We are happy to share the Creating Safer Space brochure, with information about our network, our activities and our research.
This version of the brochure shares initial research findings from each of our 26 research projects in Africa, South-East Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East. A new version of the brochure will be published in autumn 2024, with the final research results.
The brochure is available for download here.
The Creating Safer Space network has two research projects in Palestine. The research teams leading both projects highlight that while the world’s attention is understandably focused on Gaza, there is also a tragic situation unfolding in the West Bank.
The project Safety and dignity: Enhancing unarmed civilian protection amongst Palestinian communities in the South Hebron Hills is led by Marwan Darweish (Coventry University), together with Mahmoud Soliman (Coventry University & Al Shmoh Cultural Centre, Palestine) and Andrew Rigby (Coventry University). Drawing upon their research, they have published an article in Rethinking Security entitled Settlers turn Soldiers: The imperative for international presence and protection in the West Bank. The team argues that there is an urgent need to deploy a civilian multinational presence to protect Palestinians in the West Bank from armed and empowered Israeli settlers. The team also report on the arrest of their film maker:
“Mahmoud Makhamra is a young film maker from the South Hebron Hills (SHH), Palestine, who has been contracted by the project to make a ten minute film about civilian protection in the area. The aim is to use the film as form of discussion among community and other actors to elicit insights and exchange views about the effect of local protection mechanisms. Mahmoud also co-produced the film On Our Land about cultural protection in SHH.
Mahmoud was arrested by the Israeli Occupation Forces (IOF) on 29 Dec 2023 at about 12:00 in his village Jinba, while he was filming a shepherd. Mahmoud told us later that “they arrested me and took me to a military camp, and kept me outside in the cold for six hours, my eyes blindfolded and hands tied behind my back”. After that the army took Mahmoud to a military detention centre in Kfar Etzion near Bethlehem. He was released on 2 January without charges. The Palestinians in the occupied Palestinian territory have no civil rights and will be charged in military courts.”
The project Assessing the impact of unarmed civilian protection in the South Hebron Hills between 2018-2023 is led by Operazione Colomba. They report:
“From October 7th the level of violence escalated: all the Israeli settlers wear a uniform and hold weapons, and behave as a sort of militia, supported by the legitimization of the Israeli government. In this worrying context, Operazione Colomba’s staff has a crucial role to protect Palestinian civilians in danger and to monitor and report human rights violations in the area. The staff suffered direct threats by settlers and the Israeli army on many occasions. Operazione Colomba even witnessed an attempt by an Israeli settler to murder a Palestinian man in the middle of the street in the village of At-Tuwani (South Hebron Hills), that has been recorded and reported to the media and Israeli NGOs and lawyers. Luckily the victim survived, after many medical treatments. Please see: https://news.sky.com/story/israel-hamas-war-how-attacks-by-settlers-on-palestinians-in-the-west-bank-have-risen-during-gaza-conflict-12986997
From the beginning of 2024, the level of violence is always very high. Operazione Colomba is on the ground, together with other groups of activists (Palestinian, Israeli and international) who perform unarmed civilian protection. More than 18 Palestinian villages (almost 1000 people) have been forcibly evacuated by Israeli armed settlers and army in the region. Operazione Colomba witnesses daily arrests, violence, destruction of properties and land-grabbing, recording all the human rights violations.”
The Creating Safer Space project ‘Development of civil protection capacities in women displaced by the armed conflict through popular communication and Community Legal Empowerment‘, led by Masterpeace Cali, shares one of the key outputs from their research: a Transmedia Booklet co-created with the project’s research participants.
The research participants are women in Colombia who have been displaced by armed conflict, and who now reside in contexts characterized by social and urban segregation in the city of Cali. In these environments, the women remain exposed to multiple forms of violence linked to fear-based political dynamics. The booklet communicates the key research findings and shares innovative protection strategies. The aim is to encourage the adaptation and replication of these strategies in other regions and communities affected by fear-based policies.
The booklet is available in English and Spanish.
The Creating Safer Space Exhibition was on show at Strathmore University in Nairobi, Kenya, from 24 – 26 January 2024. The exhibition was part of the Creating Safer Space final regional conference for Africa and the Middle East, hosted by Strathmore University Business School.
The travelling exhibition, which has also been on show in Nairobi (Kenya), Aberystwyth (Wales) and New York (USA) explores the unexpected power of nonviolence in the protection of civilians living in the midst of violence. The objects, images, and voices originate from a selection of 26 research projects funded by the Creating Safer Space network, which have been conducted in collaboration between academics, self-protecting communities and nonviolent civilian accompaniers. The exhibition draws on experiences from Cameroon, Colombia, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Palestine, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Thailand, where civilians are harnessing the power of nonviolence to create safer spaces and work towards alternative presents and futures.
As part of the Creating Safer Space project “Community Strategies for Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) in South-West Colombia” the research team, under the leadership of Dr Natalia Campo, organised the 1st International Festival of Participatory Video and Community-based Cinema at the Universidad Autónoma de Occidente (UAO) in the city of Cali, Colombia, between 15 and 16 November 2023.
The festival received 178 applications from 25 countries and its academic agenda included a series of in-person workshops on UCP strategies with community members from the three sites of the project: Buenaventura, Caldono and Lerma, as well as a conversation with Prof. Beatriz Arias about art-based strategies for UCP.
A massive thanks to our UAO-based colleagues and generous hosts of the festival: Prof Jesus Alfonso Florez, Dr Campo, Jimena Andrade and Dr Adrian Alzate; and to the students of Dr Campo’s module Participatory Video and Community-based Cinema, who made a tremendous contribution to the festival. A well-done to our local partners from Buenaventura, Caldono and Catatumbo, whose films were shortlisted. To the winners of the festival, a massive congratulation. You can read more (and see pictures) about the Festival and the winners here:
https://www.instagram.com/festivalcineando/?hl=es
https://www.facebook.com/festivalcineando
https://filmfreeway.com/IFestivalInternacionalCineAndoconmigenteVideoParticipativoyCineComunitario
We are very pleased to announce three new Creating Safer Space projects. These projects will pilot a new participatory evaluation and learning methodology for Unarmed Civilian Protection and Accompaniment (UCP/A).
Creating Safer Space is aware of the sensitivities connected with UCP/A and how traditional methods of evaluation are often top-down or output-focused and therefore risk missing important nuances connected with civilian protection efforts. A group of practitioners and scholars have therefore discussed good practice approaches to evaluation, and developed principles that should inform evaluation design. More information is available here: https://creating-safer-space.com/participatory-evaluation-and-learning/
Creating Safer Space held a funding competition in Summer 2023 to pilot this approach to evaluation and learning, and we are happy to announce the three projects that received funding:
Contributions of grassroots organisations to the implementation of unarmed civilian self-protection strategies in violent urban contexts
Masterpeace Cali received funding for the project Contributions of grassroots organisations to the implementation of unarmed civilian self-protection strategies in violent urban contexts: Towards the security of diverse and vulnerable populations in socio-segregated environments. This project investigates the impacts of actions carried out by grassroots organisations in violent and socio-segregated urban contexts in the city of Cali, Colombia.
Assessing the impact of unarmed civilian protection in the South Hebron Hills between 2018-2023
Operation Dove / Operazione Colomba received funding for the project Assessing the impact of unarmed civilian protection in the South Hebron Hills between 2018-2023. This project aims to assess the impact of the ongoing collaboration between international volunteers and the Palestinian community in the South Hebron Hills, West Bank.
UCP and Migrants in the US / Mexico Borderlands
Meta Peace Team received funding for the project UCP and Migrants in the US / Mexico Borderlands. Using a participatory action research design, this project will engage with organizations serving migrants at the United States/Mexico border to develop tools for evaluating the impacts of unarmed civilian protection and accompaniment to protect migrants in the North American border region.
We are very pleased to announce the publication of ‘A Toolbox for a Decolonial Perspective in UCP’. This toolbox seeks to highlight key aspects that can support decolonization processes advocated by Unarmed Civilian Protection (UCP) practitioners. It’s not a definitive or closed document, but rather a dynamic and open proposal intended to expand through discussion and exchange within our community of practice.
This toolbox was developed in the context of the meetings of the Decolonization Working Group of the UCP Community of Practice, led by Nonviolent Peaceforce. The elaboration of the toolbox was supported financially and by team members of the Creating Safer Space network. The toolbox is available in English and Spanish:
https://creating-safer-space.com/resources/toolbox-for-a-decolonial-perspective-in-ucp/
The Creating Safer Space project ‘Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia’ hosted an exhibition at Universidad de los Andes in Colombia from 24 – 27 October 2023.
The exhibition is a collective work between artists and researchers, displaying photographs, embroidery, music, cartoons and artistic installations to create a dynamic conversation between Colombia and South Sudan.
More information about the exhibition is available here and more photos are available here.
This project aimed to assess the impact of the ongoing collaboration between international volunteers and the Palestinian community in the South Hebron Hills, West Bank. With the Palestinian residents facing violence from Israeli settlers, particularly towards school children, Operazione Colomba (OC) has provided essential support by accompanying them through UCP. It was crucial to evaluate how this partnership has influenced safety and well-being. The project focused on understanding OC role in creating a sense of security between 2018 and 2023, aligned with the nonviolent resistance efforts led by the Palestinian community, and the ability in remaining responsive to the needs.
The project pilots the participatory evaluation methodology developed by the Creating Safer Space network in a workshop series with academics and practitioners.
Project Team:
The project is lead by Association Comunità Papa Giovanni XXIII (Operation Dove / Operazione Colomba), Italy, in collaboration with Youth of Sumud, Palestine.
Website:
https://www.operazionecolomba.it/en/projects/middle-east/palestine/
Project report:
The project has produced a report with their findings, Assessing the impact of unarmed civilian protection in the South Hebron Hills between 2018-2023.
The Creating Safer Space project ‘Strategies for Safety and Solidarity: Understanding protection through creativity in South Sudan and Colombia’ has produced a booklet about their research, artmaking and solidarity actions.
Their work invites us to consider how the arts and heritage can contribute to our understanding of safeguarding and survival in a fragile context, but also how protecting the arts could be essential to creating a safer society.
Artists and keepers of cultural traditions from South Sudan, Sudan and Colombia have worked with researchers to investigate the ways we seek out protection and how those strategies for safety are narrated.
The booklet is available here.
