This podcast series is brought to you from the University of Winchester's Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace (CRRP). Our team talk with both academics and practitioners from around the world about their approaches to peacebuilding and conflict transformation. https://winchester.ac.uk/crrp CRRP is dedicated to helping make a tangible difference to those affected by structural violence and armed conflict. We offer training/consultancy in many areas of peacebuilding and reconciliation, and highly commended distance-taught post-graduate courses.
Centre of Religion Reconciliation and Peace - University of Winchester
Prof. Mark Owen talks with Steve Killelea about his book 'Peace in the Age of Chaos' 'As a global philanthropist, Steve Killelea has laid the foundations to develop an entirely new understanding of peace. As a thought leader, he has reshaped the entire concept to recognise its integrity to the revival of our economic and political systems. Few have provoked global thought amongst both policymakers and members of the public quite to the extent of Steve. An international entrepreneur behind the global think tank, the Institute for Economics and Peace, he combines a highly successful career in technology with a philanthropic focus on peace and sustainable development to shed new light on issues, from terrorism and conflict to economics and prosperity.'
Dr. Gwen Burnyeat is Junior Research Fellow in Anthropology at Merton College, University of Oxford, researching peace, politics and polarisation in Colombia. She's got a PhD in anthropology from UCL and MPhil in anthropology from National University of Colombia. She is member of peacebuilding organisation Embrace Dialogue (ReD) and co-founder and coordinator of the Laboratory for the Anthropology of the State in Colombia. Gwen is author of "Chocolate, Politics and Peace-Building: An Ethnography of the Peace Community of San José de Apartadó, Colombia" (Palgrave Macmillan 2018) and director of award-winning documentary, "Chocolate of Peace" (2016). Her new forthcoming book is titled: "The Face of Peace: Government Pedagogy amidst Disinformation in Colombia" being published by University of Chicago Press in 2022. Twitter handle: @GwenBurnyeat Is there someone you'd like our team to speak with? Send your suggestions to @WinchesterPeace
Dr Podder is a Senior Lecturer in Defence Studies at Kings College London. Before her current role she was a Lecturer in International Security and Development at the Centre for International Security and Resilience at Cranfield University. Her primary areas of research are post-conflict reconstruction (DDR/SSR), civil wars and youth in peacebuilding. Dr Podder has undertaken fieldwork in a number of conflict states, this podcast focuses on her research in the Philippines with a particular focus on child soldiers. Dr Podder is interviewed by Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen with some of Majbritt's students from the MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding at the University of Winchester.
Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen and Rebecca Bellamy from Winchester Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace, interview Özlem Cekic- Former Socialist People's Party (SF) MP Cekic, a Kurd who was born in Ankara and moved to Denmark as a child. She qualified as a nurse in 2000 before entering politics in 2005, when she stood for election as an MP for the Danish Parliament. Find Özlem Cekic's book here: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Overcoming-Hate-through-Dialogue-Conversation-ebook/dp/B08LYYBNKC Twitter @cekicozlem
https://www.touchstone-bradford.org.uk Touchstone is a 'listening community' with the vision of making safe places of hospitality where people who are radically different can listen to and with each other. Shamim Akhtar and Revd. Jenny Ramsden of Touchstone Bradford interviewed by Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen and Rebecca Bellamy from the Centre of Religion Reconciliation and Peace, University of Winchester
Canon Sarah Snyder and Prof. Simon Keyes in conversation on "The Habits of a Reconciler" Sarah Snyder is Founding Director of the Rose Castle Foundation & Archbishop of Canterbury's Special Adviser for Reconciliation Simon Keyes is Visiting Professor of Reconciliation at the Centre of Relgiion Reconciliation and Peace, University of Winchester where he established and teach on the MA in Reconciliation.
Simon Keyes talks with Dr Andrei Gomez-Suarez about the challenges for Reconciliation in Colombia with personal stories from Dr Gomez-Suarez based on childhood memories. Simon Keyes is Visiting Professor at the Centre for Religion, Reconciliation and Peace and has been instrumental in the design and delivery of the Centre's MA in Reconciliation. Dr Andrei Gomez-Suarez is Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Religion, Reconciliation and Peace. He is a Colombian writer, international relations scholar, and peace practitioner, currently living in Oxford. He specialises in conflict resolution, peace negotiations, transitional justice, reconciliation and dialogue.
Peter Drury is a human rights expert, campaigner and former researcher at Amnesty International. Currently, Peter is the representative of the Colombian Commission for the Clarification of Truth, Co-Existence and Non-Repetition in the UK. Andrei Gomez-Suarez is Senior Research Fellow in the Centre for Religion, Reconciliation and Peace. He is a Colombian writer, international relations scholar, and peace practitioner, currently living in Oxford. He specialises in conflict resolution, peace negotiations, transitional justice, reconciliation and dialogue. He is the co-founder and non-director of peacebuilding organisation Rodeemos el Diálogo (ReD, Embrace Dialogue) He is Senior Consultant at Positive Negatives, and Honorary Research Associate in the University of Bristol and the UCL Institute of the Americas.
Elizabeth Harris is an Honorary Senior Research Fellow within the Edward Cadbury Centre for the Public Understanding of Religion, University of Birmingham. She carries out research in Buddhist Studies, Religion and Conflict, and Interreligious Studies. A link to Elizabeth's latest monograph: https://www.routledge.com/Religion-Space-and-Conflict-in-Sri-Lanka-Colonial-and-Postcolonial-Contexts/Harris/p/book/9780367591762 Anna King is Professor of Religious Studies and Social Anthropology and Director of Postgraduate Research in the University of Winchester's Centre for Religion, Reconciliation and Peace.
This episode sheds a spotlight on female bridge-builders, with interviews with representatives from four different projects in the UK, Sweden, Bosnia and Herzegovina and Denmark. Their stories highlight the importance of breaking from our echo chambers and how even unlikely friendships may have the possibility to develop. This is a feature podcast for International Women's Day, with excerpts from standalone episodes that will also be published in the coming weeks. This episode is produced by Rebecca Bellamy and Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen who represent the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace at the University of Winchester and is part of an ongoing Podcast series produced by the Centre, titled Talking Peace, Exploring Conflict. The University of Winchester's Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace (CRRP) was established in 2010 and is dedicated to helping make a tangible difference to those affected by structural violence and armed conflict, our work is particularly focussed on examining the crucial links between theory and practice in religious peacebuilding and reconciliation processes, and how each informs, challenges and enhances the other. We strongly believe in the power of collaboration, and the importance of cultural and contextual forms of peacebuilding, and we work with academic partners; secular, religious and faith-based organisations; and government and multi-national institutions worldwide. We offer training and consultancy in many areas of peacebuilding and reconciliation, and highly commended post-graduate courses. Read more about the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace here https://winchester.ac.uk/crrp
Dr. Juan Manuel Jiménez Robles is an independent researcher and UNESCO Chair of Philosophy for Peace. Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen is Research Fellow of the Centre of Religion Reconciliation and Peace and Programme Leader of the Centre's MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding
Hugh Miall is Emeritus Professor of International Relations at the University of Kent, and Chair of the Conflict Research Society. His research covers theories of conflict and violence, conflict resolution, conflict prevention, peacemaking and peacebuilding, and the United Nations. Anna King is Professor of Religious Studies and Social Anthropology and Director of Postgraduate Research in the University's high-impact Centre for Religion, Reconciliation and Peace. Anna's current research is focussed on Peace and Conflict Studies, and on the relationship between the religious, secular and postsecular, the role of religious and faith-based actors in peacebuilding and conflict transformation, and the links between theory and practice in religious peacebuilding and reconciliation processes.
Myanmar (formerly Burma) is a Southeast Asian nation of more than 100 ethnic groups, bordering India, Bangladesh, China, Laos and Thailand. Professor Anna King and Dr Mark Owen have been working in Myanmar over the past 4-5 years. They met on the 4th of February 2021 to reflect on the crisis that unfolded earlier in the week when Aung San Suu Kyi and her government were overthrown in a coup d'état on 1st February 2021. Read more about the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace here.
Sheniz Tan is founder and CEO of Asfar, which was launched in 2012, in order to provide opportunities for Young People and Communities in the UK, Europe, the Caucasus, the Middle East & North Africa and the Balkans, through: Volunteering; Educational & Skills development programmes; Social Entrepreneurship; Sport for Peace; and Cultural & Transnational learning experiences. Asfar also focuses on Women Economic Empowerment programmes; Gender Equality; and supports women in the Middle East & North Africa to develop social entrepreneurial skills and gain access to business and social enterprise sectors. Sheniz Tan is an alumni of the MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding. Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen is Programme Manager of the MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding and member of the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace at the University of Winchester.
Thought Leader Series Radical Disagreement - Emeritus Prof Oliver Ramsbotham in conversation with Professor Simon Keyes Oliver Ramsbotham is a specialist on conflict resolution and designed an original approach to handling 'intractable' conflict, which he calls ‘radical disagreement'. Oliver is Emeritus Professor of Conflict Resolution at the University of Bradford (UK) and President of the Conflict Research Society. He is series Co-Editor of Routledge Studies in Peace and Conflict Resolution. In addition to many articles, he has published books in a variety of related fields, including on nuclear deterrence, alternative defence options, and peacekeeping in the area of sustainable security, as well as books on dialogue and the management of radical disagreement, with a focus on the Middle East. Professor Simon Keyes teaches on the MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding from the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace- University of Winchester.
Thought Leader Series Professor Mitchell's research and teaching focuses on: Religion, Violence and Peacebuilding with particular reference to the arts (e.g. film, theatre, radio, visual arts as well as other new and old media). He has written and published extensively in these and related areas (e.g. the uses of different media arts in promoting peace and inciting violence; Communication Ethics; Theology & the Arts; Media, Religion and Culture; Memory, History and Religion). Educated at the Universities of Cambridge (BA, MA), Durham (MA, Cert. Th.), and Edinburgh (PhD), Jolyon Mitchell worked as a producer and journalist for BBC World Service and BBC Radio 4 before he was appointed to the University of Edinburgh. As Director of the http://www.ed.ac.uk/divinity/research/centres/theology-public-issues(CTPI), President of the national association for Theology and Religious Studies (TRS-UK) [and until recently Academic Director of the http://www.iash.ed.ac.uk/(IASH)] he directs a number of interdisciplinary research projects and helps to host a wide range of public lectures and events. He is a Fellow of the Royal Society of Arts (FRSA). His recent publication, 'Peacebuilding and the Arts' explores the roles of film, theatre, literature, music, dance and visual arts in peacebuilding https://www.palgrave.com/gp/book/9783030178741 Professor Anna King is a member of the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace at the University of Winchester, you can find her academic profile here: https://www.winchester.ac.uk/about-us/leadership-and-governance/staff-directory/staff-profiles/king-1.php
Practioner Series Dr Phill Gittins is World BEYOND War's Education Director. World beyond war in a global movement for non-violence. He has 15+ years' programming, analysis, and leadership experience in the areas of peace, education, and youth. He has particular expertise in context-specific approaches to peace programming; peacebuilding education; and youth inclusion in research and action. To date, he has lived, worked, and travelled in over 50 countries across 6 continents; taught in schools, colleges, and universities in eight countries; and led experiential training and training-of-trainers for hundreds of individuals on peace and conflict processes. Other experience includes work in youth offending prisons; oversight management for youth and community projects; and consultation for public and non-profit organisations on peace, education, and youth issues. Phill has received multiple awards for his contributions to peace and conflict work, including the Rotary Peace Fellowship and the Kathryn Davis Fellow for Peace. He is also a Peace Ambassador for the Institute for Economics and Peace. He earned his PhD in International Conflict Analysis, MA in Education, and a BA in Youth and Community Studies. He also holds postgraduate qualifications in Peace and Conflict Studies, Education and Training, and Teaching in Higher Education, and is a certified Neuro-Linguistic Programming Practitioner, counsellor, and project manager by training. Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen is a Research Fellow at the Centre for Religion, Reconciliation and Peacebuilding at the University of Winchester. She is Programme Leader for the Centre's MA in Reconciliation and Peacebuilding where she teaches modules in Peacebuilding and Research Methods.
In August 2020 The Publication 'On the Significance of Religion in Conflict and Conflict Resolution' was published online in full. Authors: Schliesser, Kadayifci-Orellana, Kollontai. The book is open access or can be purchased from Routledge. https://www.routledge.com/On-the-Significance-of-Religion-in-Conflict-and-Conflict-Resolution/Schliesser-Kadayifci-Orellana-Kollontai/p/book/9780367433925 In this ground-breaking volume, the authors analyze the role of religion in conflict and conflict resolution. They do so from the perspectives of Judaism, Christianity, and Islam, while bringing different disciplines into play, including peace and conflict studies, religious studies, theology, and ethics. With much of current academic, political and public attention focusing on the conflictive dimensions of religion, this book also explores the constructive resources of religion for conflict resolution and reconciliation. Combining cutting-edge research with case studies and concrete implications for academics, policy makers, and practitioners, this concise and easily accessible volume helps to build bridges between these oftentimes separated spheres of engagement. Dr Mark Owen (Director of the Centre of Religion Reconciliation and Peace) speaks with Dr Christine Schliesser to discover more about her journey into this area of research as well as discussing some of her points made in the publication.
Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen learns about the work of Messengers of Peace in Liberia, speaking with former MA student Gwendolyn Myers - Founder & Executive Director of Messengers of Peace in Liberia. Gwendolyn was recently voted top- seven Women Peacebuilders in Africa and is to be featured in a documentary titled #FrontLineWomen https://www.facebook.com/Messengers-of-Peace-Liberia-IncMOP-Liberia-Inc-116112588449006/ Dr Majbritt Lyck-Bowen Research Fellow and Programme Leader MA Reconciliation/MA Reconciliation and Peacebuilding
Part 1 After Father Michael Lapsley was exiled by the South African Government in 1976, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became one of their chaplains. Whilst living in Zimbabwe he discovered he was on the South African Government hit list. In April 1990 he received a letter bomb in the post. In 1992, he returned to South Africa to "find a nation of survivors, but a damaged nation. Everyone had a story – a truth – to tell. In my work I've developed a programme called the Healing of Memories. Our workshops explore the effects of South Africa's past at an emotional, psychological and spiritual level. I try to support those who have suffered as they struggle to have their stories recognised." Professor Simon Keyes from the University of Winchester's Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace, speaks with Fr Lapsley about the healing of memories.
Part 2 After Father Michael Lapsley was exiled by the South African Government in 1976, he joined the African National Congress (ANC) and became one of their chaplains. Whilst living in Zimbabwe he discovered he was on the South African Government hit list. In April 1990 he received a letter bomb in the post. In 1992, he returned to South Africa to "find a nation of survivors, but a damaged nation. Everyone had a story – a truth – to tell. In my work I've developed a programme called the Healing of Memories. Our workshops explore the effects of South Africa's past at an emotional, psychological and spiritual level. I try to support those who have suffered as they struggle to have their stories recognised." Professor Simon Keyes from the University of Winchester's Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace, speaks with Fr Lapsley about the healing of memories.
Dr Mark Owen of the Centre of Religion Reconciliation and Peace (University of Winchester) hosts a panel discussion with Dr Ulrike Ziemer (University of Winchester), Dr Sossie Kasbarian (University of Stirling) and Dr Kevork Oskanian (University of Birmingham), to discuss the current conflict in the region of Negorno-Karabakh. Recorded on the 4th of November 2020. [UPDATE: Since making this podcast, on Tuesday 10th of November 2020 a cease-fire deal (trilateral agreement between Azerbaijan, Armenia and Russia) reached overnight after six weeks of heavy fighting]. Further information. We wait to see if and for how long this ceasefire will hold. Dr Ulrike Ziemer is Senior Lecturer in Sociology in the Department for Applied Social Sciences, Forensics and Politics at the University of Winchester. Her research interests include youth, women, gender and diasporas in Russia, the Southern Caucasus and Eastern Europe. Dr Sossie Kasbarian is Senior Lecturer in Comparative Politics at the University of Stirling. Dr. Kasbarian's research interests and publications broadly span diaspora studies; contemporary Middle East politics and society; nationalism and ethnicity; transnational political activism; refugee and migration studies. She is co-editor of the journal Diaspora- A Journal of Transnational Studies Dr Kevork Oskanian is a Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Birmingham. His current research interests include Eurasian politics and security, postcolonial and civilisational perspectives on Russian narratives of “exceptionalism,” as well as post-liberal approaches to state and International Society in Eurasia and beyond.
Dr Mark Owen (University of Winchester) in conversation with Owen Frazer, discussing Frazer's recent article- The Instrumentalization of Religion in Conflict is an article published by Owen Frazer in June 2020: https://www.research-collection.ethz.ch/handle/20.500.11850/418371 Owen Frazer is a Senior Programme Officer in the Mediation Support Team of the Center for Security Studies (CSS) at ETH Zurich in Switzerland and undertakes his doctoral studies on a part-time basis. His work at CSS focuses on mediation in violent political conflict, with an emphasis on conflicts with religious dimensions. His responsibilities include providing trainings to practitioners and policy-makers, developing practice and policy guidance, and directly supporting mediation and conflict transformation processes. Prior to joining the CSS, Owen worked for Oxfam in the UK, WaterAid in Ethiopia, and the International Committee of the Red Cross in Colombia, Democratic Republic of Congo, Eritrea, Pakistan, Russia, and at headquarters.
Practitioner Series Professor Anna King and Mukti Suvedi in conversation about rebuilding post-conflict Nepal and some of the impacts Mukti Suvedi has witnessed on Nepalis during the Covid-19 pandemic. Mukti Suvedi is Country Director of World Renew Nepal. He is an experienced peacebuilder, teacher and mentor, leading peace and development projects and programs in South Asia, Canada, and Haiti.
Thought Leader Series The Theories of David Bohm in Practice - Prof Simon Keyes in conversation with Prof Mohammed Abu-Nimer The University of Winchester's Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace (CRRP) was established in 2010 and is dedicated to helping make a tangible difference to those affected by structural violence and armed conflict, our work is particularly focussed on examining the crucial links between theory and practice in religious peacebuilding and reconciliation processes, and how each informs, challenges and enhances the other. We strongly believe in the power of collaboration, and the importance of cultural and contextual forms of peacebuilding, and we work with academic partners; secular, religious and faith-based organisations; and government and multi-national institutions worldwide. We offer training and consultancy in many areas of peacebuilding and reconciliation, and highly commended post-graduate courses. Read more about the Centre of Religion, Reconciliation and Peace here https://winchester.ac.uk/crrp Professor Mohammed Abu-Nimer Professor Abu-Nimer has worked for over three decades in a number of areas, including: dialogue and peacebuilding in the Middle East region; the application of conflict resolution models in Muslim communities; inter-religious conflict resolution training; interfaith dialogue; civic education; and evaluation of conflict resolution programs. In the past decade, Prof. Abu-Nimer has conducted numerous peace education and interfaith dialogue programs with religious leaders. He is the founder of Salam Institute for Peace and Justice and co-founder and co-editor of the Journal of Peacebuilding and Development. He holds a Ph.D. in Conflict Analysis and Resolution from George Mason University. He is Professor of International Peace and Conflict Resolution, School of International Service, American University and Senior Advisor at KAICIID, International Center for Intercultural and Interreligious Dialogue.