Kroc IPJ Research and Resources

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  Beyond Borders: Confronting Transnational Violence Against Black Migrants

  Nana Afua Yeboaa Brantuo

  Beyond Borders: Confronting Transnational Violence Against Black Migrants explores the systemic violence and exclusion faced by Black migrants throughout their migration journey, with a focus on the U.S. immigration system. Synthesizing literature, data, and expert interviews, the paper highlights the intersecting forms of violence—political, community, racial, and gender-based—that Black migrants experience before, during, and after migration. The paper emphasizes how structural racism, anti-Blackness, and inadequate legal protections contribute to the compounded vulnerabilities of Black migrants. It calls for comprehensive policy interventions, including trauma-informed care, policy and legal system transformations, and community-based support, to address these multifaceted challenges and promote a more just and equitable migration system. Through data analysis and lived experiences, the paper advocates for systemic transformation to protect Black migrants' rights, safety, and dignity.

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  The Disappearing Fishermen

  Areli Palomo Contreras

  The Disappearing Fishermen is one of a series of ethnographic journalism stories about the violence embedded in the web of power structures shaping our global market system. In the Honduran wetlands of the Central American Gulf of Fonseca, these structures result in multiple forms of harm and damage to artisanal fishing communities. During the eighties and the nineties, the shrimp farming industry that settled in these wetlands was conceived to meet the Global North’s “need” for shrimp. Powerful international institutions including the World Bank and development agencies such as USAID provided loans to private companies, while the Honduran government enabled the encroachment of shrimp farms through land-use concessions, without any concern for the impact on the Gulf’s population.

  For five decades, the expansion of the shrimp farming industry has stripped artisanal fishermen communities of their fishing spaces and unleashed severe social conflict, depleted resources and created a deep, unspoken environmental crisis. In addition to discussing the community's experiences of harassment and violence at the hands of state institutions and shrimp farming companies’ private security, this story delves into the Traditional Environmental Knowledge of artisanal fishing communities. It explains the impact on the dynamics and importance of the wetlands to artisanal livelihoods. The work highlights the extreme level of wetlands pollution and argues that the environmental disaster that has caused two significant fish and mollusk die-offs in the last five years is the manifestation of structural violence in its most overpowering form.

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  Border Fellows Report 2023

  Márgara de León Cevallos, Aida Renee Amador, Javier Neftali Jiménez Quintana, Carla Ulloa Vázquez, Meritxell Calderón-Vargas, Carlos Foo-Kong, Psyché Calderón, and Rebeca Cázarez Adame

  The purpose of this report is to provide an overview of each of the Border Fellows' projects and place those projects within the broader context of the Tijuana-San Diego border region.

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  Reporte Border Fellows 2023

  Márgara de León Cevallos, Aida Renee Amador, Javier Neftali Jiménez Quintana, Carla Ulloa Vázquez, Meritxell Calderón-Vargas, Carlos Foo-Kong, Psyché Calderón, and Rebeca Cázarez Adame

  El propósito de este informe es proporcionar una descripción general de cada uno de los proyectos de los becarios y ubicarlos dentro del contexto más amplio de la región fronteriza Tijuana-San Diego.

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  California Threats and Harassment Initiative: A Literature Review Contextualizing the Environment of Threats and Harassment of Local Elected Officials in the United States between 2013 and 2024

  Ioli Filmeridis, Rachel Hodel, and Thomas Oliver

  Given the attention dedicated to violence targeted against national figures and representatives, this literature review focuses on the less prominent, but nonetheless critical, issue of threats and harassment directed at locally elected officials. In particular, it considers school board officials, members of city councils, community college boards, elected sheriffs, city and district attorneys and mayors in Southern California as well as across the United States. It draws on traditional media coverage, academic and think tank discussions of the scope of threats and harassment faced by local officials, the drivers of threatening and harassing behavior, and their impact on local officials and the democratic process. In addition, this literature review provides an overview of current recommendations for reducing the level of threat to local officials and improving civil discourse.

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  Code Blue: How Police and Health Care Providers Disrupt Healing for Violently Injured Black Men

  Cherrell Green

  While Black males are disproportionately impacted by gun homicide, they are also grossly impacted by non-fatal shootings. The impact of gun violence extends far beyond the immediate physical harm inflicted by bullets; this harm can permeate and disrupt personal relationships, create lasting psychological distress, and undermine a sense of safety within communities. However, the needs of injured Black men are often overlooked in public discourse. Despite the prevalence of these traumatic experiences in the lives of low-income Black men, their response to trauma is often treated as pathology, with fewer resources devoted to addressing the adverse consequences associated with these experiences. This policy brief summarizes key findings from a study involving 18 in-person semi-structured interviews with Black men across the United States who have sustained a gunshot injury. The findings highlight the individual and institutional harm Black men with gunshot wounds (GSWs) experience at the hands of both police officers and health care providers. Consequently, this brief proposes changes designed to positively impact the lives of Black men affected by gun violence throughout the continuum of care.

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  California Threats and Harassment Initiative (CATHI) One Pager

  Violence, Inequality and Power Lab Kroc Institute for Peace and Justice

  The presence and growth of threats and harassment impairs community cohesion, further undermining the ability to address our collective challenges. The University of San Diego is investigating the scale and scope of these issues and their impact on elected officials as well as on local democratic institutions. This data is from a 2023 survey of elected officials in Imperial, Riverside, and San Diego Counties about their experiences with threats and harassment.

  The 2023 study was led by the University of San Diego's Violence, Inequality, and Power Lab (VIP Lab) to create a comprehensive understanding of the threat environment of locally elected officials in Imperial, Riverside, and San Diego Counties.

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  Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic

  Briana Mawby, Carolyne Komen, and John Porten

  Women's Peacebuilding Leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic is the first annual Women Waging Peace report, a new publication that provides a resource for policymakers and funders, created directly from the recommendations and priorities of women peacebuilders around the world. This report leverages the experiences and perspectives of women peace leaders to communicate clear priorities to funders and policymakers about what matters most for building sustainable and long-lasting peace.
  
  This report provides:

  • Analysis of the challenges and opportunities that the global community of women peacebuilders experienced in 2023;
  • Recommendations for funding and programming priorities for 2024; and
  • In-depth findings related to the COVID-19 pandemic and changing use of technology – particularly information and communication technology – in the peacebuilding field.

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  Women’s Peacebuilding Leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic (Executive Summary)

  Briana Mawby, Carolyne Komen, and John Porten

  Women's Peacebuilding Leadership during the COVID-19 Pandemic is the first annual Women Waging Peace report, a new publication that provides a resource for policymakers and funders, created directly from the recommendations and priorities of women peacebuilders around the world. This report leverages the experiences and perspectives of women peace leaders to communicate clear priorities to funders and policymakers about what matters most for building sustainable and long-lasting peace.
  
  This report provides:

  • Analysis of the challenges and opportunities that the global community of women peacebuilders experienced in 2023;
  • Recommendations for funding and programming priorities for 2024; and
  • In-depth findings related to the COVID-19 pandemic and changing use of technology – particularly information and communication technology – in the peacebuilding field.

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  Discrimination Against Wayuu Women as a System of Collective Violence Against the Wayuu Indigenous People in Venezuela and Colombia / Errata Wayuumuin Sumuin tu’ Wayuu Jiertkaa Jutuma’a Milia’an Jauhtu’u Jumaika’a heka Jumana’a tuu Wuomain eh Venezuerraka musia Colompianaka

  Dayanna Palmar Uriana

  I wanted to shed light on the situation of Indigenous women in Colombia and Venezuela, focusing specifically on the situation of Wayuu women living in the northern border of both countries. The identity of an Indigenous woman carries a dual burden—defined by both gender and ethnicity—that determines living conditions and access to rights within a worldview rooted in a collective sense of belonging to an Indigenous people. As a Wayuu Indigenous woman and a human rights researcher, my objective was to identify forms of discrimination by listening to Wayuu women in the territories of both countries. This approach allowed us to reveal mechanisms of oppression and power inequalities that are interdependent and generate systematic and collective forms of violence.

  This violence manifests itself in ways such as poverty, maternal morbidity, spiritual violence, and an increase in gender-based violence data. This analysis was carried out considering the worldview of the Wayuu Indigenous people and their matrilineal organization, which grants women a fundamental role in the care of our people. As an Indigenous people, we understand that the impact is not only felt by Wayuu women but also by the collective of the ancestral territory, which includes all Wayuu people and non-human spirits. Additionally, the analysis took into account international human rights regulations, Indigenous peoples' rights, and women's rights to assess the progress made by the Colombian and Venezuelan states in guaranteeing the rights of Wayuu women and to outline the necessary steps for preserving the lives of Indigenous peoples.

  Quería sacar a la luz la situación de las mujeres indígenas en Colombia y Venezuela, tomando en consideración la situación de las Mujeres Wayuu que habitan la frontera norte de ambos países. La identidad de una mujer indígena soporta una carga contenida en el género y la etnicidad que determina condiciones de vida y acceso a derechos dentro de una cosmovisión de vida colectiva de pertenencia hacia un pueblo indígena. Como mujer indígena Wayuu e investigadora en temas de derechos humanos mi objetivo fue identificar formas de discriminación mediante la escucha de mujeres Wayuu en territorio de ambos países, de esta manera fue posible revelar mecanismos de opresión e inequidades de poder que son interdependientes unas de otras y que generan violencias sistemáticas y colectivas.

  Esta violencia se expresa en formas como la pobreza, la morbilidad materna, la violencia espiritual e incrementos de la data en materia de violencia basada en género. Este análisis se hizo considerando la cosmovisión del pueblo indígena Wayuu y su organización matrilineal, lo cual otorga a las mujeres una relevancia fundamental en el cuidado de nuestro pueblo y como pueblo indígena también se comprende que las afectaciones no recaen solo en la mujer Wayuu, pero también en el colectivo del territorio ancestral, que incluye a todas las personas Wayuu y los espíritus no humanos. A su vez, se tomaron en cuenta lo estipulado en las normativas internacionales de derechos humanos, derechos de los pueblos indígenas y derechos de las mujeres para evidenciar el avance de los Estados de Colombia y Venezuela en la garantía de derechos hacia las muj

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  FACE Peace Design Brief #3: Facilitating Training and Education Programs in the Peacebuilding Field

  John Porten

  Trust-building and social bonding are easier in person — and to some extent in synchronous rather than asynchronous distanced learning. Distance and time differences can make organization of synchronous learning difficult. Differences in access to the internet and other infrastructure issues can exacerbate this problem. Cultural differences and other forms of diversity can also make building trust among students, and between students and teachers, more difficult.

  While advances in technology and technique have improved the outcomes of distanced educational programs in recent years, distanced educational models still result in underperformance for the participants when compared to face-to-face programs. Research shows that this is true in large part due to students’ tendency to feel disconnected from both the organization implementing the program and its instructors.

  Yet distanced educational program designs offer substantial benefits to peacebuilders, in particular. They allow participation across more diverse groups, creating more insight and understanding. They afford opportunities to more vulnerable members of our communities, to those working at the grassroots level, and to those with less capacity to travel.

  This FACE Peace design brief considers these issues as they relate to planning educational programs in peacebuilding. In particular, it considers activities and strategies to create the strongest possible relationships between facilitators and participants and an instructional design that provides participants with the information and structure they need to prepare for and contextualize the program content. Trusting relationships allow students to share experiences and exchange knowledge more honestly and fluidly, while structure affords them the resources they need to remain attentive and manage work/life balance.

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  FACE Peace Design Brief #4: Negotiation and Consensus Building in Hybrid Environments

  John Porten

  This FACE Peace Design Brief considers negotiation and consensus-building programs using a mix of in-person and distanced elements. Recent advances in technology and cultural shifts brought about by the COVID-19 pandemic have allowed program and event designers to consider a wide variety of tools and practices that allow negotiations and bargaining to happen at a distance or asynchronously.

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  Mapping the Threat Environment of Southern California’s Elected Officials

  John Porten and Rachel Locke

  Are threats towards and harassment of public officials a problem? Some characterize the issue as one of free speech; strenuous criticism of local officials is required for democracy to function. Others argue that local elected officials and the media are simply seeking attention or blowing a small problem out of proportion. In other spaces, the case is made that democracy in America is broken, that governance at the local level can no longer function, and that security risks are rampant. Those studying the issue have gathered data that point to more insidious effects, including the disenfranchisement of voters, shifting representation based on intimidation rather than policy preference, silencing officials or causing them to self-censor, and more. Our own research intends to shine a light on this question, both interrogating the level of threats and harassment in San Diego, Riverside and Imperial Counties in Southern California, and trying to understand the impact on our democracy and local government systems.

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  The Sexuality of Technology: Memories of Existing in Techno-Societies

  Mardiya VIP Lab Fellow

  Sexuality of Technology is a research-based-fiction that puts together accounts of queer Ghanaians navigating threats and anxieties in a digital society. It examines technology-facilitated surveillance as violence and power that creates inequalities in motion illustrated through the lens of three friends navigating the intricate relations of power. The project grounds pain, rage and practices of survival of queer people, moving away from the ‘acceptance’ narrative to highlight that for many queer people in Ghana, violence and power is messy, unspectacular, and embedded in their every day existence within techno-societies.

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  Building Holistic Security (Case Study: Iraq)

  Nesreen Barwari

  Highlighting patriarchal norms and lack of protection for women peacebuilders in Iraq.

  Women peacebuilders inevitably face risks and insecurity in their daily work. International partners have an important role to play in supporting their safety and protection. Understanding women peacebuilders’ roles and the types of risks they face is the first step in ensuring an adequate response. This case study forms part of the Building Holistic Security: Addressing Security Risks of Women Peacebuilders Through Partnerships report, focused on how international partners can better partner with women peacebuilders to address the risks and insecurity they face in the different facets of their work.

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  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women (Case Study: Morocco)

  Youssra Biare

  This case study is part of the Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration report created by the Women PeaceMakers program. In this case study, Woman PeaceMaker Fellow Youssra Biare explores the intergenerational peacebuilding of Mourchidate women, a group of religious leaders confronting violent extremism in Morocco. This research explores the ways in which Mourchidates work with people of different generations and backgrounds, as well as the challenges and strengths of the state-led program.

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  Addressing the Recidivism Challenge in San Diego County: Learning from Lived Experience Approaches

  Andrew Blum and Alfredo Malaret Baldo

  The problem is as old as the justice system itself—how to reduce the chance that an individual reoffends after they commit an offense and become involved with the justice system. This challenge of reducing recidivism remains critical. According to the Prison Policy Initiative, there are over 120,000 individuals in state prisons in California. Another 380,000 cycle through jails in California every year. In 2021, roughly 25,000 individuals were released from prison in California each year. This is the scope of the challenge.

  In San Diego County, a wide variety of agencies and organizations are working to address the recidivism challenge. In addition, although there is no way to measure this accurately, there is a willingness across the spectrum to experiment with new approaches and solutions. This report focuses on one area of relatively new and promising approaches—those that elevate the talent and expertise of individuals with “lived experience” with the justice system.

  Support for lived experience approaches is growing both nationally and in San Diego. Beyond the rising number of lived experience initiatives, this type of work in San Diego has become largely normalized. There is broad agreement that lived experience work should be part of the portfolio used to reduce recidivism, with clear demand from stakeholders involved in reentry, including law enforcement officials, service providers, community members, and, crucially, justice-involved individuals. Given the growing prevalence of and support for lived experience approaches in San Diego, it is important to create a deeper understanding of how to increase the impact of these approaches. Toward that end, this report identifies strengths of lived experience approaches to amplify, challenges of lived experience approaches to mitigate, and lessons from lived experience approaches that can be applied more broadly.

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  Building Holistic Security (Case Study: Syria)

  Slava Shikh Hasan

  Highlighting how unequal partnerships exacerbate risks for women peacebuilders in Syria.

  Women peacebuilders inevitably face risks and insecurity in their daily work. International partners have an important role to play in supporting their safety and protection. Understanding women peacebuilders’ roles and the types of risks they face is the first step in ensuring an adequate response. This case study forms part of the Building Holistic Security: Addressing Security Risks of Women Peacebuilders Through Partnerships report, focused on how international partners can better partner with women peacebuilders to address the risks and insecurity they face in the different facets of their work.

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  How Scared Are You? A Literature Review Contextualizing the Environment of Threats and Harassment of Local Officials in the United States over the Last 10 Years

  Rachel Hodel

  Targeted threats, harassment, and the perpetration of physical violence against elected officials are becoming increasingly commonplace around the world. Sadly, the United States and our own backyard of San Diego is no exception. Local leaders - the most foundational representatives of the democratic processes that undergird our system of government - are facing unprecedented levels of uncivil and anti-democratic threats, harassment, and attacks. By nearly all measures, political violence is considered to be more acceptable in the U.S. than it was five years ago.

  Current data indicates that the majority of threatening and harassing behavior directed against local officials is non-physical and occurs through online spaces. However, permissive rhetoric can both harm our democracy as well as escalate into physical violence targeting democratically elected leaders. A high-profile example of this is the brutal attack on Nancy Pelosi’s husband, Paul Pelosi, in October 2022. David DePape broke into the Pelosis’ San Francisco home with the intention of kidnapping the former speaker of the US House. Instead, DePape encountered Paul Pelosi, an 82-year-old man, who he attacked with a hammer. DePape left Pelosi unconscious, with a fractured skull and injuries on his hand and harm. Officials who investigated the attack found that DePape had an extensive history of online engagement with right-wing conspiracy theories and angry rants against women. In his blog, DePape described how Gamergate, an online forum filled with far-right conspiracy theories and violent rhetoric against women, was the catalyst for much of his worldview. Joan Donovan, who recently co-authored a book examining Gamergate’s role in the rise of alt-right political movements, stated that Depape’s move from an online space to an attempted real-world attack on a female public figure is unsurprising. Incidents like this highlight the danger of violent rhetoric leading to physical violence, as well as demonstrate the need for further analysis of the connection between violent political rhetoric and violent outcomes.

  While high-profile incidents such as the Pelosi attack provide crucial context for the broad scope of threats, harassment, and violence directed at public officials, this literature review will focus on the less prominent, but nonetheless critical, issue of threats and harassment directed at local elected officials. In particular, this literature review centers around school board officials, members of city councils, and mayors located within San Diego County as well as across the United States. The literature review will consider the current research on the scope of the threats and harassment faced by local officials, the drivers of threatening and harassing behavior, and its impacts on local officials and the democratic process. In addition, this literature review will provide an overview of current recommendations for reducing the level of threat to local officials and improving the civil discourse. Finally, the literature review will conclude with recommendations for further research around threats and harassment directed at local officials.

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  Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women (Case Study: Botswana)

  Ramatoulie Isatou Jallow

  This case study is part of the Intergenerational Peacebuilding Among Women: Leveraging the Power of Collaboration report created by the Women PeaceMakers program. In this case study, Woman PeaceMaker Fellow Ramatoulie Isatou Jallow explores the state of intergenerational peacebuilding and coalition-building for women-led civil society organizations in Botswana. This research demonstrates that there is a need for dialogues around positive peace in Botswana, as well as for more synergy and trust between different generations of women. Furthermore, with more extensive education on the concept of intergenerational coalition-building, women and women-led CSOs can form these coalitions across generations more deliberately.

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  “HOW SCARED ARE YOU?” Mapping the Threat Environment of San Diego’s Elected Officials

  Rachel Locke and Carl Luna

  Democracy cannot function without individuals stepping up to serve as representatives of their community. The presence and growth of threats and harassment directed towards elected representatives poses a direct risk to our democracy, weakening community cohesion and our ability to address collective challenges. While our research found threats and harassment to be present across political parties, it identified women as far more likely to be on the receiving end both in terms of quantity and severity. If under-represented groups are pushed out of the processes of debate and decision-making, solutions will not be oriented around the diversity of our society.

  Without clear data on the scale of the problem, the rise in threats and ad hominem attacks are too easily discounted by public officials, the media and the public at large. Possible consequences range from an increased potential for physical violence and the resignation from public life of elected officials. The research outlined in this report helps to expose the scale of threats and harassment, while in turn providing recommendations from those directly impacted, concerned community members and scholars on how to reinforce safe and non-threatening local governance.

  While several studies have shown that cities, counties and states across the country are experiencing an increased level of hostility towards elected officials, very few geographically designated areas are measuring incidents in any structured way. The research outlined in this report aims to set a clear baseline on the extent of aggressive behavior towards nearly all categories of elected office in San Diego County. Our research looked at all County School Boards, Community College Boards, City Councils, Mayors, and the County Board of Supervisors.

  Using a mixed methods approach that included surveys, interviews, a traditional media review and social media review, our team was able to get a clear picture of the problem both objectively and subjectively. Our findings confirm that the rise in threats and harassments targeting elected officials identified in national studies is also occurring at the local level in San Diego County. This rise in hostile threatening behavior towards elected officials is having a measurable impact on a) the ability of elected office holders to effectively participate in the public policy process; b) the likelihood of elected officials seeking to encourage others to enter public life or remain in public life themselves; and c) the psychological and physical health of office holders and their families. The vitriol we are seeing risks significantly and negatively impact the vitality of local democracy, civic engagement and effective policy making on across the policy spectrum.

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  One Pager - “How Scared Are You?” Mapping the Threat Environment of San Diego’s Elected Officials

  Rachel Locke and Carl Luna

  This one pager includes data summary points from survey sent to San Diego County elected officials.

  Targeted threats and the perpetration of physical violence against elected officials have been increasing steadily around the world. Democracy cannot function without individuals serving in elected governance. The presence and growth of threats and harassment undermines community cohesion, further undermining our ability to address our collective challenges.

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  Building Holistic Security (Case Study: Yemen)

  Muna Luqman

  Highlighting the need for increased and flexible funding for women peacebuilders in Yemen.

  Women peacebuilders inevitably face risks and insecurity in their daily work. International partners have an important role to play in supporting their safety and protection. Understanding women peacebuilders’ roles and the types of risks they face is the first step in ensuring an adequate response. This case study forms part of the Building Holistic Security: Addressing Security Risks of Women Peacebuilders Through Partnerships report, focused on how international partners can better partner with women peacebuilders to address the risks and insecurity they face in the different facets of their work.

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  Executive Summary: The Uganda NextGen Framework

  Briana Mawby, Noah Mirembe Gabigogo, and Cassandra Barrett

  The Uganda NextGen Framework: Guidelines for Intergenerational Peacebuilding report provides a practical framework for creating intergenerational peacebuilding partnerships drawn from the lived experiences of women peacebuilders across Uganda and outlines key considerations when addressing generational divides and gaps in peacebuilding efforts. The report provides analysis drawn from the debates and discussions held between 2020 and 2023 as the cohort of peacebuilders engaged in the Uganda NextGen initiative worked across generations to create social change throughout the country. The framework provides a guide for others trying to create mutually beneficial and equitable peacebuilding partnerships among people of different generations.

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  The Uganda NextGen Framework: Guidelines for Intergenerational Peacebuilding

  Briana Mawby, Noah Mirembe Gabigogo, and Cassandra Barrett

  This report provides a practical framework for creating intergenerational peacebuilding partnerships drawn from the lived experiences of women peacebuilders across Uganda and outlines key considerations when addressing generational divides and gaps in peacebuilding efforts.
  
  The report provides analysis drawn from the debates and discussions held between 2020 and 2023 as the cohort of peacebuilders engaged in the Uganda NextGen initiative worked across generations to create social change throughout the country. The framework provides a guide for others trying to create mutually beneficial and equitable peacebuilding partnerships among people of different generations.