Author: Alex Williams

Ukraine: PCi invited to speak at Kyiv roundtable event

Posted on November 4, 2019 by -

PCi participated at a Kyiv roundtable event co-organised with the parliamentary Human Rights committee and hosted at the Ombudsman’s office on 23 October 2018. The roundtable focused on the conflict in eastern Ukraine and sought to promote ways to engage across divided communities and promote dialogue in the interests of achieving practical changes for vulnerable people in conflict-affected areas. As part of the Panel input, participants also shared experience from PCi practice on institutionalising dialogue at a local level in Ukraine. The panel speakers (in the PCi session) included Jonathan Cohen, Executive Director of Conciliation Resources; Natalia Mirimanova, a conflict resolution practitioner; and two Senior Advisers at Peaceful Change initiative, Craig Oliphant and Anthony Foreman.

Lebanon: PCi supports the Syria Peace Process Support Initiative (SPPSI) in Beirut

Posted on June 3, 2019 by -

PCi’s Senior Peacebuilding Adviser Raj Bhari, with a colleague from International Alert, facilitated a working group on peacebuilding at the Syria Peace Process Support Partner Event on 20 June 2019 in Beirut, Lebanon. The European Union and Germany set up the Syria Peace Process Support Initiative to contribute to peacebuilding in Syria, based on the implementation of UNSCR 2254. The workshop session facilitated forward-thinking discussions on what the track-three peacebuilding agenda in Syria needs to encompass and the possibilities and entry points for track-three peacebuilding in the current Syrian context.

Lebanon: Global Conflict Sensitivity Community Hub annual meeting in Beirut

Posted on July 31, 2019 by -

Tim Molesworth, PCi’s Senior Adviser, Conflict Sensitivity and Peace Technology, participated in the annual meeting of the global Conflict Sensitivity Community Hub in Beirut, Lebanon, from 17-19 July 2019. The Hub brings together international and local organisations to promote and develop the concept and practice of conflict sensitivity.

The 2019 Hub meeting provided an opportunity to exchange knowledge, experience and tools relating to conflict sensitivity between participating organisations. Tim presented PCi’s experience facilitating the Libya Conflict Sensitive Assistance Forum since 2013, sharing some of the lessons learned and discussing how the experience could be relevant in other contexts. The meeting also provided an opportunity for the Hub to connect with the recently established Local Conflict Sensitivity Forum in Beirut facilitated by House of Peace, and to share perspectives.

PCi takes over coordination of Conflict Sensitivity Community Hub

Posted on October 3, 2019 by -

Peaceful Change initiative is the newly appointed Secretariat of the Conflict Sensitivity Community Hub (CSC-Hub). The CSC-Hub is a global network of organisations and individuals working on conflict-sensitive approaches in their fields to promote conflict sensitivity at the policy, organisational and programmatic level.

As the Hub coordinator for the 2019/20 period, PCi facilitates the collaboration, knowledge exchange and implementation of activities among member organisations.

The Conflict Sensitivity Community Hub is now on Twitter – for the latest news on Conflict Sensitivity related content, follow @CSC_Hub.

UK: The CAF Venturesome team select PCi for Giving Tuesday

Posted on December 12, 2019 by -

Peaceful Change initiative was selected by the CAF Venturesome team, the social investment team at Charities Aid Foundation (CAF), as their beneficiary in the UK as part of this year’s ‘Giving Tuesday’, a global day of giving to charities and social organisations. All CAF staff are encouraged to volunteer and fundraise on this day, which in 2020 is Tuesday 1 December. One of the team is running 50km from CAF’s Kent office to their London office to raise funds from their network for PCi.  PCi is grateful for the support and wish them the best of luck on Tuesday 1 December.

Click here to support their efforts and donate to PCi through CAF’s donate page

UK: PCi supports BELONG network’s Shared Ground pilot programme

Posted on December 20, 2019 by -

PCi’s senior Peacebuilding Adviser Raj Bhari has been invited by BELONG, the cohesion and integration network, to support Shared Ground, a new pilot programme for the UK. The programme will build the capacity, skills and confidence for practitioners, and all those who work closely alongside residents and in neighbourhoods, to work more effectively in situations where there is conflict and tension. The course will be designed with input from the Tim Parry Johnathan Ball Peace Foundation and Peaceful Change initiative. Both organisations bring substantial expertise in working in situations where there are community tensions and conflict.

Raj Bhari has recently been appointed as an advisor/associate with belong, PCi look forward to working more closely with the belong cohesion and integration network. For more about belong click here: https://www.belongnetwork.co.uk/

Armenia: PCi supports youth training in conflict transformation and peacebuilding

Posted on February 10, 2019 by -

Within the Alternotion project – which aims to create an online platform of cross-border storytelling on the cultural similarities of Armenians and Azerbaijanis – PCi’s Programme Adviser Artak Ayunts conducted training for young bloggers and vloggers from Armenia on conflict transformation and the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict (3 February 2019). The training was part of an EU-funded PeaCE project (Peacebuilding through Capacity Enhancement and Civic Engagement), implemented by Eurasia Partnership Foundation, aiming to encourage young Armenians and Azerbaijanis from Armenia, Azerbaijan and Nagorno-Karabakh to develop a shared vision for peace in the region through learning conflict transformation and peacebuilding methodologies.

Libya: ‘Peacemakers Network – Libya’ hosts ‘Peacemakers Awards’ in Benghazi

Posted on February 18, 2019 by -

PCi’s partner, the Libyan Peacebuilders Network, organised and hosted the ‘Peacemakers Awards’ in Benghazi on 8 February 2019. The event was planned to bring attention to the work being done by Libyans throughout the country to manage conflict in their communities and promote peace for Libya. The event recognised the work of a number of groups and individuals including the elders from the Tebu and Zawiya tribes in Kufra, elders of the western Mountain tribes, the Social Council of the Werfalla tribe and the elders of Cyrenaica. A special award was presented to Aisha Aizadma from Harawa for her role in addressing the conflict between the Al-Gedaddfa and Awlad Sulaiman tribes in Sebha.

Armenia: Progressing youth participation on governance and peace

Posted on May 9, 2019 by -

In April 2019, PCi commenced work on a 12-month project funded by the UK Government and within the framework of UNSCR 2250 on youth, peace and security. The first component involves research into youth involvement in the violence-free revolution that led to a change in government in 2018. Workshops will then be convened for Armenian civil society organisations focusing on peacebuilding to discuss the research findings and develop recommendations, and it is envisaged that organisations will work collaboratively to advocate for the recommendations. The project aims to have the recommendations included in the government’s official Youth Policy. The second component will develop educational materials to build young people’s awareness of peace and security issues in Armenia and increase knowledge of peacebuilding activities. Materials will be piloted among youth directly affected by conflict in the province of Tavush in the north east of Armenia.

Armenia: PCi and YCCD host roundtable event on youth policy

Posted on October 30, 2019 by -

Peaceful Change initiative and the Youth Cooperation Center of Dilijan (YCCD) hosted a roundtable event on Youth Policy issues in Armenia (October 2019) in Yerevan. This is a component of the project ‘Progressing Youth Participation in Armenia on Governance and Peace’. Participants included officials from the Ministry of Education, Science, Culture and Sport (MESCS) responsible for the development of Youth Policy in Armenia, representatives from civil society and youth organisations, active youth workers, and young men and women interested in the issue. The discussions were focused on topics which produced suggested recommendations and messages. PCi and YCCD will work with civil society and government to raise awareness of these recommendations/messages, to promote inclusive and participatory processes in the development of Youth Policy in Armenia.