3P Hosts Expert Panel on Conflict Analysis for Peacebuilding Impact

After safely weathering Hurricane Sandy, 3P hosted a panel discussion titled "From Conflict Analysis to Peacebuilding Impact: Lessons from the People’s Peacebuilding Perspectives Project" that featured experts from Saferworld and Conciliation Resources on October 31 at the El-Hibri Charitable Foundation.  The panel presented new research from the People's Peacemaking Perspectives project that illustrates the benefits, success criteria and challenges to taking a participatory approach to conflict analysis. Rigorous conflict analysis is essential for all actors operating in settings of violence and social conflict. Many different assessment frameworks are in use by various international non-governmental and governmental institutions working in development, peacebuilding, and governance sectors, including US agencies. But analysis tools and the manner in which assessments are conducted vary widely, with mixed results. 

The People’s Peacemaking Perspectives project was a joint initiative implemented by Conciliation Resources and Saferworld. From October 2010 - May 2012, 18 studies were conducted across a range of conflict contexts. Three of the studies looked at Kenya, West Africa, and Liberia and Sierra Leone. The project provided analysis and recommendations based on the opinions and experiences of local people, and sought to reflect the perspectives of those most closely affected by conflict through participatory approaches. It was financed under the European Commission's Instrument for Stability.

Event Speakers:

Zahbia Yousuf, Peacebuilding Editor and Analyst, Conciliation Resources
Janet Mohammed, West Africa Programme Director, Conciliation Resources

Teresa Dumasy, Head of Policy and Learning, Conciliation Resources

James Ndung’U, Project Manager, Saferworld- Kenya

Robert Parker, Director of Policy and Communications, Saferworld

Peacebuilding Principles in Global Development Policies: South-North Civil Society Collaboration

The Civil Society "Core Group" of the IDPS (International Dialogue on Peacebuilding and Statebuilding) is a network of Southern and Northern civil society organizations that are collaborating to engage with governments on issues of development effectiveness in conflict-affected states. 3P and AfP met with other members of the Core Group in The Hague to discuss opportunities, goals, and strategies for promoting peacebuilding approaches to international engagement in conflict-affected countries.  The conference helped strengthen and enhance the impact of the Civil Society Core Group to further streamline civil society's collaboration across conflict-affected countries and Northern donor countries.

   

3P also works actively within the Core Group's "Political Strategy Working Group" (PSWG), chaired by Melanie Greenberg, President of the Alliance for Peacebuilding, and Larry Attree, Conflict & Security Advisor for Saferworld. The working group's mandate is to develop and steer the Core Group's strategies for increasing political will among donor and host governments for making the concrete reforms needed in bilateral aid systems and country-level development processes for more sustainable peacebuilding and statebuilding outcomes in conflict-affected societies.

3P Hosts El-Hibri Foundation Peace Education Prize Winner Dr. Chaiwat Satha-Anand

3P and the Alliance for Peacebuilding hosted a roundtable luncheon in October in honor of the El-Hibri Charitable Foundation's 2012 Peace Education Prize recipient, Dr. Chaiwat Satha-Anand of Thailand.  The El-Hibri Charitable Foundation awarded the distinguished Peace Education Prize to Dr. Satha-Anand to recognize the contributions he has made toward reconciliation and nonviolence in Thailand and elsewhere. Peacebuilding scholars and practitioners gathered at the new Alliance for Peacebuilding office where Dr. Satha-Anand discussed his work and offered comments on current events, including the Arab Spring and broader intercultural and interfaith relationships. 3P was honored to host the El-Hibri Foundation and provide an opportunity for Alliance for Peacebuilding members to meet and engage with Professor Satha-Anand.

Professor Satha-Anand is a senior lecturer in Political Science at Thammasat University in Bangkok and a prominent scholar of alternative defense, religion and peace, Islam and nonviolence, militarism and modern political philosophy. As a Thai Muslim and one of the foremost voices for peace and nonviolence in Thailand, he has pioneered research into Islam and nonviolence, and worked as a peacebuilding practitioner in the long-standing conflict with the Thai Muslim minority in Southern Thailand. He has helped formalize institutions in the Thai government that support nonviolent approaches to political conflict, and is also a great advocate of reaching out to the military and the established security sector to bring conflict resolution and nonviolent options to the table.