Connecting ecology of knowledges and voices at the margins for peace and equality
Lead Research Organisation:
University College London
Department Name: Education, Practice & Society
Abstract
In conflict-affected societies, historically marginalised ethnic and religious minorities and indigenous populations have repeatedly called attention to deep systemic injustices which undermine peace and exclude them from peacebuilding processes. For example, ethnic armed groups in Myanmar continue to strive for their autonomy; natural resources in areas inhabited by indigenous populations of India are targeted for economic exploitation; Malay Muslims in Southern Thailand have long struggled to protect their religio-ethnic cultures and education against Thai state's assimilationist policies; indigenous peoples in Mexico and Guatemala are resisting capitalist domination and struggling to preserve their ancestral knowledge and ways of life; the socialist political movement and ethnic uprisings in Nepal have forced the state to become a federal republic; and Rojava minorities continue to struggle for emancipation and democracy.
Within these contexts and building on existing connections with academic and community organisations, the Peace with Justice network aims to build solidarities between politically and culturally disenfranchised communities striving for dignity, wellbeing and social justice and to better understand and share grassroots approaches to human rights and peacebuilding. The network will primarily work with and connect indigenous communities of Na savi, Mepha'a and Nahuatl and displaced and migrant indigenous peoples (Mexico and Guatemala), Kashmiris (India), Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen, Yazidis (Rojava), marginalised and conflict-affected religious/ ethnic groups, refugees and IDPs communities (Thailand), Madhesis (Nepal), Hazara/ Tazik/ Uzbek communities (Afghanistan) and Karen/ Kachin/ Mon communities (Myanmar). Informed by theories of 'epistemic justice' and 'critical rights literacy', the network will facilitate the exchange of local knowledges and strategies for building peace and trust across global contexts; enable the co-design of innovative ways to communicate this learning more broadly; and strengthen the links between locally devised understandings and processes of peace and trust with more orthodox infrastructures and institutions working to promote peace.
Through online platforms (adapted appropriately to accommodate diverse languages and technological access and resources), the network will facilitate a series of regional and international symposia which bring together in dialogue diverse minority communities, first at a regional level and secondly at the global/international level. These symposia will be organised and facilitated by collaborators based in institutions in each of the eight contexts with agendas set according to the priorities of the participating communities.
The network is built on the decolonial principles of relationships, connections, reciprocity and accountability to communities as we aim to value and centre the knowledges and solutions produced by communities under conditions of violence. Key intended outputs of the project include, a sustained network of international grassroots communities; a resourceful knowledge sharing website; a series of innovative multi-format (e.g short film, song, podcast, radio jingle, poster, art, theatre, cultural show) peace promoting materials relevant to each context (yet adaptable in terms of process of co-production to other contexts); eight country-specific reports; and two synthesis reports that capture the methodological and theoretical innovations emerging from the network activities. Building on the experience of this network, we intend to develop a co-designed research programme, involving our key partners, to research peace and trust in these marginalised and politically contested spaces.
Within these contexts and building on existing connections with academic and community organisations, the Peace with Justice network aims to build solidarities between politically and culturally disenfranchised communities striving for dignity, wellbeing and social justice and to better understand and share grassroots approaches to human rights and peacebuilding. The network will primarily work with and connect indigenous communities of Na savi, Mepha'a and Nahuatl and displaced and migrant indigenous peoples (Mexico and Guatemala), Kashmiris (India), Kurds, Arabs, Assyrians, Turkmen, Yazidis (Rojava), marginalised and conflict-affected religious/ ethnic groups, refugees and IDPs communities (Thailand), Madhesis (Nepal), Hazara/ Tazik/ Uzbek communities (Afghanistan) and Karen/ Kachin/ Mon communities (Myanmar). Informed by theories of 'epistemic justice' and 'critical rights literacy', the network will facilitate the exchange of local knowledges and strategies for building peace and trust across global contexts; enable the co-design of innovative ways to communicate this learning more broadly; and strengthen the links between locally devised understandings and processes of peace and trust with more orthodox infrastructures and institutions working to promote peace.
Through online platforms (adapted appropriately to accommodate diverse languages and technological access and resources), the network will facilitate a series of regional and international symposia which bring together in dialogue diverse minority communities, first at a regional level and secondly at the global/international level. These symposia will be organised and facilitated by collaborators based in institutions in each of the eight contexts with agendas set according to the priorities of the participating communities.
The network is built on the decolonial principles of relationships, connections, reciprocity and accountability to communities as we aim to value and centre the knowledges and solutions produced by communities under conditions of violence. Key intended outputs of the project include, a sustained network of international grassroots communities; a resourceful knowledge sharing website; a series of innovative multi-format (e.g short film, song, podcast, radio jingle, poster, art, theatre, cultural show) peace promoting materials relevant to each context (yet adaptable in terms of process of co-production to other contexts); eight country-specific reports; and two synthesis reports that capture the methodological and theoretical innovations emerging from the network activities. Building on the experience of this network, we intend to develop a co-designed research programme, involving our key partners, to research peace and trust in these marginalised and politically contested spaces.
Publications
Arif Sahar
(2023)
The Hazara community's struggle for justice in Afghanistan
Kadiwal L
(2022)
Contesting authoritarianism, redefining democracy: Youth and citizenship in contemporary India
in Citizenship Teaching & Learning
Laila Kadiwal
(2023)
Critical feminist resistance to the politics of hate in India
in Globalisation, Societies and Education
Tejendra Pherali
(2023)
Struggle for political rights and social justice: An analysis of the Madhesh movement in Nepal
| Title | Indigenous Adivasi rights, education, climate justice, identity, nation-state and coloniality in India |
| Description | The Adivasi poetess Jacinta Kerkatta and activist and scholar-activist Professor Felix Padel, Centre for World Environmental History at the University of Sussex are in conversation with Dr Laila Kadiwal on Adivasi rights, education, climate justice, identity, nation-state and coloniality in India. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2022 |
| Impact | This podcast provides a creative way of sharing stories about the struggle on Adivasi rights, climate justice, identity and coloniality in India. Many of our participants have become enthusiastic about using this kind of approach to promote human rights and peace in their own contexts. |
| URL | https://www.peacewithjustice.org/resource/they-are-waiting-for-us-to-become-civilised-while-we-are-w... |
| Title | Knowledges born in the struggles of Madhesi in Nepal and Adivasis in India- Jacinta Kerketta and Tula Shah in conversation with Tejendra Pherali |
| Description | The intended purpose of the podcast is to generate greater awareness of and exchange knowledge arising from the struggles of Madhesi in Nepal and Adivasi struggles in India. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Own/colleagues reported a change in views or opinions. Requests for further activities. |
| URL | https://www.peacewithjustice.org/resource/jacinta-kerketta-and-tula-shah-explore-with-tejendra-phera... |
| Title | Peace with Justice in Afghanistan and Rojava - Arif Sahar and Sardar Saadi in conversation with Elaine Chaise |
| Description | The podcast generates greater awareness of the struggles of the Hazaras in Afghanistan and the Kurdish populations in Rojava and exchanges learning arising from their respective struggles. |
| Type Of Art | Artefact (including digital) |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Impact | Requests about (further) participation or involvement |
| URL | https://www.peacewithjustice.org/resource/peace-with-justice-in-afghanistan-and-rojava-a-conversatio... |
| Description | This is a network building project that brings together eleven organisations from 8 different countries to enhance knowledge and understanding of different forms of violence that different racial, ethnic, religious, social and cultural groups are enduring in multiple contexts. We have organised three global and two regional symposia to exchange knowledge and experiences about how grassroots communities in seven different contexts are involved in activism, education and knowledge production, and how they promote human rights, rights to education, and peace in their own contexts. One of the symposia was organised in person with some participants joining online. Some of the preliminary findings of the engagement are as follows: 1. Violent conflicts between the state and armed groups and longstanding political oppressions of many ethnic minorities and indigenous communities, in contexts where the project collaborators are based, have caused enormous stress in people's lives and violated their human rights and rights to learn. Forced displacement of the people because of the war is a common phenomenon in all the research contexts. 2. Oppressive states have long pursued policies of cultural assimilation and local people's demand for political rights, promotion of their culture, language and identity are usually framed as concerns of societal security resulting in political justification for state oppression and militarisation. 3. Most collaborators reported that traditional knowledge of indigenous peoples and cultural minorities in their contexts is dominated by research, policies and discourses that are imposed on them by the hegemonic state authorities and serve the interest of capitalism, authoritarianism and political elites in their society. Education systems are designed to delegitimise and dismiss their knowledge base, and the state functionaries are used by political elites to dehumanise indigenous populations. 4. The network of researchers, educational activists and teachers serves as a space to memorialise members of their communities who have lost their lives resisting injustices. The dialogic forums created by the network have helped build solidarity in their struggle. 5. We found that language is a powerful tool for the expression of people's identities and preservation of their culture and hence, education in the mother-tongue is central to their social movement. Methodologically, we have learnt to appreciate the importance of activists' language to respect their identity, hence, the network has promoted multilingual spaces for interactions among participants and regarded interpretation as an important tool for research activities. 6. Northern-led research and capacity development initiatives are viewed as complicit to fuelling epistemic injustice as they carry implicit colonial power and implicitly shape the way issues are identified, prioritised and debated. The privileged status of Northern partners, their access to resources and supremacy of their language in project activities and research deliberations exert subconscious power, shaping the direction of the debate. Research and engagement in struggles of grassroots communities must therefore be framed as solidarity, comradery and studentship. 7. Peace at the grassroots is conceptualised as the right to celebrate people's traditional knowledge, recognition of their indigenous language and culture and celebration of their rights to and relationships with their territory. 8. Education in a broad sense (e.g. learning through work within social/ civil society/ educational organisations; interactions between people to understand the forms of injustices, discriminations and inequalities; learning through experiences and finding ways to navigate different forms of violence and oppressions) serves as a process of knowing and defending people's rights. These processes of learning enable people to be critically aware of and define their rights and find new ways to exercise these rights. 9. We found that there is a strong sense of pride in and commitment to grassroots communities' struggle for peace with social justice. They are actively engaged in social movements and educational development programmes that promote gender equality, local epistemologies and people-focused governance of public institutions. They have championed creative ways of resisting political repression and capitalistic domination in several parts of these contexts. This is a different kind of approach to peacebuilding which is grounded in people's daily experiences of physical and structural violence and reimagination of a future towards 'positive peace'. 10. We have also identified different levels and types of risks associated with research engagement for different collaborators in the seven conflict-affected contexts. Building trust, empathy and solidarity among all network members is vital before engaging in research activities. We found that involvement in international research activities could increase state surveillance on scholars in politically repressive environments. It is crucial to be led by the participants in gauging the potential risks linked with research involvement. The project team promote continuous dialogue about risk mitigation, constantly aware that there may be new or increased risks due to changing political environments in the research contexts. |
| Exploitation Route | Even though it is early to claim how our findings could be utilised by others, it is clear that more research is needed to understand how grassroots communities define and understand peace and how they struggle collectively to defend their human rights. Our research is beginning to demonstrate that new tools, methods, and approaches are needed to engage in research in grassroots social movements so that knowledge generated in local struggles for peace is brought out through the voices of those who lead them. We are still grappling with the nature of our roles as researchers from Northern universities and are convinced that the researcher-participant relationship needs to be redefined critically - that everyone involved in research activities is the producer of knowledge and must be duly recognised. These findings have implications for how external researchers conduct research in local contexts and how the knowledge produced contributes to nurture struggles of those who produce it. Additionally, creating space for sharing knowledge and experiences of grassroots struggles across global contexts provides a sense of hope and solidarity. It also enables activists, educationists, and researchers to find new spaces of engagement. We will be further reflecting on and documenting these issues as we move forward with the project. |
| Sectors | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Environment,Government, Democracy and Justice,Security and Diplomacy |
| URL | https://www.peacewithjustice.org/ |
| Description | It is early to claim substantial impact of this project. However, the network has brought together researchers, activists, educational practitioners, and graduate students from Asia and South America to learn from each other's struggles for peace. The project has taken a unique approach by creating a dialogic space where participants can share stories of their struggles and inspire each other to promote peace with justice. Participants have benefitted from opportunities to learn about how communities like their own have organised struggles; how they make sense of and respond to injustices and discriminations they experience every day; how they protect their education from violent attacks; how they advocate for their rights to education, land, culture, language and ways of life; how they produce knowledge within the movement; and how they learn from the knowledge produced and the experiences. Our online symposia have built a sense of solidarity across these struggles. Participants have proudly shared stories of their activism and achievements as well as the pain they have endured. As a result, the network has built human connections among participants despite their geographical, cultural and linguistic differences and brought people together with genuine interest to learn and thrive. |
| First Year Of Impact | 2023 |
| Sector | Communities and Social Services/Policy,Education,Government, Democracy and Justice |
| Impact Types | Societal |
| Description | Influencing the UK Parliament |
| Geographic Reach | Multiple continents/international |
| Policy Influence Type | Participation in a guidance/advisory committee |
| Description | IOE (UCL) International Fund 2022-23 |
| Amount | £5,000 (GBP) |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Department | Institute of Education (IOE) |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 12/2022 |
| End | 07/2023 |
| Description | AHRC-funded peace with justice network |
| Organisation | University College London |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| PI Contribution | Partners from the LIFE project in Mexico and Guatemala have now become part of a wider international network of scholars and activists working in contexts of migration, displacement and conflict where indigenous peoples are seeking to promote peace and justice in contexts of violence and discrimination. |
| Collaborator Contribution | The network provides a space for collaboration for sharing learning and strategies for promoting peace and justice across 8 global contexts (Mexico, Guatemala, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal, Turkey, India, Rojava).. The network is facilitated by colleagues at UCL but has become an active collaborative space for addressing major global societal and economic challenges across a range of DAC listed countries. |
| Impact | A series or regional and global symposia for knowledge and practice exchange (on going). An international conference in July in Thailand (hosted by Chulalongkorn University - one of our partners) A series of working papers exploring issues related to promoting peace and justice in contexts of displacement, conflict and marginalisation across the eight countries. Collaboration is multidisciplinary including education, development studies, anthropology, political science, migration studies, health promotion, sociology. |
| Start Year | 2022 |
| Description | A Key note : Promoting wellbeing through education in challenging environments |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Key note address sharing approach to co-design of massive open online collaborations for teacher professional development in contexts of displacement /complex circumstances. Insights were shared from work in Lebanon and discussion of relevance to contexts within South East Asia and beyond (including Thailand, Myanmar, Nepal, Turkey, Afghanistan India and Rojava). Key note was attended by around 200 people including educational practitioners. The discussion generated a lot of interest in sharing approaches to collaborative TPD and how the approach may work in other similar contexts of displacement/ conflict. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://www.peacewithjustice.org/education-in-challenging-environments-promoting-peace-trust-and-sus... |
| Description | Co-constructing understandings of Peace and Justice: Emerging learning from the Peace and Justice Network |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | We presented a paper at the British Association for International and Comparative Education conference that was held in Sep 2022 in Edinburgh. It was a joint paper by Tejendra Pherali, Laila Kadiwal and Elaine Chase entitled 'Co-constructing understandings of Peace and Justice: Emerging learning from the Peace and Justice Network'. The paper was on the panel that focused on education in conflict-affected contexts and attracted around 35 participants. It sparked questions and discussion afterward and several participants approached us personally to learn more about our network and the theoretical ideas we are working on. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://baice.ac.uk/baice-conference-2022/ |
| Description | Decolonial Cafe on saviorism vs building global ethical solidarities |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Over 40 students and practitioners attended the Decolonial Cafe that discussed how we can try to build global ethical solidarities with the most marginalised and avoid saviourism, charity approach and stereotypes. The event was held at the UCL Institute of Education. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/decolonial-cafe-debunking-charity-stereotypes-and-saviourism-tickets-... |
| Description | Decolonising education and international development with attention to issues of peace and justice |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Postgraduate students |
| Results and Impact | Nearly 50 students, academics and peace practitioners engaged in a conversation around decolonising knowledge and its implications for peace and justice organised by Globed, the University of Barcelona, the University of Cyprus and Glasgow University. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | http://www.globed.eu/about/ |
| Description | Education for peace in conflict-affected regions of Myanmar and Thailand |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This activity was organised as part of the 7th International Conference on International Relations and Development (ICIRD 2022): "Disruption, Challenges, and Resilience in Contemporary Southeast Asia", 22-23 July 2022, Chiang Mai, Thailand hosted by Chiang Mai University. We organised two invited panels on 'Education for peace in conflict-affected regions of Myanmar and Thailand'. The first panel focused on 'Struggles of different ethnic education departments in providing learning opportunities in Myanmar' which included speakers from UCL, Education Department, Kachin Independent Organisation, Karenni Education Department, Karen Education and Culture Department and Shan Education Department. The second panel was on 'Promoting peace and social justice in unstable multicultural settings' and the presenters included colleagues from Mon National Education Committee, Institute for Peace Studies, Prince of Songkla University, Thailand, Chulalongkorn University/ University College London and Thinking Classroom Foundation. The audience was educational professionals, academics and members of the donor community who were supporting education in ethnic regions of Myanmar. We presented theoretical framework for educational analysis from a conflict perspective and individual presentations focused on case studies in Myanmar and Southern Thailand. There were several questions and comments from the audience after the panels. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://icird7.soc.cmu.ac.th/?page_id=73 |
| Description | Engagement with Zaytoonah International University, Northern Syria |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | On 9 March 2023, the project team engaged with academics from Zaytoonah International University- Azaz in Northern Syria. Dr Ghayath Ahmed Dak, Founder of the university and chairman of its board of trustees introduced the university and highlighted the enormous needs of resources, capacity development of academics and support for curriculum development. It was heart-breaking to learn the devastating impact of Syrian war on communities and education systems. We agreed to continue conversations and UCL colleagues will share their lessons learned from higher education development projects in other conflict-affected contexts and will also support curriculum review. This was a preliminary engagement which is hoped to expand in future. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://ziu-university.net |
| Description | Feminist resistance to authoritarianism in India |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Over 100 people from diverse backgrounds attended the International Women's Day event at SOAS in which I talked about the feminist resistance to authoritarianism in India. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Global Symposium in Chiang Mai University |
| 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 | This was a major event of the project that brought collaborators and project partners who were based in the UK, Canada, Nepal, India, Myanmar and Thailand together in Chiang Mai University to attend a two-day workshop on 'The Peace with Justice Network: Connecting ecologies of knowledges and voices at the margins for peace and equality'. Around 35 members of the network participated in the event and many of them delivered formal presentations about their ongoing work supporting peace and justice in their countries. We organised participatory activities around producing public-facing peace promoting outputs and exchanged knowledge and experiences around delivering education in contexts that have faced political instabilities and violent conflict. This event served to strengthen the network and explore new ideas for future research and engagement. We also produced two podcasts with activists from India, Nepal, Syria and Afghanistan. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | International Conference - Education in challenging environments: Promoting peace, trust and sustainable development in ASEAN countries |
| 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 | This two-day international conference was jointly organised by the Institute of Thai Studies, Chulalongkorn University and the Centre for Education and International Development, University College London to discuss politics of education, well-being of learners and educators in challenging environments as well as the role of grassroots organisations in promoting peace and justice through educational activities. The conference brought together both international and national scholars who were researching education and development in various contexts that have been affected by violent conflicts and forced displacement. There were also two focused workshops on how to build research capacities and develop a critical understanding of the relationship between education, peace and social transformation. Over 150 participants attended the conference. Prof Tejendra Pherali and Chawin Pongpajon were conference co-chairs. There were 6 keynotes delivered by academics from Japan, UK, Myanmar, Thailand and USA. In total, there were 12 parallel sessions where 42 papers were presented. The conference helped build a strong regional network among scholars, practitioners and graduates students working in the field of education in conflict-affected regions of ASEAN. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| URL | https://fb.watch/jblInWqOHM/ |
| Description | Knowledges born in the struggles of Madhesi in Nepal and Adivasis in India- Jacinta Kerketta and Tula Shah in conversation with Tejendra Pherali |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The intended purpose of the podcast is to generate greater awareness of and exchange knowledge arising from the struggles of Madhesi in Nepal and Adivasi struggles in India. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.peacewithjustice.org/resource/jacinta-kerketta-and-tula-shah-explore-with-tejendra-phera... |
| Description | Meeting with Members of the House of Lords of the United Kingdom: Lord Harries of Pentregarth and Lord Hussain |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | National |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | 10 individuals attended the meeting representing various organisations: House of Lords, International Labour Solidarity, International Solidarity for Academic Freedom in India, and the Anti-Caste discrimination group. The meeting sparked questions and discussion and suggestions for a way forward on the peace with justice situation in India. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| Description | Peace with Justice in Afghanistan and Rojava - Arif Sahar and Sardar Saadi in conversation with Elaine Chaise |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
| Results and Impact | The intended purpose of the podcast is to generate greater awareness of the struggles of the Hazaras in Afghanistan and the Kurdish populations in Rojava and to exchange learning arising from their respective struggles. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
| URL | https://www.peacewithjustice.org/resource/peace-with-justice-in-afghanistan-and-rojava-a-conversatio... |
| Description | Regional Symposium - Afghanistan, India, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand and Syria/ Turkey |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | This regional symposium was the first major activity of the project that was attended by participants from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Nepal, Thailand, India, Turkey/ Syria. During this symposium, the lead presenter from each of the countries provided a brief background to the context/ conflict/ different forms of violence grassroots communities are experiencing; and the role of community organisations or the partner organisation in promoting peace and social justice. They they discussed some of the grassroots initiatives/ movements/ activities that promote social justice. We collectively explored different forms of knowledges/ approaches/ narratives these organisations/ communities were promoting in their contexts and engaged in the following questions: What is their approach to peacebuilding? How do they organize? How do they bring people together from across dividing lines? What kinds of challenges do they face and how do they navigate these obstacles to promote peace and justice? The presentations generated interesting discussions afterwards and enabled all participants to learn from each other's knowledge and experiences about how to organise to continue peaceful struggles for peace and justice. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Regional Symposium - Guatemala and Mexico |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Regional |
| Primary Audience | Study participants or study members |
| Results and Impact | This was a regional symposium that focused on struggles of indigenous communities in Mexico and Guatemala. Participants from both countries shared their stories of political repressions and violence their communities had faced and how they were fighting against inequalities and marginalisation. Some of the participants from Afghanistan, Myanmar, Thailand, Nepal and India also joined the event to participate in the debate. The symposium provided very informative and at times moving accounts of the difficulties local communities in the two countries were facing. It also helped build a strong sense of solidarity among the participants. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
| Description | Risk assessment discussion - Research and practice in conflict-affected contexts |
| 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 | This was one of the first activities of the project which involved an online international meeting to discuss political and security sensitives around working in politically challenging environment. The participants included network partners and collaborators who were based in various contexts (Nepal, Thailand, Myanmar, India, Syria/ Turkey, Afghanistan, Guatemala, Mexico and the UK). Collaborators were asked to identify potential risks associated with involvement in the project and how they would mitigate/ navigate these risks. We agreed on the general principles of confidentiality, anonymity and means of reducing potential harm to colleagues and participants associated with the project. The team agreed to carry out regular risk assessment and communicate any new risks that would emerge during and after the project cycle and find ways to mitigate them. For example, one of the collaborators requested not to be mentioned in the project website as this would potentially put them in a situation of tensions of the state authority. We also agreed that the online meeting would be held under the Chatham House Rules which meant that no individuals would be attributed to the idea shared during the meeting and identities of the participants attending online symposium would remain anonymous. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |