Greg Funnell
May 2018
A monthly selection of the best new research and resources on local peacebuilding worldwide, as chosen by Peace Insight. This month’s edition features resources on women and conflict in Somalia, Syrian refugees in Lebanon, and more. Sign up here to receive the newsletter by email each month.
Research this month
Idlib Lives: The untold story of heroes
"Facing attacks from all sides, civil society in Idlib continues to operate with remarkable effectiveness and determination. In areas best known internationally for massacres, there are untold stories of hundreds of groups providing the services civilians need to survive. But to look at only the services provided is to miss the point: Idlib’s civil society represents the best chance for free and democratic institutions and its heroes prove that another Syria is possible."
Idlib Lives, from Peace Direct and The Syria Campaign, is an interactive report looking at the heroic role of civil society in the Syrian province of Idlib, who support 2.6 million civilians. Determined and highly effective, they are proving another Syria is possible.
Women, conflict and peace: Learning from Kismayo
"The study suggests that educated female (and male) youth and youth-based organizations are enthusiastic and important sources of peace activism and may have potential to provide innovative solutions to specific types of conflict or conflict drivers."
Women, conflict and peace, from Peace Direct, the Life & Peace Institute and the Somali Women Solidarity Organization, examines the roles of women in conflict and building peace in Kismayo, Somalia. The report brings with it reflections which are relevant within the Somali context, and also for wider dynamics regarding women’s role in peacebuilding.
Building peace into refugee responses: Syrian refugees in Lebanon
"Community-level findings revealed a number of negative stereotypes based on a lack of understanding between Syrian refugee and Lebanese host communities, highlighting the risk for national-level anti-Syrian discourses to create division and animosity. Similarly, local-level perspectives on assistance and international aid helped identify avenues for further advancing the conflict sensitivity of those interventions, and making humanitarian and development support contribute to sustaining peace."
Building peace into refugee responses, from the Lebanese Center for Policy Studies and Saferworld, looks at the relationships between Syrian refugees and host communities in Lebanon. The research draws upon interviews with stakeholders in two communities and highlights ways to build positive relationships between refugees and host communities.
Knowledge for peace: Transitional justice, knowledge production and an agenda for research
"Transitional justice, like other peacebuilding endeavours, strives to create change in the world and to produce knowledge that is useful. But the politics of how this knowledge is produced, shared and rendered legitimate depends upon the relationships between different epistemic communities, the way in which transitional justice has developed as a field, and the myriad contexts in which it is embedded at local, national and international levels"
Knowledge for peace, from swisspeace, explores the issues around knowledge production in the field of transitional justice. The publication includes a number of articles which touch upon ideas such as the politics of knowledge production and the importance of local context.
Improving the impact of preventing violent extremism programming
"The toolkit is underpinned by the principle of taking the context as the starting point of any intervention, and what the analysis of this context tells us is important to address. Building an in-depth understanding of the context shines light on the different types and levels of violence, conflict, exclusion and injustice and helps to prioritise needs based on what is happening on the ground. Coupling this with consultations with government partners and communities around perceptions of violence at large as well as VE helps shape responses towards the types of violence that are a priority and supports the development of programming that reflects the reality of needs."
Improving the impact of preventing violent extremism programming, from International Alert and UNDP, provides guidance and best practice on the design, monitoring, and evaluation of programmes on preventing violent extremism. The toolkit includes various resources and approaches that can be applied to such programmes.
The Power of Collectives: FemWise-Africa
"In a global context of increasingly complex and interconnected challenges, there is growing evidence to suggest that multiple collaborative efforts across language, culture, national affiliation and even continental boundaries are perhaps the most comprehensive way of addressing such challenges and envisioning a collective future. FemWise-Africa and many other networks like it, then, present an exciting opportunity to explore this potential in the pressing and urgent context of violent conflicts throughout the world."
The Power of Collectives, from ACCORD, charts the development of FemWise-Africa - a Pan-African network of women mediators established in late 2016. The booklet outlines some of the work being done across the continent in the field of women, peace, and security, and where FemWise-Africa fits in this context.
Funding opportunities
Tomorrow's Peacebuilders
Tomorrow’s Peacebuilders are the global awards for local peacebuilding. Awarded annually, they offer international recognition for grassroots peace activists in conflict-affected countries worldwide. These are inspiring individuals who are building a better tomorrow for their communities, in the world’s most fragile and needy places. Three winning organisations will each receive $10,000 and online promotion of their work. Deadline: 12 June 2018. Find out more
Sunhak Peace Prize
The Sunhak Peace Prize honours individuals and organisations that have made significant contributions to peace and human development, working to resolve conflict and restore balance to the relationship between humanity and the natural environment. Deadline: 31 May 2018 Find out more
OpenIDEO/GHR Foundation BridgeBuilder Challenge!
OpenIDEO/GHR Foundation, BridgeBuilder Challenge addresses urgent global challenges at the intersections of peace, prosperity, and planet in radically new ways. Selected ideas will: receive a share of $1 million in seed funding in addition to other support. Deadline: 4 June 2018 Find out more
Sydney Peace Prize
The Sydney Peace Prize is awarded to an organization or an individual whose life and work has demonstrated significant contributions to peace, human rights, or non-violence. The recipient is awarded a $50,000 prize. Deadline: 30 June 2018 Find out more
Henley & Partners’ Global Citizen Award
Henley & Partners Global Citizen Award honours an inspirational global citizen working towards improving the global community, and whose actions contribute to a more just, peaceful, and tolerant world. The winner will be awarded $30,000. Deadline: 15 June 2018 Find out more
NCMG Peace Awards
The NCMG Peace Awards recognise change agents and innovative thought leaders championing justice and peace in Africa. Deadline: 31 July 2018 Find out more
Call for research participants: How do "small things" matter in "big conflicts?"
A call for peacebuilding organisations to participate in research on how "small things" matter in "big conflictsFind out more
From the blog
Lebanon’s Parliamentary Elections: Women Shattering the Glass Ceiling?
After almost a decade of delays that stalled Lebanon's political process, parliamentary elections held next month will be a watershed moment for women and youth who seek to have their voices heard. But will it be enough to shake up Lebanon's corrupt and male-dominated political system? Read more »
Local Peacebuilders Share Views on Challenges to Sustaining Peace
The passage of the dual resolutions on peacebuilding and sustaining peace two years ago indicated a commitment by member states to building and sustaining peace. Central to the goal of sustaining peace is the recognition that in order for peacebuilding to be effective, it must be locally owned and informed through people-centered approaches. Read more »
Communicating with Communities during Conflict: “Mediated” avenues to inform those in need
When it comes to conflict and post-conflict environments, passing on information to the population based on what is needed by those who experience the crisis is a vital and yet challenging task for aid organisations. This approach, which is increasingly being adopted in humanitarian work, asks us to re-think ‘communication’ and to expand our view on what we regard as ‘media’. Read more »
Introducing 'Peace Dispatch'
In this month's edition, Local Peacebuilding Experts from Yemen, Syria, Sierra Leone, Niger and Nepal provide their latest analysis of conflict in their areas - and what it means for peacebuilders. Read more »
Monthly Newsletter
A monthly selection of the best new research and resources on local peacebuilding worldwide, as chosen by Insight on Conflict.
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