Incore E-Newsletter No.1
Reply-To: [email protected]
Sender: [email protected]
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Date: Wed, 21 Nov 2001 19:47:16 +0200 (EET)
Message-Id: <[email protected]>
Subject: Incore E-Newsletter No.1
From: MINELRES moderator <[email protected]>
Original sender: Liam O'Hagan <[email protected]>
Incore E-Newsletter No.1
INCORE E-NEWSLETTER
Welcome to the first edition of the INCORE electronic newsletter, a
collection of news and updates of INCORE’s projects, which we hope to
produce every two months. The Institute for Conflict Resolution
(UNU/INCORE) was set up in 1993 by the University of Ulster and the
United Nations University to undertake research and policy work that
is useful to the resolution of ethnic, political and religious
conflicts. Currently, INCORE's research focuses mainly on post
conflict issues, issues of governance and diversity, and research
methodology in violent societies. The Research Unit also runs the
Ethnic Studies Network, which currently has in excess of 700 members.
The Policy and Evaluation Unit aims to ensure the more effective
utilisation of conflict research by policy makers and practitioners.
The unit also addresses the issue of best practice in evaluating
conflict interventions.
UNU/INCORE also produces a web based Conflict Data Service which
provides current and historical information on all major on-going
conflicts, theme sites on a variety of issues relevant to conflict,
and information on conflict resolution institutions throughout the
world.
We hope you will find the newsletter useful and informative, and
welcome your comments, but if you should wish to be removed from the
circulation list please contact Roisin O’Hagan:
[email protected]
CONTENTS
1. FORTHCOMING INCORE EVENTS
2. VISITORS TO INCORE
3. PUBLICATIONS BY INCORE STAFF
4. NEW PROJECT NEWS
5. EXISTING PROJECT UPDATES
6. PERSONNEL
7. CONFERENCES ATTENDED
8. WEB UPDATES
9. NEWS
1. FORTHCOMING INCORE EVENTS
Mixed Marriages The International Dimension
INCORE and the Institute for Conflict Research have organised a
workshop on mixed marriages, hosted by the Institute of Governance,
Public Policy and Social Research on the 26 and 27 November, in the
Common Room of Queen’s University in Belfast. The event has received
funding support from the Community Relations Council.
The workshop will focus on research and perspectives on mixed and
interracial marriage, and hopes to highlight the policy issues facing
a number of statutory agencies. The topic ‘mixed marriages’
incorporates interracial marriages, and inter-caste and inter-faith
relationships. Wanda Wigfall Williams, INCORE’s most recent Tip
O’Neill Fellow, will be one of the keynote speakers at the workshop.
Contact Gillian Robinson at
[email protected]
ARK (Northern Ireland Social and Political Archive) Seminar Series
The seminars will be held in NICVA Conference Room B from 12:00-
1:00 at 61 Duncairn Gardens Belfast BT15 2GB. Seminars on the
following topics will be included:
Are there any Christians in Northern Ireland? Professor John Brewer,
Queen’s University Belfast - Wednesday 9 January 2002
Social Surveys and Northern Ireland
Chair: Professor Bernie Hayes, Queen’s University Belfast
Speakers Prof. Roger Jowell and Professor Brendan Whelan - Wednesday
20 February 2002.
Full list of Ark seminars is available at www.ark.ac.uk
All welcome
Reflecting on Peace Practice (RPP) Feedback Workshops INCORE in
collaboration with the Collaborative for Development Action (CDA),
will be hosting two Reflecting on Peace Practice feedback workshops.
These events will address the eleven issues resulting from the case
study research of 26 peacebuilding agencies around the world. The
first workshop will be held in early December in Northern Ireland with
local practitioners. The second workshop will be held with the Local
Approaches to Conflict Resolution project of CEPACS at the University
of Ibadan in February. Further information: Cheyanne Church, Policy
Director, [email protected]
Governance and Diversity Seminar Series
The Policy Unit is conducting a seminar series on Governance &
Diversity with the Research and Library Division of the Northern
Ireland Assembly. The aim of this series is to facilitate the link
between the latest research and policy makers. The first seminar was
held on November 5 and addressed practical applications of Northern
Ireland’s Equality Legislation for statutory committees. To date
seminars are closed events. Contact: Cheyanne Church, Policy Director,
- [email protected]
Researching Ethnic Conflict in Africa: Ethical and Methodological
Issues in Researching Violent Societies. WORKSHOP. Early 2002 date to
be confirmed. University of Ibadan, Nigeria.
INCORE in collaboration with the United Nations University and CEPACS
(The Centre for Peace and Conflict Studies at the University of
Ibadan, Nigeria) is convening this workshop with financial support
from the Ford Foundation, the United Nations University and the
British Council. The workshop aims to bring together an experienced
group of researchers from within Africa with practical experience of
solving the problems associated with conducting research in violent
and politically unstable contexts with a view to documenting the
approaches taken, insights gained, and dilemmas faced. The event
originally scheduled for November 2001 is limited to 30 participants.
Contact: Gillian Robinson, [email protected]
INCORE’s International Summer School: 10 - 15 June 2002
The International Summer School offers a structured learning
opportunity based on the latest research and concepts in specific
topics of conflict resolution. Senior level participants from all
backgrounds - practitioner, policy-maker, academic - are invited to
compare, contrast and learn from different perspectives. For more
details visit our website at
http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/home/policy/policy/Home.html
2. VISITORS TO INCORE
On 5 September, INCORE was pleased to welcome a group of more than
30 Fellows from the US Social Science Research Council, led by John
Tirman, Director of the Program on Global Security and Cooperation.
The SSRC is an independent, nonprofit organization, which seeks to
advance social science throughout the world, and supports research,
education and scholarly exchange on every continent. The Fellows were
particularly keen to hear INCORE personnel talk on the theme of
collaborative research, and specifically how INCORE solves the
problems of collaborating across time and space.
Dr. Laurie Johnson, Associate Professor and Director, Graduate
Programs in Counseling, Hofstra University, NY and 2001 Sheelagh
Murnaghan Visiting Professor, Queens University, Belfast, gave a
seminar entitled Transforming the Symmetry of Conflict in NI through
Integrated Education: Prospect or Pipe-Dream? on Friday, 28
September. Calling upon findings from a year long research study
conducted in integrated schools during 2000-2001, Laurie discussed the
progress made so far and the challenges still facing IE in relation to
its efforts to promote a rapprochement of the sectarian divide in NI.
Professor William A. Schabas, Professor of Human Rights Law at the
National University of Ireland (Galway) and Director, Irish Centre for
Human Rights gave a seminar on Friday, 5 October on Human Rights and
Terrorism.
LILP Single Identity Work Exchange Visit: 29 October 1 November 2001
INCORE was pleased to welcome Anat Levy-Reisman and Zakaria al Qaq,
Co-Directors of the Israel/Palestine Centre for Research and
Information (IPCRI) to the Single Identity Workshop on 29 October and
the LILP Symposium on 1 November. They discussed the Uni National Work
carried out by IPCRI through education and met with practitioners in
Derry/Londonderry and Belfast.
Contact Anna Visser, LILP Project Worker:
[email protected]
Dr. I. Bola Udegbe a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Psychology
and Senior Fellow and Programme Coordinator of Condition of Women and
Children in War and Peace Programme in the Center for Peace and
Conflict Studies at the University of Ibadan, Nigeria gave a seminar
on Gender and Traditional leadership in Nigeria: Implications for
Conflict management on 30 October. Dr Udegbe spent two weeks at
INCORE, as part of the British Council Higher Education Link with the
University of Ibadan, conducting research and meeting with local
women’s groups.
3. PUBLICATIONS BY INCORE STAFF
MacGinty, R and Robinson, G (2001) Peacekeeping and the violence in
ethnic conflict, in R.Thakur and A.Schnabel, United Nations
Peacekeeping Operations: Ad hoc missions, permanent engagement, United
Nations University Press, Tokyo; ISBN 92-808-1067-7
Marie Smyth and Gillian Robinson (Eds) Researching Violently Divided
Societies: Ethical and Methodological Issues, The United Nations
University Press Tokyo, New York, Paris and Pluto Press London,
Sterling, Virginia. ISBN 0-7453-1820-7. This book will be launched at
the Linen Hall Library in Belfast at 6.00 pm on Thursday, 29
November.
MacGinty, R, Wilford, R, Dowds, L and Robinson, G. (2001) Consenting
adults: Northern Ireland’s constitutional future. Government and
Opposition. 36, 4, 472-492
The LILP project has also produced three new publications: Cheyanne
Church and Anna Visser, (2001) Single Identity Work, INCORE, Cheyanne
Church and Anna Visser, (2001) Multiculturalism and Diverstiy, INCORE
and Cheyanne Church and Anna Visser, (2001) Civil Society in
Transition and the Role of Civic Forums, INCORE.
4. NEW PROJECT NEWS
Making an impact- influencing policy makers in conflict and
coexistence issues.
In October the Policy and Evaluation Unit initiated its new project
‘Making an impact- influencing policy makers in conflict and
coexistence issues.’ This groundbreaking project seeks to develop a
publication that combines relevant contextual chapters with practical
case studies to create analytically devised approaches and strategies
for NGOS with a view to developing a body of ‘best practice’ for
impacting policy decisions in conflict areas. The book will focus on
community relations and coexistence case studies, yet it will be
applicable to civil society as a whole. A field guide will also be
produced as a companion to the book. The purpose of the field guide
will be to provide those in the field with a concise reference of key
action points for impacting policy in a practical bulleted format.
Contact: Project Coordinator Chris O’Donnell on:
[email protected]
Technology Enabling Dialogue (TED)
The Policy and Evaluation Unit has been commissioned to undertake
research into how technology could potentially enable dialogue in
Northern Ireland. The objective of this project is to conduct a
preliminary study that will facilitate analysis of the potential, and
attitudes towards, the ability of communications technologies to
promote dialogue and relationship building in a community relations
context.
Contact: TED Project Worker,on: [email protected]
5. EXISTING PROJECT UPDATES
Local International Learning Project
The Local International Learning Project (LILP) has just conducted
the concluding symposium of this, its pilot phase. The symposium on 1
November 2001 considered the value of a local international learning
approach and the challenges it faces. As with previous events this
one-day symposium focused on both policy-maker and practitioner
issues, providing an opportunity for interaction between the voluntary
and public sector. In an increasingly globalised world, many sections
of society have become concerned with learning from the
international. LILP has aimed to provide a model for such an approach
in the field of conflict resolution and community relations.
The LILP programme has centred around four streams: Single Identity
Work, Civil Society in Transition and the Role of Civic Forums,
Multiculturalism and Diversity, and Realism of the Past. Workshops
have been completed in all four streams and the exchange visit
programme is now in its final stages; there have been visits to
Scotland and Canada, and there is an upcoming trip to Croatia.
Publications have been prepared which will reflect on the learning
that has been achieved in each of the streams.
Contact: Project Worker Anna Visser on [email protected]
INCORE Visit to Ottawa
Anna Visser, project officer for the Local International Learning
Project (LILP), undertook a study visit to Ottawa along with two
practitioners from the community relations sector in Northern
Ireland. The purpose of the four day visit was to have a series of
meeting within both the public and voluntary sector exploring the
Canadian Model of Multiculturalism. The visit was a great success
and established a number of important links.
Contact: Anna Visser, LILP Project Worker: [email protected],
The Conflict Research and Policy Project (RIP)
This project aims to improve the interaction between the
research community involved in conflict related studies and those in
the policy/government who could utilise this expertise. Research is
underway to identify the constraints to this interaction and possible
mechanisms to improve the utilisation of research. The project will
result in two publications; a research report on the findings of this
work and a Checklist for Researchers to be utilised as a quick
reference tool. Additionally, INCORE will develop training modules to
be incorporated into a series of existing training opportunities such
as the International Summer School.
Contact: Cheyanne Church, Policy Director,
[email protected]
6. PERSONNEL
Policy Unit
Chris O’Donnell started in early October as the project co-ordinator
for the Making an Impact project. Eimear Hayden has joined us in a
consultant capacity as the Co-ordinator of the International Summer
School.
A very large thank you is extended to Jenny Lucas, USA and Geraldine
Becchi, Switzerland who have recently completed their internships
within the Policy Unit. We are delighted to welcome Shula Maibaum, UK
and Malin Brenk, Sweden who will be with the Unit until spring.
Research Unit
Current interns with the Research Unit include Amanda Searcy, who has
just completed an MA at the Centre for Human Rights at the University
of Essex, Chikako Minei, who has just completed an MA at the
University of Bradford and Brooke Loder a graduate in International
Relations from Massachusetts.
7. CONFERENCES ATTENDED
INCORE’s Director, Professor Mari Fitzduff was a keynote speaker at
the Fifth European Conference on Peacemaking and Conflict Resolution
- From Systems to People, in Katowice, Poland from 16-18 September.
8. WEB UPDATES
Policy and Evaluation Website
The Policy and Evaluation section of the website have been redesigned
and enlarged. The section offers summaries of Policy and Evaluation
projects as well as a Guide to Policy & Evaluation Resources. We are
currently adding content to the site and welcome any suggestions or
contributions.
http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/home/policy/
New additions to the INCORE website include a Conference Report for
the ESN conference, From Violence to Politics, a selection of papers
given at the conference and the new ESN brochure,
(http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/home/esn/) as well as a Frequently Asked
Questions section for prospective interns
(http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/news/employ/faq.html).
9. NEWS
Mediation Skills Course
INCORE, in association with Stairway Transformation Consultants, is
offering a part time, evening course in conflict resolution and
mediation skills. The first course, Level I, started in September
with a very enthusiastic response of 31 participants, and will be
offered again in January. A Level II course with the same format will
also be offered in mid-January. Facilitated by Michael Doherty
further information can be found on the Policy Unit website:
http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/home/policy/
Women in Politics
The British council offices in New Delhi and Belfast are jointly
organising with INCORE and The Parliamentarian's Forum for Human
Development of India a Video Conference on 'Women in Politics' on 23rd
November at 10am. The conference is being Chaired by Monica McWilliams
in Belfast and by Dr Najma Heptullah, Deputy Chair of Rajya Sabha
(Upper House) in New Delhi.
Contact: Professor Anjoo Sharan Upadhyaya at [email protected]
Exploring Conflict Resolution And Cross-Cultural Communication
Request For Proposals
Research Travel Grants are available to staff members and
post-graduate students of the University of Ulster through a
collaboration between scholars from UU, the University of Missouri and
the National University of Ireland, Galway under a scheme entitled
Exploring Conflict Resolution and Cross-Cultural Communication.
Projects eligible to receive funds will come from a variety of
disciplines and will focus on communication processes in divided
societies, community conflict (including ethnic/group and nationalist
conflict), and conflict resolution. Both applied and theoretical/basic
research projects are encouraged. Funding is for travel, housing and
related items. Salaries and equipment will not be funded.
Proposal deadline for individual or group awards is December 15, 2001.
Further details are available from Lyn Moffett on extension 5507
(Email: [email protected]) or by visiting
http://www.law.missouri.edu/csdr/missouriirishlinks/proposals.htm
INCORE CONTACT DETAILS
INCORE, University of Ulster, Aberfoyle House, Magee Campus,
Northland Road
DERRY/LONDONDERRY, BT48 7JA, Northern Ireland
Tel +44 (0)2871 375500 Fax: +44 (0)2871 375510 Email:
[email protected]
URL: http://www.incore.ulst.ac.uk/
--
==============================================================
MINELRES - a forum for discussion on minorities in Central&Eastern
Europe
Submissions: [email protected]
Subscription/inquiries: [email protected]
List archive: http://www.riga.lv/minelres/archive.htm
==============================================================