A Vertically Integrated Project
Alice Konig Prominent monuments are backed either through approval or funding by the state and these monuments present a selective historical narrative that marginalizes and facilitates the Sri Lankan government and the perpetrator state. According to Bellentani and Panico’s method of semiotic analysis,[1] considering both the material and cultural contexts, state-backed war memorials are exclusionary and ethno-nationalist on … Read more
The Visualising Peace team has been exploring the relationship between responsible debate and peacebuilding. As part of this a group of students – Tao Yazaki, Zoe Gudino, Finlay Whitton, Anna Pilgrim, Jazmin Smallridge, and Tabitha Stuart – have been running a series of debates using different formats, from competitive to collaborative approaches. We had two aims … Read more
In October 2000, the United Nations Security Council adopted a Landmark Resolution on Women, Peace and Security (UNSCR 1325). UNSCR 1325 was intended to mark a turning point for the representation and inclusion of women in politics and peace-building; but more than twenty years later, its implementation has been limited. Women remain marginalised from many decision-making spaces; they … Read more
Building on work by other team members on the role that NGOs can play in peacebulding, Visualising Peace student Sofia Lobue has done some in-depth research using quantitative methods to explore the relative impact of foreign aid programmes delivered by the US to various recipient countries. You can read her report below.
In the reflection below, Visualising Peace student Samuel Huff continues his research into NGO involvement in peacebuilding, looking specifically at the challenges and opportunities of co-operation between NGOs and governments.
‘There is no peace without justice’. This oft-repeated mantra papers over the complex reality of peacebuilding: while post-conflict justice is essential to sustainable peace, the search for justice can sometimes prove a barrier to reconciliation and post-conflict recovery. ‘Justice’ is also as challenging to define as ‘peace’. Justice for whom? Retributive justice, or restorative justice? … Read more
One of our team members – Ideja Bajra – has been diving deep into cell biology to explore its potential for visualising peace and peacebuilding in productive new ways. Using AI to help model cell structures, and drawing on research into brain health/healing and what we know about biological self-regulation at the cellular level, she … Read more
Music is a deeply affective art form. It can paint pictures with soundscapes and tell stories without words. Music and text can combine to support or subvert each other, adding new layers of meaning to already rich storytelling. Silences and musical dynamics can be powerful in themselves; and musical echoes and repeating rhythms can focus … Read more
Over the past three years, the Visualising Peace team has been exploring the power of photography to represent and help build peace. We have learnt a lot from scholars working in visual politics and from professional photojournalists like Hugh Kinsella Cunningham – who worked with us on a photography exhibition in June-July 2023, which featured … Read more
In this presentation, Visualising Peace student Ideja Bajra explains how AI tools and machine learning might be developed to support a wide range of peacebuilding initiatives, from enhancing inner peace to contributing to geopolitical peace processes. She talks us through how we can go about building an AI model for peacebuilding ourselves (there is a … Read more