The European Peacebuilding Liaison Office (EPLO), Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP), the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) and the Creating Safer Space network (CSS) cordially invite you to a policy discussion under the Chatham House rule on the role of civilians and nonviolence in crisis preparedness and management in the context of violent conflicts and humanitarian emergencies.
Many communities across the world are facing complex crises ranging from armed conflicts to the increasing frequency of natural disasters. Yet, while local communities are often the first (and sometimes the only) responders in such emergencies, their agency and potential has not been fully recognised in current approaches to crisis preparedness and management. This policy event will explore the roles local communities already play in early warning, early response and crisis management in different contexts and discuss how these insights can inform the European Commission’s envisioned integrated approach to fragility, which aims to ensure better coordination between humanitarian, development, peace and other policies to enhance the EU’s approach to urgent relief and longer-term solutions.
Agenda:
Prof Berit Bliesemann de Guevara (CSS research network)
Ms Rosemary Kabaki (Head of Mission, Nonviolent Peaceforce South Sudan)
Ms Gaëlle Nizery (Service for Foreign Policy Instruments, European Commission)
Ms Nora Loozen (Belgium Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
Discussion moderated by Prof Rachel Julian (CSS research network)
South Sudanese Human Rights Defenders (HRDs) operate in a highly challenging context. While the main warring parties signed a peace agreement in 2018, subnational violence has persisted in many parts of the country and remains a significant concern. In addition, ‘the rights to freedom of opinion, expression, peaceful assembly, and association all remain severely restricted’ according to the OHCHR. HRDs and journalists are subjected to intimidation, harassment as well as arbitrary arrests and detention, forcing many to flee their country. Yet they play an essential role in democratisation and peacebuilding processes in the world’s youngest nation, which recently saw its first and long-awaited elections postponed to 2026.
The South Sudan Human Rights Defender Network (SSHRDN) is a coalition of civil society organisations and individuals working to protect and promote human rights in South Sudan. With the support of Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) the European Union and the Netherlands, SSHRDN is working to increase the safety, security, and operational space of South Sudanese HRDs so they can remain in the country as they carry out their invaluable work.
In this Brown Bag Lunch, representatives from SSHRDN and NP will share lessons about effective protection approaches for HRDs, including women HRDs, and reflect on the challenges of integrating protection concerns in human rights work. They will also share recommendations on how INGOs and donors such as the European Union can better support HRDs in South Sudan.
Their presentation will be followed by an informal discussion to gain insights from other participants’ work in South Sudan and/or to protect human rights defenders, as well as related advocacy efforts at EU level.
The South Sudan Human Rights Defenders Network (SSHRDN)is a non-profit, non-political coalition of civil society organizations and individuals working to promote human rights in South Sudan. SSHRDN seeks to provide protection, build the capacity of and create operational space for human rights defenders in South Sudan as a means of promoting human rights and fundamental freedoms.
Nonviolent Peaceforce (NP) is an international NGO founded in 2002. Our mission is to protect civilians in violent conflicts through unarmed strategies, build peace side-by-side with local communities, and advocate for the wider adoption of these approaches to safeguard human lives and dignity. Our nonviolent methods of Unarmed Civilian Protection (i.e. the direct physical protection of civilians in conflict by trained, unarmed civilians) straddle the peacebuilding, human rights and humanitarian sectors. NP has been supporting civilians in South Sudan since 2010, and is also active in Indonesia, Iraq, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sudan, Ukraine and the United States.
If you would like to participate, please register by Tuesday 4 February.
Brown-bag lunch participants are also invited to take the opportunity to visit the Creating Safer Space Exhibition, on show at Quaker House from 3-7 February 2025.
Brown Bag Lunch in Brussels: Protective Accompaniment and Community-led UCP in Colombia
Peace Brigades International (PBI), the Creating Safer Space research network (CSS), and the Quaker Council for European Affairs (QCEA) cordially invite you to a brown-bag lunch about experiences and research insights on protective accompaniment and community-led unarmed civilian protection amidst the violent political and social conflicts in Colombia.
Colombia has an immense richness of experiences with proactive nonviolent strategies civilians use to keep themselves and others safe. We will get insights from a protective accompanier who has volunteered with Peace Brigades International Colombia and the research network Creating Safer Space that focusses on better understanding community-led unarmed civilian protection, exploring what works, how it works, and what main challenges for self-protecting communities are.
Speakers:
Emily Humphreys (Peace Brigades International – PBI): Emily, ex-volunteer ‘Brigadista’ from PBI Colombia project, will lead a discussion and exchange on PBI’s accompaniment model in Colombia, both preventative and reactive. Space will be made to discuss President Petro’s ‘Total Peace’ strategy, looking at the challenges ahead in his final year of presidency and what scenarios lay ahead for the Organisations and Defenders leading peace efforts in Colombia.
Prof Berit Bliesemann de Guevara (Aberystwyth University, UK): Berit will report on select insights from 10 Creating Safer Space research projects in collaboration with self-protecting communities in Colombia.
Discussion
Tea/coffee will be provided.
Peace Brigades International (PBI): Founded in 1981, Peace Brigades International provides protection, support and recognition to local human rights defenders who work in areas of repression and conflict and have requested our support. This is achieved through protective accompaniment, international observation, advocacy, awareness raising and capacity development.
The PBI team in Colombia has been active since 1994, accompanying 15 Colombian organisations and human rights defenders across the entire country, from its offices in Bogota and Barrancabermeja.
Creating Safer Space: Creating Safer Space is a 5-year, £2.25 million international research network led by Aberystwyth University in collaboration with partners in Colombia, Kenya, Thailand, the UK and the US. We support research on unarmed civilian protection and self-protection amidst violent conflict in eleven countries in Africa, Latin America, the Middle East and Southeast Asia and aim to strengthen civilian capacities for nonviolent protection and conflict transformation.
Brown-bag lunch participants are also invited to take this opportunity to visit the Creating Safer Space Exhibition, on show at Quaker House from 4-7 February 2025,
Creating Safer Space Exhibition in Brussels
The Creating Safer Space Exhibition will be on show at Quaker House Brussels from 4-7 February 2025.
The Creating Safer Space exhibition explores the unexpected power of nonviolence in the protection of civilians living amidst humanitarian crises and violent conflicts. The stories told by objects, images, and voices originate from a selection of 26 research projects funded by the Creating Safer Space network, conducted in collaboration between academics, self-protecting communities and nonviolent civilian accompaniers. The exhibition draws on voices and experiences from Colombia, Cameroon, Indonesia, Kenya, Myanmar, Nigeria, Palestine, the Philippines, South Sudan, and Thailand, where civilians are harnessing the power of nonviolence to create safer spaces and build lasting peace.
A reception will be held on Tuesday 4 February from 6pm. It will include drinks, nibbles, an introduction to the exhibition, and an opportunity to learn more about the Creating Safer Space research. Please RSVP by filling in this form.
The exhibition is open to visitors from Tuesday to Thursday 9am-6pm, and Friday 9am-12pm. To book a tour or to discuss any projects in detail at a specific time please email: creating-safer-space@aber.ac.uk.
Three events will be held in conjunction with the exhibition:
The guide provides practical tips for local unarmed civilian protection (UCP) practitioners as well as UCP organisations. Drawing on research in Cameroon, the guide provides best practices and guidance that can also be built upon or replicated in other contexts.
Open Lecture at Tallinn University
Prof. Berit Bliesemann de Guevara, Creating Safer Space Principal Investigator, is sharing insights from our research in an open lecture hosted by the Central and Eastern European Security Hub at Tallinn University. The title is ‘Creating Safer Space: Exploring unarmed, civilian-to-civilian protection amidst violent conflict’. The discussants are Louise Ridden (Tampere University) and John Buchanan (Tallinn University), and the event is moderated by Birgit Poopuu (Tallinn University).
The open lecture will be held at 18.00 on Wednesday 12 February, and more information is available here.
The article is written by Andrew Rigby, and calls for urgent protection of Palestinians in the Masafer Yatta area, which is experiencing a ‘frontier genocide’ by Israeli settlers.
The report explores the conflict in Southern Thailand, and community perceptions in regard to peace, violence and safety. It provides recommendations on civilian protection in the region. The report is only available in Thai.
The exhibition 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.
Professor Rachel Julian is Co-Investigator of the Creating Safer Space network and Professor of Peace Studies in the School of Humanities and Social Sciences at Leeds Beckett University. Speaking about the exhibition, she said:
“Having the exhibition at Leeds Beckett was an amazing opportunity for other staff and students to learn directly from people affected by violent conflict, Undergraduate and postgraduate students from both social sciences and arts courses visited the exhibition and made their own responses through poetry and art. At the public meeting about the project, Gordon Crawford spoke in detail about the work in Cameroon which was fascinating. Visitors to the exhibition included research leaders in the University, understanding the global impact of large research projects, especially those rooted in the affected communities. It was such an interesting week and huge thanks to Creating Safer Space!”
Prof. Rachel Julian with the Creating Safer Space exhibition
New films and podcasts from Art That Protects project
Art That Protects and Intersectionality 1: Category Cosmovision – Barrio Comparsa Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 1: Categoría Cosmovisión – Barrio Comparsa
Art That Protects and Intersectionality 2: Category Age – Robledo Venga Parchemos Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 2: Categoria Edad – Robledo Venga Parchemos
Art That Protects and Intersectionality 3: Category Socioeconomic Status – Biocomunidad Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 3: Categoria Estatus Socioeconómico – Biocomunidad
Art That Protects and Intersectionality 4: Category Ethnicity – Arlequín y los Juglares Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 4: Categoría Étnica – Arlequín y los juglares
Art That Protects and Intersectionality 5: Category Sex and Gender – Renovación Art Corporation Arte que protege e interseccionalidad 5: Categoría Sexo y Género – Renovación Corporación Artística
Podcast, Chapter 1: Let’s Change the Toys, Let’s Change the Game Podcast, Capitulo 1: Cambiemos los juguetes, cambiemos la vuelta
Podcast, Chapter 2: Stronger than War Podcast, Capitulo 2: Más fuertes que la Guerra
Podcast, Chapter 3: Connections that Support Podcast, Capitulo 3: Conexiones que sostienen
BACKGROUND (ENGLISH):
After conducting a comprehensive review of the literature on unarmed civil protection and self-protection in 2020, we realized that it was important to understand the contributions that art can make within this field of practice. Therefore, in the first phase of the Art that Protects project, we decided to document the self-protective role of art. To achieve this goal, we analyzed the self-protection strategies developed by grassroots artistic and cultural organizations for children, youth, and women living in neighborhoods of Medellín, where urban conflict has severely impacted these populations.
From the findings of this first phase, we understood that the vulnerabilities experienced by children, youth, and women are not uniform. They are influenced by age, gender, social and economic status, ethnicity, and other categories. Moreover, we identified that thanks to the networks and connections with other collectives, cultural organizations create spaces of self-protection in their neighborhoods. Consequently, the second phase of the research focused on these two aspects.
We created a series of audiovisual materials to disseminate the findings from this second phase. First, through a series of five videos, we analyzed how beliefs, age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, and gender can simultaneously act as sources of vulnerability and self-protection, using an intersectional perspective.
In collaboration with Luis Fernando García “El Gordo,” founder and director of Barrio Comparsa, we explored how artistic organizations create images and works rooted in their ethical principles and values, reflecting their members’ stories and responding to the demands of their context. Juan Marcos Díaz, director of Robledo Venga Parchemos, shared insights on how violence in urban conflict contexts affects children and youth differently. For this reason, artistic and cultural organizations offer alternatives that help resist the pressures of armed groups.
The founders of Biocomunidad, Nelson Berdugo and Giovany Caro, highlighted how economic precariousness and informal labor impact many cultural and artistic organizations in the city. Also, they emphasized that the social value of artists transcends their financial circumstances. Ludis Soto Cruz and Óscar Manuel Zuluaga, members of Arlequín y los Juglares, discussed how Afro-descendant and Indigenous populations on the outskirts of Medellín face inequalities due to their ethnic identities. However, these communities express their knowledge and perspectives through art, strengthening their dignity. Diana Torres, Iris Andrea Álvarez, and Ana Milena Nanclares, members of Renovación, demonstrated how everyday power dynamics perpetuate gender stereotypes. Cultural organizations foster spaces for resistance and empowerment, especially for women, through community and artistic participation.
Second, through three podcast episodes, we examined how art has served as a self-protection strategy over the last forty years and as a tool for networking. These networks have enabled grassroots artistic and cultural organizations to enter communities and engage with their residents. In the first episode, Luis Fernando García recounted the tools used by Barrio Comparsa to reclaim public spaces for the residents of Manrique in the 1980s. Members of Ziruma shared how their work has made them stronger than the conflict, using theater to narrate the life and memory of the neighborhood and its people. Finally, the members of Sueños de Papel explained how support networks allowed them to recognize and build upon the work of those who had previously established the neighborhood, connecting with community leaders.
BACKGROUND (SPANISH)
Después de hacer un balance amplio de bibliografía sobre protección civil no armada y autoprotección en el 2020, nos dimos cuenta de que dentro de este campo de práctica es poco lo que se ha estudiado sobre los aportes que puede hacer el arte. Por lo tanto, en una primera fase del proyecto Arte que Protege, decidimos documentar el papel autoprotector del arte. Para alcanzar dicho objetivo analizamos las estrategias de autoprotección desarrolladas por las organizaciones de base artísticas y culturales para niños, niñas, jóvenes y mujeres, que viven en barrios de Medellín donde el conflicto urbano ha estado activo.
A partir de los hallazgos de esa primera fase, nos dimos cuenta de que las vulneraciones perpetradas a niños, niñas, jóvenes y mujeres no se experimentan de la misma manera, sino que también obedecen a su edad, género, estatus social y económico, etnia y otras categorías. Además, entendimos que una de las razones por las cuales las organizaciones artísticas y culturales construyen espacios de autoprotección en sus barrios, es gracias a la red de alianzas y redes que establecen con otras organizaciones. En consecuencia, la segunda fase de la investigación se preocupó por estos dos temas.
Para dar a conocer los hallazgos encontrados en esta segunda fase decidimos desarrollar una serie de materiales audiovisuales. En primer lugar, a través de una serie de cinco vídeos analizamos desde la perspectiva interseccional la forma en la que las creencias, la edad, la etnia, el estatus socioeconómico y el género, pueden tener un carácter vulnerador y autoprotector. Con Luis Fernando García “El Gordo”, director fundador de Barrio Comparsa, vemos cómo las organizaciones artísticas crean imágenes y obras basadas en sus principios éticos y valores, reflejando las historias de sus miembros y respondiendo las demandas del contexto. Juan Marcos Díaz, director de Robledo Venga Parchemos, nos relata cómo la violencia en contextos de conflicto urbano afecta de manera diferente a niños, niñas y jóvenes. Por ello las organizaciones artísticas y culturales ofrecen alternativas que ayudan a resistir las presiones de los grupos armados.
Los fundadores de Biocomunidad, Nelson Berdugo y Giovany Caro, evidencian que la precariedad económica y la informalidad laboral afectan a muchas organizaciones culturales y artísticas en la ciudad, pero que la valoración social de los artistas va más allá de su situación económica. Ludis Soto Cruz y Óscar Manuel Zuluaga, integrantes de Arlequín y los Juglares hablan de cómo las poblaciones afrodescendientes e indígenas de las periferias de Medellín enfrentan desigualdades debido a su identidad étnica, pero las iniciativas artísticas les permiten expresar sus conocimientos y perspectivas, fortaleciendo su dignidad. Diana Torres, Iris Andrea Álvarez y Ana Milena Nanclares, integrantes de Renovación, demuestran que las dinámicas de poder cotidianas perpetúan estereotipos de género. No obstante, en las organizaciones culturales, las mujeres propician espacios de resistencia y empoderamiento en la participación comunitaria y artística.
En segundo lugar, a través de tres episodios de un podcast analizamos cómo en los últimos cuarenta años el arte ha servido como estrategia de autoprotección. Además, se analiza la forma en la que el trabajo en red le permitió a las organizaciones artísticas y culturales de base comunitaria entrar en los territorios y articularse con sus habitantes. En el primer episodio Luis Fernando García narra las herramientas que utilizó la organización que fundó, Barrio Comparsa, para recuperar la calle para los habitantes de Manrique en la década de 1980. Los integrantes de Ziruma evidencian que su trabajo los ha hecho más fuertes que la guerra. Ellos han utilizado el teatro para contar la vida y la memoria del barrio y sus habitantes. Por último, las integrantes de sueños de papel sostienen que las redes de apoyo les permitieron reconocer todo el trabajo que ya habían hecho quienes habían construido el barrio. Ellas se articularon con los líderes comunitarios.
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