Africa Regional Research Café on Sudan

By Veronica Kerich, Creating Safer Space project manager, Strathmore University, Kenya

Amidst the escalation of violence in Sudan and the increased risks faced by civilians, African regional stakeholders recently held a meeting to look deliberate on the importance of UCP in the region and how it can be used by various stakeholders and also communities to strengthen civilian capacities against violence and conflicts.

Held on 31 May 2023, the meeting was attended by over 19 representees from the African Region working within the Creating Safer Space NetworkIt considered civilian protection in the region and the existing gaps that needs attention, particularly in the case of Sudan. It also show-cased the work of Nonviolent Peaceforce in the region, and how NP have been working with communities in Sudan since 2021 to implement unarmed civilian protection strategies and continue to work with civilian protection actors across the state. 

Many issues were discussed in this workshop session, including:

  • The active violence against civilians
  • Disruption to the access of essential goods
  • Displacement of civilians and restricted movement
  • Sexual violence and gender-based violence
  • Inter-communal violence
  • Child protection

As a keynote speaker, Dr Felicity Gray presented the report Snapshot: Civilian Protection Needs and Responses in Sudan. She highlighted how the recent escalation of fighting in Sudan has introduced new and rapidly exacerbated existing civilian protection concerns. 

According to the report, civilians are being exposed not only to the impacts of active fighting including gunfire, shelling, and unexploded ordnance (UXO). There is also an increased risk of sexual and gender-based violence (SGBV), displacement, child recruitment, and inter-communal mistrust and violence. The report also provided the background information to contextualise the current escalation of violence and rise in civilian protection needs and the risks facing civilians in Sudan. 

“Responses must include dedicated resourcing for protection activities and programme. And they must go beyond monitoring to ensure action, including direct protection work by community and unarmed civilian actors; investment in community-based protection mechanisms; and recognition that to be sustainable, these protection responses must encompass all parts of the conflict cycle”, explained Dr Gray.

Prof Berit Bliesemann de Guevara, Principal Investigator of the Creating Safer Space project, also attended the meeting and talked of the importance of Networks such as Creating Safer Space that bring together conflict-affected communities, protection practitioners, academics, policymakers, journalists, and artists to jointly work on the vision of enhancing unarmed civilian protection practices, which create safer space for communities amidst violent conflict and help prevent displacement.

Issued that emerged during the meeting’s discussion were:

  1. How to target UN and other peacekeepers with findings; how to adapt findings for their take-up by regional actors such as: AU, IGAD, ECOWAS; and how to adapt UCP at the community level and turn findings into actionable recommendations for armed peacekeepers.
  2. That the African Region section of Creating Safer Space: Strengthening Civilian Protection Amidst Violent Conflict should target the UN and other organisations involved in peacekeeping with findings from the research.
  3. The meeting suggested that CTPSR has useful links with UN PK training programmes, and this can enhance their work in the region.
  4. It was suggested that at national level, the stakeholders could engage umbrella organisations like Council of Churches (in South Sudan) and seek collaborations with communities to increase UCP and to feed back the on-going research on UCP.
  5. It was pointed out that conflict in the region has significant impact on food security and that any peace negotiation should also look into the interest of small-scale farmers and pastoral communities.
  6. The African Regional Network proposed to have UCP training for different audiences as a way of strengthening UCP in the region.
  7. It was suggested that we need to hear voices of communities that are making a difference for learning through radio networks.

Contribution to Caribbean-Latin American Meeting for Climate Justice

By Laura Jimenez Ospina, Network Research Assistant for Latin America

Between 15 and 17 June 2023, we participated in the Caribbean-Latin American Meeting for Climate Justice, organised by the Political Ecology and Water Justice Study Group of the Pontifical Bolivarian University (Medellín), the CLACSO Working Group on Political Ecologies from the South/Abya-Yala, the Hillside Movement (Medellín) and the Popular Training Institute (Medellín). These were days of exchange of knowledge on issues related to climate justice between members of civil organisations, academics, researchers, and social movement activists. The event was attended by some twenty-five civil society organisations dedicated to strategic litigation, national and international advocacy, popular education, and environmental and climate change activism from Colombia and Puerto Rico, as well as several study groups and academic groups from Colombia.

Panel “Coastal defence and community energy” Latin American Caribbean Meeting for Climate Justice, UPB, Block 10, Medellín, Colombia, Friday 16 June 2023 (Photo: Andrés Peña)

The main objective of the conference was to create spaces for the exchange of knowledge and dialogue around the experiences, learning, and contributions made by rural and urban movements in the construction of ways to achieve climate justice through practices related to the defence of water, territory, the environment, and the protection of the environment in which we live. The Network Plus Creating Safer Space was represented by a participant and a researcher from our research project: “Water conflicts, violations and forms of self-protection: A multi-case study in Eastern Antioquia, Colombia, 2022-2023“.

Roundtable “Energy and Water” Latin American Caribbean Meeting for Climate Justice, UPB, Block 10, Medellín, Colombia, Thursday 15 June 2023 (Photo: Andrés Peña)

Firstly, Verónica Sánchez, peasant leader from the municipality of Argelia and member of the Social Movement for Life and the Defence of Territory – MOVETE, spoke about the way in which the communities of Eastern Antioquia have organised to defend water and peasant sovereignty in the face of the advance of small, medium, and large-scale hydroelectric projects. Secondly, Dubán Quinchía, researcher from the municipality of San Luis and member of Vigías del Río Dormilón (Watchmen of the Dormilon River), spoke about Vigías experience of community organisation to stop the construction of a Small Hydroelectric Plant on the Dormilón river, as well as the work that the organisation has done with the Tierrap Collective to continue protecting the municipality’s water sources through art and culture.

Speaker Verónica Sánchez at the Latin American Caribbean Meeting for Climate Justice, UPB, Block 10, Medellín, Colombia, Thursday 15 June 2023 (Photo: Andrés Peña)

We thank the organisers of the event for letting us participate in this space of collective exchange and community building.


Contribución al Encuentro Caribeño-Latinoamericano por la Justicia Climática

Por Laura Jiménez Ospina, Asistente de investigación de la Red para América Latina

Entre el 15 y el 17 de junio 2023 participamos del Encuentro Caribeño-Latinoamericano por la Justicia Climática, organizado por el Grupo de Estudio de Ecología Política y Justicia Hídrica de la Universidad Pontificia Bolivariana (Medellín), el Grupo de Trabajo de Ecologías Políticas desde el sur/Abya-Yala de CLACSO, El Movimiento de Laderas (Medellín) y el Instituto Popular de Capacitación (Medellín). Fueron jornadas de intercambio de saberes sobre temas relacionados con la justicia climática entre integrantes de organizaciones civiles, académicos, investigadores y activistas del movimiento social. El evento contó con la participación de unas veinticinco organizaciones de la sociedad civil dedicadas al litigio estratégico, la incidencia nacional e internacional, la educación popular, el activismo ambiental y en contra del cambio climático de Colombia y Puerto Rico, también estuvieron presentes varios grupos de estudio y semilleros académicos de Colombia.

Panel “Defensa ribereña y energías comunitarias” Encuentro Caribeño Latinoamericano por la Justicia Climática, UPB, Bloque 10, Medellín, Colombia, Viernes 16 de Junio 2023 (Foto: Andrés Peña)

El objetivo principal de las jornadas fue crear espacios de intercambio de saberes y diálogo en torno a las experiencias, aprendizajes y aportes realizados por los movimientos rurales y urbanos para la construcción de vías que apuntan a la justicia climática a través de prácticas relacionadas con la defensa del agua, el territorio, el ambiente y la protección del entorno en el que vivimos. Por parte de la Red Mas Creando Espacio Más Seguro contamos con la representación de una participante y un investigador de nuestro proyecto de investigación: “Conflictos por el agua, vulneraciones y formas de autoprotección. Estudio multicaso en el Oriente antioqueño, 2022-2023”.

Mesa “Energía y Agua” Encuentro Caribeño Latinoamericano por la Justicia Climática, UPB, Bloque 10, Medellín, Colombia, Jueves 15 de Junio 2023 (Foto: Andrés Peña)

En primer lugar, Verónica Sánchez, líder campesina del municipio de Argelia e integrante del Movimiento Social por la Vida y la Defensa del Territorio – MOVETE, habló sobre la forma en la que las comunidades del Oriente antioqueño se han organizado por defender el agua y la soberanía campesina frente al avance de los proyectos hidroeléctricos de pequeña, mediana y gran escala. Por otra parte, Dubán Quinchía, investigador del municipio de San Luis e integrante de Vigías del Río Dormilón, habló sobre la experiencia de organización comunitaria por parte de Vigías para detener la construcción de una Pequeña Central Hidroeléctrica sobre el río Dormilón, además del trabajo que ha hecho la organización con el colectivo Tierrap para seguir protegiendo las fuentes hídricas del municipio a través del arte y la cultura.

Ponente Verónica Sánchez en el Encuentro Caribeño Latinoamericano por la Justicia Climática, UPB, Bloque 10, Medellín, Colombia, Jueves 15 de Junio 2023 (Foto: Andrés Peña)

Agradecemos a los organizadores del evento por participar en este espacio de construcción colectiva y comunitaria.


Research Café on Safeguarding in Practice

Creating Safer Space held a Research Café on Safeguarding in Practice on 22 June. At least one member from each of our commissioned projects attended the event.

Prof. Berit Bliesemann de Guevara (Creating Safer Space Principal Investigator) introduced the Creating Safer Space Safeguarding Policy. Participants then broke into small groups to discuss how to put the Safeguarding Policy into practice. They discussed the safeguarding risks or concerns that have arisen in their projects, how these have been or could be mitigated, and what support they may need from the Creating Safer Space management team.


“Art That Protects” Project’s Phase 1 Comes to an End

As phase 1 of the “Art That Protects” project comes to an end, it has received much media coverage including on TV news.

Beatriz Elena Arias López, principal investigator of the project, summed up their work so far, saying: “This project has allowed us to identify how community ideas take away space from death in places where confrontations have been very strong.”

As part of their work, the collective of researchers and artists have produced murals and even a salsa song to communicate the protective power of artistic collaboration. You can listen to the song and read more about the project here (in Spanish).

Mural in Sinai neighbourhood (photo: Berit Bliesemann de Guevara)

Mural in Robledo – at the organisation Robledo Venga Parchemos (photo: Berit Bliesemann de Guevara)

Co-investigator Adriana Diosa is being interviewed for TeleMedellin in front of the Mural in Belén – Altavista, Cultural Corporation Altavista (photo: Berit Bliesemann de Guevara)

The Network was invited to La Fiesta!

By Laura Jimenez Ospina, Network Research Assistant for Latin America

The auditorium was completely dark and silent. On the stage, images of comparsas – groups who parade and dance in disguise in festivities – touring the neighbourhoods of Medellín began to be projected. Men on stilts dressed in brightly coloured costumes, women and young people somersaulting back and forth, a band of percussionists animating the atmosphere. The carnival took over the streets and the inhabitants surrounded the artists with cheers and shouts of happiness.

As the projector is turned off, a cast of actors comes out to give life to La Fiesta, a play created by the master Óscar Manuel Zuluaga, also known as El Juglar (The Juggler). First scene, the revelry of neighbourhood joy: community sancocho (stew), loud music, dancing among neighbours. Shots are fired, the protagonists take cover, lest a bullet kills someone. Total silence. Everyone is quiet. Then the party restarts.

Photo by Laura Diosa Vera and Sofía García “Ponchis”

La Fiesta is a piece inspired by the findings of the research project “Art that protects, phase 1: Contributions of artistic-cultural initiatives to the self-protection strategies of young people and women in the context of urban conflict in Medellín, 2022“, implemented by the Faculty of Nursing of the University of Antioquia and the Cultural Corporation for Development Arlequín y Los Juglares (Harlequin and the Jugglers), with the support provided by the Network Plus Creating Safer Space. On 17 May 2023, the Pablo Tobón Uribe Theater, one of the most important in down-town Medellín, became the stage on which an auditorium of about 600 people were spectators of this magical piece. Among the attendees were children, young people and women who are part of the artistic-cultural organizations that we approached during the research. All of these groups work in areas of the city that are highly vulnerable and affected by urban violence. Also present were artists involved in other social processes, human rights activists and a large general public who attended thanks to the play’s wide dissemination in social networks and the media by the Arlequín team.

Photo by Berit Bliesemann de Guevara

La Fiesta is a story where hope beats death through joy. In it, the street becomes the stage and the stage becomes the street. It tells us how the inhabitants of the deprived neighbourhoods of Medellín have resisted with celebration the advance of a conflict that has torn the soul of a wounded city. Drums, chants, books, music, carnival, juggling, rap and hip hop become the art that protects, a community art whose main purpose is to serve as a platform for the inhabitants of the neighbourhood to express themselves, to denounce, to undergo catharsis, to resist. This art is the umbrella that protects civilians from violence.

Photo by Laura Diosa Vera and Sofía García “Ponchis”

¡La Red estuvo invitada a La Fiesta!

Por Laura Jiménez Ospina, Asistente de investigación de la Red para América Latina

El auditorio estaba completamente oscuro y en silencio. Sobre el escenario se empezaron a proyectar imágenes de comparsas recorriendo los barrios de Medellín. Hombres en zancos vestidos con disfraces de colores alegres, mujeres y jóvenes dando volteretas de aquí para allá, una banda de percusionistas animando el ambiente. El carnaval se tomó las calles y los habitantes rodearon a los artistas con vítores y gritos de felicidad.

Se apaga el proyector, sale un elenco de actores para dar vida a La Fiesta, una obra de teatro elaborada por el maestro Óscar Manuel Zuluaga, también conocido como El Juglar. Primera escena, el jolgorio de la alegría barrial: sancocho comunitario, música a todo volumen, baile entre vecinos. Vienen los disparos, los protagonistas se cubren, no vaya a ser que una bala cobre algún muerto. Silencio total. Todos quietos. Se reinicia la fiesta.

Foto de Laura Diosa Vera y Sofía García “Ponchis”

La Fiesta es una pieza inspirada en los hallazgos del proyecto de investigación “Arte que protege, fase 1: aportes de iniciativas artístico-culturales a las estrategias de autoprotección de jóvenes y mujeres en el contexto de conflicto urbano en Medellín, 2022”, ejecutado por la Facultad de Enfermería de la Universidad de Antioquia y la Corporación Cultural para el Desarrollo Arlequín y Los Juglares, a través del apoyo brindado por la Red Creando Espacio Más Seguro. El 17 de mayo de 2023 el Teatro Pablo Tobón Uribe, uno de los más importantes del Centro de Medellín, se convirtió en el escenario sobre el cual un auditorio con cerca de 600 personas fuimos espectadores de esta pieza mágica. Entre los asistentes se encontraba niños, niñas, jóvenes y mujeres que hacen parte de las organizaciones artístico-culturales a las que nos acercamos durante la investigación. Todos estos grupos trabajan en zonas de la ciudad fuertemente vulneradas y golpeadas por la violencia urbana. Además, estuvieron presentes artistas de otros procesos sociales, activistas defensores de los derechos humanos y un amplio público general que asistió gracias a la amplia difusión en redes sociales y medios de comunicación que hizo el equipo de Arlequín.

Foto de Berit Bliesemann de Guevara

La Fiesta es una historia donde la esperanza le gana la partida a la muerte a través de la alegría. En ella la calle se vuelve escenario y el escenario en calle. Nos cuenta cómo los habitantes de los barrios de Medellín han resistido con fiesta el avance de un conflicto que ha desgarrado el alma de una ciudad herida. Tambores, cánticos, libros, música, carnaval, malabares, rap y hip hop se convierten en el arte que protege, un arte comunitario cuyo principal fin es servir de plataforma para que los habitantes del barrio se expresen, denuncien, hagan catarsis, resistan. Este arte es la sombrilla que protege a los civiles de la violencia.

Foto de Laura Diosa Vera y Sofía García “Ponchis”