Fieldwork update from “The Social Process of Guarantees of Antioquia, Colombia” project

The research team of the Creating Safer Space project The Social Process of Guarantees of Antioquia, Colombia spent time in El Bagre with the Indigenous communities of the Senú people and Almendros 2, accompanying a tour of their territory and the installation of white flags as a self-protection mechanism.

This work supports the Indigenous communities’ organizational processes and humanitarian experiences by supporting proposals for building peace within the territory.

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Scholars at Risk: Understanding vulnerability and violence faced by Myanmar refugee scholars in northern Thailand

Since the 2021 military coup in Myanmar, the regime’s brutality and political turmoil have escalated, leading to increased suffering and intensified oppression. Thousands of individuals have been killed, detained, or forced to flee their homes in order to escape the junta’s brutality. Many of these individuals have sought refuge in neighbouring Thailand, undertaking perilous journeys both with and without proper documentation. However, those without proper documents face significant limitations and risks, including the threat of being searched, arrested, and deported. To address these challenges and shed light on the experiences of refugees in Northern Thailand, the Regional Center for Social Science and Sustainable Development (RCSD) and Nonviolent Peaceforce Myanmar collaborated with local scholars to explore protection mechanisms and resilience in these exile communities.

*Three-finger Flower strike: A symbol of non-violent resistance against the dictatorship*

PROJECT TEAM

Dr Chayan Vaddhanaputi, Regional Center for Social Sciences and Sustainable Development (RCSD), Chiangmai University, Thailand (co-principal investigator)
Nonviolent Peaceforce Myanmar (co-principal investigator)
Kyaw Kyaw, Nonviolent Peaceforce Myanmar (project researcher)

*Prof. Chayan Vaddhanaputi giving a lecture*

RESEARCH OUTPUTS

Report: Understanding Practices of Protection and Resilience

The project has produced a report, Understanding Practices of Protection and Resilience: Co-producing knowledge among Myanmar scholars-in-exile, edited by Aung Kyaw Thein and Elliot Lodge.

Using multimedia approaches to increase visibility of and preference for Unarmed Civilian Protection approaches

The purpose of this project is to increase the understanding, visibility, preference for, and advocacy on the application of various research findings and good practices around unarmed civilian protection (UCP) in the management of conflict by state and non-state actors. To do so, it uses strategic media platforms and engages with practitioners, media houses, and civil society organisations (CSOs) in Kenya in advancing the importance of UCP.

The activities designed to help realize this purpose include:

(1) Conduct radio programmes to create awareness on, advocate for, and educate communities on the approaches and benefits of UCP to communities, state actors, development partners, and CSOs as a conflict management approach at the local and national levels. The radio shows will be aired on Kitwek FM Station that broadcasts to UasinGishu and other counties, and Ghetto FM radio that broadcasts in Nairobi, especially targeting populations in the informal settlements and low-income areas of the city.

(2) Conduct two trainings of two days each to build the capacity of selected media practitioners working in two counties – Uasin Gishu and Nairobi – on UCP and how to use the gained knowledge to promote UCP as an approach to conflict management. The selected journalist will be those who reported on conflict before. The trained journalists will be key in disseminating the findings of the N+ projects and UCP good practices by Rural Women Peace Link (RWPL) and Peace Tree Network (PTN).

(3) Document and showcase in-depth stories of change of how UCP approaches have been used to successfully manage conflicts in Uasin Gishu and Nairobi counties.

Project team