Peace Highlights – C4D Network

Citizen Engagement in Peacebuilding: a communication for development approach to rebuilding peace from the bottom-up

September 12, 2019

Author: Dr Valentina Baú

By unearthing the connections between the literatures on participatory communication and civic engagement with the reality of postconflict peace, this article demonstrates how a communication for development (C4D) approach to engaging citizens in peacebuilding contributes to strengthening the reconstruction process at the end of the violence, while engendering a bottom up process based on dialogue and inclusivity. After offering a brief overview of the peacebuilding contexts, this article presents a theoretical discussion that brings to the surface not only the role of C4D in facilitating citizens participation in government decision making, but also its significance in creating an inclusive peacebuilding process that starts from the community. At the same time, this discussion begins to shed light on the relationship between communication for development and participatory governance.

You can access the article here: Baú, V. (2016) Citizen Engagement in Peacebuilding. A communication for development approach to rebuilding peace from the bottom up, Progress in Development Studies, Vol.16, No.4, pp.348-360

Civil Society & Inclusive Peace (Peace Direct, 2019)

February 20, 2019

Inclusive peace, or the idea that all stakeholders in a society should have a role in defining and shaping peace, is receiving widespread global recognition. Still, despite the progress made through the increased recognition of inclusive peace at the theoretical and policy level, it has proven difficult to achieve in reality. Peace Direct teamed up with the Inclusive Peace & Transition Initiative and the Global Partnership for the Prevention of Armed Conflict to explore the dynamics of inclusivity and peacebuilding in further detail in this report.

The report includes in-depth case studies from around the world, that help us to understand the strategies employed by grassroots peacebuilders to counter the challenges to effective inclusion in peacebuilding. From Nigeria to DR Congo, explore the case studies below to see what has worked (or not) in particular situations, and the successes, challenges and stalemates encountered on the pursuit to inclusive peace.

Click here for full report.

What role can drama play in conflict? A radio drama for Syria, qualitative research findings (BBC Media Action Brief, 2018)

June 25, 2018

Since 2011, Syrians have been living through a war and the challenges that prolonged conflict entails. Those who have fled overseas – often as refugees – and those who have remained in the country have lost family members and their homes, lack access to education and health facilities, and are living with the daily threat of violence. In such a context, ethnic and religious divides have intensified and armed groups have been increasingly recruiting young people in Syria and neighbouring countries.

Against this backdrop, between 2015 and 2017, BBC Media Action produced and broadcast 150 episodes of the thrice-weekly radio drama Hay el Matar (Airport District ). Funded by the European Commission as part of a broader project aiming to help build an open and inclusive society in conflict-ridden Syria, the classic soap opera aired on BBC Arabic radio and online and was accompanied by a weekly discussion programme. Set in a fictional Damascus suburb, Hay el Matar followed the daily lives of residents and featured love affairs, family feuds and tragedies. Each episode was scripted by a team of Syrian writers and touched on a different issue relevant to life in Syria (e.g. the ongoing civil war, migration, violence and radicalisation, economic insecurity and child or forced marriage).

Click here for full brief.