News Type: Programme updates

UK: PCi hosts panel discussion on conflict sensitivity – successes, challenges and priorities

Posted on January 27, 2020 by -

Peaceful Change initiative hosted a panel discussion on behalf of the Conflict Sensitivity Hub at the Overseas Development Institute (ODI) in London. Tim Molesworth, PCi’s Senior Adviser, Conflict Sensitivity and Peace Technology, PCi facilitated the discussions – which were also livestreamed on Twitter, enabling conflict sensitivity practitioners to engage in the conversation from around the world. Click here to view a recording of the panel discussion.

PCi seeks to contribute to developing the concept of conflict sensitivity; advocate for incorporating conflict sensitivity into policy and processes; and support the conflict sensitivity of international assistance activities in contexts where they are delivered. Speakers included Rachel Goldwyn, Senior Conflict Sensitivity and Peacebuilding Adviser at World Food Programme; Elias Sadkni, Director at House of Peace Foundation; Albert Souza Mulli, Conflict and Stabilisation Adviser for the British Embassy to Libya; Heloise Heyer, Conflict Sensitivity Lead at PeaceNexus; and Pilar Domingo, Senior Research Fellow at Overseas Development Institute. @CSC_hub on Twitter

Armenia: Youth participation in decision making and peacebuilding

Posted on March 30, 2020 by -

Peaceful Change initiative worked with YCCD (an Armenian NGO) to promote youth participation in decision making and peacebuilding in Armenia, supporting UN Security Resolution 2250 calling on governments to include youth participation in local, national and international institutions, in efforts to end conflict. A short film was produced to capture the project’s impact (available in Armenian with English subtitles).

Libya: Supporting the participation of youth in peacebuilding and local development

Posted on April 29, 2020 by -

Youth in Libya have demonstrated a desire to create youth led spaces that better represent their experiences and needs and have turned to civil society activism to address issues that affect them and Libya as a whole. It is this determination and hope that inspired PCi to organise a 3-day Youth Forum in the coastal town of Zuwara bringing 97 young activists together from 27 towns and cities from across the country.

The first video showcases the preparatory work that the young people undertook before the Youth Forum.

The second video showcases the Youth Forum that took place in Zwara in March 2020.

Peacemakers Network – Libya’ launches digital campaign ‘Your health is Libya’s health’

Posted on April 27, 2020 by -

The ‘Peacemakers Network – Libya’, an organisation that brings together Libyans from all walks of life and all different parts of the country, gathered a number of its members to launch the digital campaign ‘Your health is Libya’s health’, underlining the importance of solidarity, respect and cooperation among Libyans in order to confront the COVID-19 epidemic. Network members from the cities of Tripoli, Ghadames, Jalu, Ubari, Al Jmel, Zuwarrah, Al Kufra, and Sabha collaborated to put together a video disseminating messages on cooperation and public health, which they are promoting through national media and with municipal authorities.

Western Balkans: Addressing COVID-19 – allowing local voices to be heard

Posted on July 1, 2020 by -

Peaceful Change initiative works to amplify local voices, especially those of marginalised groups, in support of equitable development. We worked with our partners Aktiv, Civic Initiatives and Peer Educators Network to ensure non-majority communities in Serbia and Kosovo are better aware of – and able to advocate for – municipal services to which they are entitled.

In response to COVID-19, PCi worked with Aktiv to create a ‘Rapid Response Crisis Group’ (RRCG) to ensure that non-majority communities in Kosovo were receiving equitable access to information that sought to prevent and mitigate the spread of COVID-19.

In this first of the video stories which will be produced by all three partners, Aktiv sheds more light on the efforts of the RRCG to ensure equitable access to information. Click here for the film with English subtitles

Improving access to mental health information in Kosovo

Posted on August 19, 2020 by -

Peaceful Change initiative are working with partners, among others, to ensure non-majority communities in Serbia and Kosovo have better access to information on COVID-19. The goal of the ‘Amplifying Local Voices for Equitable Development – ALVED’ project is to strengthen the capacity of citizens in Kosovo and Serbia to advocate for an effective and equitable distribution of public services and for a greater inclusion of non-majority communities in local decision making.

The project is funded by the Conflict, Stability and Security Fund of the United Kingdom (CSSF) and implemented by a network of five organisations, including our partner Peer Educators Network (PEN) from Kosovo, who actively work to bring social change through community work led by youth. With their first video-cast published as part of ALVED, PEN is providing information about the effects of the pandemic on mental health, as well as some advice on how to cope with this situation. The video is available in English, Albanian and Serbian language, and was shared through social media by a network of organisations working with diverse groups in Kosovo, including non-majority communities.

PCi’s partner NGO Aktiv advocating for Language Rights in Kosovo

Posted on September 30, 2020 by -

As part of the ‘Amplifying Local Voices for Equitable Development – ALVED’ project, PCi’s partner organisation Aktiv produced a video-cast that discusses language rights in Kosovo. The video-cast analyses how the pandemic crisis has shed light on weak institutions unable to provide a timely translation of information into Serbian at key moments, leaving members of the Serb and other non-majority communities in Kosovo at a disadvantage. The video is available in Serbian, Albanian and English language.