Blog of the John Hume and Tip O'Neill Chair in Peace
Professor Hamber delivered a paper entitled “Victim Mobilisation: An antidote to denialism, a route to new relationships?” at the Conference on Intergroup Relations After Violent Conflict: Insights from Research and Practice. The conference was held at The Weatherhead Center for International Affairs, Harvard University on 5-6 October 2023. The paper can be downloaded here.
On 15 October the Chair, Professor Brandon Hamber, gave an address to the “Annual Conference 2020: Harnessing Potential” hosted by The Knowledge Platform Security & Rule of Law. The speech focused on the “Enhanced Integration of Mental Health and Psychosocial Support (MHPSS) in Peacebuilding”. The speech focused on sharing the recommendations for the UN Peacebuilding Architecture Review developed with a multidisciplinary Task Force of which I was a member. The Task Force was established by the government of The Netherlands which is promoting the integration of mental health and psychosocial support in peacebuilding efforts. You can listen to my speech below:
Brandon Hamber · Recommendations of the Task Force on MHPSS in Peacebuilding and the Netherlands MFA
Professor Hamber with partners Fambul Tok (Sierra Leone), Catalyst for Peace (US), Refugee Law Project (Uganda), Green String Network (Kenya), and the Research and Advocacy Unit and African University (Zimbabwe) secured a seed grant to develop a Global Challenges Research Fund project to bring together partners to consider: “What are the internal-external framework and relationships that genuinely, in practice, support the creation of resilient communities facing ongoing and dynamic peace and development challenges, and how can communities, local organisations and international donors help to grow these?”. A large inter-country meeting took place in Freetown in 22-26 January 2018. A range of new initiatives will now flow from the meeting including joint research and proposals.
In 2017 Interpeace and the Kofi Annan Foundation launched a joint project on reconciliation that aims to contribute to the current debates on reconciliation by identifying innovations and lessons that can inspire national and international actors engaged or willing to engage in reconciliation efforts, as well as shedding light on how such efforts can best be supported by international actors. Professor Hamber and Grainne Kelly were contracted by the Kofi Annan Foundation to write a case study for the large research project, as well as contribute to a high-level symposium convened by Mr Kofi Annan aimed at capturing lessons on experiences of reconciliation and provide guidelines on how to design and implement reconciliation processes. Over 2017 Professor Hamber and Grainne Kelly worked on research to inform their report (high level interviews with policymakers). A draft Northern Ireland case study was submitted to the Kofi Annan Foundation in the summer of 2017 and then presented to a high-level symposium in October 2017 in Bogota, Colombia. Kofi Annan opened the symposium on reconciliation in Bogota, Colombia. Grainne Kelly presented her and Brandon Hamber’s research on reconciliation and its challenges in Northern Ireland. You can see more about the event here: http://www.kofiannanfoundation.org/building-lasting-peace/reconciliation-symposium/
Professor Hamber spoke at the 29th Annual Nobel Peace Prize Forum at Augsburg University in Minneapolis. At the Forum he presented the paper “Cultivating Peace: An Exploration of the Role of Nature-Based Activities in Conflict Transformation”. This was a joint paper by Brandon Hamber and Alistair Little and Wilhelm Verwoerd. Little and Verwoerd belong to ‘Beyond Walls’ which organised ‘the Journey through Conflict’ process in the framework of ‘Sustainable Peace Network’.
In Mid-May 2017 Professor Hamber visited Uganda again as part of the Summer Institute focusing on “Men’s and Women’s Relations in Coercive Settings” (17-19 May 2017) hosted by the Refugee Law Project (RLP) and in War Partnership (CSiW). As part of the event Professor Hamber participated in a 2-day long workshops run by RLP and partners with men who were former combatants/abducted during the Northern Uganda war to learn from their experiences. The second part of the event was a more open conference focusing on women’s and men’s experiences of forced relationships in wartime.
The 9th International Conference of Museums for Peace was held in Belfast (10-13, April 2017). The International Network of Museums for Peace (INMP) is a global network of peace museums, peace gardens and other peace related sites, centres and institutions that share the aim to cultivate a global culture of peace. The conference theme was “Cities as Living Museums for Peace” and highlighted Belfast’s social and political transformation from a divided, troubled city to a one which models peace consciousness through post-conflict healing and reconciliation. The 9th International Conference of Museums for Peace was hosted by Ulster University, with the support of Visit Belfast. Professor Hamber, with community partners, helped develop the agenda of the global meeting and also gave the keynote address with Dr Elizabeth Crooke, Ulster University.
