations worldwide, and to highlight their potential uses, not least also in countries of the Global North (e.g., protection of refugees and migrants, prevention of urban/gang violence).
Organisations
- Aberystwyth University (Lead Research Organisation)
- COVENTRY UNIVERSITY (Collaboration)
- Prince of Songkla University Thailand (Collaboration)
- Chulalongkorn University (Collaboration)
- University of Sheffield (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF GREENWICH (Collaboration)
- BAYERO UNIVERSITY KANO (Collaboration)
- University of the Andes (Collaboration)
- London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF WINCHESTER (Collaboration)
- Autonomous University of Occident (Collaboration)
- Nonviolent Peaceforce (Collaboration)
- University of Antioquia (Collaboration)
- Del Rosario University (Collaboration)
- Pontifical Bolivarian University (Collaboration)
- African Leadership Institute (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF YORK (Collaboration)
- University of Valle (Collaboration)
- KING'S COLLEGE LONDON (Collaboration)
- Community Empowerment for Progress Org (Project Partner)
- Consortium of Bangsamoro Civil Society (Project Partner)
- Harlequin and the Jugglers (Project Partner)
- African Women and Child Feature Services (Project Partner)
- Peace Tree Network (Project Partner)
- Ctr for Dev & Ethnic Studies (CDES) (Project Partner)
- Nonviolent Peaceforce Philippines (Project Partner)
- Peasant Association of Antioquia (ACA) (Project Partner)
Publications
Arias López BE
(2023)
Art That Protects
in Humanitarian Exchange
Ridden L
(2023)
Unarmed Civilian Protection
in Humanitarian Exchange
Furnari E
(2021)
The Palgrave Handbook of Positive Peace
Bliesemann De Guevara B
(2020)
The Palgrave Encyclopedia of Peace and Conflict Studies
| Title | Project "'Ritualising' Protection in Conflict": Ritualising Protection Project website |
| Description | The Ritualising Protection Project website includes details about the project concept, methodology, ethics, team, partners, and activities. It also includes a blog and is connected to a number of social media channels (specifically, Twitter, Facebook and YouTube). It is available in both English and Spanish. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The website was disseminated by the Centre for Applied Human Rights as well as the organisation Protection International. According to Squarespace analytics, between 30 January 2023 and 28 February 2023, the website was visited by 199 unique users for a total of 232 visits. |
| URL | https://www.ritualisingprotection.org/ |
| Title | Project "'Ritualising' Protection in Conflict": Video Introduction |
| Description | The video introduction for the Ritualising Protection Project briefly present the project concept and main partners. It highlights the challenges faced by the Nasa indigenous community of the Resguardo de Huellas Caloto and the aims of the collaboration. It is filmed in Spanish and available with English subtitles. |
| Type Of Art | Film/Video/Animation |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | The video was launched separately on the three social media platforms where the Ritualising Protection Project is present. It has been viewed 15 times on YouTube, 91 times on Twitter, and 566 times on Facebook. It has been re-tweeted/posted by Protection International, the Centre for Applied Human Rights, the York Law School, the Asociación de Cabildos Indígenas del Norte del Cauca. |
| URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zlrmr2X8ivs&t=62s |
| Description | GRCF Network Plus 2022 Funding |
| Amount | £99,999 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/T008024/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 10/2022 |
| End | 03/2025 |
| Title | UCPResearch Database on unarmed civilian protection and community self-protection |
| Description | Searchable annotated bibliography and document database collecting existing knowledge about unarmed civilian (self-)protection-including outside/local protection actors and communities' self-protection initiatives-, taking into account academic and grey literatures as well as other sources of information/knowledge and ways of knowing. Specific focus on the project core countries Colombia, Myanmar, the Philippines and South Sudan, but also mapping more conceptional/theoretical literatures as well as other cases of UCP and community self-protection. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | As the database was only recently published, there are no notable impacts to be reported yet. |
| URL | https://ucpresearch.resourcespace.com/ |
| Description | 'Ritualising' protection in conflict: a collaborative visual ethnography of the cultural and spiritual protection practices of the Nasa people in Colombia |
| Organisation | University of York |
| Department | Centre for Applied Human Rights |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "'Ritualising' protection in conflict: a collaborative visual ethnography of the cultural and spiritual protection practices of the Nasa people in Colombia" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | The research project "'Ritualising' protection in conflict: a collaborative visual ethnography of the cultural and spiritual protection practices of the Nasa people in Colombia" contributes to the N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, 2 - Building local protection infrastructures, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. Indigenous peoples in Colombia are caught in the midst of an armed conflict that has lasted for more than fifty years. Despite an elaborate protection architecture, the state has so far been unable to effectively protect them. Hence, in order to survive, indigenous communities have had to devise their own self-protection strategies. Not only do these strategies encompass the physical and psychosocial dimension of security, but they also draw on ancestral spiritual and cultural practices that both strengthen the indigenous communities' physical protection and reaffirm their self-determination. However, these practices are often misunderstood by the state structures, which fail to implement support strategies to support them. The project seeks to understand how ancestral spiritual and cultural practices protect indigenous communities in the midst of armed conflict and what coordination mechanisms could be put in place to ensure that these practices are effectively supported by the state. The project seeks to generate a conceptual and visual representation of these practices through a collaborative visual ethnographic study of the Nasa people of the Resguardo Indígena de Huellas Caloto, an indigenous community situated in the North of the Cauca Department in one of the areas worst affected by the armed conflict. Research team: Piergiuseppe Parisi, Centre for Applied Human Rights / York Law School, University of York, UK; Lehidy Carolina Baltam Salazar, researcher, Popayán, Cauca, Colombia; Resguardo Indígenas de Huellas Caloto, Colombia. |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Art that Protects, phase 1: Contributions of artistic-cultural initiatives to the self-protection strategies of young people and women in the context of the urban conflict in the city of Medellín, 2022 |
| Organisation | University of Antioquia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Art that Protects, phase 1" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2021 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Art that Protects, phase 1" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The research project studies the contributions of artistic-cultural initiatives to the self-protection strategies of young people and women in the context of the urban conflict in the city of Medellín, 2022. The project aims to focus on two issues less explored in the existing literature on civilian self-protection: first, how forms of self-protection are related to urban conflict-related violations, with an emphasis on women and youth; and second, what place and meaning artistic and cultural practices developed by community-based organisations take in forms of self-protection. The research is carried out in the city of Medellin, Colombia, in collaboration with artistic and cultural organisations active in neighbourhoods affected by urban violence (central, north-eastern and north-western communities, as well as peri-urban districts). Exploring these questions allows to re-dimension the concept of civilian self-protection and its strategic possibilities for a better living of urban communities. Research team: Beatriz Arias López, Universidad de Antioquia (principal investigator); Adriana Diosa, Cultural corporation for development Arlequín y los Juglares; Giovanni Pérez Cárdenas, Cultural corporation for development Arlequín y los Juglares. |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Art that protects, phase 2: Networks as strategies for self-protection in the context of urban conflict in the city of Medellín, 2023 |
| Organisation | University of Antioquia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Art that Protects, phase 2" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 phase 2 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Art that Protects, phase 2" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The first phase of the Art that Protects project documented the place of artistic and cultural initiatives developed by community-based organisations in the city of Medellín in the landscape of nonviolent self-protection. Issues such as legitimacy, permanence in the territory, and the commitment to socially engaged art appeared as key elements to understanding the self-protective character of these initiatives. In our investigation we found, firstly, that violations are not produced on the basis of isolated categories such as gender or age, but by a combination and superimposition of different social factors; and secondly, that the network of relationships and alliances between artistic and cultural organisations is a key strategy that allows them to generate sustainability and "armour" in the face of violations. These findings are further explored in the second phase of the project, in order to identify the type of networks that have been formed, how their exchanges take place, and what collaborative strategies they use, and to understand the effects on the self-protection of communities in the context of the urban conflict in Medellín from an intersectional reading of social vulnerabilities. Research team: Beatriz Arias López, Universidad de Antioquia (principal investigator); Adriana Diosa, Cultural corporation for development Arlequín y los Juglares; Freddy Giovanni Pérez Cárdenas, Cultural corporation for development Arlequín y los Juglares; Sandra Maryori Benitez Diosa Cultural corporation for development Arlequín y los Juglares; Victoria Strauss (member of the Trans People's Network/Red Popular Trans), University of Antioquia. |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned |
| Organisation | Autonomous University of Occident |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, 2 - Building local protection infrastructures, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The project investigates and seeks to strengthen the extraordinary capacity of Colombian communities to navigate the complex conflicts that threaten their security. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, which conducts research with rather than on communities, the team collaborates with grassroots organisations and train community researchers in three diverse communities in the Pacific region of South-West Colombia: i) the predominantly Afro-Colombian port city of Buenaventura; ii) mestizo coca growers based in and around the town of Lerma; and iii) members of an indigenous coffee-growing cooperative in Caldono, Toribio, Santander de Quilichao and Bolivar municipalities. Through an extended engagement with these communities, and utilising a variety of ethnographic, archival and participatory research methods including the use of Participatory Video, the project aims to: Document and analyse the diverse experiences, initiatives and infrastructures of Unarmed Civilian Protection in Colombia's Pacific region; Identify and disseminate lessons for effective Unarmed Civilian Protection at a regional, national and international level; Strengthen community capacity for self-analysis and project collaboration through training in participatory research. The overarching goal of the project is to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and experiences which enhances community capacities for UCP in the region and beyond. Research Team: Juan Mario Díaz, University of Sheffield, UK (principal investigator); Simon Rushton, University of Sheffield, UK (co-investigator); Arlene B. Tickner, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia (co-investigator); Jesús Alfonso Flórez López, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator); Natalia Campo, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator); Adrián Alzate, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator) Corporación Memoria y Paz (CORMEPAZ) (project partner); Central Cooperativa Indígena del Cauca (CENCOIC) (project partner); Escuela Agroambiental El Arraigo - Comunidad del Lerma (project partner); Pastoral Social Popayán (project partner). |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned |
| Organisation | Del Rosario University |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, 2 - Building local protection infrastructures, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The project investigates and seeks to strengthen the extraordinary capacity of Colombian communities to navigate the complex conflicts that threaten their security. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, which conducts research with rather than on communities, the team collaborates with grassroots organisations and train community researchers in three diverse communities in the Pacific region of South-West Colombia: i) the predominantly Afro-Colombian port city of Buenaventura; ii) mestizo coca growers based in and around the town of Lerma; and iii) members of an indigenous coffee-growing cooperative in Caldono, Toribio, Santander de Quilichao and Bolivar municipalities. Through an extended engagement with these communities, and utilising a variety of ethnographic, archival and participatory research methods including the use of Participatory Video, the project aims to: Document and analyse the diverse experiences, initiatives and infrastructures of Unarmed Civilian Protection in Colombia's Pacific region; Identify and disseminate lessons for effective Unarmed Civilian Protection at a regional, national and international level; Strengthen community capacity for self-analysis and project collaboration through training in participatory research. The overarching goal of the project is to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and experiences which enhances community capacities for UCP in the region and beyond. Research Team: Juan Mario Díaz, University of Sheffield, UK (principal investigator); Simon Rushton, University of Sheffield, UK (co-investigator); Arlene B. Tickner, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia (co-investigator); Jesús Alfonso Flórez López, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator); Natalia Campo, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator); Adrián Alzate, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator) Corporación Memoria y Paz (CORMEPAZ) (project partner); Central Cooperativa Indígena del Cauca (CENCOIC) (project partner); Escuela Agroambiental El Arraigo - Comunidad del Lerma (project partner); Pastoral Social Popayán (project partner). |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned |
| Organisation | University of Sheffield |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Community strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection in South-West Colombia: local experiences and lessons learned" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, 2 - Building local protection infrastructures, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The project investigates and seeks to strengthen the extraordinary capacity of Colombian communities to navigate the complex conflicts that threaten their security. Using a Participatory Action Research approach, which conducts research with rather than on communities, the team collaborates with grassroots organisations and train community researchers in three diverse communities in the Pacific region of South-West Colombia: i) the predominantly Afro-Colombian port city of Buenaventura; ii) mestizo coca growers based in and around the town of Lerma; and iii) members of an indigenous coffee-growing cooperative in Caldono, Toribio, Santander de Quilichao and Bolivar municipalities. Through an extended engagement with these communities, and utilising a variety of ethnographic, archival and participatory research methods including the use of Participatory Video, the project aims to: Document and analyse the diverse experiences, initiatives and infrastructures of Unarmed Civilian Protection in Colombia's Pacific region; Identify and disseminate lessons for effective Unarmed Civilian Protection at a regional, national and international level; Strengthen community capacity for self-analysis and project collaboration through training in participatory research. The overarching goal of the project is to facilitate an exchange of knowledge and experiences which enhances community capacities for UCP in the region and beyond. Research Team: Juan Mario Díaz, University of Sheffield, UK (principal investigator); Simon Rushton, University of Sheffield, UK (co-investigator); Arlene B. Tickner, Universidad del Rosario, Colombia (co-investigator); Jesús Alfonso Flórez López, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator); Natalia Campo, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator); Adrián Alzate, Universidad Autónoma de Occidente, Colombia (co-investigator) Corporación Memoria y Paz (CORMEPAZ) (project partner); Central Cooperativa Indígena del Cauca (CENCOIC) (project partner); Escuela Agroambiental El Arraigo - Comunidad del Lerma (project partner); Pastoral Social Popayán (project partner). |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Development of civil protection capacities in women displaced by the armed conflict through popular communication and Community Legal Empowerment |
| Organisation | University of Valle |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Development of civil protection capacities in women displaced by the armed conflict through popular communication and Community Legal Empowerment" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Small Grants Call (projects up to £30,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Development of civil protection capacities in women displaced by the armed conflict through popular communication and Community Legal Empowerment" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic area 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The research project takes a qualitative approach based on a research-action design, to explore experiences with unarmed civilian self-protection among victims of the armed conflict in Colombia who live in contexts of socio-urban segregation, where they continue to be exposed to multiple violences related to a politics of fear. The team uses innovative strategies of community advocacy and audio-narratives to ensure active participation and to produce testimonial resources of the women's collective struggles for social cohesion as a basis for the peaceful defence of their communities. Research Team: Luisa Maria Colonia, Masterpeace Cali, Colombia (principal investigator); Gustavo Suárez, Universidad del Valle, Colombia (co-investigator); Fundación Carvajal, Colombia (project partner); Unicatólica, Colombia (project partner); Humanos: Foro Iberoamericano de Periodistas en DDHH, Colombia (project partner). |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Exploring Community Perceptions and Coping Strategies on Violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar |
| Organisation | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Exploring Community Perceptions and Coping Strategies on Violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Exploring Community Perceptions and Coping Strategies on Violence in Rakhine State, Myanmar" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 2 - Building local protection infrastructures. The research explores how local ethnic groups in the Rakhine state, Myanmar, identify and cope with the local violent events they have encountered or anticipated. Region-wide violence has become a common experience among those living in the conflict-ridden region of the Rakhine state. Within the span of two decades, there were at least three crises that sparked violence across the region: the 2012 sectarian conflict between ethnic Rakhine Buddhists and Rohingya Muslims in northern Rakhine; the 2016-2017 violent campaign against Rohingya; and the occasional armed conflict between Myanmar's armed force, Tatmadaw, and the local ethnic armed group, the Arakan Army (AA). These prominent events have never been fully resolved but linger as a pretext for the violent incidents encountered by the members of these local ethnic groups. The project explores local peace infrastructures and unarmed civilian protection strategies through the lens of ethnic groups living in both central and northern Rakhine areas. It uses a participatory action research approach not only to compare different conceptions of violence of the different ethnic groups in the region but also to explore divergent strategies of said groups to handle and reduce violence in their respective communities. With this core research design, the project involves its sampled members of ethnic local groups throughout all phases of the research project design, implementation, and post-data collection. Their feedback on the finding is critical later on to better understand the local capacity to engage with unarmed civilian protection strategies. Research Team: Abellia Anggi Wardani, Knowledge-Hub Myanmar - Center for Social Integrity (Principal Investigator); Riyad Anwar, Knowledge-Hub Myanmar - Center for Social Integrity; Florian Weigand, Centre on Armed Groups and London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE); Tony Neil, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE). |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Exploring unarmed civilian self-protection in Cameroon's Anglophone conflict |
| Organisation | African Leadership Institute |
| Country | South Africa |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Exploring unarmed civilian self-protection in Cameroon's Anglophone conflict" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Small Grants Call (projects up to £30,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Exploring unarmed civilian self-protection in Cameroon's Anglophone conflict" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. It investigates community-led initiatives of unarmed civilian protection in the ongoing 'Anglophone conflict' in Cameroon. Subjected to violence from both the military and armed separatist groups, civilians have been pro-active and resourceful in devising ways to protect each other and stay safe, inclusive of coded language, non-verbal communication, direct negotiation with the warring parties, early warning networks and information sharing through local associations and social media. The creation of a culture where 'everybody is one another's keeper' has been crucial in enabling citizens to sustain their lives within the conflict zones since 2016. The role of women and women's organisations is especially significant. Thus, this research explores bottom-up approaches to UCP, inclusive of their strengthening, and provides an important contribution to knowledge about informal and innovative grassroots efforts of civilian self-protection that involve vulnerable civilians' own agency. Research methods include arts-based and creative approaches (participatory storytelling, poetry, and drawing) that enable conflict-affected communities to co-create knowledge. The research project is conducted by a team of UK-based and Cameroon-based researchers and practitioners that has previously undertaken successful research on this neglected conflict. The three NGO members are all currently involved in providing humanitarian support to civilians in the conflict zones. Project Investigators, Partner, and Roles: PI: Prof Gordon Crawford, is Research Professor in Global Development, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), Coventry University (CU). He is responsible for overall leadership, research design and management of the project, including ethical approval and write-up of research outputs and dissemination. // Co-I: Prof James Kiven Kewir, is a Professor of Conflict Prevention and Regional Integration and Research Hub Leader for Central Africa, African Leadership Centre (ALC), Nairobi, Kenya. He is responsible for organisation and management of all aspects of data collection in Cameroon, and management of Cameroonian team members. Contribution to write-up of outputs and dissemination. // Co-I: Dr Nancy Annan, is an Assistant Professor, at the Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), Coventry University (CU). She is responsible for review of relevant secondary literature on UPC and the Anglophone conflict, preparation of interview guides, data transcriptions and analysis using NVivo, project webpage and social media presence. Contribution to write-up of outputs and dissemination. // Co-I: Dr Bernard Sakah, is the Managing Director of Big Steps Outreach Network (BONET), Cameroon. BONET is a youth organisation. Responsible for organisation of data collection in the Northwest Region, and a focus on youth participation. // Co-I: Ms Atim Evenye Niger-Thomas, is the Assistant Executive Director, Authentic Memorial Empowerment Foundation (AMEF- https://ameffoundation.org/), Cameroon. She is a PhD candidate in Conflict Management and Peacebuilding at International University of Applied Sciences for Development (IUASD) Sao Tome in partnership with IPD Yaoundé. Responsible for organisation of data collection in the Southwest Region. // Co-I: Ms Zoneziwoh Mbondgulo-Wondieh, is the Executive Director, Women for a Change (Wfac - https://wfaccameroon.org/), Cameroon. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Buea. She is jointly responsible for organisation of data collection, focusing on women's participation. Facilitator of participatory storytelling workshops. // Project partner: Mr Billy Burton, is the Co-Director of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis Database of Atrocities https://research.rotman.utoronto.ca/Cameroon/Default.htm. Responsible for the preliminary mapping exercise. |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Exploring unarmed civilian self-protection in Cameroon's Anglophone conflict |
| Organisation | Coventry University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Exploring unarmed civilian self-protection in Cameroon's Anglophone conflict" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Small Grants Call (projects up to £30,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Exploring unarmed civilian self-protection in Cameroon's Anglophone conflict" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. It investigates community-led initiatives of unarmed civilian protection in the ongoing 'Anglophone conflict' in Cameroon. Subjected to violence from both the military and armed separatist groups, civilians have been pro-active and resourceful in devising ways to protect each other and stay safe, inclusive of coded language, non-verbal communication, direct negotiation with the warring parties, early warning networks and information sharing through local associations and social media. The creation of a culture where 'everybody is one another's keeper' has been crucial in enabling citizens to sustain their lives within the conflict zones since 2016. The role of women and women's organisations is especially significant. Thus, this research explores bottom-up approaches to UCP, inclusive of their strengthening, and provides an important contribution to knowledge about informal and innovative grassroots efforts of civilian self-protection that involve vulnerable civilians' own agency. Research methods include arts-based and creative approaches (participatory storytelling, poetry, and drawing) that enable conflict-affected communities to co-create knowledge. The research project is conducted by a team of UK-based and Cameroon-based researchers and practitioners that has previously undertaken successful research on this neglected conflict. The three NGO members are all currently involved in providing humanitarian support to civilians in the conflict zones. Project Investigators, Partner, and Roles: PI: Prof Gordon Crawford, is Research Professor in Global Development, Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), Coventry University (CU). He is responsible for overall leadership, research design and management of the project, including ethical approval and write-up of research outputs and dissemination. // Co-I: Prof James Kiven Kewir, is a Professor of Conflict Prevention and Regional Integration and Research Hub Leader for Central Africa, African Leadership Centre (ALC), Nairobi, Kenya. He is responsible for organisation and management of all aspects of data collection in Cameroon, and management of Cameroonian team members. Contribution to write-up of outputs and dissemination. // Co-I: Dr Nancy Annan, is an Assistant Professor, at the Centre for Trust Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), Coventry University (CU). She is responsible for review of relevant secondary literature on UPC and the Anglophone conflict, preparation of interview guides, data transcriptions and analysis using NVivo, project webpage and social media presence. Contribution to write-up of outputs and dissemination. // Co-I: Dr Bernard Sakah, is the Managing Director of Big Steps Outreach Network (BONET), Cameroon. BONET is a youth organisation. Responsible for organisation of data collection in the Northwest Region, and a focus on youth participation. // Co-I: Ms Atim Evenye Niger-Thomas, is the Assistant Executive Director, Authentic Memorial Empowerment Foundation (AMEF- https://ameffoundation.org/), Cameroon. She is a PhD candidate in Conflict Management and Peacebuilding at International University of Applied Sciences for Development (IUASD) Sao Tome in partnership with IPD Yaoundé. Responsible for organisation of data collection in the Southwest Region. // Co-I: Ms Zoneziwoh Mbondgulo-Wondieh, is the Executive Director, Women for a Change (Wfac - https://wfaccameroon.org/), Cameroon. She is a PhD candidate at the University of Buea. She is jointly responsible for organisation of data collection, focusing on women's participation. Facilitator of participatory storytelling workshops. // Project partner: Mr Billy Burton, is the Co-Director of the Cameroon Anglophone Crisis Database of Atrocities https://research.rotman.utoronto.ca/Cameroon/Default.htm. Responsible for the preliminary mapping exercise. |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Gender-just landscapes: Gender based violence and community protection in land, natural resource and climate conflicts |
| Organisation | Bayero University Kano |
| Country | Nigeria |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Gender-just landscapes: Gender based violence and community protection in land, natural resource and climate conflicts" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Gender-just landscapes: Gender based violence and community protection in land, natural resource and climate conflicts" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 2 - Building local protection infrastructures. Gender-based violence (GBV) is experienced by one in three women worldwide; however, the risk of GBV grows substantially in conflict. The scale and endemic nature of GBV means that understanding vulnerability, drivers and impact is an urgent public health, human rights and policy issue. However, there is less awareness about the relationship between GBV and land, natural resource and climate-related conflict. The research aims to address this gap in knowledge and improve understanding of the nature and risk factors of GBV related to natural resource and climate-related conflict, locate community responses to GBV risks, and identify opportunities to strengthen Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) approaches by learning from community responses. The project will consolidate the evidence base and develop illustrative case studies in Colombia, Nigeria and the Philippines, which will provide learning from varied contexts and potential opportunities to adapt and apply UCP. The project will co-design an equitable and inclusive programme of research using visual and participatory action research methods that will establish new networks for UCP scaling and for GBV specialists with land, natural resource and climate conflict specialists. This will provide a basis for engagement, exchange and creation with academics, civil society, UCP advocates and practitioners and policy makers, to foster support for communities experiencing violence. Team Members: Dr Lora Forsythe (PI), Associate Professor Gender, Inequalities and Food Systems, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK // Colombia: Javier Lautaro Medina Bernal (Co-I), Project Manager, member of the Technical Secretariat of the International Verification Component of the Peace Agreement, and coordinator of the National Engagement Strategy in Colombia with the International Land Coalition Conflict, State and Peace Programme, Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (CINEP); Diana Lopez Castaneda (researcher), Independent Consultant // Nigeria: Dr Aliyu Barau (Co-I), Associate Professor Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bayero University Kano // Philippines: Timothy F. Salomon (Co-I), Facilitator National Engagement Strategy in the Philippines for the International Land Coalition Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (CARRD) // United Kingdom: Lilian Treasure (Researcher), PhD Candidate and Vice Chancellor Scholar, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich; Dr Uche Okpara (Co-I), Fellow in Climate Change and State Fragility Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich; Professor Tilman Brück (Co-I), Visiting Professor of Food Security, State Fragility and Climate Change Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich. |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Gender-just landscapes: Gender based violence and community protection in land, natural resource and climate conflicts |
| Organisation | University of Greenwich |
| Department | Natural Resources Institute Greenwich |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Gender-just landscapes: Gender based violence and community protection in land, natural resource and climate conflicts" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Gender-just landscapes: Gender based violence and community protection in land, natural resource and climate conflicts" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 2 - Building local protection infrastructures. Gender-based violence (GBV) is experienced by one in three women worldwide; however, the risk of GBV grows substantially in conflict. The scale and endemic nature of GBV means that understanding vulnerability, drivers and impact is an urgent public health, human rights and policy issue. However, there is less awareness about the relationship between GBV and land, natural resource and climate-related conflict. The research aims to address this gap in knowledge and improve understanding of the nature and risk factors of GBV related to natural resource and climate-related conflict, locate community responses to GBV risks, and identify opportunities to strengthen Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) approaches by learning from community responses. The project will consolidate the evidence base and develop illustrative case studies in Colombia, Nigeria and the Philippines, which will provide learning from varied contexts and potential opportunities to adapt and apply UCP. The project will co-design an equitable and inclusive programme of research using visual and participatory action research methods that will establish new networks for UCP scaling and for GBV specialists with land, natural resource and climate conflict specialists. This will provide a basis for engagement, exchange and creation with academics, civil society, UCP advocates and practitioners and policy makers, to foster support for communities experiencing violence. Team Members: Dr Lora Forsythe (PI), Associate Professor Gender, Inequalities and Food Systems, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich, UK // Colombia: Javier Lautaro Medina Bernal (Co-I), Project Manager, member of the Technical Secretariat of the International Verification Component of the Peace Agreement, and coordinator of the National Engagement Strategy in Colombia with the International Land Coalition Conflict, State and Peace Programme, Centro de Investigación y Educación Popular (CINEP); Diana Lopez Castaneda (researcher), Independent Consultant // Nigeria: Dr Aliyu Barau (Co-I), Associate Professor Urban and Regional Planning, Department of Urban and Regional Planning, Bayero University Kano // Philippines: Timothy F. Salomon (Co-I), Facilitator National Engagement Strategy in the Philippines for the International Land Coalition Center for Agrarian Reform and Rural Development (CARRD) // United Kingdom: Lilian Treasure (Researcher), PhD Candidate and Vice Chancellor Scholar, Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich; Dr Uche Okpara (Co-I), Fellow in Climate Change and State Fragility Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich; Professor Tilman Brück (Co-I), Visiting Professor of Food Security, State Fragility and Climate Change Natural Resources Institute, University of Greenwich. |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Introducing Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thai Society: Opportunities and Challenges |
| Organisation | Chulalongkorn University |
| Country | Thailand |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Introducing Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thai Society: Opportunities and Challenges" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2021 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Introducing Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thai Society: Opportunities and Challenges" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 2 - Building local protection infrastructures, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The research project starts from the observation that, while nonviolent resistance is known to the general public in Thailand, "unarmed civilian protection" is not a familiar language. As a low intensity conflict society, yet with persisting structural violence, the Thai state monopolizes protection in all conflicts; yet vulnerabilities amidst conflicts show a close link between physical harm and structural violence based on political suppression and social prejudices. The study adopts the idea that unarmed civilian protection can help reduce violence-prone conflict and that protection from violence can be shared by civilians or communities. It assumes that nonviolent struggles usually contain an element of protection, and thus sets out to understand how protection has been used amidst conflicts by local actors in Thailand and to explore whether the language (and strategies) of unarmed civilian protection can be instrumental to better conflict management. Civilian protection experiences are traced back through selected critical conflict events, including ethno-political conflict in the south, political protests and tensions, and development-related conflict. To this end, a series of dialogues with officials as well as activists is implemented to share knowledge of past and recent experiences and shortcomings of civilian protection amidst conflicts in Thailand. With the state monopolization of protection and the government as the main conflict party, communication of unarmed civilian protection with the security sector is a primary concern of this research. Thereby, this short-term project hopes that unarmed civilian protection will be introduced in resonance with the local language together with policy recommendations for better conflict management. Normalization of unarmed civilian protection can begin, it is hoped, from getting people to talk about it. The research team included: Chantana Wungeao, Peace and Conflict Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University, Thailand (principal investigator); Mark Tamthai, Strategic Nonviolence Working Group, Thailand (co-investigator); Nonviolent Peaceforce Philippines (project partner). |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Nonviolent Peaceforce |
| Organisation | Nonviolent Peaceforce |
| Country | Switzerland |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | Involvement in the co-design and co-facilitation of regional workshops with international, regional, national and local organisations providing unarmed civilian protection to civilians amidst violent conflict and displacement, as well as with beneficiaries of this work. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Access to the unarmed civilian protection (UCP) community of practice. |
| Impact | Workshops were held in Latin America (Bogota, 2020), Europe (online, 2021), and with United Nations staff and diplomatic missions (New York, 2019). The first Global Gathering of UCP organisations was held online in 2021, with an in-person gathering to follow in Geneva in 2023. |
| Start Year | 2020 |
| Description | Safety and dignity: Enhancing unarmed civilian protection amongst Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta) |
| Organisation | Coventry University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Safety and dignity: Enhancing unarmed civilian protection amongst Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta)" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Small Grants Call (projects up to £30,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Safety and dignity: Enhancing unarmed civilian protection amongst Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta)" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 2 - Building local protection infrastructures, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. In the South Hebron Hills (Masafer Yatta) of the Occupied Palestinian Territories (OPT) there are a 32 small Palestinian farmer and Bedouin communities living and working on land from which the Israeli state and settlers seek to expel them. To support the local resistance numerous actors (Palestinian, Israeli and international) have sought to protect the civilian population from the escalating acts of violence by settlers in which their crops, livestock, dwellings and lives have been targeted. B'Tselem, the Israeli human rights organisation concluded that the Israeli state has been using settler violence to cleanse the area of Palestinians. This research seeks to analyse the history of the twenty or more years of attempts by civilian actors to support the local communities in their attempts to create safer spaces within which they can continue to maintain their livelihoods, hold on to their land and way of life. The case study is particularly significant because of the number and range of actors intervening, each with their own mode of operation and motivation. As such it presents a special opportunity to examine the challenges faced by those seeking to broaden the scale of civilian intervention in violent conflict situations as a basis for sustainable peace. Research team: Dr Marwan Darweish is the principal investigator (PI) of the project, with overall responsibility for the management, planning and delivery of the project. Dr Andrew Rigby is Emeritus Professor of Peace Studies with the Centre for Trust, Peace and Social Relations (CTPSR), of which he was the founding director. Dr Mahmoud Soliman is a Research Fellow at the CTPSR, based in the West Bank and closely associated with the Al-Shmoh Cultural Center, a small NGO in the OPT. |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia |
| Organisation | London School of Economics and Political Science (University of London) |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia" contributes to the N+ Creating Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 2 - Building local protection infrastructures. Artists who create political and socially engaged work are increasingly at risk. In contexts of protracted socio-political conflicts or post-peace agreements, discussions of safety and protection for social and cultural leaders (where artists and allied activists are situated), are often reduced to mitigating risk to harm and physical violence. Less is known about how artists, allies or their organizations experience those harms and what protection infrastructures they build up to continue collective action. This project identifies how artists and allied activists understand protection and vulnerability based on lived experiences. This interdisciplinary research connects South Sudan and Colombia. It compares findings from research conducted in South Sudan (2020-2022) with new research in Colombia (2023) to investigate two key questions: first, how do artists seek safety in times of conflict and unstable peace? Second, how can creative methods be used to investigate vulnerability and map out networks of safety, going beyond the need for artist protection and into collective solidarity within activist communities? The research focuses on protection infrastructures that are rarely featured in literature on unarmed civilian protection. Art commissions, an exhibition, blogs, policy briefs and an illustrated catalogue makes the research accessible within and outside academia. Research team: Kara Blackmore, Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK (principal investigator); José Fernando Serrano-Amaya, Department of Language and Culture, University of Los Andes, Colombia; Rebecca Lorins, School of Journalism, Media, and Communication Studies, University of Juba, South Sudan; Likikiri Collective, South Sudan; Manuela Lara, independent artist, Colombia. |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia |
| Organisation | University of the Andes |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia" contributes to the N+ Creating Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 2 - Building local protection infrastructures. Artists who create political and socially engaged work are increasingly at risk. In contexts of protracted socio-political conflicts or post-peace agreements, discussions of safety and protection for social and cultural leaders (where artists and allied activists are situated), are often reduced to mitigating risk to harm and physical violence. Less is known about how artists, allies or their organizations experience those harms and what protection infrastructures they build up to continue collective action. This project identifies how artists and allied activists understand protection and vulnerability based on lived experiences. This interdisciplinary research connects South Sudan and Colombia. It compares findings from research conducted in South Sudan (2020-2022) with new research in Colombia (2023) to investigate two key questions: first, how do artists seek safety in times of conflict and unstable peace? Second, how can creative methods be used to investigate vulnerability and map out networks of safety, going beyond the need for artist protection and into collective solidarity within activist communities? The research focuses on protection infrastructures that are rarely featured in literature on unarmed civilian protection. Art commissions, an exhibition, blogs, policy briefs and an illustrated catalogue makes the research accessible within and outside academia. Research team: Kara Blackmore, Firoz Lalji Institute for Africa, Department of International Development, London School of Economics and Political Science (LSE), UK (principal investigator); José Fernando Serrano-Amaya, Department of Language and Culture, University of Los Andes, Colombia; Rebecca Lorins, School of Journalism, Media, and Communication Studies, University of Juba, South Sudan; Likikiri Collective, South Sudan; Manuela Lara, independent artist, Colombia. |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | UCP in southern Thailand: Developing civilian protection guidelines for violence-prone communities |
| Organisation | Prince of Songkla University Thailand |
| Country | Thailand |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "UCP in southern Thailand: Developing civilian protection guidelines for violence-prone communities" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2021 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "UCP in southern Thailand: Developing civilian protection guidelines for violence-prone communities" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic area 2 - Building Local Protection Infrastructures. The conflict in the Deep South of Thailand has lasted for over 18 years, with the state trying to resolve the issue militarily. This approach, however, has not ended the conflict. Unarmed civilian protection (UCP) is a tool that can be used to manage conflicts and help protect civilians in conflict areas. This research aims to develop guidelines for protecting civilians at the community level in the Deep South of Thailand and apply UCP theory and tools based on existing community infrastructures for protection. The study will use a participatory research methodology and be conducted with a target group of three communities in Thailand's southern provinces. With the participation and consent of all parties, the aim is to create a safer space in which communities pursue their own peace initiatives. The project team believe that the adoption of UCP mechanisms in the southern provinces of Thailand could also help to transform the use of securitisation and violent force by the state into the adoption of the nonviolent method to protect civilians. It will engage in discussions of UCP at the policy level to test this idea |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Unarmed civilian protection through collective impact: Learning from the Jos Stakeholders Centre for Peace (JSCP) for enhanced civilian protection in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria |
| Organisation | King's College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Unarmed civilian protection through collective impact: Learning from the Jos Stakeholders Centre for Peace (JSCP) for enhanced civilian protection in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Small Grants Call (projects up to £30,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Unarmed civilian protection through collective impact: Learning from the Jos Stakeholders Centre for Peace (JSCP) for enhanced civilian protection in Maiduguri, north-eastern Nigeria" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, 2 - Building local protection infrastructures, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The research involves learning from a collective impact initiative for unarmed civilian protection launched in 2017, in Jos, Plateau State, Nigeria. Using quantitative and qualitative research on local violence reporting from newspaper archives; focus group discussions, and a non-linear video documentary with the members of the Jos Stakeholders Centre for Peace (JSCP) network, this project will contribute new theoretical and empirical insights on enhancing civilian protection through unarmed collective action in the area of community security. Prominently, the research includes partner organisations and collaborators in Nigeria to promote grassroots advocacy, capacity building; and knowledge dissemination around unarmed civilian protection (UCP) in Maiduguri, Borno state, where civilians have witnessed both state and non-state directed violence due to the Boko Haram insurgency. A growing normalisation in state-insurgent relations since 2015 has created the opportunity to build the self-protection capacities of local communities. Towards this end, the novelty of the project is three-fold. First it will encourage inter-regional learning of the collective impact model in UCP. Second, it will build the capacity of the people at the grassroots, and those in positions of local power and influence through workshops, mobile video projection and community discussions around UCP in Maiduguri, Borno state. Third, it will develop the local capacity in Maiduguri to arrest conflict escalation and mitigate both state and non-state armed violence directed against civilians, through unarmed community security initiatives. Research Team: Sukanya Podder, King's College London, UK (principal investigator); Pwakim Jacob Choji, Youth Initiative Against Violence and Human Rights Abuse, Jos, Nigeria (co-investigator); Allamin Foundation for Peace & Development, Nigeria (project partner). |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Understanding Community-level Spontaneous Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP): A Comparative Study of Initiatives in South Sudan, Myanmar and Colombia |
| Organisation | University of Winchester |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Understanding Community-level Spontaneous Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP): A Comparative Study of Initiatives in South Sudan, Myanmar and Colombia" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Large Grants Call (projects up to £100,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Understanding Community-level Spontaneous Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP): A Comparative Study of Initiatives in South Sudan, Myanmar and Colombia" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities (primary focus). In recent years important research has explored how civilians engage in unarmed civilian protection (UCP) to protect other civilians from armed violence. Yet existing research has focused almost exclusively on UCP initiatives that are advanced by international non-government organisations (INGOs) that specialise in UCP. The project explores a less known aspect of UCP, spontaneous UCP, referring to community-level UCP initiatives by local actors that are carried out 'spontaneously' in response to local conditions without any pre-emptive support from specialist INGOs. More specifically, the team seeks to understand the nature and character of local nonviolent actors engaging in spontaneous UCP; how the contexts shape, support and constrain spontaneous UCP activities; the evolution relationships, networks and coalitions these local actors form in order to protect others; exploring these factors across Myanmar, Colombia and South Sudan. The project design is fully participatory, with researchers from the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace (CRRP) at the University of Winchester working closely with in-country co-investigators (Co-Is) in Myanmar, Colombia and South Sudan. The team will conduct semi-structured interviews and focus groups to collect new data on spontaneous UCP. The project offers important contributions to the emerging UCP literature by moving beyond the current focus on INGO led UCP initiatives, to provide new understandings about spontaneous UCP, and by offering a comparative analysis of spontaneous UCP across three cases of three different continents. Research Team: The project team consists of researchers from the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace (CRRP), which will be working closely with researchers from in-country Co-investigators; Organisation for Nonviolence and Development (ONAD) in South Sudan, Religions for Peace Myanmar (RfP-M) and Rodeemos el Diálogo - Embrace Dialogue (ReD) in Colombia. |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Understanding the Changing Strategy and Practice of Civilian Protection under the Military Junta: A case study of Kachin and Northern Shan, Myanmar |
| Organisation | Nonviolent Peaceforce |
| Department | Nonviolent Peaceforce, Myanmar |
| Country | Myanmar |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | "Understanding the Changing Strategy and Practice of Civilian Protection under the Military Junta: A case study of Kachin and Northern Shan, Myanmar" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2021 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Understanding the Changing Strategy and Practice of Civilian Protection under the Military Junta: A case study of Kachin and Northern Shan, Myanmar" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic area 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict. This research studies the changing unarmed civilian protection (UCP) strategy and practice in Myanmar during and after the military coup of 2021. As a response to the coup, armed conflict and other forms of security tensions in Myanmar have drastically increased, which has changed and intensified forms of harm and vulnerability faced by civilians. The project studies whether and how community strategies providing (self-) protection to each other have adapted to this new situation. Qualitative research will be conducted in Kachin and Northern Shan states of Myanmar; the escalation of armed conflict in these case studies is representative of other areas of Myanmar too, and findings will be useful across different areas and communities. The research will provide reflective lessons learned for UCP strategy and practice during and after the coup situation and under the military junta. |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Visualising early warning and preparedness in civilian protection: Investigating local vernaculars of community adaptations to insecurity |
| Organisation | Coventry University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Visualising early warning and preparedness in civilian protection: Investigating local vernaculars of community adaptations to insecurity" is a research project funded by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 Small Grants Call (projects up to £30,000 GBP). |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Visualising early warning and preparedness in civilian protection: Investigating local vernaculars of community adaptations to insecurity" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. Using three field research sites in South Sudan, this research investigates Early Warning as understood, communicated and interpreted by local communities. Early Warning is a fundamental aspect of Civilian Protection in response to threats from types of violence (political, criminal and cattle raiding) perpetrated by both state and non-state groups. Steered by two South Sudanese field researchers with excellent peacebuilding and humanitarian networks, the project engages a semiotic approach to investigate symbols and signs in Early Warning messaging, and how these are diffused, amplified and received in areas of low literacy where communication is mostly non-textual and sometimes non-verbal. This methodology also provides a suitable bridge for local perceptions and understandings to inform legal, training and policy frameworks using our existing networks. This research builds on the PI's previous South Sudan fieldwork, and his research projects exploring local Early Warning and protection mechanisms to strengthen accessing and acting on such information. The research is based on the premise that although multiple international frameworks exist, there are religious, cultural and tribal practices and perspectives which are highly relevant, organically produced and actionable. However, they have few formal links to policy statements and conventions, and remain under-studied. Research Team: Chas Morrison, Coventry University, UK (principal investigator); Diria Vicky Thomas, Community Aid for Relief and Development, South Sudan (co-investigator); Haji Elias Hillary, Lomore Development Organization, South Sudan (co-investigator). |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 1) |
| Organisation | Pontifical Bolivarian University |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 1)" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2021 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 1)" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The project studies socio-environmental conflicts, understood as those arising from the contradiction between antagonistic forms of appropriation, productive management, distribution and significance of nature. The research focuses on water as the structuring axis of hydro-social relations and on the conflicts that arise over its control and use. It seeks to document the environmental conflicts related to concession processes for hydroelectric projects on the rivers La Paloma, Santo Domingo and Dormilón, with emphasis on three municipalities in Eastern Antioquia (Colombia) - Argelia, San Francisco and San Luis - in order to recognise both the particular forms of violation and their actors, as well as the self-protection strategies deployed by the inhabitants and organizations. Project team: Beatriz Arias López, Universidad de Antioquia (principal investigator); Hernán Dario Pineda Gómez, Universidad de Antioquia; Mateo Valderrama, Asociación Campesina de Antioquia - ACA; Juan David Arias, Grupo De investigación Territorio, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; Jessica Restrepo, Grupo De investigación Territorio Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; and Vanessa Vasco Vargas, Corporación Jurídica Libertad. |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 1) |
| Organisation | University of Antioquia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 1)" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2021 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 1)" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. The project studies socio-environmental conflicts, understood as those arising from the contradiction between antagonistic forms of appropriation, productive management, distribution and significance of nature. The research focuses on water as the structuring axis of hydro-social relations and on the conflicts that arise over its control and use. It seeks to document the environmental conflicts related to concession processes for hydroelectric projects on the rivers La Paloma, Santo Domingo and Dormilón, with emphasis on three municipalities in Eastern Antioquia (Colombia) - Argelia, San Francisco and San Luis - in order to recognise both the particular forms of violation and their actors, as well as the self-protection strategies deployed by the inhabitants and organizations. Project team: Beatriz Arias López, Universidad de Antioquia (principal investigator); Hernán Dario Pineda Gómez, Universidad de Antioquia; Mateo Valderrama, Asociación Campesina de Antioquia - ACA; Juan David Arias, Grupo De investigación Territorio, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; Jessica Restrepo, Grupo De investigación Territorio Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; and Vanessa Vasco Vargas, Corporación Jurídica Libertad. |
| Impact | Forthcoming |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 2) |
| Organisation | Pontifical Bolivarian University |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 2)" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 phase 2 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 2)" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. Water is currently a structuring axis of hydro-social relations and the conflicts that arise over its control and use in Colombia. The first phase of this project explored conflicts related to concession processes for hydroelectric projects in the rivers La Paloma, Santo Domingo and Dormilón in municipalities of Argelia, San Francisco and San Luis in the Oriente Antioqueño region. Preliminary results showed associated problems such as mass tourism, real-estate pressure and mining, which add further threats emanating from the privatisation of water and which also depend on energy production. These new forms of river use and privatisation have been introduced in an insidious manner, without recognition of the damage they are causing to the communities and social actors involved. These forms of intervention, promoted by public policy, project an image of an "empty space" or one that is adaptable to new uses in the regions concerned, which intensifies the degree of vulnerability of the populations who live their, as it does not recognise their pre-existence and their territorial dynamics. In the second phase, this project intends to delve deeper into these combined threats, to explore the scope of self-protection in the face of a conflict of growing water privatisation. The team also aims to explore the contributions of these self-protection strategies to reflections on just transitions, in a context of debate over energy alternatives and the revision of polluting, undemocratic development models. Research team: Beatriz Arias López, Universidad de Antioquia (principal investigator); Hernán Dario Pineda Gómez, Universidad de Antioquia; Mateo Valderrama, Asociación Campesina de Antioquia - ACA; Juan David Arias, Grupo De investigación Territorio, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; Jessica Restrepo, Grupo De investigación Territorio Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; Denisse Roca, solidary consultant, CLACSO group on Political Ecologies of the South Abya-Yala |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 2) |
| Organisation | University of Antioquia |
| Country | Colombia |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 2)" is financed by the N+ Creating Safer Space under its 2022 phase 2 work package call for collaborating universities and core partner organisations. |
| Collaborator Contribution | "Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia (phase 2)" contributes to N+ Creating Safer Space thematic areas 1 - Understanding vulnerability to physical harm in violent conflict, and 3 - Developing civilian protection capabilities. Water is currently a structuring axis of hydro-social relations and the conflicts that arise over its control and use in Colombia. The first phase of this project explored conflicts related to concession processes for hydroelectric projects in the rivers La Paloma, Santo Domingo and Dormilón in municipalities of Argelia, San Francisco and San Luis in the Oriente Antioqueño region. Preliminary results showed associated problems such as mass tourism, real-estate pressure and mining, which add further threats emanating from the privatisation of water and which also depend on energy production. These new forms of river use and privatisation have been introduced in an insidious manner, without recognition of the damage they are causing to the communities and social actors involved. These forms of intervention, promoted by public policy, project an image of an "empty space" or one that is adaptable to new uses in the regions concerned, which intensifies the degree of vulnerability of the populations who live their, as it does not recognise their pre-existence and their territorial dynamics. In the second phase, this project intends to delve deeper into these combined threats, to explore the scope of self-protection in the face of a conflict of growing water privatisation. The team also aims to explore the contributions of these self-protection strategies to reflections on just transitions, in a context of debate over energy alternatives and the revision of polluting, undemocratic development models. Research team: Beatriz Arias López, Universidad de Antioquia (principal investigator); Hernán Dario Pineda Gómez, Universidad de Antioquia; Mateo Valderrama, Asociación Campesina de Antioquia - ACA; Juan David Arias, Grupo De investigación Territorio, Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; Jessica Restrepo, Grupo De investigación Territorio Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana; Denisse Roca, solidary consultant, CLACSO group on Political Ecologies of the South Abya-Yala |
| Impact | Forthcoming. |
| Start Year | 2023 |
| Description | 3rd IGAD Scientific Conference on Migration and Displacement |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | N+ Creating Safer Space co-investigator Rosemary Okello-Orlale, in partnership with media organisations in both print audio/tv and also community media in Kenya, Uganda and South Sudan, presented on the impact of technology and media in messaging research in addressing migration and displacement for policy making and implementation. The participation in this multi-stakeholder conference resulted in new and/or strengthened connections and capacity development for over 25 organisations in Africa through quarterly meetings to reflect on how to best to strengthen academics, practitioners and policymakers working on/with civilian protection mechanisms or interested in exploring and adopting them. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Creating Safer Space Cafe - Everyday Peace Indicators |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | In this Cafe session, Prof Roger Mac Ginty introduced the Everyday Peace Indicators project and methodology, and cafe attendants discussed its uses for the study of unarmed civilian protection. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/creating-safer-space-cafe/ |
| Description | Creating Safer Space Cafe - Unarmed civilian protection in Kenya |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | This Research Cafe session focussed on the work of the Creating Safer Space network's Kenyan partner organisations, Peace Tree Network and Rural Women Peace Link, and on the need for unarmed civilian-to-civilian protection and existing self-protection mechanisms in Kenya. Topics discussed in this Cafe - election-related violence in the Rift Valley and police brutality at demonstrations - were picked up by two subsequent research work packages of the Network Plus Creating Safer Space. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-ucp-in-kenya/ |
| Description | Creating Safer Space Cafe - Unarmed civilian protection in Myanmar |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | This Café session was attended by c.20 persons and focussed on learning around the opportunities and challenges of unarmed civilian-to-civilian protection in Myanmar after the 2021 military coup. The theme of the workshop has been picked up for research in two of the Network's subsequent research work packages. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-ucp-in-myanmar/ |
| Description | Creating Safer Space Cafe - Unarmed civilian protection, civil resistance, and human rights defence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | In this Cafe session, Dr Christine Schweitzer presented findings of her study on the overlaps and differences between unarmed civilian protection, civil resistance, and human rights defence, highlighting areas for future collaboration between the three and outlining some worthwhile future research areas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-ucp-civil-resistance-and-human-rights-defence/ |
| Description | Creating Safer Space Cafe - Using drawing as a research method to study unarmed civilian protection |
| 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 | In this interactive methods workshop, Prof Rachel Julian and Prof Berit Bliesemann de Guevara introduced the DrawingOut method and its use for the study of unarmed civilian protection and community self-protection, drawing on own research experiences in Myanmar. The workshop inspired some participants to introduce the method to their own work. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-using-drawing-as-a-research-method/ |
| Description | Creating Safer Space Café - UCP in South Sudan |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | In this Café session, Rosemary Okello-Orlale (Strathmore University, Kenya) introduced UCP in South Sudan, with contributions from the Creating Safer Space partner organisation Nonviolent Peaceforce. The discussion centred on the protection of women and young people in the context of the conflict in South Sudan. The session highlighted the effectiveness of Women Protection Teams in preventing sexual violence, and the effectiveness of Youth Protection Teams in preventing cycles of violence and retaliation amongst young people. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Creating Safer Space Café - Unarmed civilian protection from violent conflict in the Philippines |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | The Creating Safer Space Café is an online events series that brings together Co-Is, core partners, associated members and other individuals and organisations interested in this Network Plus to discuss questions around unarmed civilian protection and self-protection in the midst of violent conflict and displacement, and to acquire participatory, creative and digital research skills. This first Café session was attended by c.20 persons and sparked learning on conflict and nonviolent protection in one of the four core case countries of this N+. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/launch-of-n-research-cafe/ |
| Description | Presentation of the project "The Social Process of Guarantees of Antioquia, Colombia" to the indigenous communities of Bajo Cauca, peasant organisations and the Impulse Committee of the Social Process of Garantees |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | 30 leaders of peasant organisations, ethnic authorities, indigenous guards of the Senú and Embera people of Bajo Cauca, and of the Committee for the Promotion of the Social Process of Guarantees of Antioquia participated in meetings for the presentation and socialisation of the project. In this space, the objectives, methodology and expected results of the research were presented, as well as an analysis of the context and security for the participation of people conducted, from which emerged self-protection protocol guidelines for the safe participation of people. A meeting agenda was agreed for the activities scheduled for 2023. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Project "'Ritualising' Protection in Conflict": Audio-visual training for the Nasa community of the Resguardo Indígena de Huellas Caloto |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | The project team organised and ran two sessions (one hybrid and one in person) in which eight attendants took part. Among these were three members of the communication team of the Resguardo, three members of the indigenous guard and two indigenous authorities. A third session on video-editing was run in hybrid form. As part of the training, the project team purchased audio-visual equipment that has been handed over to the community. This includes three smartphones with high-end integrated cameras, microphones, hearphones, tripods of different dimensions, external hard disks, and bags to carry this equipment. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Project "Development of civil protection capacities in displaced women, Cali, Colombia": Journalism students from the Antonio José Camacho University visit the Masterpeace Cali office |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
| Results and Impact | 60 journalism students visited the project lead organisation Masterpeace Cali to participate in an experimental practical workshop on popular communication exercises for the development of civilian self-protection capacities. The young people adapted the forum theatre methodology to make a radio programme in which questions and debates on the topic in question were raised. The Faculty of Social Communication of the University informed the project team that this activity encouraged interest in this field of research, and the project team were asked to carry out further workshops with other groups of students. The principal investigator and the co-investigator gave an introduction to the workshop topics and guided the activity. Research assistants conducted participant observation exercises and technically supported the development of the workshop with the use of audio recording and editing equipment. To support this activity, the project team produced a technical sheet for the workshop and a guide with information related to the topics addressed. Then they co-created together with the participants a radio programme with the forum theatre methodology (radio theatre) that will be part of the final transmedia product of the research. Results: a greater interest in the research was stimulated, which is evident in the enthusiasm generated by the activity in other university students who wish to participate in similar workshops on this topic. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Project "Development of civil protection capacities in displaced women, Cali, Colombia": event with grassroots organisation Semillero de Paz Llano Verde |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | 52 members of the grassroots organisation Semillero de Paz Llano Verde attended this research project event. This resulted in an awakening of awareness on the part of the attendees about their roles within the community, which led to a discussion about the levels of community cohesion they have achieved in the defence of their territory. 30 women from the Semillero gave their informed consent to participate in the research. To support this activity, the project team produced a video, a PowerPoint presentation and informed consent forms. They had coverage from the community radio station "Oriente Estéreo" which operates in the east of the city of Cali and reaches the most segregated areas. Results of the activity: a greater interest in the research was stimulated, as evidenced by the informed consent given by 30 women to participate and in the debate that the project generated in the community; also, the community radio station "Oriente Estéreo" committed to broadcasting some podcasts co-created with the women participants on the themes of the research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Project "Gender-Just Landscapes": Research Protocol Co-Creation Workshop for Gender Just Landscapes |
| 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 | The workshop was held online over a series of four meetings to collaboratively develop the research design through exchange of ideas, concepts, literature and experiences among the interdisplinary research team. It provides a new framework (to be implemented in research) to understand the linkages between gender based violence, climate and environmental change and conflict, along with community responses that will identify possible synergies with Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) principles and methods. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| Description | Project "Introducing Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thai Society": Panel discussion on Unarmed Civilian Protection in ASEAN at "Whiter ASEAN" seminar hosted by ASEAN Studies Center, Chulalongkorn University |
| 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 | The ASEAN Studies Center at Chulalongkorn University organized an international seminar to commemorate 55 years of ASEAN. The project team was asked to organise a panel discussion for the event on "Enhancing Unarmed Civilian Protection in ASEAN". The panelists were the project PI, project Co-I, the director of partner organization Nonviolent Peaceforce Asia and a guest from AICHR (ASEAN Intergovernmental Commission on Human Rights). The panel shared UCP experiences both in practice and research. The human right commissioner identified a possible entry point for UCP in ASEAN, namely humanitarian responses. The challenges of UCP in this region rest on the case of Myanmar where common strategies do not seem to work and the situation needs a better understanding. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Project "Introducing Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thai Society": Public television broadcast program "You tell, We elaborate" on nonviolent approach to land dispute of the Urak Lawoi ethic group |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Project co-investigator Mark Tamthai gave his comments on the on-going land conflict between the Urak Lawoi ethnic group (or sea gypsies) and a hotel investor on Lipe Island, southern Thailand. This collaboration with the news channel emerged after the Chulalongkorn University unarmed civilian protection (UCP) research team had visited the tv station to discuss how best to introduce UCP to the Thai public. It was suggested that an entry point is to touch on a concrete example rather than opening with the UCP concept. UCP was introduced in this TV program through the idea of nonviolence. This collaboration with the public TV program, which was broadcast nation-wide during the evening hours, opens an opportunity for further media engagement activities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
| URL | https://web.facebook.com/watch/?v=573053021329507 |
| Description | Project "Introducing Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thai Society": Radio interview by King Prachadhipok Institute Channel (Parliamentary Academy) on nonviolent coexistence in a multicultural society |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | This interview with project Co-I Mark Tamthai on the Parliament radio station was about the conflict between a community of sea gypsies on Lipe island and developers. In part of the interview, he suggested that to ensure that the protests would remain nonviolent it was important that the sea gypsies received protection from violent means of eviction, otherwise they might turn to other means of struggle. This protection could come in the form of unarmed civilian protection (UCP), he discussed, rather than to wait for the Thai authorities. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Project "The Social Process of Guarantees of Antioquia, Colombia": Experience Exchange Meeting with indigenous and peasant organizations of Bajo Cauca |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | On 10-11 February 2023, the Antioquia Social Process of Guarantees held an Experience Exchange Meeting with indigenous and peasant organizations of Bajo Cauca. The meeting served to share organizational experiences and balances related to self-protection and protection in contexts of violence which have been escalating in the Bajo Cauca region for several years. The meeting was attended by indigenous guards and ethnic authorities from the Embera and Senú ethnic groups of Cáceres and El Bagre, as well as peasant leaders from three peasant organizations - Peasant Association of Bajo Cauca (ASOCBAC), Association of Agroecological Brotherhoods of Guamocó (AHEREMIGUA), and Association of Environmental Victims of Puerto Clavel (ASOVIAMCLA) - and delegates from the Social Process of Guarantees. A total of 20 people attended the two-day meeting and shared the self-protection strategies that they have been building for years to face the context of violence as well as the legal and illegal armed groups that are present in the territories where they live. The attendants embarked on a reflection of lessons learnt in years of struggle for peace and defence of human and territorial rights, highlighting the efficiency and risks which have arisen from the implementation of different self-protection strategies. The event closed with an evaluation of the implementation of the self-protection protocols of ethnic organizations and peasant communities, in order to establish the degree to which the strategies had been applied within the processes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://cjlibertad.org/proyecto-el-proceso-social-de-garantias-de-antioquia-colombia-una-experiencia... |
| Description | Research Café - Strategies for Community Protection and Dealing with Election Violence |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Third sector organisations |
| Results and Impact | Participants in this online workshop, led by Mr Thiago Wolfer (Nonviolent Peaceforce South Sudan) and Prof Rachel Julian (Leeds Beckett University), discussed how UCP approaches that have been used to prevent violence in South Sudan could be adapted and implemented in dealing with election violence, looking at Kenya in particular and how it applies to other areas. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-strategies-for-community-protection-and-dealing-with-... |
| Description | Research Café - Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thailand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | In this online event, Prof Chantana Wungaeo and Prof Mark Tamthai discussed insights from their Creating Safer Space research project, "Introducing Unarmed Civilian Protection in Thai Society: Opportunities and Challenges". The team shared the aims of the project, their experiences of carrying out the project, and preliminary findings and anticipated outcomes. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-unarmed-civilian-protection-in-thailand/ |
| Description | Research Café - Using Textiles as a Research Method |
| 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 | In this methods workshop, Prof Beatriz Arias (University of Antioquia) provided an introduction to using textiles (embroidering, sewing, and other needlework) as a participatory and creative research method, drawing on research experiences in Colombia, and explored the benefits of using this method for research on Unarmed Civilian Protection. At least one of the projects financed through N+ Creating Safer Space funding planned to introduce textile-making into their methodology. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-using-textiles-as-a-research-method/ |
| Description | Research Café - Writing a Successful Grant Application |
| 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 this online session held in English and Spanish, Prof Berit Bliesemann de Guevara and Prof Beatriz Arias led a Panel Discussion on how to write a successful grant application. The Panel consisted of researchers who successfully applied for Creating Safer Space research grants in the network's previous funding competition. Juan Mario Díaz and Simon Rushton (University of Sheffield, UK) shared their experiences of writing a successful Large Grant application; while Astrid Torres Ramírez and Véronique Draily (Corporación Jurídica Libertad, Colombia) shared their experiences of writing a successful Small Grant application. The Panel was asked questions about how they developed their proposals, what challenges they faced, what advice they would give to others who apply for research grants, as well as questions from the audience. The Panel also shared their successful grant applications with the research café participants, to allow participants to learn more about what a successful grant application actually looks like. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/research-cafe-writing-a-successful-grant-application/ |
| Description | Top Tips on How to Write a Grant Application (in French) |
| 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 | In this event, in collaboration between the N+ Creating Safer Space, Nonviolent Peaceforce and Institut Catholique de Paris, Dr Cécile Dubernet and Prof Rachel Julian led a French language session with top tips on how to write a grant application, followed by questions and discussion. The event aimed at improving the capacity of academic and non-academic organisations in the Global north and South to write successful bids, based on the N+ Creating Safer Space experience of commissioning research. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/top-tips-on-how-to-write-a-grant-application/ |
| Description | Training Course on Unarmed Civilian Protection 1 |
| 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 | C.25 participants from around the world participated in this training course, which offered an introduction to the objectives, principles, sources of guidance, and methods of Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP). The course was based on content developed by our partner organisation Nonviolent Peaceforce and facilitated Dr Ellen Furnari (USA) and Dr Thor Wagstrom (USA). At completion, participants were able to successfully describe the key principles, objectives, and sources of guidance for UCP; analyse a conflict and identify vulnerable populations; demonstrate an understanding of the methods of UCP and how they can be adapted and applied to a conflict situation; and identify key features of an effective UCP implementation plan and exit strategy, with a view toward maximizing the security both of UCP staff and local civilians. The course helped to broaden the community of people holding in-depth knowledge about UCP, grounded N+ project researchers in existing knowledge and practice, and at the same time provided interesting insights from around the world into existing local strategies of civilian protection, which can be integrated into future editions of the training materials. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/new-training-course-on-ucp/ |
| Description | Training Course on Unarmed Civilian Protection 2 |
| 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 | C.28 participants from around the world, many of them linked to N+ Creating Safer Space research projects, participated in this training course, which offered an introduction to the objectives, principles, sources of guidance, and methods of Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP). The course was based on content developed by our partner organisation Nonviolent Peaceforce and facilitated Dr Ellen Furnari (USA) and Dr Thor Wagstrom (USA). At completion, participants were able to successfully describe the key principles, objectives, and sources of guidance for UCP; analyse a conflict and identify vulnerable populations; demonstrate an understanding of the methods of UCP and how they can be adapted and applied to a conflict situation; and identify key features of an effective UCP implementation plan and exit strategy, with a view toward maximizing the security both of UCP staff and local civilians. The course helped to broaden the community of people holding in-depth knowledge about UCP, grounded N+ project researchers in existing knowledge and practice, and at the same time provided interesting insights from around the world into existing local strategies of civilian protection, which can be integrated into future editions of the training materials. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/invitation-to-join-our-ucp-training-course/ |
| Description | Working group on Innovation in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning and Unarmed Civilian Protection/Accompaniment 1 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 1 December, Creating Safer Space held a first event on 'Innovation in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning and Unarmed Civilian Protection', chaired by Creating Safer Space advisory board member Dr Ellen Furnari. Participants discussed what is useful to evaluate in UCP monitoring, as well as the possibilities of participatory evaluations. Participants agreed to form a working group to continue to devise and implement innovative methods of monitoring and evaluation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/working-group-on-innovation-in-monitoring-evaluation-and-learning-a... |
| Description | Working group on Innovation in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning and Unarmed Civilian Protection/Accompaniment 2 |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | On 24 January 2023, Creating Safer Space held a second meeting on 'Innovation in Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning and Unarmed Civilian Protection', chaired by Creating Safer Space co-investigator Prof Roger Mac Ginty (Durham University). In the session, Dr Juan Mario Díaz (Sheffield University) presented his insights into Participatory Action Research; Juan Mario is also one of the Creating Safer Space project PIs. Participants agreed to continue the work of the working group and to work towards devising and implementing an innovative, participatory method of monitoring and evaluation. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://creating-safer-space.com/second-meeting-of-the-working-group-on-innovation-in-monitoring-eva... |